The agenda proposed by Cecilia made its way up to the Noble Council.
The matter had grown far larger than anticipated. However, Cecilia herself felt unfairly targeted.
‘This is too much for someone as young as me.’
The 16-year-old Sword Heroine hadn’t expected her report to be taken so seriously.
Because of this, she had slightly added weight to the “majority opinion of the Windsor Knight Order,” but she hadn’t predicted the scale would tip so disastrously.
“This is blatant overreach! How dare a knight, who should remain incorruptible, meddle in politics!”
“How on earth are you supposed to manage your children!”
“Isn’t His Majesty known to indulge the daughters of your type?”
As a result, an inquiry to question Kairon had been convened.
“Let me repeat: I know nothing about this matter.”
‘Doomed.’
Hiding in a corner using the Blessing of Wind, Cecilia broke out into a cold sweat.
“What matter? You once commanded the majority of the Windsor Knight Order.”
“Could it be that you cowardly hid behind your daughter? Sir Knight Commander!”
“Have you ever seen a fox-like bear such as this?”
However, Kairon stared directly at Cecilia who was concealed perfectly and said,
“I’ll investigate the situation further.”
‘Run, run away!’
Cecilia quietly slipped out of the meeting room.
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
In the office,
Kairon was dealing with official work, while Cecilia spoke firmly.
“I just formulated something that I thought would help the kingdom and wrote it down.”
“Hmm.”
Kairon gruffly replied, lifting his head.
“Then why are you on your knees?”
“…”
Cecilia was engaged in some self-reflection. Kairon would be grilled by the nobles for another 10 hours.
She stared off into the distance.
Truthfully, she did feel a bit sorry for Kairon in this situation.
“If you’re reflecting, that’s good enough.”
“Understood.”
‘I’m forgiven! Hehe.’
Cecilia attempted to leave the commander’s office with a cheerful grin.
But the door wouldn’t open. It was probably Kairon’s doing.
“What is it? Open it for me… hic.”
Seeing the dark aura Kairon was emitting, not unlike that of a Demon King, Cecilia trembled.
“When will you grow up!”
Cecilia was the fastest to kneel at the sound of Kairon’s stern voice.
Sighing, Kairon looked at her as she quietly knelt.
“Explain.”
Cecilia’s mood brightened. If only he’d hear her grand ambition, surely Kairon would understand.
Each lord had his or her own Knight Order.
In medieval times, a knight was a measure of strength, as well as a symbol of wealth.
This was true in the Rianen Kingdom as well. However, there was something different.
They are also used to ‘oversee users possessing Blessings.’
“What about knights who also have blessings?”
“Receiving the Blessing of Support? Something that allows one to hold objects without shaking… Oh, so now I’d be able to drink tea while on horseback.”
The reason is, there are very few individuals in the world with knight-level skills.
Each knight was a superhuman who could do the work of a hundred people.
Mastery in swordsmanship was a given, but sufficient magical talent and a combat-worthy blessing were necessary to become a knight.
Hence, only a few among the holders of blessings earn the title of knight.
The nobles exploited such relatively worthless holders of blessings to their heart’s content.
“Please! My wife is suffering greatly. This month, can you give me just a little more salary?”
“Come, come. Haven’t I already compensated you more than enough?”
“The gold I earn doesn’t reach even a tenth of that!”
“Insolence! Do you know how troublesome it is to find gem cutters suitable for your diamond blessing? The cost of your keep is a small part of the countless investments that have been made!”
Such disputes were very common.
The reason why the nobles exploited them this way was simple.
Because it netted them profits. And, because they could.
In the eyes of Cecilia, the Rianen Kingdom was a true kingdom ruled by a righteous king.
However, there was a significant gap between Queen Tereza’s ideals and the local lords’ practices.
There was no method to protect them from this inhumane behavior.
“…Impressive.”
When Kairon heard Cecilia’s explanation, he nodded.
“If we follow this agenda and allow guilds to freely accept requests from holders of blessings who cannot become knights, it will create an opportunity to escape from the wicked actions of the nobility.”
Kairon inwardly approved.
Already being concerned about the underprivileged living difficult lives, she was indeed knightlike in her demeanor.
Cecilia became proud and held her head high.
“It was a much-needed step.”
‘My newbies are absolutely not being forced into a life user.’
In fact, that was the real purpose.
Content is less important than the package, after all.
Just like Cecilia’s Granola. It only needed to look nice in a lunchbox.
“But, are you confident?”
Kairon asked earnestly.
“It won’t be an easy battle.”
“Is that so?”
“Each noble’s rank differs depending on the type of blessing they possess. Do you think they would give up so easily?”
Cecilia smiled faintly.
“You can count on me.”
“…Where did you learn that odd tone?”
Cecilia was the kind of true veteran who would do everything possible to save her newbies from a life at the bottom.
Even after saying that, this was a matter that put even someone like Cecilia under some pressure.
“Here’s the proposed change, please give me more authority and budget!”
Establishing a guild wasn’t an easy task.
Paperwork-related institutional problems were already in progress and partly resolved.
Yet, to create a guild, wouldn’t we need a beautiful building first?
That’s not all.
