“So, you want to build an academy?”
"Yes."
Dennis felt confused as he entered Elliot's tea room after a long absence.
Usually, maids of honor stand behind the king, but today he noticed the absence of all of them.
Is this a passing whim?
“How will you finance the project?”
Elliot asked, flipping through the pages of the few reports Dennis had brought with interest.
He was as serious in his dealings as ever when discussing matters of state.
“Through donations and my own money.”
“Your own money?”
"Yes."
“And what money do you have?”
Elliot asked out of pure curiosity.
He bequeathed to Fabrice many mines and fiefdoms, while Denis only granted one fiefdom in the west.
Even that fiefdom was not large and had little productivity.
“I plan to collect it from now on.”
Dennis just said that and smiled softly.
Elliot was silent for a moment, thinking about what Dennis had said about not using the public treasury.
So, there is no reason to refuse.
On the contrary, this seems like a good project to add to his governance achievements.
Academy for the public.
Elliot hid his expression, then pretended to think for a moment before speaking.
“Okay, submit a formal request for approval.
I will contribute part of my own money as well.”
“Thank you very much.
I would also like to do a small community service project that I will implement with my own money as well.”
“Good, you can move forward with such matters under your management.
Isn’t field work what hone experience?”
Elliot agreed graciously.
"Thank you."
Dennis bowed politely.
He left Elliot's tea room.
He got approved faster than he expected.
Dennis stopped walking and stared at the sky for a moment.
The warm sunlight penetrating the window is no longer scorching.
The wind direction changes.
The seasons are changing.
He left the place while repeating the greetings of the servants and employees who passed him in the main palace.
Dennis's decision to build an academy for the common people was not a coincidence.
With the majority of his support coming from the new nobility and commoners, he saw that he must advance policies in their favor.
The establishment of the academy was the first step on this path.
It is true that educational institutions existed in abundance, but the threshold for admission was very high for the common people.
Tuition costs were so high that only nobles could afford them.
His goal was to make education available to the public who wanted it at low costs and high quality.
Gradually graduating educated citizens.
Although it might take time, he believed this was the right path.
Moreover, if graduates from his academy held important positions in Valois Palace… that would be an even greater source of strength for him.
Dennis looked again at the reports in his hand.
Just a few leaves, but they seemed heavy.
Maybe because she bears his will.
The community service project he mentioned was an offering more important than the academy itself.
It was fortunate that Elliot didn't notice.
He planned to actively strengthen his support base among commoners and low-ranking nobles through community service work.
The first of these was the establishment of public medical institutions that would allow the public to easily obtain health care.
The words of Richard, his brother-in-law, passed through his ear:
“Marquis Engelger will not leave Thérèse alone.
Please divorce her before.”
Dennis stopped walking.
He came to a conclusion after much thought.
He will not abdicate the throne
Not about women
He was even unaware that the order had been reversed.
Women were merely a trophy needed to ascend to the throne, but now the throne was necessary for a woman to possess.
If he sits on the throne, there won't be many people to talk about divorce and hurt women.
Because the woman will become queen.
After all, she is a descendant of Engelger.
The youngest daughter of an ancient noble family, and the only queen of Valois.
Dennis reviewed the titles that women would receive when he sat on the throne, and he seemed satisfied.
Then the woman's safety will not be in danger.
The woman will not need to get her hands dirty.
If the woman's circumstances stabilize, their second child may come one day.
This thought was not absent from him.
He thought it was right for him to take her to him because she was a poor woman.
He got answers to the questions he was deeply concerned about.
Both pity and similarity were correct answers.
After he came to this conclusion, he felt more excited than usual.
If this is the price of responsibility for having lived with the woman for years, then it is a price worth paying.
No matter the outcome, that woman makes an effort for him.
This is a fact.
He never paid for all that effort.
She never asked for it, so he thought this burden fell on her alone.
But if she is the one who will be his partner, the story is different.
Dennis changed direction and headed towards the large artificial pond near the main palace.
That pool where he almost drowned when he was young.
The edges of the pool were not deep, but its center was somewhat sunken.
The pond was full of lotus flowers and reeds, and birds lived in the large trees nearby.
He searched in his pockets and found a handful of peanuts.
Then he raised his hand high after placing the peanut in his palm.
Unknown birds flew around his head, then snatched the peanut and ran away.
Dennis smiled slightly.
Adding a woman to him is like caring for homeless birds.
He felt as if an injured royal bird had embraced him.
So small and fragile that it might fall apart if held too hard.
No human being can easily ignore an infected organism.
After the peanut disappeared from his hand, the birds lost interest in it.
Then she circled the pond catching fish.
He shook the peanut residue from his hand.
He looked at his face reflected on the surface of the water.
He decided that he too would make the minimum effort for the woman.
Unlike before.
He has a goal.
Between the absurdity and the helplessness, meaningful things emerged.
He no longer needed to think more about what a woman meant to him.
Just to ensure that women are not ostracized, and to quickly take control of the throne.
This was the biggest problem he faced now.
To achieve this, he will not be able to avoid getting his hands dirty as well.
