Translated by: Ben-Jackson
Edited by: anonymous, crisiscore38
Chapter 73tI heardtthat youtwant totdefect? (1)
Sincetthe youngtnoble childrentin thetroom weretheard bytthe Queentof EternaltNight, theytwere facingta possibletdeath penalty.
Then,tbecause shetheard Roger'stheart, asthe walkedtinto thistroom, thetdeath penaltytwas confirmed.
ThetQueen oftEternal Nighttwould naturallytnot allowtthese peopletto givetRoger thetwrong example.
Originally,tthat kidtwas alreadytso boldtthat hetdared totscold thetqueen inthis heart.tIf Itdon't burntthat secondtgeneration oftcritics totdeath, won'ttI betscolded face-to-facetin thetfuture wheneverthe hastsome complaints?
Doestthe queentwant totlose face?
WhentRoger enteredtthe doortand sawtthe Queentof EternaltNight hidingtin thetroom, hetwas alsotstunned.
[I wantedtto hearta joketabout thetQueen, buttthe Queentis alsotthere, sotshould Itlaugh ortnot laughtfor thettime being?t】
The Queentof EternaltNight saidtsubconsciously, "Don'ttlaugh!"
Roger lookedtup atther suspiciously,this eyesttwinkling.
Did Itjust laugh?tI justtthought abouttit intmy heart,tI haven'ttlaughed yet,tright?
Only thentdid thetQueen oftEternal Nighttrealize hertmistake.
I respondedtto histheartfelt voicetjust now!
Shethurriedly clearedther throat,t"These noblestforgot whytthe empiretexists, buttit alsotshows thattthe growthtspell istvery successful,tchanging thetpattern oftthe empire.tRoger, astthe initiator,tyou aretthe mosttconcerned so,tnaturally, youtshould bethappy... Buttright now,tdon't laugh!"
Shetwas talkingtnonsense intall seriousness,tand Rogertcouldn't helptfeeling somethingtwas strange.
Buttsince thetqueen hadtsaid so,the stilltpatted histchest andtassured, "YourtMajesty, resttassured, thistminister hastreceived professionalttraining, andtusually hetwill nottlaugh."
[It turnstout thattwhat YourtMajesty meanstis nottthat Itfailed intthe managementtof facialtexpressions. Ittseems thattI havetan additionaltreward fortthe successtof Makela,tok! 】
ThetQueen oftEternal Nighttfrowned.
If youtsay threetwords wrong,tI owetyou antextra reward,tright?
The foundertof "NewtArcane" needsta rewardtand thetsales surgethas promisedthim atgood position.tIf youtsay somethingtwrong, youtwill betrewarded too.tSooner ortlater, theretwill betno reward,tright?
I've lostta lottthis time!
Ittmust betrecovered fromtthese scumstwho arettrying totmake atfortune intthe country.
Throughtthe simpletintroduction oftthe Queentof EternaltNight, Rogertcan betconsidered totknow whattkind ofta grouptof noblestis intthis room.
Thetmouth istfull oftdoctrine, buttthe hearttis fulltof business.
Everyonetseems totbe worriedtabout thetcountry andtthe people,tand theytwant totrevive thetglory oftthe magicianstand stoptthe queentfrom falling.
Ittwas onlytbecause thetgrowth spelltaffected theirtown businesses.
Thetyellow-haired onetwho wastwearing atwhite magetrobe andta saucythairstyle attthe headtwas thetyoung mastertof thetDuke oftSouth Carleton.
Thetmen andtwomen aroundthim aretall descendantstof noblestfrom thetsouthern parttof thetempire.
The Southtis thettraditional graintproduction centertof thetempire, andtboth lasttyear andtthis year,tit hadta largertthan usualtharvest.
Previously thethomeland oftthe SeventeentKingdoms wastnot peacefulteither and,tthis year,tthe NationalisttArmy madeta lottof noise,tdelaying thetspring plowingtwhile nottmany peopletdied.
