Chapter 104…
After receiving Duke Whitten’s greetings, the people who had been waiting for the next turn surged forward.
Even greeting the king had its own hierarchy.
Duke Notman, Marundial, and Duke Whitten were first priority. After them came Count Senol and Marquis Chent.
News must have reached them while the group was on the move, because the parents from both houses had come all the way to the royal palace to wait for their children.
“We are relieved that you have returned safely, Your Majesty.”
While the parents showed proper courtesy to Ellie, their eyes could not leave Babian and Jurna.
“Mm.”
Ellie accepted the greeting briefly.
As if they had been waiting for it, the parents cried out the moment the greeting ended.
“Jurna!”
“Babian!”
Up until the carriage ride, Babian and Jurna had held themselves together, but at that moment they finally teared up and ran toward their parents.
“Daaad!”
“Mom! Waaah!”
The instant they were in their parents’ arms, the children burst into tears.
An attack by wild dogs, an attack by bandits, their first night ever spent in a shabby inn—and on top of that, the king’s disappearance the following morning.
Although everything had been resolved without serious disaster, it took time for their shaken hearts to calm down.
The parents’ eyes grew moist as well at the sound of their children crying.
Still, they did not forget they were before the king and tried to soothe them.
“My child, you can’t do this in front of His Majesty.”
“Sniff!”
But once the tears started, they were hard to stop.
“Waaah…! I was scared!”
“Mom, I—I really thought I was going to die!”
Forgetting even Ellie’s presence, the children cried loudly as they poured out their fears.
The flustered parents looked helplessly toward Ellie.
“We apologize for causing such a disturbance, Your Majesty.”
“You must have been startled as well, Your Majesty…”
But unlike Babian and Jurna, Ellie did not cry.
Her mind was already filled with matters that needed to be resolved immediately, leaving no room to drown in emotion.
“I’m fine. Go home and get some good rest.”
At Ellie’s farewell, Babian and Jurna stopped crying and turned back.
After a good cry, they had finally remembered Ellie.
“B-but then… what about Your Majesty?”
“I’ll be thinking about ways to make sure something like that never happens again!”
“…?”
No, that wasn’t what we were asking.
“W-will you really be okay without us?”
“You might be scared at night!”
Staying alone in their own rooms in the palace might be frightening, but if they were all together in Ellie’s room, it would probably be fine.
At their brave suggestion, Ellie blinked, then smiled brightly.
“I’ll be okay! Lady Laval is here, and Sister Lilkia too.”
Though not her parents, there were always people who would stay by Ellie’s side.
Because she believed they would protect her even at the cost of their lives, Ellie wasn’t afraid at all.
“Yes, so you don’t need to worry and can go home,” Lady Laval chimed in beside her.
It had been a while since Ellie had acknowledged her need, and Lady Laval’s shoulders puffed up with pride.
I’m still needed by His Majesty!
Everyone could read Lady Laval’s triumphant air.
“Th-then, please take good care of His Majesty.”
“Of course. I will serve her very, very well.”
Lady Laval’s shoulders rose so high they nearly touched her ears.
“Th-then we shall take our leave.”
The House of Count Senol and the House of Marquis Chent offered Ellie another greeting and turned to leave.
Ellie waved goodbye, then thought of Cleus.
No one’s coming to pick up Cleus either.
Though Dulsin and the butler were by Cleus’s side, they weren’t the kind of presence he could rely on like parents.
I promised I’d look after Cleus!
Ellie had not forgotten the promise she made when they first met.
That included staying by his side so he wouldn’t be afraid, in place of his parents.
“Cleus, are you going home?”
“…Huh? Me?”
Cleus, who had been standing sulkily a step behind because he couldn’t find a chance to join the conversation, lifted his head in surprise.
He’d been jostled by people the whole time and hadn’t even managed to properly speak to Ellie, leaving him thoroughly dejected.
“Yeah! If you don’t absolutely have to go home, I’ll stay by your side!”
“Uh….”
Originally, he had planned to go home.
I need to get stronger so I can protect Ellie!
