In the capital of the Kingdom of Tarapaca, Stefan spent a day and a night researching how to integrate the Church of the Earth, finally designing a decent first draft. When he approached Law Freya with dark circles under his eyes, she was completely stunned.
Seriously, little bro, did you really have to push yourself this hard?
In Law Freya's original plan, starting to push this through within half a month and completing it within a month would have been considered fast. Yet, he had whipped it up in a single day?
Still, fast progress was a good thing. After all, Law Freya wasn't the one pulling an all-nighter. She praised Stefan generously, “Impressive, little bro!”
She then took the proposal Stefan handed her and began to read. It detailed the status of the Church of the Earth in the Kingdom of Tarapaca, the distribution of positions and power among its members, salary matters, and so on.
Law Freya read through it carefully and couldn't find any issues. However, she was a layman after all, so she didn't know for sure if it was viable. Instead of giving a verdict, she said, “Take this to Prime Minister Trig and ask for his opinion.”
Stefan nodded and said, “Alright, I'll go right away.”
But Law Freya added, “Wait, I'll go with you. I happen to have some matters to discuss with Trig as well.”
Just like that, the siblings headed to Trig's office. Normally, as the ruler of a country, Law Freya should have sent someone to summon Trig to see her. However, she found that too troublesome and a pure waste of time. It was much simpler to just go to him directly.
Stefan walked ahead. He was tall, so each of his strides was naturally long. In contrast, Law Freya was shorter, and she was currently wearing high heels. Although she had gradually adapted and gotten used to walking in high heels, her pace was still inevitably slower than normal.
So, after just a few steps, a gap opened up between them. Law Freya couldn't help but clear her throat. Stefan was startled. His brain, still a bit foggy from staying up all night, finally caught on. He hurriedly said, “Apologies, Your Majesty. I shouldn't have walked ahead of you...”
Law Freya interrupted him, “I told you to call me sister. Besides, I'm not blaming you for walking ahead of me. I'm just saying... don't walk so fast, wait for me a bit.”
In the end, the siblings walked side by side. Law Freya turned her head to look at her little brother next to her, only to find that he was deliberately controlling his distance with every step, taking tiny strides. It made him look rather bizarre. Just imagine a six-foot-tall burly man trying to do a catwalk; that was pretty much what it felt like.
Once they arrived at Trig's office, Stefan quickly handed over the proposal he had designed. While Trig read it carefully, both Stefan and Law Freya waited quietly without speaking.
The difference, however, was that Stefan looked like a student handing in an exam, waiting nervously for the teacher to grade it. Law Freya, on the other hand, was looking down and playing with her fingernails, wondering if she should apply some nail polish later. Would blue suit her well?
A moment later, Trig looked up and said, “A very good proposal. I can see you have talent and have not let down Her Majesty Kelydla's trust in you. However... the specific details still need to be negotiated with the people from the Church of the Earth to see what their opinions are.”
Law Freya said casually, “That's easy. I have a Saintess friend in the Church of the Earth. With her acting as a bridge, the negotiations shouldn't be too difficult.”
Trig nodded. Law Freya had mentioned this to him a long time ago, so he was aware. Law Freya continued, “The reason I came to see you today is to discuss another matter, and that is regarding the living conditions of the common people at the bottom of the Kingdom of Tarapaca.
“I want to raise the minimum wage for working people, as well as set a maximum working hours limit. If they exceed this time, the employers must pay them overtime. Hmm... let's temporarily call it the 【Labor Law for the Common People】.”
Before Trig could speak, Stefan spoke up first, “Your Majesty, is there any point to this? What does the quality of life of ordinary commoners have to do with us...?”
However, Law Freya merely glanced at him and let out a soft nasal hum, “Hmm?”
In a different setting and with a different identity, this gesture of Law Freya's might have come across as incredibly cute. But to the current Stefan, it felt as though a bucket of ice water had suddenly been poured over his head. He shuddered violently and dared not speak further.
Trig did not object, but instead asked, “How do you plan to go about this specifically?”
For Law Freya to draft the laws in detail herself would certainly be exhausting. But even if she couldn't do it, she could find someone else to do it! So she said, “I plan to find Duke Holmes and hand this matter over to him with full authority.”
That was Euphy's father. From her experiences in the previous simulations, although Euphy's father wasn't very good to Euphy, he was, at his core, a man loyal to the Kingdom of Tarapaca, and highly capable to boot. It was perfect to let him handle this.
Trig said, “But you must realize that the resistance to this will likely not be small. After all, this directly affects the practical interests of those nobles and business owners.”
Law Freya, however, was completely unfazed. “It's fine. I trust Duke Holmes.”
That very afternoon, Duke Holmes was summoned to the palace and appeared before Law Freya, who then explained her ideas to him.
Duke Holmes made no comment on the difficulty of the task, but instead asked, “Your Majesty, are you truly handing over such an important matter to me?”
After all, this task itself carried immense power. The previous King had wished nothing more than to grasp all power tightly in his own hands, not letting other nobles touch even a shred of it. Yet, how long had Law Freya been on the throne? She was already delegating power directly.
Law Freya said, “Yes. As long as you can get it done, you only need to let me know if you need any resources. I can even grant you the authority to execute extrajudicial punishments if those nobles and business owners stubbornly refuse to cooperate.”
Duke Holmes's eyes widened instantly. Although he was a duke, he was fundamentally a noble himself. Yet, Law Freya was now granting him the power to judge other nobles. Did he even need to think about how immense this power was?
Duke Holmes said, “Is... is this... truly real?”
Law Freya said, “Of course. Because in my eyes, this matter is vital to the future of the kingdom. Only when the people grow strong and wealthy can this country truly become strong. Therefore, for the sake of the kingdom, extraordinary times naturally call for extraordinary measures.”
Delegating power might be a dangerous move, since nobles possessing too much power could eventually backlash against the monarch. But that was a matter for the future. At least for now, Law Freya was giving away power but gaining loyalty. At least while Duke Holmes was still alive, and while she was still on the throne, nothing would go wrong.
As for what would happen even further in the future? What did that have to do with Law Freya?
Rate on N.U.
