“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Duke Guermont’s deep voice carried rough anger.

“How dare they…”

Parmes’s eyes looked as if he might draw his sword and cut down everything in sight.

Duke Guermont spoke calmly despite his anger.

“Did you not anticipate that the enemies’ vile feelers would turn toward Arinel from the day she decided to succeed Marquis Mylar?”

Heisen Macerne Mylar was Parmes’s closest confidant, the first to be killed by the Second Prince’s remnants.

He died trying to save Parmes, and if the enemies had to eliminate just one person from Parmes’s inner circle, he would have been the one.

After all, he was Parmes’s only friend and the biggest pillar of support at the center of his power.

“Your Majesty’s decision was correct. By making Arinel the Crown Princess and bringing all her achievements to the forefront, hasn’t she gained both attention and many allies?”

“….”

“Now there are layers of protectors surrounding Arinel.”

When Parmes determined that Arinel’s existence could no longer be hidden, he decided instead to expose her, placing her within the naturally formed shield of people.

Until now, Arinel had remained safe within this protection, but this report reignited Parmes’s murderous anxiety.

“Duke Guermont, listen.”

Parmes commanded Guermont with cold eyes.

“Disperse some of the military forces and place them around Arinel, unseen.”

“Gladly!”

“I’m not telling you to personally guard her.”

At these words, Guermont’s massive shoulders flinched.

“With your size, you can hardly remain unseen, can you?”

“….”

To think he would try to personally guard Arinel with that build, he had no shame.

“Ensure Arinel’s thorough protection from the remnant forces. This is my second imperial order, following the maintenance of security at the food storage facilities.”

“By your command!”

***

The sculptor who had meticulously sketched me standing proudly with my hand raised at a 45-degree angle, like the statue of some nation’s leader, left with a satisfied expression.

Nom nom nom.

Though I was a bit depressed, my mood quickly improved as I ate the chocolates Adam brought.

Right, I just need to pretend I don’t notice it when I pass by.

The statue’s construction had already been confirmed by the Emperor’s order and majority approval from the ministers… ironically, even I, the subject, couldn’t overturn it.

‘If Mas sees it… won’t he fall backward in shock?’

I remembered meeting Mas in front of the Emperor’s statue once.

He said he’d be away from the capital for a while, but how surprised would he be when he returned to find me there instead of the Emperor’s statue?

He might even remove his mask to rub his eyes in disbelief.

“Phew!”

As I stretched my arms, Adam brought me the ledger.

“Miss, here are the business accounts for the past week.”

Although we had hired enough employees, and most importantly had Adam who had prepared the business with me from start to finish, meaning my presence wasn’t absolutely necessary for operations, I still came to work regularly.

“I thought it was just the opening effect, but somehow we seem to be getting more customers than initially.”

My business had already passed the break-even point. We were even planning branch locations through the families of the Lafiole children.

“Yes. News about the great famine has spread, and the storage capability of red beetroot has become a hot topic. Also, the Elemental Palace has come up with ways they could help with food production enhancement. Would you like to pay them a visit?”

“The Elemental Palace?”

I thought about my home base, which I had neglected for several days due to being busy with the red beetroot business.

***

The Elemental Palace building had been reconstructed, and the members selected by the Elementalist Association Chairman and Felix entered the conference room.

Though not as large as the well-established Alchemy Tower or Justice Tower, with twelve elementalists, they could accomplish meaningful work going forward.

However, even in this smooth process, there were issues.

“Ahem, ahem. Then let’s begin the meeting.”

“……”

“……”

Although Felix announced the start of the meeting with a tense expression, the elementalists only stared at him blankly, with no one responding.

“Last time, a lower-ranked elementalist from the association proposed storing nutrients in the soil through elemental power. If the earth elementalists work together, we could extend the remaining soil fertility for a few more months…”

“A lower-ranked elementalist?”

“Even then, it would only affect part of the territory. Do you think that’s a practical proposal?”

“Ah, well, this meeting is to reconsider that practicality…”

While Felix was serious, the other elementalists didn’t appear to be at all.

“And we received a suggestion from a wind Elementalist about helping with fertilizer distribution work to revitalize barren land.”

“What rank?”

“High… high-ranked.”

“Well, then it might be worth considering.”

They seemed dissatisfied that Felix, merely a mid-ranked Elementalist at best, was serving as chairman, and as if to show their displeasure, they refused to even listen to suggestions from lower-ranked elementalists.

As was already known in the Elementalist Association, most elementalists were conservative and narrow-minded.

‘At this rate… it will be difficult.’

Felix inwardly sighed.

The hierarchy among elementalists ultimately depended on elemental power.

“Where is the Elemental Palace Lord?”

“Yes. We came to work with the one who inherited the Elementalist bloodline.”

“Ah, the Palace Lord is busy today and couldn’t come in. She delegated her duties to me.”

At Felix’s words, one Elementalist crossed his legs and said with a scoff.

“I saw in the newspaper that she’s busy making money. Isn’t she just interested in money and neglecting the Elemental Palace?”

“I heard the Palace Lord hasn’t even had her rank measured yet. Shouldn’t that be done first? We need to see if she’s qualified to lead us.”

Other elementalists nodded in agreement, showing their dissatisfaction.

“That, that’s… The article was written with malicious intent. The reason the Palace Lord is focusing on the red beetroot business is for the empire’s…”

Just as Felix was about to defend Arinel.

Bang-

The door was pushed open, and a face familiar to all elementalists appeared.

The elementalists who had been lounging casually quickly straightened up.

It was the Elementalist Association Chairman who had purged the association and reclaimed power.

“After carefully selecting, to end up like this, how pathetic.”

Tsk, tsk. The sound of the Association Chairman clicking his tongue was heard.

Felix gave an awkward bow to the Chairman.

The Chairman stepped forward and glared at each elementalist one by one.

Then he opened his mouth.

“If the Palace Lord hadn’t helped the Elementalist Association, you lot wouldn’t even have been able to set foot in the shadow of the Elemental Palace because of those rotten association members!”

The elementalists flinched at the Chairman’s thundering voice.

“What good are you as high-ranked elementalists? To be so lacking in reading the times. That’s why you were just barely getting by while being exploited by the association.”

Though it was fierce criticism, the elementalists couldn’t refute it.

Unlike alchemy, where excellent qualities brought wealth and honor, elementalism struggled to find decent work even with high-ranked abilities if one lacked connections.

After all, human development and historical progress came through destroying nature, while elemental power was too nature-friendly.

“After Marquis Mylar passed away, a young girl worked to revive the neglected field of elementalism and even rebuilt this Elemental Palace, yet you lot are just going on about ranks…!”

The elementalists, shrinking their shoulders at the Chairman’s continued scolding, couldn’t even open their mouths.

“You think you’re better than Felix here just because you’re high-ranked elementalists? No, in my eyes, you’re not even half as useful as Felix. Get out now!”

The elementalists, who had been looking at each other nervously, began to beg.

“We… we’re sorry, Chairman.”

“We were short-sighted.”

It was natural for them to look distressed.

The fact that they wouldn’t have been selected for the Elemental Palace without connections to the corrupt Elementalist Association meant they weren’t from powerful or good families.

“We’ll… we’ll even kneel if necessary.”

The man who had criticized Arinel also spoke trembling, completely cowed.