A Stepmother's Marchen

Chapter 42

“Shuri, what are you doing? I’m hungry! Hey, when did you come?”

At the appearance of Jeremy, who had been sweating with his sword, Theobalt began to blink awkwardly after talking to his cousin, who hated him very much.

Jeremy, who had glanced at the prince with ambiguous eyes, turned his gaze to the next. To be precise, he saw his fateful rival standing in the middle of a white granite staircase leading to the garden.

“What? Why are you following me?”

A moment of silence passed. As Theobald seemed to miss the timing to tell him that he was going now, Jeremy, who alternately glanced at the prince and his fateful rival with puzzled eyes, bent his sword in one hand and asked again, “Why are you here? Your Grace, you and him weren’t close, were you? How did you two get along?”

“No, well, it’s a little complicated to explain…”

Whatever explanation the majestic young eagle was going to give with a truly perplexed expression on his face was clumsily cut off by the little wolf, who said to the little lion, “I’m so fed up with you. ..”

“What? Did this kid come to someone else’s house to fight? Did you grow up without your parents’ care?”

“Jeremy!”

Without realizing it, my voice went up sharply. Jeremy, who had been shouting at his rival, stared at me with his eyes wide open, and then his expression turned into surprise, “Wow……! Hey bastard, my mother is mad at me because of you! How are you going to take responsibility for this?!”

Nora didn’t respond any further to Jeremy’s words, he just turned around, and without looking back, he left the main gate.

My eldest son frowned and stuck out his tongue, “What? Is he running away again? Why is that bastard so consistent?”

“Shuri, are you mad?”

“…….. No.”

Swallowing my sigh in reply, Jeremy scratched his golden hair and glanced at my expression, giving me a smirk as if waiting.

What the hell?

“But I’m hungry.”

If you’re hungry, why are you holding on to me instead of telling the servants in the kitchen?

If you don’t bother me for a moment, you’ll be bothered.

“Let’s get some refreshments. Your Highness, will you join us?”

“Ahaha, of course… I’m here to hang out with your guy.”

“But what’s the matter, your highness? I didn’t expect you to come today.”

“Ahaha, of course… I’m here to hang out with you.”

“Aren’t you tired? Anyone who sees it would think that your Majesty is in love with someone in our house.”

I almost forgot the fact that my eldest son was surprisingly smart.

It goes without saying that Theobald, who had already had a few cups of tea, was shocked. I guess he can’t lie at all.

“Jeremy, that’s ridiculous…..”

“What a load of nonsense!”

The good prince seemed to have no idea that such a violent denial was even more awkward.

Jeremy, who had narrowed his eyes as if in doubt while pushing the cookie into his mouth, got up the next moment with annoyance. It was a very unexpected reaction for a guy who didn’t want to make fun of me.

“What?! No, what’s wrong with Shuri?”

“Cough, no, I didn’t mean that, but your question is so absurd!”

“Or not. What are you so angry about?! I’m so dumbfounded! It’s a problem because there are so many people who can’t understand your purpose!”

Jeremy was probably the only one who could speak to the second-in-command of the empire like that.

…… Only Jeremy and Nora. By the way, what brought Nora here? Obviously, something bad happened, but I’m not comfortable with letting it go.

****

“…What nonsense do you mean by cutting the Christmas banquet budget?”

“This is the official position of the Pope. It would be better to reduce the budget of the extravagant banquet and help the common people…”

“How can you save the budget for a banquet hosted by the Emperor, no matter how many times you say so?”

“As you all know, this year’s untimely famine caused a lot of problems. If we hold a luxurious banquet like last year at a time when public sentiment is terrible, the farmers’ opposition will not be limited.”

“The imperial family and the nobles will look like villains, and the Church will act as if it was on the people’s side. Isn’t that right?”

“You’re going too far, Duke Heinrich.”

“Come on, let’s be quiet. Do you have any ideas on this matter, Lady Neuwanstein?”

As Duke Nurembert, who intervened in a gentle yet high-handed tone, abruptly handed over his voice to me, the nobles, who were fiercely complaining, and the cardinals, who were responding in a businesslike tone, looked at me in unison.

I swallowed a sigh and smiled outwardly as I looked at the clear light of disrespect that lingered in the majority of the twelve pairs of eyes.

“It’s not like there’s no justification for the church’s position. It’s a place that should be the mainstay of the faith of all people regardless of their status. Even if there are complaints, we need to prevent the church from getting angry.”

“No, madam, then…”

“The Neuwanstein family will be planning this Christmas banquet. On the condition that the church will use the remaining funds for relief.”

In the past, conflicts arose over this issue. In the end, the same budget as last year was used.

As a result, the public’s voice incident occurred in early 1116.

The riots were quelled relatively quickly, but almost all the nobles in the metropolitan area had not even dared to step out of their homes for some time. Even with knights, no aristocrats were able to handle the stoning, swearing, and raw eggs coming from all over the place.

Even if the majority of the votes were consistent with the budget cuts at the time, I assumed that the riots would still have occurred.