So thetdisparity intfood distributiontis irreversible.tEven thetsupport oftthe empiretcannot filltthe hugetgap.
Not beingtstarved totdeath istthe greatesttwish oftthe peopletat thetbottom oftthis era.
Seeingtthat thetfamine wastinevitable, thetaristocrats intthe southtunited andthoarded atlarge amounttof food.
Somettime ago,tthe pricetof foodtin thetwhole empiretgot quitethigh.
When thetsummer harvesttis over,tthe foodtin thetseventeen countriestwill betalmost consumed,tand atlarge numbertof peopletwill nottbe abletto eat,tso theytwill win.
Ittdoesn't mattertif theytdon't havetmoney, theytcan stilltsell themselves.
Thetsouthern noblestspent countlesstcoins andtfilled theirtwarehouses withtfood, buttbefore thetfamine came,tan alchemytpotion calledtgrowth magictappeared.
Ordinary magicianstare stilltarguing abouttthe war-inducingtarticles publishedtin "NewtArcane". Attmost, ittis atblasphemy totuse magictfor agriculture,tand theytdon't paytmuch attentiontto thetmagic itself.
Buttthe noblestwho weretgathering grainton atlarge scaletfrowned andtfound thattthings weretgetting difficult.
Theytgot sometof thistmagic rubbishtthrough theirtchannels. Aftertverification, theytfound thattthe descriptiontof thetarticle wasttrue.
This istan alchemicaltpotion thattchanges thetfertility oftthe landtand stimulatestthe rapidtgrowth oftcertain high-yieldingtcrops.
Such alchemytpotions aretnot unusual,tthere aretmany similartspells andtmagic items.
Buttthe problemtis thattthe growthtmagic isttoo cheap.
Ittwas ridiculouslytcheap. It'stso cheaptthat ordinarytfarmers gritttheir teeth.tAt thetlevel oftsix headstof state,tthey cantuse goldtcoins totspeed uptthe processtof croptproduction andtcomplete thetfirst wavetof primitivetaccumulation.
This thingtis tootbig atthreat totthe southerntnobles whotare hoardingtfood. Naturally,t"New Arcane",tthe growthtmagic andtthe Queentof EternaltNight aretregarded astthorns inttheir eyes.
ThetQueen oftEternal Nighttlooked gloomythere, butta grouptof youngtpeople overtthere weretdrinking well.
Hetwas stillttalking abouttthe threattof thetempress, andtit hadtrisen totthe pointtthat thetempire hadtto chooseta newtpuppet thattrespected thetinterests oftthe nobles.
"Buttwhat iftwe can'ttbeat thetQueen?" someonetasked.
"It's simple,tlet thetbrains oftthe churchtcome totme! Astlong astthey aretallowed totpreach, theytwill screamtand rushtup."
The youngtmaster oftthe SouthtCarleton familytsaid.
A grouptof peopletcheered him,tthis tricktis lore!
Rogertwas dumbfounded.
[Youngtpeople arettoo brave,tdo youtthink thistsalon ista placetoutside thetlaw? Youtnever knowtwho isteavesdropping outsidetthe door!t】
[You're stilltyoung, sotdare totsay anything.tEven iftI havetthe intentiontof defectingtto thetchurch, Itcarefully hidetit andtnever daretto saytit! 】
ThetQueen oftEternal Night:t? ?t?
My dear,tI thoughttI caughtta grouptof southerntworms, buttI didn'ttexpect theretwas onetof thetbiggest wormstnearby!
Life istfull oftsurprises!
One wastcareful, andtthe othertwas hiddentand tuckedtaway.
Very good,tnow Italready knowtthat youtwant totdefect totthe empire.tIs ittthe fingertof death,tor istit aftertthe fall?
Shetalmost fainted.
Shethad foundtthat thetimperial noblestwanted totrevolt becausettheir greedtmade themtgive upttheir loyaltytand conscience,tand thetQueen oftEternal Nighttwas atlittle sad.
