Chapter 106 : Stabilization Comes First (1)
Chapter 106: Stabilization Comes First (1)
The day after the Coronation Ceremony ended, Kyle entered the Great Hall.
It was the first Great Hall meeting where all the nobles gathered since the Ragnar Kingdom had been established.
“His Grace Duke Kyle Ragnar enters!”
The nobles who had arrived earlier than the scheduled time and filled the seats of the Great Hall straightened their backs at Kyle’s appearance.
At present, the true power within the Ragnar Kingdom was Kyle.
Since he had single-handedly contributed almost all the merit in elevating the Ragnar Family into the royal family, it was only natural that he received such treatment.
Step― Step―
As Kyle entered the silent Great Hall, the nobles bowed their heads.
Without saying a word, he walked to his place.
Standing opposite Marquis Shan, Kyle looked around at the nobles whose atmosphere had changed.
“His Majesty the King enters.”
As Pramo entered the Great Hall following behind Kyle, the nobles who filled the hall bowed their heads simultaneously.
Kyle also bowed his head and paid full respect to Pramo.
When Pramo walked to the throne and sat down, Marquis Shan spoke first.
“Although the Coronation Ceremony ended safely, there are mountains of matters that must be handled, Your Majesty.”
“What do you believe should be done first, Marquis Shan?”
When Pramo asked while looking at Marquis Shan confidently, he lowered his head again.
“In order to stabilize the kingdom, I believe the system for selecting national talents must be completely overhauled first.”
At Marquis Shan’s words, Pramo shook his head.
What needed to be done now was not fixing the talent selection system, but first overturning the noble system itself.
“I have a different thought. Would you like to hear it?”
“I will listen to Your Majesty’s wise opinion with utmost sincerity.”
Pramo stared quietly at Marquis Shan before taking a deep breath.
“There are too many nobles.”
Since a new dynasty had opened, dealing with the remnants of the old system had to be prioritized.
And they still had not carried out the distribution of rewards based on merit.
There were those who deserved to have their ranks raised, and conversely there were those whose ranks had to be lowered—or even have their noble titles revoked.
The moment Pramo spoke about changing the noble system, the nobles instantly fell silent.
“Now that the Coronation Ceremony has ended, I believe it is time to begin the distribution of rewards.”
“I agree with Your Majesty’s opinion. If we begin the distribution of rewards first, then I believe Duke Ragnar’s noble investiture ceremony should be conducted before anything else.”
Because of the Coronation Ceremony, Kyle had been hurriedly granted the title of Duke, but it was only temporary and had not yet been officially declared.
When Marquis Shan pointed that out, Pramo nodded in agreement.
“A good opinion. What do you think, Duke Ragnar?”
Even though he had ascended to the throne, the way he spoke to Kyle had not changed.
That alone showed how much respect Kyle deserved within the Ragnar Kingdom.
At Pramo’s respectful question, Kyle broke his silence.
“Your Majesty, I cannot remain in the Royal Palace for long.”
The place the Ragnar Kingdom had to defend at all costs.
Returning to the North and stabilizing its defenses was Kyle’s mission.
Pramo also knew that, so he had no intention of binding him to the Royal Palace for long.
“I am aware that you must return to the North soon.”
“I entrusted matters of the North to Sir Seros, but there is still much to handle. I intend to stabilize the kingdom within a month before returning to the North.”
“…Duke Ragnar.”
“Therefore, I request that Your Majesty grant me authority to inspect the nobles.”
That meant Kyle would personally intervene in maintaining the proper number and legitimacy of nobles.
At Kyle’s declaration, the nobles swallowed dryly.
Surely there were some who had bought their noble positions with money.
Inspecting them and verifying whether they had truly been appointed through proper channels was a procedure that absolutely had to be carried out.
Pramo nodded at Kyle’s proposal.
“I would like to hear Marquis Shan’s thoughts.”
“I share the same opinion as His Grace Duke Ragnar. There is no one more capable of inspecting the nobles fairly than His Grace Duke Ragnar.”
In this Great Hall, the one with the strongest voice after Kyle was Marquis Shan.
When he agreed, a shadow fell across the nobles’ faces.
Meanwhile, Kyle spoke again.
“And I have one more request for Your Majesty.”
“Speak.”
“I ask that Marquis Shan be elevated to the rank of Duke. As Your Majesty knows, I cannot involve myself deeply in the kingdom’s affairs due to matters in the North. Ultimately, the person who can assist Your Majesty and stabilize the administration is Marquis Shan.”
During the era of the Daon Kingdom, only Duke Zaira held the title of Duke.
But now that the royal family had changed, there was no reason to limit the position of Duke to only one person.
If Kyle were able to lead the administration himself, it would be fine for him to remain the sole Duke.
But he would ultimately return to the North.
Therefore, Marquis Shan—a veteran politician capable of leading and stabilizing the administration—had to rise to the rank of Duke.
Of course, Viscount Rak also existed, but he still lacked experience.
“However, Duke Ragnar, I am already over sixty years old. I will soon reach the age where I must retire from politics.”
“Marquis Shan, wishing for retirement when a new nation has just been established is nothing more than an excessive hope.”
At Kyle’s blunt words, Marquis Shan let out a small chuckle.
Kyle had absolutely no intention of allowing Marquis Shan to retire from politics.
“Is there anyone who opposes promoting Marquis Shan to the rank of Duke as Duke Ragnar has requested?”
The proposal came from Kyle, and the subject was Marquis Shan.
There was no noble bold enough to oppose it.
However, Viscount Rak raised his hand as if he had something to say.
“Speak.”
