Elisabeth’s tea parties were renowned in high society. Not only were the tea sets and tea leaves top-notch, but her ability to choose the perfect tea and set for each guest and her exceptional hospitality skills were highly regarded.
However, Elisabeth herself did not like tea. Still, there was a reason she held tea parties.
“Who is coming to tomorrow’s tea party?”
“Countess Yore, Viscount Luff, and Bishop Ktor are scheduled to attend the garden tea party.”
Marie informed Elisabeth of the guests for the following day.
“Ah, they’re fine. They won’t notice the taste of the tea anyway. But who is coming to the tea party in the separate room?”
Elisabeth asked about the other guests.
Tea parties hosted by the queen were mainly known to be held in the garden. However, it was not well known that special guests were sometimes taken to a separate room.
“Scheduled to attend the separate room tea party are Duke Shrike, Count Calleran, and Cardinal Watkins.”
The three names mentioned by Marie were influential figures in the kingdom.
Duke Shrike was known as a wealthy man with strong ties to the financial world. Count Calleran, a former general, was a hero who had led several knight orders in wars. Cardinal Watkins was the senior disciple of the excommunicated Priest Note and had solidified his position within the church.
Each of them wielded significant influence in the financial world, the knight orders, and the church.
“That’s right. We absolutely must get those three on the side of the royal family.”
Elisabeth frowned at the troublesome issue.
“If Duke Shrike supports us financially, we can rebuild the economy. If Count Calleran aligns with the royal family, several knight orders will follow. Cardinal Watkins needs to work on lifting the excommunication of the former Priest Note to quell the public’s discontent with the church.”
Sighing, Elisabeth spoke about the matters to be discussed at the tea party.
The reason Elisabeth hosted tea parties, despite her dislike, was to gather the kingdom’s influential people for discussions and behind-the-scenes negotiations.
Even though King Henry’s policies were struggling, the kingdom managed to operate thanks to Elisabeth’s efforts behind the scenes. She had become the key player orchestrating the kingdom’s affairs through her tea parties.
“It must be tough, having to engage in discussions every day.”
Marie sympathized.
“It can’t be helped. It’s for the sake of those children.”
Elisabeth exhaled deeply.
Two years ago, when Henry ascended the throne, the royal palace was in a dire situation.
The prolonged war with the Demon King’s army had bankrupted the kingdom, and the clash between King Henry and General Zaria on the Dakkan Plain had left the knight orders dysfunctional. Although the church had gained power when Saint Elisabeth married King Henry, it had come into conflict with the royal family due to its newfound strength.
King Henry’s regime was in a precarious situation, and for the sake of their unborn child, Elisabeth had to take action. However, many men disliked women meddling in military matters. If she tried to involve herself in politics and internal affairs, King Henry would not be pleased.
Thus, Elisabeth came up with the idea of negotiating with the kingdom’s influential figures under the guise of tea parties.
Tea parties provided a perfect pretext. It wasn’t unusual to invite anyone, regardless of status. Moreover, tea had a relaxing effect, making delicate discussions easier to conduct after loosening up.
“For the tea party, serve Duke Shrike with cut tea sets from Dore. For the tea blend, use Camol tea leaves with a strong bitterness as the base. Count Calleran, who has led military campaigns to the southern continent, will appreciate a blend scented with southern fruits. Prepare several types of fruits for him. Cardinal Watkins, suffering from a bad back, should be served a blend that warms the body.”
Recalling the past and present information about her guests, Elisabeth instructed on the best ways to treat them.
“How’s that? What score would you give me?”
Elisabeth asked Marie.
“Ninety points, I’d say. Using southern fruits for the scent is an excellent idea.”
“If my master says so, it should be a success.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Elisabeth felt satisfied hearing Marie’s response. Although Marie was Elisabeth’s maid, she wasn’t just any maid. She had taught Elisabeth the basics of tea and continued to support her as an advisor.
“If we secure funding, I think we can rebuild the economy. We can also deal with General Zaria by breaking down his power bit by bit. The problem is my father, no, Cardinal Fermine.”
Elisabeth thought of her foster father.
Rebuilding the economy was a challenging but solvable issue. The conflict with General Zaria needed careful attention but could be managed with decisive measures. The real headache was dealing with Cardinal Fermine.
