What is a Family (4)

She checked the population of the Small Villages.

Unlike Cohen, Small Village reports its population quarterly, so it was impossible to know how many people had disappeared so far.

However, adding up the number of people caught stealing and the number of witnesses, it was about half of the village.

Adonis couldn’t understand why the people of Small Village had started to steal.

It was hard to comprehend why people who had been doing well suddenly turned to crime.

Then, she suddenly remembered that day.

‘The Starfall Village.’

During the collection of promissory notes, the master of the Silence Tower intervened, and because of that, Adonis had a conversation with the tower master as a king’s representative.

‘Looking back, the Starfall Village was very peaceful.’

Since she had made a promise with Reed, Cohen paid all the money without a word, and even gave all the promised wheat at once, so there would be no problem with the onset of winter.

‘They replaced wheat and money with promissory notes… No way.’

It can’t be.

Adonis stood up from her seat, denying it.

She couldn’t believe it unless she confirmed it with her own two eyes, so she moved her steps without hesitation.

She walked to the finance department of Cohen Castle and requested documents from them.

“Hello, Commander of the Knights. What brings you here?”

“Could you show me the promissory notes and verification certificates issued to Soma Village?”

Upon hearing these words, the finance director answered with a troubled expression.

“I’m sorry, Commander of the Knights. No matter how much you’re a hero of Cohen, we cannot accept that request.”

“Why not?”

“If the Commander of the Knights interferes with administrative affairs, it will be a problem for both you and us.”

Each department had its own power, as each was specialized in different areas.

In short, they would not tolerate their authority being violated.

However, Adonis asked him without batting an eye.

“Is the problem that I’m a knight?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Upon hearing his words, Adonis took off her armor.

When she even took off her armor, her white underwear was revealed underneath.

There was no exposure of skin, but everyone in the finance department was taken aback.

Adonis spoke with a strong face, without a hint of embarrassment.

“Then, I will request it as a princess, not a knight.”

A knight represents the power of the army, but a princess is different.

Moreover, although Morgan Hupper did not appoint the next king, she is the most likely candidate for the next king due to her character and reputation.

The finance director could not refuse any further.

Usually, Adonis would have backed off at this point, but she was more aggressive than ever.

The finance director nodded his head in resignation.

Now, he had no choice but to provide the documents she requested.

***

King Hupper’soffice.

“No matter how much you’re the Commander of the Knights, you cannot just barge in here…”

Adonis ignored their words and flung open the office door.

The guards holding the windows followed her in with flustered faces.

Morgan raised his white eyebrows and looked at Adonis’s face.

At the same time, he gestured to the guards to step back.

“What is it? It’s customary to request an audience first.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. But there was something urgent I needed to ask.”

“Well, what is it?”

“Are you aware that the number of thieves has been increasing recently?”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

Morgan had ordered patrols for public safety, so there was no way he wouldn’t know.

“I’ve come up with a measure for this public safety issue.”

Adonis said, showing Morgan a bundle of papers.

“You have to repay all the promissory notes that have been issued.”

“What good would the promissory notes do?”

“The people of Soma are all living day to day. If you do not give them money to buy the necessary items for the winter, they will have no future. Hence, they resort to thievery to secure their future.”

Morgan responded coolly to Adonis’s words.

“We haven’t yet received all the harvested goods. We will repay them soon, so don’t worry.”

“Then shouldn’t we at least send the wheat in the national treasury to them first?”

“That’s a separate issue. Moreover, it’s not right to distribute materials that need to be reserved, and all this is happening because they do not trust the nation. I have no intention of negotiating with such disrespectful people.”

“How can the people trust the nation when the nation hasn’t shown any trust in them?”

Morgan’s face turned grim.

But Adonis did not back down and pleaded with her hand on her chest.

“I, Adonis Hupper, before being the Commander of the Third Knights, am a princess of the Hupper Kingdom. If you care about the people, please tell me a valid reason why I am wrong, Father.”

She stated her conviction clearly without wavering.

Seeing this, Morgan furrowed his brow further, his beard twitching.

In the tension that seemed like an outburst was imminent, what burst from Morgan was a cough.

“Cough, cough…”

Whether a wise king or otherwise, no one can withstand the passage of time.

Morgan was still showing his vitality, but he was clearly a dying man.

He was well aware of it, and it was time to designate a successor to prevent internal strife.

Morgan covered his mouth with a handkerchief to prevent his saliva from splattering on the documents.

“Cough, cough! Commander of the Third Knights, suddenly you’re interested in things you didn’t care about before. Have you fallen for the devil’s scheme?”

“……”

“All the actions you take are out of line. You just need to fulfill your duty as the knight commander. I will not allow any further oversteps, third knight commander.”

“……”

In the end, the conversation ended uncomfortably.

Adonis came out without even greeting him, her fist clenched tightly.

‘Even my daughter… things aren’t going my way anymore.’

Morgan closed his eyes in despair.

Time was of the essence.

Morgan wrote a letter to be sent to Freesia.

-I need that magic. As soon as possible.