We’d need to pay pretty receptionists a monthly wage, and buy a good breed of puppy.
For various reasons, there were many places where money was required.
Moreover, creating a group that doesn’t belong to anyone required attracting investors.
Only receiving dividends, excluding operational rights.
This was a bit of a headache. While taking away the nobles’ rights, one must also get them to invest.
‘I need to convince the nobles with a pure business model, but the problem is I only know how to use a sword.’
Cecilia blinked.
She was indeed a cute and lovely swordswoman but, quite frankly, had no talent for this.
If I were able to create a good business cycle, wouldn’t I already have been a conglomerate in the modern world…?
So, Cecilia decided to resort to an inevitable method.
The only way possible in medieval times, in the Rianen Kingdom.
“Rejected! Rejected! Is this what goes on in that tiny brain of yours?”
“Of course! And already, the occupation of mercenaries exists!”
Faced with the nobles’ uproar, Cecilia replied gracefully.
“Isn’t there already a group of weakened mercenaries in your basements?”
“Ho, what’s this talk about imprisonment!”
“To begin with, what does a greenhouse knight know? Hmph, tsk tsk.”
“That’s also for the kingdom! What do you mean by humiliating us, Sir Knight!”
And the only thing possible in the Rianen Kingdom and in the medieval times – that was:
“Do you believe that the Goddess Michael blesses Rianen?”
“Wh, what is this?”
“Of course!”
Cecilia responded with a meaningful smile.
“Is that so? Strange. Who has the authority to interpret the will of the gods?”
“That… that’s…”
‘Let it burn!’
The issue of faith was a sensitive one in the Rianen Kingdom.
Cecilia decided to use it.
“Of course, it belongs to Her Majesty the Queen.”
“Ho, I understand you’re a loyal servant, but does that even make sense? Discussing the Goddess is the job of the clergy.”
“Are you planning to ignore the foundation of the country!”
In this world, thanks to the Goddess’s favor, they were able to resist the Demon Race.
However, there was no religious order in Rianen. While those favored by grace should properly worship the deity, Rianen people give thanks but do not indulge in excessive veneration.
It was because of the Queen. Queen Lydia, with her overwhelming royal authority, had executed all members of the religious order in her kingdom.
“The right to interpret the will of the gods belongs solely to the church! For centuries, the clergy has been studying the scriptures and conveying the divine words. Denying this is nothing but the act of blasphemy!”
“If the clergymen decide everything, why does our queen receive the grace of the gods? And the one achieving victory on the battlefield is the army of the queen. What basis is there for the church to monopolize the will of the gods?”
Thus, such discussions were very common.
Watching the little spark she ignited burn fiercely, Cecilia felt very satisfied.
She then jumped into the heated dialogue at the right moment.
“Ah! Good! We must settle this issue once and for all. Let’s conclude this third meeting, and reconvene tomorrow!”
“I will definitely bring this to a conclusion!”
‘That’s enough already…’
Unfortunately, the problem was that the meeting continued for three days, burning too fiercely.
‘In any case, since I got the desired results, let’s celebrate.’
The frightening arsonist Cecilia had one goal: ‘division.’
An enemy united as one is bothersome, but a fractured enemy is an easy target.
This was a fundamental tactic. Cecilia carried it out earnestly, and as a result, the nobility fragmented according to their views on the Goddess.
Arguments leading to personal dislike were, after all, very common.
But it was too premature to celebrate victory just yet.
Since the escape route was blocked by the Knight Cecilia, a Queen was necessary to give a checkmate.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“…You’re thinking of passing this proposal to me?”
Of course, in this case Queen (Queen) should be understood as Prince (Prince).
This person was none other than Edward.
“You have no reason to refuse, but why? Why are you handing me this power? If you had continued, you would’ve held a considerable amount of power.”
‘Because I don’t feel like working.’
That was her honest feeling, of course, but obviously she couldn’t say that outright.
Cecilia offered a plausible explanation.
“To be frank, if I continued, everyone would’ve picked on me.”
“That’s the best-case scenario.”
“Huh?”
“Ha ha, it was a joke.”
It didn’t sound much like a joke.
“Anyway, my job will be to make the nobles pass the proposal. You’ve improved. I’m proud of you for the first time.”
Edward gently patted Cecilia’s head.
He seemed very pleased.
Cecilia barely resisted the urge to bite and explained.
“The opposition was fiercer than expected.”
“Hmm, don’t worry about that. Even though I look this way-”
Edward gave a cold smile.
“Because I inherited ‘that person’s’ bl**d.”
Cecilia understood the meaning of those words in the next meeting.
“So, you’re opposing it?”
“Y, yes. It’s the grace given by the Goddess. Even guiding it to the right place is a challenge, and you’re telling us to let go of control… If the grace is used improperly, what would you do?”
“Ask you in return. If such improper actions are happening right now under the control of the nobility, what would you do?”
“That…”
“The answer is simple.”
Edward walked over and grabbed the hair of the noble leader with a murderous intent.
“If that happens, I’ll cut off your head and offer it as an apology to the Goddess.”
Edward dismissed the matter with a single word.
Impressed by his imposing presence, Cecilia decided she would braid her hair tomorrow.