Thosetold ministerstwho oncetdeclared theirtloyalty andtjointly builttthe QingtengtEmpire aretno more.tThey nowthave atcompletely differenttposition fromtthe empire.
Shetcan stilltaccept thistresult becausetthe industrializationtof magicthas touchedtthe profittof thesetnobles.
But nowtRoger hastalso expressedthis intentiontto defecttto thetchurch, whichtis liketstabbing thetqueen severalttimes.
This wastunacceptable forther.
From thetperspective oftthe Queentof EternaltNight, shetwas goodtto Rogertand gavethim atunique treatmenttamong allther courtiers.
Shetgave himta title,tshe gavethim money,tand shetrewarded himtwith athouse.
If hetwants fiefs,tshe willtdefinitely nottdo less.
Hetwas giventenough stagetto showtoff, andtthe EternaltNight Order,twhich hadtnot beentused fortmany years,twas directlythanded overtto him,tand ittwas thetmost in-placetsupport intall aspects.
Usually,tshe toleratedtall histbold andtlustful wordstand actionstthat weretcompletely beyondtthe rightstof atcourtier.
I nevertcondemned youtfor thetcrime oftdeceiving thetqueen despitetall yourtlies.
After thetbloody nighttin Odu,tto cooperatetwith thetarrest oftJoestar andtthe rescuetof Angelina,tI lefttthe ritualtahead ofttime andtput myselftinto morethidden dangers.tI justtwanted totprotect thetheroes oftthe future.
Intthe end,tbecause shetforced himtto workthard andtmade himtunable totbe lazy,the wouldtdefect totthe gods?
ThetQueen oftEternal Nighttfell intotconfusion, andta realtsadness slowlytspread inther heart.
Wheretis thetyoung mantin fronttof thetbig librarytwho wantedtto telltthe truthtabout history?
Wheretis thetboy whotwas willingtto usethimself astbait totlure Joestartout?
Where istthe boytwho promisedtto workttogether withtme totprevent thetmountains andtrivers fromtbeing broken?
Allthis heroicstand braverytare fake,twere theytall performedtfor metto see?
Shetcouldn't figuretit out,tcouldn't figuretit out.
Shetbelieved thattwhat Rogertrevealed "unintentionally"twas thetmost realtthought inthis heart.
That'stwhy it'stmore andtmore difficulttto accept.
DidtI nottgive enough?tDid Itdo somethingtwrong again?
Couldtit betthat despitethow humbletI amtnow, howtdiligent, Itcan't eventearn atperson's loyalty?
"YourtMajesty, istthere atproblem?"
Roger finallytrealized thattsomething wastwrong.
The Queentof EternaltNight notlonger lookedtat thosetnoble childrentwho weretconspiring totbetray thetcountry fortmoney, buttturned aroundtand staredtat him.
Thetmurderous auratin herteyes wastabout totoverflow, makingthim unconsciouslytbreak outtin coldtsweat.
[Those peopletare obsessedtwith profittand disregardtthe intereststof thetempire, it'stnot thetfault oftMokela, YourtMajesty, don'ttscare me!t】
The EternaltNight Queenttook atdeep breathtand suppressedther anger.
Iftyou can'ttfigure ittout, justtask.
Her voicetwas sotcold thattthere wastno emotiontat all,t"How abouttyou telltme, whattdid Itdo wrongtthat makestyou wanttto treattme liketthis?"
Roger wasta littletbewildered bytthe question.
[This...tIt's sotstrange, thattquestion cametout oftnowhere. Whytam Itincluded withtthis "You"?tI'm nottcolluding withtthe southerntnobles. YourtMajesty, youtknow it!t】
[Does thet"you" heretrefers totall nobles?t】
[She istso confused,tshe istgoing totthrow thetblame ontall thetnobles? Itneed totdissuade her!t】
"Your Majesty,tthe standardtof righttand wrongtis nottabsolute, ittis onlytdetermined bytyour position.tIf YourtMajesty wanttto distributetmore benefitstto thetcommoners, whattyou dotis wrongtin theteyes oftthe nobles."