20 years had passed when I woke up! ~ The villain's daughter’s thereafter and after that ~ - Chapter 46

Translator: NovelMultiverse | Editor: NovelMultiverse

In the Tristan Kingdom, when a minister of office falls ill, they can name a blood relative as a replacement.

Fioria set out to the royal capital as soon as she received the role and responsibilities of prime minister from her father, Graham.

“I am Fioria de Florence of the Duchy of Florence. I apologize for turning up so suddenly, but would you please announce my arrival to Lord Vincent?”

Her abrupt request caused the royal palace to break into a great flurry of surprise. It shouldn’t have been that big of a deal, considering she was a lady of a Duchy. She should have been ushered into a noble visitor’s hall and given an audience with Lord Vincent at his earliest convenience.

However, while Fioria was indeed a lady of a duchy, she was also the pope of Monado Protestantism. When it came to political authority, the royalty of the Tristan Kingdom was wide-reaching and held sway over the entire continent of Belgaria.

This situation was akin to a king seeking an audience at the house of some provincial aristocrat. There was no leeway for any form of disrespect whatsoever, and even having her wait for but a moment held terrifying consequences.

Those who were employed in the palace were notoriously lazy, but in this instance, they moved miraculously swiftly and quickly prepared a place for Vincent to welcome his guest.

“It’s been a while, Vincent,” said Fioria.

About a month had passed since they last saw each other. At first glance, Fioria saw that he appeared the same as usual, but his deep blue eyes were tinged with weariness.

“You look really tired. Are you all right?” she asked.

“Is it that obvious?” Vincent replied.

“Of course it is – to me at least. I’ve looked after you since you were little. You’re trying to cover up your paleness with make-up, too, aren’t you?” she said.

“I can’t hide anything from you, huh?” he said, sighing in disappointment.

“First of all, let me apologize… I’m sorry. I know that I’ve caused Lord Graham a lot of trouble,” he said.

Graham had originally left the center stage of politics. He had only returned to his prime minister position because of Vincent’s forceful demands. 

“As you know, the Tristan Kingdom has fallen to financial ruin in these past twenty years. If the economy can’t be rebuilt immediately, it’s all over. And because of that, we’ve relied heavily on Graham, the so-called “prime minister of ice”. Thanks to him, we’re starting to see a glimmer of hope. I really thank him from the bottom of my heart,” said Vincent.

It was an immediate reply. He didn’t pause for even a moment and said it with complete conviction.

“If it wasn’t for Lord Graham, my reforms would have been stuck in a standstill from the beginning,” he said.

“I see,” said Fioria, seemingly satisfied, “Coming from you, it would mean a lot to Father, as well. I’ll be sure to tell him what you said.” 

“…Thank you,” said Vincent, “Do you have any goals for after working as a prime minister?” 

“You really just ask the most sensitive questions outright, don’t you?” she asked him.

Ruffling his blue-black hair and smiling bitterly, Vincent said, “No one could really replace Lord Graham, but I don’t want him to trouble himself over the position, either… So, I guess I’ll have to soldier on.”

“How about some of the other nobles?” she asked.

“I doubt they could step up. They’re too hard-headed and stuck in their ways. They’re stuck in old age, and can’t even support their own families,” he said.

Fioria had already predicted this.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

Ever since trade had begun with the East, the merchants had begun pressuring the government.

In this modern age, economic power was becoming the most important facet of government. If this country didn’t realize that, the nobles would go to the dogs, whether they were rich or not…That was the reality of the current trend.

the noble families of the Tristan Kingdom were almost all in deficit.

They were up to their necks in debt, and often couldn’t even pay their taxes.

It was getting to the point of impeding the nation’s trade business, and if things didn’t change, the country itself would fall to ruin in the near future.

Vincent realized this, and it was one of the main reasons he was calling for reform.

“I’ve realized that the road ahead looks really rocky. But I know I can’t do this on my own.  As a king, to leave the people out in the cold without a means to survive – well that’s just simply unthinkable and unforgivable,” he said.

Vincent had deep, dark circles around his eyes. The makeup wasn’t enough to cover the fatigue. But still, his eyes were full of vigor and drive.

The defeatist puppy eyes that were on his face as a year ago were nowhere to be seen.

He was a ruler now – a great man who stood above others in holdings and ability.

He was a king who stood apart from the rest and would sacrifice his life, little by little, for his duties and obligations.

“…You know, you probably aren’t going to live a long life,” Fioria muttered, plaintively.

“I don’t mind,” he said. He uttered this with determination and no hesitation. 

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“Lord Graham fulfilled his role as the prime minister until he reached his absolute limit. I wouldn’t be able to repay that level of devotion without working until my body is reduced to dust… If it means the Tristan Kingdom would live on, I would gladly offer my life to it.

The change in Vincent was triggered by something. Fioria guessed it was the time when her father collapsed from overwork.

There was a human sacrifice involved, after all, she thought. It was imperative that something would come out of it… That’s probably what Vincent was thinking. Since long ago, Vincent always had a strong sense of responsibility.

Looking back at the last twenty years, Vincent always had a rigid sense of duty, even as a child.

When compared to his past self, he had matured quite a bit, and yet, on the inside, he was still the same as he was back then.

For Fioria, seeing him like this now was nostalgic, and yet joyful… it warmed her heart, somehow.

“Hey, Vincent,” she said.

Fioria pulled out the authorization papers for the prime minister position from her breast pocket.

She had already decided to take on the position herself to help Vincent reform his country, but she was swept away in an unusual wave of confidence in him.

“Don’t worry. You’re not alone in this… I’m going to help you through it,” she said.

“…Are you really okay with that?” he asked, “I mean, I’m thankful, of course, but don’t you have your duties as a pope?” he asked.

“Don’t worry about my obligations. The real work’s being lead by Silla and Heinkel. I’m simply the face of the church – a mascot, really,” she said.]

 Vincent coughed in disbelief, but he looked slightly relied and said in a voice so low that it was almost a whisper, “I never thought I’d be able to work alongside you. I’m honestly really happy about it.”

And so, Fioria went to work for the standing prime minister and became involved with the workings of the Tristan Kingdom’s government.

Of course, she was still acting as the pope of Monado Protestantism, as well.

On this issue, many nobles remarked, “This is Monado Protestantism interfering in our affairs!”

“If this continues, our country will be taken over by Fioria!” some said in a panic and began to conspire towards the removal of Fioria.

They were afraid that their own positions would be in jeopardy.

It was only in these kinds of situations that the nobles got fired up and worked hard towards a goal.

…If only they had shown this much effort in their usual affairs, they wouldn’t be overrun by deficits.

As for the regular citizens of the kingdom, they considered this an excellent change.

“I heard Fioria is taking over as prime minister.”

“That means we’ll be rolling in luxury like Florence, soon enough!”

“Wonderful! You know what that means – we’re celebrating tonight! Three cheers for the Goddess of Gold!”

She was famous for her reforms in Florence, the establishment of Protestantism, and the subjugation of heretical gods. Her record and the results she achieved were known throughout the land, and her popularity had reached insane levels.

This fabled Fioria took drastic measures right off the bat, and as if answering the peoples’ expectations, she dealt a heavy blow to the nobles of the nation who had been such a nuisance to her.

It was land redistribution. She repealed all official claims on the land by nobles and claimed them all for the Tristan Kingdom.

Her plan to reform the country started thusly.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]