“Your Majesty, from what I have gathered, there are nobles among those who follow Marquis Shan who received their appointment documents through transactions.”
Viscount Rak’s action might appear like an attempt at restraint.
However, he said it partly for Marquis Shan’s sake.
His intention was to clear out the problematic elements before things truly began.
After all, problems would inevitably arise, and those issues would eventually hold Marquis Shan back.
“I learned about that not long ago as well. However, Viscount Rak, would you correct your wording? Nobles do not follow me—they follow and serve this kingdom. And they must also follow His Majesty the King.”
There should be no one above the King.
Moreover, even Kyle—who would become the most powerful figure in the kingdom—treated Pramo with full royal respect, so Marquis Shan could never stand above him.
“My apologies.”
“I know you are also a noble who loves and cherishes the Ragnar Kingdom. You brought this up because you believed problematic parts must be cut out before they begin, did you not? Then I promise you this. Those who become problems will be removed by my own hand.”
Viscount Rak nodded firmly, and Marquis Shan continued.
“If Duke Ragnar begins the inspection, I will cooperate with complete sincerity. If corruption or issues are discovered among those under me, they will receive punishment without mercy.”
They could not allow anything to obstruct the first step taken for the sake of the nation.
No matter how loyal those nobles were to him, if there were problems, they had to receive appropriate punishment.
It seemed as if the discussion on the distribution of rewards had ended, but Marquis Shan looked toward Pramo and spoke again.
“Your Majesty, should we not also decide the title of Sir Seros, who has returned to the North? It would be best to uphold the prestige and reputation he firmly built in the Tylers Empire.”
Marquis Shan had no intention of restraining Kyle.
Although they had spoken about such matters while drinking tea before, Kyle’s power still needed to grow first.
He clearly understood that only when Kyle’s position became solid would the royal authority strengthen.
“I agree. What do you think about granting Sir Seros the rank of Marquis?”
If it were up to him, he would have granted Seros the title of Duke.
However, Seros would never accept a rank equal to Kyle’s.
Yet Masters received the highest treatment in any nation.
Balancing both perspectives perfectly.
Pramo believed the rank of Marquis was appropriate.
“I agree with Your Majesty’s opinion.”
Marquis Shan also agreed, and it seemed like the matter would end there, but Kyle intervened when it looked like they were about to grant Seros the title immediately.
“Your Majesty, conducting everything only through words is meaningless. After establishing the foundation of the state, promotions and noble appointments should proceed through the distribution of rewards.”
To be honest, Seros was the type who would not care whether he received a title or not.
More precisely, the greatest meaning in his life was staying by Kyle’s side.
That was why Kyle wanted Pramo to delay the decision for now.
“Duke Ragnar, could you not follow my will just this once? Setting aside other matters, the bestowal of a title upon Sir Seros must absolutely proceed.”
Despite Kyle’s opinion, Pramo spoke firmly as he pushed the matter forward.
His steadfast gaze met Kyle’s eyes.
Kyle looked into Pramo’s eyes before eventually nodding.
“If that is truly Your Majesty’s will, then it shall be done.”
“Thank you.”
Through this meeting, the tasks ahead had been decided.
With a serious gaze and expression, Pramo announced to the ministers.
“I will delegate inspection authority to Duke Ragnar. Always remember that the Duke’s will is my will. Duke Ragnar, could you hasten the formation of the executive department?”
“I will select the members of the executive department and report by tomorrow.”
With those words declaring the Great Hall meeting adjourned, Pramo rose from his seat.
“Commander of the Ragnar Knight Order, enter the Great Hall.”
Akun, who had been guarding the entrance, opened the doors and entered upon Pramo’s call.
Seeing him kneel on one knee and bow his head, Pramo smiled faintly.
“Do your utmost to assist Duke Ragnar in forming the executive department.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Even after the Great Hall meeting ended, Kyle remained in his place until the very end.
He watched the nobles hurriedly leaving the hall before turning his gaze toward Marquis Shan.
“Marquis Shan, you will suffer quite considerable losses.”
“Should that not be something I must endure?”
“At this rate, my faction may grow to an absurd size.”
“During our tea the other day, you told me something. You asked me to remain as a force that could restrain you, Duke Ragnar.”
“…Did you not agree with my words then?”
Marquis Shan smiled faintly.
Who could possibly restrain whom?
Kyle was the friend of Emperor Adrian, the conqueror of the continent.
Moreover, now that it had been revealed that he was the teacher of Grand Duke Ian Kailers, who had been called the strongest on the continent, Marquis Shan could not possibly restrain him.
“Are you not someone beyond what I could possibly handle?”
“……”
“Duke Ragnar, if you wished, you could overturn this country. Yet you are also someone who would never stand by and watch the kingdom you built with such difficulty collapse.”
Kyle had to remain not only the Guardian Deity of the North, but also the Guardian Sword of Ragnar Kingdom.
There was no one who could restrain such a man.
Furthermore, he knew that in order to strengthen the nation, it would be best to follow Kyle’s opinions whenever possible.
For that reason, Marquis Shan resolved to firmly support Kyle from behind.
“Please do as you wish, Duke Ragnar. I will do my utmost to support your intentions according to your judgment.”
“Whew……”
“I know people can change. However, from what I have seen, you appear to be someone beyond such a category.”
If Kyle had desired power, he could have simply placed himself on the throne.
But he handed the throne to Pramo without hesitation.
Of course, personalities could change—but Kyle would never transform into someone who sought power.
‘If power had mattered to him, he would not even have returned to the North. He is a man who abandoned the chance to receive a title from the Tylers Empire.’
Sword Master of a Ruined Territory