Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 173

“His research into making summoning magic genetically stable might lead to the resurgence of hereditary nobles, while my direction is to further promote magic. He’s definitely paving the way for me,” Ronan explained. What he said was true, but he felt things weren’t that simple.

“Of course, whether there are other reasons or not, no one knows, but in any case, those men planned to kill someone and then join you,” Stefan said, straightening his clothes. “In short, they didn’t expect that a marginal figure in the organization’s wife was someone they absolutely could not afford to offend.”

Fourth-tier mages are indeed people that most people cannot afford to offend. There are only a few thousand of them in the entire country, half of whom are first or second tier, followed by third tier, and even the worst fourth-tier mage can make it into the top thousand.

“This man read my book and suddenly had an inspiration. So his research yielded some results. In the end, the person who killed him said before he died that he wanted to kill him and join me. So the woman over there blamed my death on him.”

Ronan concluded that, having understood the matter to this extent, the cause and effect had essentially been clarified.

There are still two questions. First, what exactly did the dead man research?

The second question was the one Ronan was prepared to ask.

“Headmaster, you knew about this man’s death first, and then learned about this woman’s movements before you came here. You didn’t actually know that the Lord of the White Tower would come, right?” Ronan asked.

Stefan fell silent at the question, because Ronan was absolutely right.

"One more question: how did you learn about the man's death?" Ronan asked again.

Stefan stroked his chin, his eyes darting around, and pondered for a moment, "It was a coincidence."

“If you think it’s a coincidence, then it must not be a coincidence,” Ronan said with a smile.

“Now it seems even more necessary to go to the White Tower. I will come to find you in three days. Goodbye, you two.” Stefan finished speaking, and the walking stick reappeared in his hand. “You don’t need me to escort you back to the capital, do you?”

Ronan returned a look that was neither as sharp nor as gentle.

Stefan disappeared, taking the body of the woman in black with him.

Ronan waved his hand, and four large shields materialized, floating in the air. Dinia moved her fingers, and a thick layer of magical mushrooms appeared on the shields. Ronan and Dinia climbed up one after the other. The large flying platform made up of the four shields had plenty of space, enough for the two of them to lie on their sides.

Ronan and Dinia sat close together and flew confidently toward the capital.

"Are you really planning to go to the White Tower with him?" Dinia asked.

“Hmm,” Ronan responded. “Now it seems that someone is behind all of this, and it’s not just one person. Interestingly, I can’t think of anyone who has both the motive and the ability. So, it’s not that I want to go, but that I don’t intend to continue being so passive.”

"The White Pagoda, we can go together."

"The people currently operating in the shadows may be trying to lure us away. My idea is for Elena, Alice, and Agustina to all move into the palace, along with that money-grubbing fake goddess. With the palace's defenses and Elena's group, we should be absolutely safe under normal circumstances."

"Even if it's not ordinary, with Anli's anti-magic field and that money-grubbing woman, even if another one of the three giants takes action, they can hold out for a while, enough for us to get back."

Dinia nodded slightly, acknowledging Ronan's statement, and then asked, "So, the Royal Merchant Guild's sale is suspended?"

“Let’s pause,” Ronan replied. “Most things have already been decided, and those assets aren’t going to disappear. Putting them on hold for a few days won’t be a problem.”

“Hmm.” Since Ronan said it was fine, Dinia wouldn’t question it. “Go and have a good talk with His Majesty tonight. I’ll inform the others. We’ll have a small meeting tomorrow night. You, me, and even mages like Stefan and Ursel have all been involved. The other side’s purpose…”

“The rebellion begins.” Ronan continued, picking up where Dinia left off, “and at its peak, the people are sacrificed to become gods.”

Hearing this, Dinia's expression became even more serious, but then Ronan revealed a wicked smile, "The villain in the picture book that Anri recently bought for her unborn child is just like this, it's the same old trick."

After saying that, Ronan turned to face Dinia and made a face, using his hands as two devil horns. "That's about it."

Seeing Ronan's goofy fatherly actions and expressions as he teased the child, Dinya's serious expression instantly vanished. She turned her face away, forcing back her laughter, before finally turning her head back.

Before long, the two returned to the capital.

Chapter 396 Difficult or Not Difficult, Two Things Connected

Night fell in a courtyard in the heart of the capital. Candlelight flickered in the servants' quarters, and shouts of joy from winning or cursing from losing could be heard from time to time. But the main building in the middle of the courtyard was pitch black and deathly quiet. The only light was from the window of a room on the third floor near the balcony. It was a small, moving point of light from a lit cigarette. It was bright when the cigarette was inhaled deeply, and then the light slowly dimmed.

