Lady to Queen

The next day began for Patrizia with these words from Mirya. Patrizia, who slowly lifted open her eyelids to those words, blinked twice as if trying to figure out what was going on, and then slowly rose up from her spot. It was probably the beginning of a day that could be hell. Patrizia said nothing for a while, and then slowly opened her lips.     

"…When will the three Prime Ministers arrive?"     

It was Patrizia's first question. Mirya replied without delay.     

"All three people are heading now to the Imperial Palace. They will probably arrive without being late."     

The other kingdoms and empires surrounding the Marvinus Empire each only had one Prime Minister, but in the case of the Marvinus Empire, three Prime Ministers served the king.     

It was to prevent tyranny by preventing a concentration of power through mutual checks and balances.     

When Patrizia was born and first learned about this system, she thought it was a good system.     

It was common sense that absolute power was absolutely corrupt. Unless the opponent was a saint or a philosopher.     

She finished washing her face with the help of her maids and then dressed in refined clothes. The acting of an Empress as the regent was not a common case, but since it certainly existed historically, the maids moved according to the manual.     

Wearing a dark dress that was a little more serious and harsh than the ones she wore previously, Patrizia put on a tiara emblazoned with the pink diamond that symbolized the Empress. The golden crown with a slightly dark glow was shining authoritatively above her head.     

Only then did she move to the reception room, and the voice of a maid was heard shortly after she sat by the table.     

"Your Majesty, the three Prime Ministers are entering."     

The three Prime Ministers were from the three families that made up the central power of the nobles of the Marvinus Empire: the Duke of Vashi, the Duke of Efreni, and the Duke of Witherford.     

In the case of the Duke of Vashi and the Duke of Witherford, as national heroes that helped with the founding of the empire, they had held on to these positions from the beginning of the country to the present, but in the case of the Duke of Efreni, the position had been passed on from the Duke of Oswin who had also helped with the founding of the nation.     

Except for the fact that the Duke of Efreni was not a descendant of a founding hero, he was strong. Among them, his economic power, for instance, was the strongest among the three Dukes that occupied the position of the three Prime Ministers.     

"Come in."     

The door opened at Patrizia's words and the three men came in. The oldest was the Duke of Vashi, and the youngest was the Duke of Efreni.     

"Greetings to Your Majesty, Queen Regent. Glory to the Marvinus Empire."     

"Greetings to Your Majesty. Glory to the Imperial Family."     

"Welcome in. You all must have been suffering a lot since morning."     

Patrizia briefly greeted them, acknowledged them with a dry voice. They all sat at the table in the reception room, and Patrizia briefly explained the situation.     

"Currently, His Majesty is not conscious, and I am acting as a regent instead. I have only managed the inner palace affairs, but I have not done anything regarding the outer palace, so I hope you can assist me a lot."     

"I will help Your Majesty with all I have. Do not worry."     

With the Duke's words, the other two Prime Ministers spoke similar sentiments. She laughed once more and then went on to the main subject.     

"An advisory council meeting will be held in an hour. I will have to discuss the details there, but I am just going to report on issues that are not urgent, and not discuss them thoroughly. I am acting strictly within the Emperor's authority, and am not himself."     

"Yes, Your Majesty. You may already know, it is rare for the regent to deal with a matter, unless it is urgent. You do not have to worry about that part.     

"Because you have to deal with the affairs of the inner palace, the workload will be heavy. If possible, it will be helpful to handle the affairs of the palace in urgent order until His Majesty restores consciousness."     

"All right… Any other advice?"     

The Duke of Efreni, who was briefly thinking about Patrizia's question, slowly opened his mouth.     

"Your Majesty."     

"Speak on."     

"…Never mind. It would be better to deal with the details at the advisory council meeting."     

'Lame.' Patrizia muttered to herself internally and soon asked another question.     

"I would like to receive the journals detailing the duties thus far. As you know, I am completely ignorant of the affairs outside of the palace."     

"Do not worry about that. The ministers of each department will organize them respectively, and send them to the Empress Palace."     

Patrizia nodded as if she was satisfied with the Duke of Witherford's clean voice. If so, it seemed most was done. The Duke of Vashi gave her a stack of thin paper.     

"These will be the topics that will be discussed at the advisory council meeting today, Your Majesty. When you read it, you should not have much trouble understanding it."     

"Thank you."     

Patrizia gave a short reply and accepted the paper. At a quick glance, it seemed to be about a problem regarding the drought in the northwest. Duke Witherford asked her a question.     

"Do you have any further questions, Your Majesty?"     

"Not yet. We shall discuss the more necessary information later in the consultation meeting."     

"Yes, then with this understanding, we will take our leave."     

The three people politely bowed to Patrizia and left, and she used two to three fingers to measure the amount of paper they had left behind. It didn't seem to be the amount that she read in an hour, but it seemed possible if she went a little overboard.     

When she was just about to turn the first page, Rafaella approached her carefully. She called out Patrizia in a voice without any laughter, which was unlike her usual tone.     

"Uh… Your Majesty."