Not long after Charles Drost got up,
he suddenly heard that someone had come to visit while he was still eating breakfast.
"Who is it? Do they have an appointment?"
The Minister of Trade frowned deeply. Since his servant had said it was "someone," that meant it was at least not one of the ministers or wealthy merchants who regularly visited his home—they were already familiar faces, and whenever they came to report, they would at least give their names.
This gave Drost a faint sense of unease.
—and soon, that premonition came true.
"It's me. What?"
Before the person arrived, a hearty, resonant voice rang out from afar. "Do I need an appointment just to enter your house?"
The other party ignored the servant's attempt to stop her and walked straight in.
It was Grand Arbitrator Meg! Drost instantly broke into a cold sweat.
He wasn't afraid of Queen Sophia, because she truly had a good temper and was also a very rational person... Her Majesty the Queen was skilled at compromise, but she didn't compromise all the time. She could stabilize chaotic situations and bind together forces that were falling apart. In Avalon, where tyrants were common, she was a rare wise ruler.
But that old woman Meg was completely unreasonable.
And as Grand Arbitrator, she really could deal with him.
He wasn't merely a minister. If she was dissatisfied with the Queen, she could even demand that another king be chosen from the royal family. Of course, that was only a power she theoretically possessed. Neither she nor any Grand Arbitrator throughout history had ever actually used it.
It was precisely because Meg's authority was too great that she was unwilling to use it for fear of arousing suspicion.
She didn't want people to think that she