The man smoking was none other than Finance Minister Bruno. He was a man who loved bright lights and lively atmospheres, so much so that even his servants' rooms had wrought iron chandeliers. But at this moment, he only wanted enough quiet and darkness around him.

"Hiss, ah." Bruno let out a low groan of pain and flicked his cigarette away.

He didn't realize the cigarette had burned the mouthpiece until he burned his finger.

"Damn it," Bruno cursed.

After he finished cursing, his neck looked like it was half broken. He buried his head down, his fingers dug deep into his medium-length curly hair, covered his eyes with his hands, and froze there, motionless, as if he were dead.

From the moment Ambrina secured her position as crown princess through Ronan's machinations, the conflict between Bruno and the couple began to accumulate.

He himself did not actually want this; he just wanted to maintain the status quo and eventually retire with his money. However, the entire Ministry of Finance was extremely dissatisfied with this future queen.

The reason is simple: Crown Princess Ambrina has somehow gained control of the country's economic lifeline, namely grain and oil, and she also controls a large number of lucrative industries.

In short, she could not become a poor king, which troubled the Treasury.

As a minister, Bruno had no choice but to go against the king, but he didn't want to, so his actions seemed somewhat ridiculous, even foolish.

After the king fell seriously ill and before Ambrina ascended the throne, he, as the Minister of Finance, began to look for people he could control and who also had a certain amount of power.

Bruno felt that once Ambrina came to power, she would definitely target him first, so he needed to have "cards" to be qualified to negotiate.

Unexpectedly, he was ignored.

Bruno intended to let it go like that.

However, due to the sale of the Royal Chamber of Commerce's assets, several high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Finance were arrested, and he was unable to completely extricate himself from the situation. After careful consideration, he wanted to make a deal with Ronan and then retire peacefully. So he approached Marcus and asked him to introduce him to Ronan.

The finance minister, needing an introduction to meet someone? What a pathetic and infuriating reality.

But what was truly infuriating was what happened next. After meeting Ronan, he was completely enraged. Rather than showing sincerity with no intention of making a deal, Ronan's outright offer of impossible conditions was what truly angered him. What truly angered him was Ronan's complete lack of politeness and respect towards him. The way Ronan looked at him was like the way a nobleman would look at a dispensable commoner on the street.

Bruno left in anger, determined to teach Ronan a lesson.

He first contacted one of the people he had previously chosen and called him out. He originally just wanted to try and see if he could use the leverage he had to blackmail them into doing things for him. Unexpectedly, the other party agreed immediately and said that several other people would also agree.

And that's exactly what happened. In just one day, Bruno successfully recruited seven or eight people to join him.

He felt he could definitely give Ronan a headache next.

Then, this group of people pulled Bruno aside and said they would introduce him to some powerful magicians.

Bruno met three people: one he didn't know, and two others he did know, but he wished he didn't.

At this point, Bruno realized that it wasn't that he had brought others into the group, but rather that he had been brought into it. And now, even if he wanted to leave, he couldn't.

The only saving grace was that the task he was assigned was neither difficult nor risky: to be made to appear ill, stay at home, and use letters to contact people he had leverage over, in order to cause trouble for the Prime Minister in the near future.

The problem wasn't the difficulty or risk of the mission, but that if this group failed, he would die with them.

He really wanted to turn himself in and report these people.

But he is being monitored now.

"What should we do? What should we do? How can we contact the people outside and then notify that bastard Ronan?"

Bruno was determined to turn himself in and had no intention of letting the group succeed.

He was incompetent, lacking both the ability to handle affairs and the ability to manage his subordinates, but he wasn't so foolish as to think that if those people succeeded, he would have a good ending.

At the same time, at the same old place, the tavern.

Prime Minister Alexander said, "Be careful lately, as someone is planning to cause trouble in the capital."

"Huh?" Ronan asked in surprise.

"Bruno suddenly fell ill, and the Ministry of Finance ran into a bunch of problems, which led to a lot of trouble in other departments as well," the Prime Minister said. "These are not major issues, and they are even old problems in each department, but they have all been crammed together."

"Is it unusual for the Ministry of Finance to have some problems?" Ronan asked.

The minister is sick at home, and several of his subordinates have been transferred to an education center.

Alexander simply smiled; Ronan still lacked some understanding of the heart of this country.

