Chapter 53 Palace Meeting
In the dim room, the cakes and snacks on the table had been cleared away, and the three of them stood by the window and said goodbye.
"I'm leaving, Lily." Lorraine Hill looked at the girl in front of her. Although she was a queen, her figure was still so weak and pitiful.
"Well, goodbye, Lorraine, and Eidolon." At this moment, Lily's mood was much more stable, and she tried her best to put on a smile on her face.
"Live well, Lily." Ye Ling also waved his hand at this moment.
"I will." She took a deep breath.
"See you next time."
After finishing speaking, Lorraine Hill held Eidolon's hand, and the two slowly floated up like ripples, then became illusory, and then disappeared into the room. With the help of the power of the Moon Crown, Lorraine Hill can suppress the fluctuations in space movement to the minimum, even to the point of being undetectable. And currently there are no existences above Sequence 8 in the palace, so it is not difficult to hide them.
After the two disappeared, Lily was the only one left in the room. She continued to sit for a while, dazed for a while, and then touched her cheek to confirm that what just happened was not a dream.
After a long time, she put on her coat and walked out of the room, seeing the two loyal maids still standing outside.
"Let's go back, it's time to rest."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
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After leaving the palace, Lorraine Hill and Eidolon followed the convoy southward toward the border of the empire. At present, the south has just been pacified, and although there is some martial law, fortunately, the security is still good, and we did not encounter any special situations on the road. Perhaps this is also related to the badge given by Earl Howard's daughter. As a well-known noble in the imperial capital, his face is still very useful.
After quelling the rebellion in the south, Prince Edron returned to the imperial capital again, and as regent, he will deal with many backlogged problems in the empire. And after he arrives in Titania, everything will change.
At the palace meeting.
The luxurious hall decorated in gold and red is now filled with various nobles in the empire. Most of them have real power. Some are wearing luxurious attire, some are in military uniforms, and some are wearing priest robes and are from the church.
"Her Royal Highness Prince Edron has arrived~Her Majesty the Queen has arrived~"
The loud shouts of the palace servants made the hall quickly quiet down. Everyone lined up on both sides and looked respectfully towards the entrance of the hall.
Edron, who was wearing a tall and straight gold-red military uniform, and Red Queen Lily Esther in a floral dress walked on the carpet together, walked side by side, entered the hall, and then sat on the two thrones in the middle.
The queen's throne is slightly backward and higher, symbolizing the current legal order in the empire.
Lily, who was holding the little prince in her arms, looked at the unfamiliar faces below, her body a little nervous. She secretly took a deep breath and adjusted her state, and then raised her right hand slightly to signal the start of the meeting.
"Your Majesty the Queen, long live your Royal Highness the Prince." Many nobles bowed to salute, then raised their bodies and stood quietly.
"If you have any matters today, you can come forward to report and discuss." The palace minister stepped forward, stood in front of the two majesties, and said to the people below.
"My lord, your loyal minister has something to report."
A nobleman with short dark blue hair came out. He was tall and thin and had a gray-blue bird badge on his chest. He seemed to be a vassal from the northern part of the empire.
"Please speak, Lord Evans."
"The fiefdom where I live has suffered heavy snowfall this year. Many fields have failed to harvest, and it is difficult to hunt in the mountains and forests. There is also a lack of food in the cellar. I pray that your Majesty can give me some help."
He described the tragic situation caused by the snow disaster with great emotion, which made many people in the hall feel sympathetic. After he finished speaking, everyone also focused their attention on the queen and the regent.
Lily was a little unsure for a moment, but she couldn't keep waiting. Doing so would expose her weakness and helplessness, so she asked, "What kind of help does Viscount Evans want?"
"This... I just pray for some food and I am satisfied."
"Can you tell me the specific number of residents in the fief?" Although Lily looks petite, her math scores in the academy are not bad.
"This is about 200,000 households." Evans hesitated before telling this figure.
Are there so many? Lily doubted in her heart. If she agrees easily at this moment, will it look like she is weak and easy to bully? But if she doesn't agree, will she look mean? And if there is a snow disaster, those people will be very sad.
If she wanted to allocate grain, it would cost at least 8 million kilograms. This was not a small amount. If the other party was deceiving her, how could she tell? She thought quickly in her heart. But in front of the ministers, one cannot pause and hesitate for too long.
After a pause for a few seconds, Lily asked again.
"Mr. Evans, how much food do you need for emergency relief?" She decided to throw this question to the other party.
"About 15 million kilograms of grain." Viscount Evans said sadly.
"In that case... then..." Lily bit her lip, and after hesitating for a while, she decided to allocate food. After all, the people in the empire could not be left to freeze and starve in the winter.
"Ahem...Your Majesty, please slow down a moment." Edron finally spoke at this time. He turned his head and nodded briefly to Lily, who was not far away from him.
"Can I ask Lord Evans a few questions?"
"Your Highness, please inquire."
"Excuse me, has Mr. Evans never stored food in the past? As a lord, it is your basic responsibility to ensure the stability and safety of the local people. It is hard to imagine that in the cold fiefdom of the north, you have never considered the impact of the cold disaster. .”
"In addition, you said that there are nearly 200,000 households in the fiefdom. Were the previous taxes paid based on 200,000 households?"
"During the imperial expedition, how many people came out of your fiefdom?"
"I remember that the empire provides a certain amount of pension to the families of fallen soldiers every year. This is directly allocated to the local lords and then distributed. If this part is there, it should also alleviate some of the situation."
"This..." Evans lowered his head and was speechless for a moment, and a slight sweat began to appear on his forehead.
"Let the tax department submit the tax returns for previous years." Seeing this, Edron waved his hand and asked the attendant next to him to take action.
"Yes, Your Highness." Immediately, several people walked quickly out of the hall.
"No need, Your Highness. I was nervous just now and gave the wrong data. In fact, there are only 100,000 households affected by the disaster in the fiefdom..." He defended quickly and nervously.
"Very good, an honest noble is worthy of praise." Edron gently put down his words, and the attendants who were about to go out to get the tax forms also paused.
"I suggest to Her Majesty the Queen that 3 million kilograms of grain be allocated to the territory of Earl Evans, and be escorted by the direct army to record the distribution to each household to ensure fairness."
"Then let's do it according to His Highness Edlen's method." At this point, Lily also calmed down a little.
Looking at the two people in the center of the hall, the nobles below were secretly discussing in their hearts.
The situation was a little different from what was expected. His Highness Edron did not seem to have any intention of attacking the Red Queen, but instead was somewhat defensive. Is he really content with this position and doesn't want to ascend to the throne?
For a time, an undercurrent surged, and the following noble nobles did not dare to test it easily. As a result, today's palace meeting also passed slowly and peacefully.