Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 207

207.

The festival Olivia prepared was quite grand.

Hearing rumors of the festival, people from nearby Grenian flocked to Grenian.

It was the first festival held since it became the direct territory of the Imperial Crown Prince, and it was rumored to have not only food that people couldn’t normally eat at festivals, such as alcohol and meat, but also various attractions and entertainment.

And unlike the lively outdoor festival, a rather quiet and simple banquet began inside the splendid royal palace.

“It seems more frugal than I thought.”

“Is this wine too cheap for a banquet?”

“The palace is wasted.”

The nobles’ reactions were very different from the commoners.

This was because Olivia kept the banquet itself small, preparing only the most basic food and drinks.

Nobles’ banquets were always top-notch, especially the first banquet hosted directly by the Crown Princess.

They each voiced their complaints.

“I expected this reaction.”

Olivia smiled at my words.

“We need to observe those who are complaining carefully. Most of the nobles who received invitations are from Grenian, the old capital of the Pyreon Kingdom.”

“That means they were enemies during the war, and they didn’t help the royal family at all during the war; they only took their wealth and ran away.”

Many of the Pyreon Kingdom nobles who risked their lives to defend the capital died in battle.

It couldn’t be helped. At the time, I won an overwhelming victory in the war, and I killed most of those who resisted to the end.

I spared mainly those who surrendered in order to end the war as quickly as possible.

From the perspective of the Pyreon Kingdom nobles, it was ridiculous that loyalists died and traitors survived.

“The Pyreon Kingdom nobles have much more privilege and luxury than the nobles of the Empire.”

“It’s not just the Grenian granary that has abundant production, but the entire Pyreon Kingdom has higher food production than other regions. There are also quite a few gem mines in the mountains. It is a country of wealth.”

Olivia nodded at my words.

“The kingdom was defeated in the war because the royal family was complacent. They relied only on the kingdom alliance and did not develop their own strength.”

That was probably Daret’s scheme, the Purifying Flame, but I only thought about it because it wasn’t something to say out loud right now.

Olivia went down from the platform to greet the nobles directly.

“Your Highness, isn’t the banquet too simple?”

He was a brave noble, or he just had no tact.

I clicked my tongue as I watched the noble directly protesting to Olivia.

Olivia smiled.

“Simple? The festival is being held more grandly than ever.”

“It is enough for the commoners outside to just eat and drink, but I think the scale is too large.”

The noble clicked his tongue and continued.

“The scale of the banquet is so small, but the festival is grander than ever, so I am worried that the commoners will misunderstand and become insolent. There are already many who are running away without paying taxes after the war, and aren’t you releasing a lot of food from the center?”

I was about to step in, but Olivia stopped me with a look.

“People are starving to death, and even epidemics are breaking out. Relief is a natural policy to stabilize public sentiment.”

“Sigh.”

The noble sighed and continued.

The gazes focused on Olivia and the noble were increasing.

“Relief alone is not enough. You always have to squeeze the lower ones to make them listen. The nobles suffered enormous losses because of the war Your Highness started. Many nobles have returned to their territories because the mansion district is completely ruined. I came back up because you were restoring the capital.”

“And?”

“All that is being done is relief policies and slum improvement projects, so why would the nobles trust Your Highness and come back to the capital?”

Olivia asked as if she was really worried.

“Then what do you think Baron needs?”

The noble talking to Olivia was a Baron. If he was a Baron, he was not a high-ranking noble, but it was refreshing to see him suddenly confronting Olivia at the banquet.

He was talking to Olivia, but he meant for me to hear it.

“Of course, compensation for the nobles who lost their wealth and influence due to the war should be given first. You are going to build a magic tower in the mansion district right away.”

“Yes.”

“You should rebuild the nobles’ residences, not the magic tower. During the war, commoners suddenly invaded the mansion district, and some nobles even lost their lives. Something that could not have happened happened.”

Many people nodded at the Baron’s words.

Ken approached me.

At Ken’s gaze, I secretly called Sylph to block the sound [using magic to create a soundproof barrier].

“There are many guys who need to be dealt with.”

“How about fostering new nobles? Sweep those guys away and replace them with guys who agree with my ideals.”

“We can’t completely abandon the noble society. Let’s spare some of them.”

I widened my eyes at Ken’s words.

“Are you saying to kill them?”

I wasn’t even thinking about killing them.

I was only thinking about stripping them of their titles because they were steeped in luxury and privilege.

“Isn’t killing them a bit too much? It’s complicated to execute them, right? Hamilton is investigating, so I think stripping them of their titles would be appropriate.”

Ken opened his mouth.

“Your Highness.”

“Why?”

“That’s worse.”

I tilted my head.

“What do you mean? Stripping them of their titles is worse than execution?”

Ken clicked his tongue.

“Execution ends with death, but stripping them of their titles is a continuous humiliation for the family for generations… The moment a noble is no longer a noble, they feel pain greater than death.”

Ken continued.

“In addition, stripping them of their titles is a punishment that extends not only to the noble himself but also to his descendants, so in some ways, it is a more severe punishment than execution.”