Thus he concluded his thoughts.
The flow of all his thoughts was clear.
Problem then answer.
Amidst the completely mysterious past days, he finally felt like he had a clear answer.
He was in a good mood for the first time in a while.
Denis decided to leave the palace after a long absence.
He had somewhere he wanted to go.
Dennis said to Silbang who was accompanying him:
“Silbang, can you bring just one bottle of whiskey?”
“Whiskey...”
Silbang hesitated to answer, then quickly changed the color of his face and responded in agreement.
He only asked for whiskey at a specific time.
When he visits the tomb of Queen Charles.
Dennis climbed into the carriage carrying the bottle of whiskey that Silbang had prepared.
Silbang sat silent in return.
“I told you, you didn't have to accompany me.”
Dennis scolded him gently and laughed.
“No, Your Highness.”
Silbang only rejected his words and remained silent for a long time.
The carriage arrived at the entrance of Mount Fuhai.
The terrain was rough, so it was only possible to proceed on foot.
Dennis and Silbang silently climbed the mountain.
Upon reaching the top, a small tombstone appeared.
It seemed that Silbang, due to climbing the mountain after a long time, was breathing hard.
Dennis wiped the witness with his hand.
It was covered in a white layer of dust.
Because he hasn't visited him for a while.
The isolated witness on the mountaintop looked poignantly alone.
He poured the whiskey he had brought into a glass and placed it in front of the witness.
Meanwhile, Silbang disappeared as if he had vacated the place.
Dennis curled a bitter smile on his lips and conveyed his regards to her inwardly.
Members of the royal family were traditionally buried in the tomb designated for them within the temple.
So was Queen Charles.
Next to the tomb of Queen Charles, was the tomb of Queen Marianne.
It was ironic that the two, who had hated even being in the same place during their lives, were now lying side by side.
The two will remain buried next to each other forever.
So, Dennis was determined every time he visited the Royal Cemetery:
One day, I will definitely free my mother.
Dennis worried every night when he thought about his mother, who could not rest even after her death.
So when he came of age, the first thing he did was move the remains of Queen Charles.
Denis took her remains from the royal cemetery and buried them on top of Mount Fuhi.
Instead, the clothes she wore in her lifetime, not her remains, were buried in the royal tomb.
Dennis looked down the mountain.
A refreshing breeze brushed his hair.
From the top of Mount Fuhi, it is possible to see outside the capital when the weather is good.
He buried his mother's remains there, hoping that she would be able to look into the distance, as she had been unable to leave the capital all her life.
I wish my mother could see this view too.
Dennis sat on the dirt floor without any politeness, holding in his eyes the farthest sight he could see.
In fact, he wanted to bring what his mother liked, not whiskey.
Like flowers or food.
But he didn't know.
What color she preferred, which books she read, and which songs she sang most often.
In his memory, his mother was always drunk and unconscious.
In those days, the only thing his mother liked was whisky.
How could it be so easy to ruin someone's life?
Queen Charles In the days when she first met Eliot, she was a young lady who had just become a saint.
The man who made the decision to offer her body to the god, and then ended up making her offer her body herself, was the one who bequeathed half his blood to him.
How incredibly funny and ridiculous!
When he first learned this lie-like truth, he held his mother and cried.
When he was young, he did not know how to comfort her other than crying.
And of course, the one who consoled him while he was crying bitterly was Queen Charles, his mother.
In what thoughts did she resist those times?
Did she blame me for suddenly settling in her womb?
Or did she feel betrayed by the temple that handed her over as a saint to Eliot as a political arbiter?
Or did she hate the king who tore up her peaceful life from its roots?
Perhaps if Dennis had not been born, all this tragedy would not have happened.
Or if Elliot, who fell in love with her after meeting her at the temple, had not assaulted her.
Or if the temple had not exchanged the privileges of priestly immunity for her surrender after her stomach swelled.
Even whether she regretted having him, or was happy about it.
It's all unknown things.
He suppressed the rising emotions inside him.
He caressed the old envelope of the letter he had put in his coat pocket.
He found him arranging her personal belongings last night.
This will be the beginning of the relaunch.
Dennis got up and dusted off his clothes.
Then he turned to see the witness again.
It was a farewell greeting with a promise of a next meeting.
He descended the mountain step by step.
He and Silpang, who was waiting for him at the foot of the mountain, returned in the carriage.
Silbang, who was sitting as silent as a statue, opened his mouth:
“Your Highness, may I ask something?”
"What?"
"Has there been a change in your feelings that I don't know?
Haven't you always been looking for the Queen at such times?"
Silbang, due to his many years of companionship, seemed to have noticed something.
Dennis raised his eyes and looked at Silbang.
In his green eyes, there was a sparkle that wasn't there before.
“I have truly decided to become king, do you know what this means?”
“…That wasn’t your real intention all along.
It seems you found a reason that made you so determined.”
Silbang nodded as if he was relieved.
“I am determined to do everything I can because there is something I must have.”
“I will also do my best to help you, Your Highness.”
"Thank you."
Dennis looked at Silbang and smiled.