Cardinal Fermine was Elisabeth’s foster father, the one who had discovered and raised her as a saint. From the perspective of Elisabeth and the royal family, he was undoubtedly an ally. However, this made handling him all the more delicate.
While enemies could be defeated, troublesome allies could not be dealt with in the same way. It was necessary to resolve issues while keeping them as allies.
As King Henry said, the church was indeed taking too many donations. However, clashing with Cardinal Fermine over this matter was a mistake.
Knowing her foster father’s greed well, Elisabeth knew that he would not tolerate anyone encroaching on his interests and had ruthlessly eliminated his competitors. If provoked, there was no telling what nefarious methods he might resort to.
Furthermore, it was rumored that the church had a secret assassination squad unknown even to Elisabeth. There was a possibility that Cardinal Fermine might attempt to assassinate King Henry.
If King Henry were to die, either Allen or Aller would succeed to the throne, with Elisabeth as the regent. Although this might seem beneficial at first glance, Elisabeth wanted to avoid this situation at all costs.
An administration established through assassination would inevitably be overthrown by the same means.
Elisabeth could tolerate her own assassination if it came to that. But she could not accept any risk that her children might be caught up in political strife.
‘If Cardinal Fermine intends to harm King Henry, I cannot allow it, even if he raised me. In that case, I must eliminate him with all my power.’
“Your Majesty, what will you do about Countess Romelia?”
Marie brought up the issue Elisabeth had been deliberately avoiding.
Elisabeth only frowned and didn’t answer.
Romelia’s situation was indeed a problem.
Elisabeth had advised King Henry to dissolve their alliance, but Romelia had seen through this plan.
Reports from Elisabeth’s spies indicated that Romelia was already discussing the dissolution of the alliance. It was even possible that it had already been dissolved.
If that were the case, there would be no way to punish Romelia, and nothing could be done.
Romelia was surrounded by knights so skilled that even King Henry acknowledged their prowess. Assassination was impossible. Politically cornering her was also out of the question, as Count Graham was protecting his daughter.
It was a frustrating situation for anyone, not just King Henry.
Elisabeth suppressed her irritation and exhaled.
No action could be taken, but perhaps that was for the best.
Despite her personal dislike for Romelia, Elisabeth didn’t believe she was a threat to the kingdom. Others might try to elevate Romelia, but she wasn’t the type to be easily manipulated.
Still, thinking about Romelia made her uneasy.
King Henry turned his feelings towards Romelia into anger, but Elisabeth couldn’t do the same. If she could meet Romelia again, maybe she would understand these feelings.
…No, she thought.
Elisabeth stopped her thoughts there.
Thinking about Romelia was pointless. The immediate problems were General Zaria and Cardinal Fermine. With the threat of the Demon King’s army now eliminated, they needed to focus on dealing with these two and solidifying their position. Once they were secure, they could deal with Romelia.
Elisabeth concluded this and was about to shift her thoughts to preparing for tomorrow’s tea party when a hurried knock came at her door, which then opened abruptly.
A spy, whom Elisabeth used for gathering information, entered the room.
“Why the commotion? What’s the matter?”
Elisabeth rebuked the spy, but she guessed what he was going to report.
From her panicked appearance, she knew that she had brought bad news from his frantic demeanor.
A mutiny by General Zaria? Cardinal Fermine’s rampage? An uprising by the anti-church faction? She prepared for the worst.
“Your Majesty! There’s a new Demon King’s army inside the kingdom’s territory!”
“What?!”
This was beyond Elisabeth’s worst expectations.
Also check out my friend Localizermeerkat for more LN translations!
BUY THE SOURCE MATERIAL TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR !!!
Kindly click on the green button above and contribute to filling the green bar if you’re interested in having another LN from the request page translated. Also, every donation is being used to purchase the source material and to fund more English translations.
Please consider joining my Ko-Fi membership. By becoming a member, you’ll also gain access to 2-10 additional chapters of all of the novels from this site translated into English. Last but not least your support will also assist me in upholding the translation quality and speed. For more information, please follow the link.
Donation for faster release is always welcome
Additionally, I am now accepting translation requests.
Thanks for the chapter