I! Cleaner!

What happened after the meeting with the Prime Minister?

After hearing the words of the two female officials, the princess subconsciously touched her arm, and her heart felt slightly warm.

Yes, after meeting with the Prime Minister, he was first injured by the officers who surrounded the official residence, and then secretly climbed out of the outer wall to find Lyon. During this period, no news came back. His father would inevitably be worried, and of course he would have to send someone. Come and ask.

"Let's go."

Nodding towards the two female officials, the princess temporarily put aside her troubled thoughts and prepared to leave for the higher levels of the palace, but...

"Your Highness, it's not over there."

After calling the princess, one of the female officials respectfully reported:

"His Majesty is not in the bedroom. He is waiting for you in the side hall on the fourth floor. Please come this way."

The side hall on the fourth floor?

The princess couldn't help being slightly startled when she heard this.

The side hall on the fourth floor of the palace is a small reception room used to receive dignitaries. However, my father has been in poor health. At this time, he should have finished drinking the alchemy tonic and rested in the bedroom on the top floor. Why? Stay in the small parlor?

"Are there any very important guests coming?"

After thinking for a moment, the princess, who was following the female officer, asked with some confusion:

"A special envoy from the Kingdom of Hesse? Or a diplomat from the Kingdom of Saio?"

"None of these, Your Highness."

The female officer responsible for leading the way said respectfully:

"At least before we came here, there were no outsiders in the side hall."

No guests coming?

After hearing the female officer's answer, the princess raised her eyebrows in surprise. She was about to continue asking, but she heard the female officer leading the way say:

"Your Highness, our duty is only to lead the way for you. As for other matters, as chamberlains, we should not talk too much. Please ask your Majesty yourself after you meet him!"

"..."

Unexpectedly, just asking about the situation at her father's side would inexplicably stun her. The princess's brows could not help but frown quietly, and a coldness suddenly filled her originally warm heart.

Unlike me, when my father chooses a chamberlain, he does not value talent and character. Instead, he values ​​prudence, obedience, and the ability to convey his will accurately and appropriately.

In other words, these two chambermaids are the purest mouthpieces. Their attitude towards themselves is, in a sense, equivalent to the attitude of their father towards him.

And they, who have always been cautious, suddenly refused to answer their own questions. They could only have received some instructions, or they had vaguely sensed something from their father's attitude and actions.

…

Following the two unsmiling female officials, they arrived at the side hall on the fourth floor of the palace. The scene in the side hall completely verified the princess's suspicion.

In the side hall specially used to receive important guests, the old king was not the only one there. Two men and women with slightly similar facial features, who looked about forty years old, were sitting on armchairs cushioned with velvet, and the old king was sitting there. The king waited for her together.

When he saw the princess appearing outside the door, the older man among them showed a gentle smile and nodded slightly towards her, while the remaining woman with exquisite makeup and gorgeous clothes secretly looked away. He curled his lips, and there was a hint of disgust that he couldn't hide from the corners of his eyes.

"Veronica."

Accompanied by a somewhat hoarse call, the old king, who was facing the door of the room, raised the scepter decorated with bright rubies in his hand, pointed at the empty chair opposite the middle-aged man and woman, and said with a look of refusal:

"Come sit down and tell me what happened today."

"good."

After looking at the queen and the finance minister in the side hall, the princess sighed secretly, then walked slowly into the reception room, sat on the seat designated by the old king, and spoke:

"This afternoon, according to the previously scheduled schedule, I visited the Prime Minister's official residence to discuss the expansion of universal suffrage. However, at the end of the meeting, more than 300 non-commissioned officers of the rank of captain and lieutenant, instigated by 'careful people', I was stuck in the Prime Minister’s residence.”

When talking about "people who care," the princess deliberately slowed down her speech, glanced at the middle-aged man and woman opposite her with a meaningful look, then turned back to look at the old king on the throne and said:

"To gather so many military non-commissioned officers at one time, not only does it require a very strong background and connections, but it also requires a lot of time, at least a week or more if you count the distance.

As for the decision to implement the non-commissioned officer replacement order, although it has been known to many people recently, I only told you a week ago, so can you please tell me who has heard about it from you? This news? "

? !

Hearing the princess's inquiry, the queen opposite could not help but be slightly startled. Then she grabbed the armrest of the chair and said with some annoyance:

"What are you..."

"Sorry, the news may have leaked from me."

After grabbing the queen's sleeve and holding back the question she was about to blurt out, the gentle finance minister sighed and said:

“After learning that His Highness Veronica was planning to implement the replacement order, I immediately sent an internal letter requesting the Ministry of Finance to make corresponding preparations and clarify the salary arrears for non-commissioned officers in advance to cooperate with His Highness’s measures.

Unexpectedly, I repeatedly emphasized that internal letters must not be sent out and must be handled within the Ministry. However, due to the recent tax reduction policy of His Highness, the Ministry of Finance has been too busy, and someone still violated the regulations and took the letter home.

Although there is no evidence to confirm it, I personally guess that it is very likely that those letters were seen by the officials' family members and privately notified them to the nobles they were friends with, which led to the matter being exposed. "

When he said this, the finance minister stood up from his chair, bowed slightly towards the princess opposite, and apologized with a look of shame on his face:

"I'm sorry, Your Highness Veronica. It was probably due to my careless management that the news was leaked in advance. That's why you were surrounded by sergeants and even injured by stones. I am willing to take full responsibility for this."

"..."

"Maybe" it was you who leaked it, "although" there is no evidence to confirm it, "mostly" it was your careless management... Haha, your apology was so accurate.

Faced with the "sincere" apology from the Finance Minister, Princess Veronica did not stand up to accept it. Instead, she turned her head and stared at the old king on the throne, with unconcealed teasing in her bright eyes, and A trace of deeply hidden expectation.

"Veronica."

After calling the princess's name, the old king, who looked haggard and old, sitting in a wheelchair, but with a straight back, vigorously paused the scepter in his hand, and said with a tired look:

"It's just an unintentional mistake. Don't take it too seriously. What's more, you just injured your arm. You'll be fine after a few days of rest. Let's just forget about it."

unintended mistake? He just injured his arm. How many days of rest will he be fine?

After hearing the old king's words, the princess couldn't help but lower her head and look at her arm. Although the injury on her arm had been healed by Leon, the dark brown blood stains on it were soaked from the tip of the elbow to the wrist. It looked like It's not a minor injury at all.

Moreover, my father didn't even notice that he had obviously injured his arm, but the clothes on his arm were still flat and did not bulge due to the bandage. There was no trace of bandage at all.

Hmm... It makes sense if you think about it carefully. After all, he didn't even glance at his injured arm from the time he came in until now. Of course, he couldn't find this little abnormality.

"Okay, forget it then."

After smiling self-deprecatingly, the princess closed her eyes slightly, then no longer looked at the old king, but looked at the middle-aged man and woman opposite, and asked calmly:

"Then what? You two came here at night, aren't you just here to care about my injury?"