181

Is there no limit to what money can solve?

Most people would say there isn’t. After all, when something isn’t going well, don’t people say, “Let’s think carefully about whether we’re short on money”? There’s also the saying, “It was too much money to refuse.”

Then could money heal the wounds of a priest who entered the temple wishing to abandon the world and serve God? She was a good child who had willingly come to pray to God purely for the sake of the people.

‘That sort of thing only works on people like the Marquess Marcus or Dorian.’

The order was wrong, too. What do we usually do when we’ve done something wrong or want to make up? I’ve never heard of someone offering money or a gift first. Don’t you apologize first? Then you buy them a meal or give them a present. If he wanted to move the saintess’s heart even a little, if only for appearances’ sake, he should obviously have gone to apologize in person first. But there was no way she would be touched when he suddenly sent her a huge sum of money like some surprise gift.

“Chancellor, how do you feel watching the Ministry of Finance’s budget pour away?”

Finance Officer Reyra stood beside me as I watched the procession of carriages in the corridor.

“Pouring water into a bottomless jar? We’d be lucky if that solved anything.”

Finance Officer Reyra swore without hesitation.

“XX, does he even know how much he’s asking for? He treats the empire’s taxpayers’ money like shit.”

“Even so, Prince Lawrence seems reluctant to spend his own money, doesn’t he?”

“His supporting noble houses have been fleeced quite a bit, but he never touches his own vault.”

“What an absolute piece of work. If I ever get the chance to empty it, I’ll fill the Ministry of Finance’s vault with all of it. On the condition that it isn’t wasted.”

“Why aren’t you a member of the imperial family, Chancellor? You must have given your life for the empire.”

Finance Officer Reyra let out a long sigh.

“Finance Officer Reyra, do you think this financial therapy will work?”

“Even a money-loving woman like me would have trouble answering that without hesitation. And the saintess? If I were her, I’d feel insulted.”

“What more is there to say?”

I’d already seen Elise tremble with rage when it was delivered to her. Becoming a saintess didn’t make the wounds and anger of her past disappear.

“The problem is that His Majesty called it reconciliation, not a settlement.”

That was why the Emperor had approved using such a huge budget in the name of preparing the event. Reconcile, he had said, and he would support anything.

“For a legal judgment or settlement, monetary compensation is a normal method. But when it comes to improving a relationship, the two are worlds apart.”

In the end, all that money wouldn’t solve anything. Thinking about it made the budget that had suddenly vanished hurt all the more.

“Wow, it hurts like it’s my own money. Damn, what a waste.”

“As expected, you truly have what it takes to be the Chancellor who leads the empire. I’m pleased.”

I had little confidence in how Lawrence, who had flexed extravagantly from the very first step, would prepare the saintess’s birth celebration.

The capital, Rusera. Clock Tower Square.

It was a day filled with a pleasant amount of sunlight, and a ceremony was being held to commemorate the saintess’s birth. The Emperor, the imperial family, the high nobility, and the empire’s central officials had been invited as honored guests. From the temple, high-ranking officials such as the pope and high priests were also scheduled to attend.

‘After sending all that money to the temple, where did they get even more?’

I arrived at the venue with Ren. The stage was so lavishly decked out with money that it was impossible to tell whether the event was for the temple or the imperial family.

“Did the Ministry of Finance bring next year’s budget with them?”

He looked genuinely worried. Someone who valued a noble’s duties as much as he did could hardly enjoy such pointless waste of money.

“I don’t think the Minister of Finance would have accepted even that… It must have been the Duke and the Marquess. They probably have quite a lot of money hidden away from their corruption, too.”

“His Majesty may have opened his own personal coffers.”

“His Majesty?”

He nodded. Having ruled the empire for a long time, the Emperor possessed many rare treasures that had come through foreign delegations on anniversaries and birthdays. And knowing how important today’s event was to Lawrence, he would probably want to support him.

“Exactly.”

Just then, Prince Raven arrived and approached us with Nicola accompanying him. Ren and I respectfully paid our respects to the prince. Raven waved his hand dismissively and continued, his brow deeply furrowed.

“Since I’ve been working with His Majesty, I’ve seen the preparations for the event, too. I don’t know why, but he has such high hopes for my brother that he simply watched without interfering as much as possible. He did hand over the key to his personal treasure vault, though, saying we could use it if the budget fell short.”

“At this point, it’s a two-on-one fight, Your Highness.”

Even so, there wasn’t the slightest hint of fear on Raven’s face. He was simply annoyed.

“Exactly. We haven’t even been working together for long, but just watching my brother work made me wonder what on earth he’d been doing all this time. Thinking that I’ve spent all these years afraid of someone like that is enough to make me despise myself.”

