"Your Majesty, I think it is necessary to take back the principality title of Duke Tulip!"
Under the throne, a minister knelt down to Irene and reported.
As soon as these words came out, the other officials next to the minister showed a look of surprise and fear in their eyes.
Now who doesn't know that the most favored person in the kingdom by His Majesty Irene is Duke Tulip Claire from Griffin Territory. He actually dares to make such a proposal. Does he think that he has nine heads that can be chopped off?
Irene's expression did not change significantly, but he said calmly, "Why?"
"Griffin Territory's Mermaid Port is now the second largest port city in the kingdom, and Nafu City almost controls the entire economic lifeline of the southern part of the kingdom, Griffin Territory's annual income is an astronomical amount, and you have approved Lord Claire's authority to establish a principality. Now Griffin Territory does not need to provide taxes to the royal capital, which is a big loss for us."
"If there is tax support from Griffin Territory, then our kingdom's economy will not be so strapped and can develop more advantageously."
Just as Irene was about to speak, the kneeling minister below said, "And the reason why Griffin Territory is developing so well now is because it attracted the economies of other territories in the kingdom to grow in the past. Therefore, even if His Majesty takes back Lord Claire's principality title, it will not have any bad impact."
As soon as these words came out, Irene on the throne was silent for a while, and finally slowly said, "I'd like to consider this proposal."
Just as the kneeling minister was about to speak again, Sophia stood up in time, "Your Majesty, I have an urgent matter to report."
Sophia This interruption also interrupted the next words of the minister. After the other minister took a look at the atmosphere, he stood up and returned to his previous position.
After the court meeting, Irene rested in a small palace in the palace.
"They are ready to make a move again." Irene said lightly.
Sophia also nodded and responded, "Now many nobles have united below, and there are many sword masters and other shadows of the Archmage family behind them."
"They are now using Claire to test your attitude. I'll tell you frankly, Your Majesty, you shouldn't have compromised just now. If you don't give in, those people will become even more aggressive."
Irene remained silent, just picked up the knife and fork, picked up a piece of fruit, put it into his mouth, and chewed it gently.
Being King doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. There are still the Juggernaut family and those Archmage families below who are constantly fighting for power and profit for their own families. King's main responsibility is to balance the struggle for power among those below, lest one party becomes too powerful and suppresses others, which is detrimental to the long-term development of the kingdom.
It was okay at first when Irene first came to power. After killing a group of people, the nobles became much quieter. But as time went by, those people began to get ready to take action again. They were not the biggest beneficiaries of Irene's rise to power, so now they are trying to regain what they had lost step by step.
The minister who gave the advice just now was just a scapegoat promoted by Archmage and the Sword Saint family. Even if Irene killed him, it would not have a big effect. On the contrary, it would leave a certain amount of talk for those people to use for publicity, making the incident more beneficial to them.
The reason why Claire was chosen as a target was also a carefully considered choice by those families. First, Claire was very important to Irene, so we could test the attitude of Irene. If Irene refused firmly, it was not that they had to give up, but that they needed to adjust their plans.
What's more, their nobles are really greedy for the income from Griffin Territory. Then Regan has no other nobles, and all the income goes into Claire's pocket. So they naturally want to get a share of the pie. As long as they get a small share, it is also a huge source of income.
After eating the fruit in his mouth, Irene said, "Please come down first. As for how long it takes, it's up to me, right?"
Sophia rubbed the corners of her eyes. She and Irene are one, so she has faced challenges and temptations from various forces these days, and she has also suffered a lot in the process.
"Do I need to tell Claire this news?" Sophia asked.
"Tell me, so that he can also be wary of some of those people's little moves."
"Okay, I'll send someone to do it when I get back."
"Wait a minute." Irene suddenly stretched out his hand, "No, I haven't seen him for a long time. I'll go there in person."
"Do you need me to go with you?"
"No, it's just a matter of a day or two. While I'm away, help me keep an eye on the nobles in the royal capital and don't let them cause anything else to happen to me."
"Got it."
The distance between the royal capital and Griffin Territory is not particularly far, at least it only takes ten minutes for Archmage.
If you use Spatial Teleportation, the time can be shortened even more.
After getting the idea, Irene came to Griffin Territory that afternoon. Since it was a private visit incognito, no one knew about her arrival.
But after arriving at Nafu City, Irene was shocked by the scene in front of him.
This place did not correspond to all the memories in her mind. It felt like an ancient person suddenly came to a modern city. It was not the buildings of Nafu City that made Irene feel this way, but the people living here gave her this feeling. The faces of those who came and went were filled with smiles from the heart. This feeling is wonderful, as if this is how people should live.
Irene, who was in a daze at the city gate, attracted the attention of others. A young man about her age came over and asked, "Miss, is this your first time coming to Nafu City?"
Irene nodded first, then shook his head quickly, "I came here a few years ago, but I didn't expect the changes to be so drastic."
The young man laughed and said, "Under the leadership of the lord, our Griffin Territory has developed very well, so the changes are naturally big."
"Do you want me to take you around Nafu City?"
Irene withdrew his eyes from looking around, nodded and said, "Okay, how much does it cost?"
The young man waved his hand quickly and said, "There is no charge. We are doing this as a volunteer activity. We want to introduce some first-time tourists to Nafu City."
Irene is a little surprised. There are people in the capital who specialize in guiding and introducing people, but they charge money, and if they think you are easy to cheat, they will try to trick you.
"Then do you get money for your volunteer activities?"
"Since it is a volunteer activity, how can we get money, but we will provide three meals a day." The young man scratched his head and said with a smile, "I have just graduated and haven't decided what job to do yet. In order not to be a worm that has no contribution to the territory, I came to participate in this support activity. But even if I find a job in the future, I will find time to do some volunteer activities."
"Are there many volunteer activities like this?"
"There are quite a few, such as cleaning the streets and taking care of the elderly, and there will be volunteer activities when some activities in Steward's Office need manpower."
"Are there many people going there?"
"Of course there are more. I managed to get all this volunteer activity."
Irene was stunned when he heard this. The people here seemed to be in a different world from the one he lived in.
"So, miss, do you need to lead the way? I know Nafu City fairly well."
Irene was about to nod in agreement, but in the next second a voice came from behind the young man, "No, I'll do it, we both know each other."
Irene stood up on his tiptoes and turned his body to look over. After seeing the figure of the person who spoke clearly, he could not help but narrow his eyes and laugh.