I realized once again that my common sense and the culture and common sense of the continent were a little different.

Certainly, it was difficult for me to understand the mental world of the nobles.

Even in the era I lived in, there were invisible classes, but it was not a society that divided status from birth.

So there were many times when the common sense of the continent and my common sense clashed.

Nevertheless, I thought stripping them of their titles was better than execution.

“I’m thinking of stripping about half of them of their titles as an example. Confiscate their assets too. We need funds, and we need the territories they have.”

Ken nodded.

“If that is Your Highness’s thought, I will follow it.”

“Above all, we need to deal with some of the mainstream nobles of the kingdom in order for new nobles to grow.”

The nobles who were complaining at the banquet were diligently arguing with Olivia, unaware of how their fate was being decided.

Olivia kindly responded to each and every one of them, as if telling me to choose who to punish.

Isn’t Olivia truly wise?

* * *

I picked out the nobles at the banquet as if I was picking out jade [a metaphor for selecting something precious], and handed over the list of key figures to Hamilton.

I created an environment where Hamilton could focus his investigation manpower in order to have a justification for getting rid of the chosen nobles.

Previously, he was investigating all the nobles, but after receiving the list, Hamilton was able to investigate more efficiently.

And today, I visited the ruins with Lilian.

“I’ve been investigating the ruins to death, but there was something I couldn’t find.”

“Are you sure the Rage of Magma is here?”

Lilian nodded at my words.

“If the World Tree didn’t lie. By the way, the Kingdom Alliance is constantly lurking around the ruins, right?”

I answered confidently to Lilian’s concern.

“Gale is guarding it tightly.”

“He must be busy with the border. I’ll defend the ruins. Anyway, the investigation seems to take quite a long time, so it’s better to install a magic circle directly if you want to investigate with leisure.”

“Install a magic circle?”

“It seems like the Crown Prince has forgotten, but I’m an 8th circle mage. My magic circle is enough to stop the Kingdom Alliance.”

Lilian said with a smile.

“It’s a waste of manpower to have high-level personnel like Sword Masters defend this place. If Lord Gale pays attention to the border defense, the Kingdom Alliance will feel burdened to come here.”

I nodded.

As Lilian said, she is an 8th circle mage.

Who would I trust if I couldn’t trust her skills?

Lilian glanced at Olivia.

“I heard about your performance at the banquet. Everyone is busy cursing the Crown Princess in the Pyreon Kingdom noble society.”

Olivia shrugged.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Lilian did not speak respectfully to anyone except her father.

Everyone took it for granted.

The fact that she was an 8th circle mage guaranteed her status.

If she set her mind to it and received a title, she could easily receive the title of Duke of the Empire.

Also, Lilian didn’t speak informally with malice, and she definitely kept her manners, so Olivia and I weren’t particularly offended by her tone.

“Good. Crown Prince, please put your heart and soul into the magic tower. I’ll appear with the Rage of Magma. If I find that magic book, a new history will begin.”

“A new history?”

“It’s a magic book written by a dragon. We might discover traces of the dragon.”

Lilian added.

“If we discover traces of the dragon, we might be able to stop the Purifying Flame even if they summon the Demon King.”

Lilian didn’t listen to my answer and moved into the ruins.

Since I came to the ruins, I wanted to look around too, so I followed her.

“I heard a lot of mages are coming to Grenian?”

“That’s right.”

Many mages were coming, drawn by Lilian’s reputation.

The declaration of the construction of the magic tower was also contributing to attracting mages.

“The Crown Prince needs power, and the west and Grenian are the base, so I have to help too. I’m a vassal, after all.”

I shrugged at Lilian’s words.

“You’re already helping enough.”

“I have to help more. I’ve received a lot. I was able to tell you about the traces of the magic book written by the dragon thanks to Your Highness, so this is not enough.”

Lilian told me what she was thinking.

“Illusion Magic Sect.”

I didn’t understand.

“My area of expertise is illusion magic.”

“Ah.”

“There are several sects on the continent, but the most powerful is the Water Magic Sect. There are many numbers and many high-ranking mages. Next is the Fire Magic Sect, whose leader is Austin of the Riverhill family.”

“That’s unexpected. Isn’t the sect led by Duke Austin the largest sect?”

“Almost all of the Fire Magic Sect belongs to the Riverhill family. It doesn’t make sense for one family to form a mage sect. That means Austin is that strong.”

Lilian revealed her plan.

“If I declare the Illusion Magic Sect, more mages will gather. Even if they are not illusion magic specialists, many mages will try to come under the shade of my name.”

“I know your reputation well.”

Lilian nodded at my words.

“If we highlight that point and gather mages, we can develop Grenian into a city of magic.”

“I’ll consider it.”

The ruins I looked at while talking to Lilian didn’t seem to have anything special.

“There doesn’t seem to be any major changes yet. I’ll have to investigate in earnest after declaring the sect’s founding.”

“Okay.”

Then Olivia opened her mouth.

“Lilian, what is that?”

Lilian turned her gaze to where Olivia was pointing.

“That? Just a statue?”

“It’s not just a statue.”