112. Preparing for Founding Festival

Joy ultimately decided not to follow Kali. He adamantly refused to leave the capital—or more precisely, to leave where Larael was. In the end, Joy remained in the capital, staying alone in the office without Kali.

A week before the Founding Festival, a teleport portal was installed between Hedway County and the capital. When Edward couldn’t keep his promise to visit Hedway County with Larael, he invited the Count and Countess of Hedway to the capital instead.

Although they had been reluctant to set foot in the capital, they couldn’t refuse the Emperor’s earnest invitation. However, they politely declined the offer to stay at the palace. Instead, they arranged to temporarily borrow an imperial mansion in the central district of the capital until they returned to Hedway County. The mansion was far more magnificent and larger than the one they had rented when staying in the capital for the marriage to Grand Duke Vellaus, making the Count and Countess regret not declining the Emperor’s kindness.

Larael assigned Joy to guard the Count and Countess. Joy, who had been spending his time just staring at the palace with nothing to do, naturally accepted with enthusiasm. He was even more excited because being entrusted with guard duty rather than the small errands he had been handling made him feel that Larael recognized his worth. He was also filled with anticipation that guarding the Count and Countess would naturally lead to frequent meetings with Larael.

The reason Edward was too busy to keep his promise with Larael was that the tax reform he had implemented was yielding unexpectedly good results.

The mined and verified magic stones were first given to the nine lords who had agreed to implement the tax reform. Of course, they paid for the magic stones, but they received the amount they wanted at a much lower price than the market value.

“We posted job openings for wizards to create magical tools, and surprisingly many people applied,” Marquis Argen reported to Edward with an excited expression.

“Really?”

“Yes. It seems that wizards are gathering in the Kazel Empire, perhaps because rumors have spread about our magic stones being high-quality with high purity. Thanks to Your Majesty, my twins will be able to enjoy a warm winter when they’re born.”

“That’s good news. However, selecting the next places to implement the reform is becoming an issue.”

Edward sighed as he looked at the pile of documents on his desk.

Unexpectedly, the burden of land ownership tax was not too heavy, and central nobles and small provincial lords who weren’t qualified to participate in the Noble Council had submitted petitions to the Emperor. Above all, the benefit of magic stones far outweighed the small losses. In fact, wizards who had been rare in the Kazel Empire were voluntarily coming to work for the families of lords who possessed magic stones.

At the same time, meetings continued late into the night to correct and rectify the problems that had emerged, trying to reduce trial and error. Because of this, Edward hadn’t seen Larael’s face for several days. As darkness fell each day, Edward habitually checked the time.

“You should retire first today. The Empress Consort must be waiting…” Marquis Argen said to Edward as he looked at the clock. But Edward shook his head.

“I want to finish this before the Founding Festival. I don’t want to worry about this during the festivities.”

Edward’s hands became busy turning pages of documents. He wanted to finish his work as quickly as possible so he could spend the Founding Festival fully with Larael.

Marquis Argen moved closer and whispered in Edward’s ear, “By the way, don’t you think the Empress Dowager and Grand Duke Vellaus have been too quiet lately?”

Edward stopped turning the documents. He pressed his lips tightly together and stared blankly into space. Many thoughts were reflected in his eyes. He soon shook his head slightly.

“Just because a lake is calm doesn’t mean its depths aren’t dark. Don’t neglect surveillance on them. Are you certain that Grand Duke Vellaus has shown no unusual movements since returning to his domain?”

“Yes.”

Edward couldn’t shake off an ominous feeling as he resumed turning the pages of documents.

***

Genderi scrutinized Larael in her dress several times.

It was the final fitting for the dress she would wear at the masquerade ball, the highlight of the Founding Festival. But Genderi didn’t seem satisfied, judging by her expression. She wanted to give Larael a perfect moment at an event where all eyes would be on her. So despite numerous modifications, she kept finding parts that didn’t satisfy her.

“I really love it!!”

Larael quickly said, sensing Genderi’s concerning expression. She didn’t want to continue with the fitting anymore.

“I apologize, Your Highness. I should have made it more perfect, but there was too little time.”

“Genderi, I’m truly very satisfied right now. If I, the owner of the dress, am satisfied, isn’t that what matters?”

Genderi, who had been looking dejected, sighed at her words. Larael couldn’t know how much her single remark comforted Genderi and brought her back to her original purpose, as she had been pushing herself too hard in pursuit of perfection.

After Genderi left, Anais came in and reported on the preparations for the Founding Festival. After Anais left as well, Larael buried herself in the sofa and let out a deep sigh.

“So the Founding Festival is really happening.”

“Aren’t you looking forward to it, since it’s your first Founding Festival?” Sasha asked as she brought a shawl and draped it over her.

“Looking forward to it? Not really…”

Larael had never properly enjoyed the Founding Festival. During the first Founding Festival, all events were canceled due to the Krauf disease. For the second one, she didn’t attend because she had lost her child. From the third Founding Festival onward, there was no particular reason—she simply didn’t attend any events because she disliked being with Edward instead of Herwen.

Thinking about this, a bitter smile crossed her face.

“Will you be visiting the Madam today as well?”

“Yes.”

After taking a short rest, Larael headed to the mansion where the Count and Countess of Hedway were staying.

Somehow knowing that Larael’s carriage was coming, Joy was waiting in front of it to greet her.

“Joy, you’re not causing any trouble, are you?” Larael asked him playfully.

“Your Highness, what do you take me for… Don’t be too surprised later,” Joy retorted, his earlobes instantly turning red. Larael headed to the reception room where the Count and Countess of Hedway were having tea, listening to Joy’s grumbling.

“Your Highness the Empress Consort.”

The Countess of Hedway approached Larael as she entered the reception room, gently embracing her shoulders as she spoke. Since coming to the capital, the Countess had been consistently addressing her as “Your Highness the Empress Consort.” At first, Larael was startled and asked her not to call her that, but the Countess was quite adamant. So Larael eventually gave up.

“I heard that the small domain lords have submitted a petition to His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Yes. It seems they want to participate in the tax reform.”

“What does Your Highness think? Hedway County also…”

The Count of Hedway spoke as Larael sat on the sofa. At his words, Larael’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Father, it would be better not to do that. There are probably people who already view the teleport portal connecting Hedway County and the capital very unfavorably. Even if you feel disappointed…”

Larael suddenly felt a sting in her nose. A feeling of guilt suddenly filled her heart. She felt she couldn’t face the Count of Hedway.

“I’m sorry, Father. It’s pathetic that I’m forcing you to make sacrifices because of my reputation.”

“No, it’s my fault for bringing it up. I knew better, yet greed got the better of me again. Hahaha.”

The Count of Hedway laughed awkwardly. Larael looked at him with eyes full of complex emotions, pressing her lips tightly together.

After a long silence, Larael seemed to want to change the atmosphere and presented tickets she had prepared to the Count and Countess.

“These are special box tickets for the Founding Festival swordsmanship tournament. His Majesty asked me to give them to you.”

The Count and Countess looked at the shimmering golden tickets Larael handed them.

The swordsmanship tournament that opened the Founding Festival was a very popular event, with tickets selling out instantly as soon as they went on sale.

“To think that thanks to Your Highness, we’ll be watching the swordsmanship tournament from special seats. Your Highness, it’s alright for us to accept this much, isn’t it?”

The Countess said, clutching the golden tickets to her chest. Larael smiled at the sight and nodded.