It seemed that in the mere week since he had begun reporting to the Emperor’s office, the last of Raven’s illusions about Lawrence had shattered. He had apparently believed that, crazy as his brother was, he might at least be competent. It seemed unbearable to him that he had been toyed with by someone like that.

“I only spent time with Lawrence as a playmate and have never worked with him, but seeing how incompetent he is as a superior, I think I can tell without having to hear about it.”

Ren, who harbored a grudge against Lawrence, cut in bluntly in a cold voice.

“He doesn’t do any work all day and keeps talking to His Majesty. It got so bad that His Majesty once told him to stop and do some work. Nothing ever progresses, but the next day he brings in documents that have already been processed.”

“Looks like his subordinates diligently do his homework for him.”

“I can’t help wondering whether anyone would want to serve such an incompetent lord.”

“I told you, didn’t I? It’s difficult to rise to a position of great power through ability alone. Lawrence is the eldest son of the Empress. There are still many nobles who place a high value on that. And some of them like his methods, which are illegal but bring quick rewards. Well, you can think of it as birds of a feather flocking together. There’s absolutely no need to try to understand them.”

It must have been hard to watch with one’s own wide-open eyes as the Emperor indulged him despite seeing him act like that.

“Looking at the two of you is like watching a pair of thoroughly seasoned politicians. How can you be so utterly unmoved?”

“Because he’s Lawrence.”

“Because he’s Lawrence.”

What other reason could there be? Considering what that lunatic had done, making a subordinate do his homework was practically harmless. The surprising part was that he secretly took the work home and completed it diligently. The Emperor indulging Lawrence was hardly anything new.

“Don’t worry. That ten-year-old knot in your chest will be completely relieved today.”

Raven clicked his tongue as he looked over the lavish venue decorated in gold and white.

“Anyone looking at this would think the saintess was crazy about money. Does my brother really think this will help them reconcile?”

“Isn’t this where the Lawrence faction and Prince Raven’s faction are divided?”

“If he had any brains, he’d know that the saintess is close to Ria. And yet he insists on doing things this way. He’ll end up exposing his own depravity to the entire world with an astronomical amount of money.”

At that moment, an announcement rang out that the event would begin shortly. Once again, they seemed to be using a voice-amplifying artifact, just as they had during the academy address. The three of us sat side by side in the very front row, in the seats left after the imperial family had taken theirs, so we could watch from the closest possible spot. Looking around, I saw all the familiar faces from the banquet: the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Marquess Aurelius, Kiara, Duke Seref, and many others.

“We will now begin the saintess’s birth celebration. First, the choir will sing a hymn dedicated to Lord Lemaire, followed by a speech from His Holiness the Pope.”

The pope’s speech began, as tedious as a school assembly. He was an elderly man who looked like a mountain spirit, and after adequately reading from a sheet of paper that someone else seemed to have written, he chuckled and stepped down.

“This is the most important moment of the day. It is time to commemorate the birth of Saintess Elise. Please welcome Saintess Elise to the podium!”

Amid the people’s tremendous cheers, a woman with long silver hair and golden eyes slowly climbed onto the stage. Wearing a custom-made snow-white dress designed for a saintess rather than a priest’s robes, she looked exactly like a holy goddess.

‘Now that I think about it, silver hair and golden eyes… She practically looks like the protagonist of a novel.’

The fact that I’d only noticed now probably meant I had truly become one of the people here. Elise smiled shyly at the crowd and bowed politely in greeting. There wasn’t the slightest hint of arrogance about her.

“Uh… A very special person has come to celebrate Saintess Elise’s birth today. He personally prepared this event: His Imperial Highness First Prince Lawrence of the Seraphina Empire!”

Elise’s pure-white smile faltered for a moment. Lawrence climbed onto the podium wearing formal attire made of the same snow-white fabric as the saintess’s, embroidered in gold. Seeing him dressed even more extravagantly than the saintess, I couldn’t even bring myself to snort. He picked up a laurel-shaped crown from the stand carried by the attendant who had followed him and approached Elise.

“Ren.”

“It has begun.”

He nodded. Lawrence placed the laurel crown on the saintess’s head and whispered something to her. When Elise immediately furrowed her brow and said something in return, Lawrence’s expression twisted sourly.

Because the Emperor had desperately covered up the relationship between the two, many people of the empire knew little about it. They only knew that Lawrence had committed some major corruption connected to the temple. So everyone had been quietly watching the ceremony in a celebratory and reverent mood.

“After everything I’ve done for you, isn’t it enough? How dare you still defy me without knowing your place?!”