Sunlight poured down on a bright afternoon.

After finishing a political meeting, Carlos stood by the window for a moment of respite.

Soon, a carriage clattered through the palace grounds.

The emblem of a weasel marked it as the symbol of the Baron of Hamilton’s family.

Carlos, watching Hamilton’s carriage with indifferent eyes, recalled the events from a few days prior—the incident when Uriel had burst into his room.

Carlos had used the fact that someone had spiked his drink with an aphrodisiac as a pretext to arrest everyone who had access to his room.

Since only a few people could enter the king’s bedroom in the first place, identifying the culprit had been straightforward. The perpetrator was a young maid responsible for cleaning the bedroom. She confessed to spiking the drink, knowing Carlos had a nightly habit of enjoying a glass of wine.

“I truly had no intention of harming Your Majesty. He assured me it wasn’t poison! He said it was just something to make Your Majesty happy and that nothing bad would happen. So I…”

The trembling maid before him explained that she had carried out the act in exchange for money to treat her sick sibling.

“If you don’t want to be beheaded for treason against the king, do as I say.”

Carlos then used the maid to blackmail the Baron of Hamilton. The maid confessed in front of the Baron that the potion was poison, not an aphrodisiac. Eventually, they agreed to quietly settle the matter by returning all the wealth gained from aiding the coup and leaving the capital for ten years.

Even though the issue was resolved, Carlos couldn’t hide his bitterness.

“Twenty silver coins.”

That was the amount the maid had been promised by the Baron of Hamilton. Considering a family of four could live on ten silver coins a month, it wasn’t a significant sum.

Carlos sighed at the thought of a maid being swayed by such a meager amount of money to spike his drink.

If what he had consumed had truly been poison and not an aphrodisiac, no one could predict how the future might have changed.

Just twenty silver coins.

He thought that might be the current value of his life.

“Perhaps it’s the disdain for me being an illegitimate child.”

Was it merely an inferiority complex? Or was the situation genuinely unfolding that way?

Whatever it was, he couldn’t simply stand by and do nothing.

After pondering for a moment, Carlos called for his chamberlain.

“Jeff.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Jeff, who was by his side, bowed his head.

“Replace all the maids and servants currently working in the palace. Bring Becky, who worked at the count’s residence, to be the head maid, and change the one in charge of security to James.”

James was one of the comrades he had shared hardships with on the battlefield in the past.

“Yes, understood. However…”

Jeff trailed off, as if there were a problem.

“I worry there might be backlash from the nobles.”

It wasn’t unreasonable to assume they had likely planted their people throughout the palace.

If he replaced all his close aides overnight without following proper procedures, they might argue that spies could slip in during the transition.

He could almost envision their baseless claims forming in his mind.

“In that case, let the unfortunate incident from a few days ago leak out, but not too widely.”

“Yes, understood. Also, I have one more thing to report…”

Jeff, who had bowed his head at Carlos’s command, seemed to have something else to say when the door burst open, and Herman entered.

“Your Majesty, there’s big news!”

Herman’s face was serious, having forgotten even to observe proper decorum in his urgency.

Carlos’s expression darkened as well.

“What is it?”

Herman continued in a hurried voice.

“We just received a message from Vernar.”

“Vernar?”

Vernar was where the Pope resided. If it involved that place, it could only be about delivering the donated gold coins. Everything should have been settled, with the Holy Knights already having received the gold coins. An ominous feeling crept over him.

“They say… all the gold coins have been stolen.”

“Stolen? The gold coins we sent there were stolen? All of them?”

“Yes…!”

Carlos let out a short breath at the utterly absurd news.

To have the donations stolen was unprecedented. There was a belief that anyone who stole offerings to the gods could not escape divine punishment.

Because of that, no matter how rampant bandits were in the region, none dared to covet the donations. Even the most reckless bandits feared divine retribution.

Decades ago, those who ignored the superstition and stole donations had been burned alive, reinforcing the belief.

Carlos, listening intently to Herman’s report, asked again.

“Precisely where did the theft of the gold coins occur?”

“It happened on Vernar’s land. Our guards had completed the handover, and it seems to have occurred while the Holy Knights were following up.”

“So what’s the current situation?”

“First, we’re deploying all available personnel to catch the thieves, but since quite a bit of time has passed, it seems difficult to recover the gold.”

Such a crime should have been swiftly investigated, but given its rarity, the initial response was likely inadequate. Panic must have played a significant role. Who would dare think of stealing offerings from a temple?

As a result, the security would have been lax as well.

‘This has become a headache.’

Fortunately, one silver lining was that the temple couldn’t hold Tezever accountable.

Since the gold had already been handed over to the other party and the incident occurred on their land, Tezever could not be held responsible. However, one concern remained…

“I’m worried about how the temple will react to this,” Jeff cautiously interjected, having been listening to the conversation.

“Judging by the temple’s past behavior, they might make unreasonable demands on us, Tezever.”

Carlos sighed in agreement with Jeff’s words.

Not having even touched the gold before it was taken must have made them furious.

While they had no grounds to demand more gold, since it was our side that suffered the loss, they might request some other form of compensation.

At that moment, Herman, who had been quietly standing by, spoke up with a troubled voice.

“Well, actually…”

“What is it?”

As feared, it seemed some discussions had already taken place.

“The temple seems to want the gold returned.”

“How shameless.”

They lost it and now they were demanding it back from them.

Carlos, who had never had much faith in religion, bit his lip.

Herman looked at Carlos with a worried expression. He was concerned because his master tended to act irrationally when matters involved the queen.

“What will you do if they demand the gold again?”

The gold sent this time came from the confiscated assets of disgraced nobles. However, if the same amount were to be donated again, it would undoubtedly impact the national treasury.

Carlos, who had remained silent at Herman’s question, lifted his head.

His gaze indicated there was no need to hesitate.

“We’ve already received the document from the Pope allowing the marriage during the wedding. In exchange, we made a large donation. There’s no need to give them more money.”

Moreover, if they gave them more money now, they might consider Tezever an easy target and frequently demand funds. It was wise to end financial dealings with the temple here.

Furthermore, the temple had already approved the marriage. Considering the Pope’s dignity, they wouldn’t retract their decision.

“We can’t give them any more gold. Keep monitoring the situation. Report back immediately if you hear anything else.”

“Yes, understood.”

Herman let out a sigh of relief at his words.

“And Jeff, what was it you were about to say earlier?”

“Oh.”

Jeff seemed to remember his report and continued.

“We found a body to substitute for the Countess. The age, build, hair, and eye color all match. Although she’s thin from starvation, it’s known that the Countess had been bedridden for a long time, so no one will suspect anything.”

Carlos’s face hardened at the news of finding a body for his mother.

“…I see. Yes, it’s truly time to let her go.”

He hadn’t been able to give his mother, who had met a tragic end, a proper funeral. Now, at least, he needed to repay his debt and show gratitude as a son.

After briefly displaying a bitter smile, Carlos gave his orders.

“Announce the Countess’s death by tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, understood. How should we conduct the funeral?”

Although she was the king’s mother, her official title was that of a countess, making the appropriate funeral arrangements unclear.

Carlos answered without hesitation.

“Hold a state funeral. Make it the largest and most splendid… with full honors.”

Carlos’s voice, as he issued the command, carried an undertone of sorrow.