With that single resolve, he had been planning special training… he had been, but…
If Ellie was going to stay by his side, what did training matter?
“I don’t have to go.”
“….”
Dulsin, who had been planning the training with him, looked at Cleus in silence.
But Cleus pretended not to notice and nodded firmly at Ellie.
“Yes, I won’t go. I’m not going.”
It was strangely resolute, but if Cleus was happy, then…
“Then I’ll hold your hand tight and walk around with you until you’re not scared anymore! You can even cry while holding my hand!”
“…Ah, that’s a bit…”
Cleus broke into a cold sweat at the overly kind offer.
Hearing that from afar, Babian suddenly spun around.
I should have done that too!
If he was going to serve His Majesty, he should have acted more maturely.
The moment he saw his parents’ faces, the reins of his reason snapped and he’d lost control…
But even now, his sobs hadn’t fully stopped, his shoulders still hitching. In this state, there was no way he could say, “I want to stay by Your Majesty’s side too!”
Next time, I’ll definitely protect His Majesty!
Clenching his lips in frustration, Babian turned away.
“I want to change the law.”
After being scrubbed clean, dried off, having a snack, and even receiving a light massage to ease her fatigue, Ellie made her declaration—while tightly holding Cleus’s hand as he sat beside her.
The ones who heard Ellie’s declaration were Marundial and Duke Notman.
“A revision of the law, you say…”
“Hm…”
At her words, Marundial and Duke Notman let out long sighs.
“If Your Majesty has made up your mind, it’s not impossible…”
“Can we do it?”
“We can attempt it. It may take quite a lot of time and effort before it succeeds, though.”
Still, it wasn’t an outright refusal.
Ellie’s eyes sparkled with hope.
A way to save the children! A way to make things less painful for them might exist!
“What law do you wish to change?”
“I want to stop children from working late at night or in harsh places! And I want the taxes collected by the lords to be used for the people!”
“Oh?”
Marundial raised an eyebrow.
Well… it’s admirable, but…
It was a pure and kind idea.
There had been kings who tried to make laws allowing them to monopolize all property, or seize any territory they wished at will.
Compared to that, Ellie’s desire to create laws for the sake of the people was worthy of praise.
However—
“It will be difficult.”
Marundial assessed the situation realistically.
“What?! Why?!”
“To enact or revise a law, you need the approval of more than half of the assembly members.”
“…Ah.”
Ellie recalled the basic theory she had learned in her law classes.
The laws of Nerrendis were firmly established, and even the king would be punished if he broke them. (Though such a thing had never actually happened.)
Judgments were rendered by judges.
And laws were made or revised by the king and the assembly members.
Assembly members were selected every three years, chosen through the king’s decision and recommendations from the nobility.
There were currently twenty assembly members in total. Approval from at least ten of them was required.
Ellie worked her mind busily.
“Marundial, you’re an assembly member too, right?”
“Yes.”
“Duke Notman too?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What about Cleus?”
“Duke Berndt is not.”
“What about Marquis Simon?”
“He is not.”
“Hmm…”
Finding high-ranking nobles who would side with her was harder than she’d thought.
“Still, for helping children or the people, you could issue royal relief by decree without changing the law,” Duke Notman suggested, having listened quietly.
“You can do that?”
“Yes. Changing the law takes a long time. From what you’ve said, it sounds like we need to act as soon as possible.”
“That’s true… but Marundial said laws absolutely have to be followed!”
That was why she felt more at ease if it was stamped firmly into law rather than left to a royal decree.
“There are many who break the law regardless.”
“Ah, right.”
The innkeeper, the bandits—everyone had broken the law without hesitation, fully aware it existed.
They wouldn’t be the only ones.
If lords and guild masters were the same, then changing the law would be meaningless.
Ellie clutched her head with her small hands and groaned.
“…This is hard…”
The more she learned, the harder the role of king became.
Just when she thought she had solved one problem, another would trip her up.
Watching Ellie agonize, Marundial smiled faintly. When he glanced sideways, Duke Notman was smiling the same way before quickly pulling the corners of his mouth back down.
As expected, adults weren’t very honest.