"Although the Ministry of Finance is corrupt from top to bottom, they are still human beings at heart. Unlike those central departments that are full of worms, the Ministry of Finance brings together the elites whose mathematical level is in the third tier of the country. Its rules and regulations are the most complete. When the minister and other leaders are in charge, they may make some mistakes from time to time, but without the leaders, this department is less likely to make mistakes."

"If I may ask a question that's off-topic, who's in the second tier of mathematics, the professors?" Ronan asked casually.

“Artillery officer,” Alexander replied impatiently, and continued, “The whole thing was deliberately created by someone. Ha, I don’t know whether to call them clever or stupid. They’ve caused so much trouble that it’s hard to tell what the people behind it are up to. But the fact that they’ve created so much trouble is clearly telling others that they have considerable power and even bigger ambitions.”

"However, their actions are only expected in the next few days. Once the troubles in the central departments are dealt with, if I cannot untangle the threads of the matter like pulling a tangled ball of yarn and find the person behind it all, then there is no point in me being prime minister."

Alexander said this because he is confident in his own abilities and trusts the secretaries in the Prime Minister's Office General Secretariat. Some of these secretaries are assigned to various departments to supervise the execution of orders.

However, this kind of supervision, which lacks coercive power, has never been a deterrent. Therefore, secretaries are not actually there to supervise work, but rather to act as surveillance agents.

"Interesting, the two things are connected."

Ronan stroked his chin and muttered to himself with emotion.

"What two things?" Alexander asked.

"Well..." Ronan recounted how he encountered an accident at one of the Duke's estates and how he decided to go to the White Tower with Stefan to find out what was going on.

"Hiss, ha." Alexander gasped, finding himself in a dilemma even faster than Ronan, the person directly involved.

Chapter 397 Dilemma, Suspect, and a Short Meeting

The reason for his dilemma was that after listening to Ronan's account, Alexander had formed some judgments.

The White Tower was built by Oranje, and it was never an ordinary tower from the beginning. As for now, it's not even a tower anymore.

It's just a top-floored structure suspended high in the air.

Sixty years ago, the then-king gave the White Tower to Ursel Ates, who had reached the seventh level, and thus he acquired the title of Lord of the White Tower.

The White Tower is in the air, with nothing around it. Ussel rarely goes out, and in Ronan's description, he is a strange and simple person. It is hard to say that his sudden outing this time because of his "daughter" was not the result of someone deliberately guiding him.

Meanwhile, Stefan was also intrigued by some things that he knew, which were hardly accidental.

Two of the three leaders are gathered at the White Tower. Even if no one is secretly guiding them, something bad could still happen.

On the other side, in the capital, there's not much to say; something's bound to happen.

Something bad will happen on both sides of the capital and the White Pagoda.

Whether to stay in the capital or go to the White Tower was a difficult decision for Ronan and Dinia.

“You look more nervous than I am,” Ronan said, while slowly spreading foie gras on a slice of bread with a spatula.

Alexander sighed, “Sometimes I wonder if the world would be any better without magic.”

“I thought someone like you wouldn’t make such ‘what if’ sentiments.” Ronan finished speaking, taking a small bite of bread spread with foie gras. “I can only say that without magic, rebellion would be easier. Two children with only fists would easily start swinging their fists at each other when their tempers flared up, but two men with swords would usually be gesturing with their swords at each other and circling around each other.”

Alexander, holding his wine glass, said, "I can handle angry kids, what about you?"

"Of course we'll go to the White Pagoda. Those old men are always causing trouble."

Ronan said with a firm gaze.

Ronan knew very well that old man Stefan was now determined to go to the White Tower, and it had to be in the next few days, sooner rather than later. It wasn't that he couldn't wait, but he believed that someone had done something to the White Tower during the short time Ussel was away, and that something would definitely happen to the White Tower in a couple of days.

If the White Pagoda is destroyed, how can he get what he wants?

Two days later, Stefan arrived at the White Tower. If Ronan and Dinia hadn't gone with him, and things got out of control, who knows what serious consequences it would have caused.

Conversely, no matter how much trouble there is in the capital, the consequences are unlikely to be more severe than those at the White Tower.

Therefore, Ronan had already made his choice: to go to the White Tower instead of staying in the capital.

“It’s good that a decision has been made. The worst thing at times like this is trying to manage both sides.” After saying that, Alexander stood up, finished the rest of his drink, and left his seat to pay the bill.

Ronan sat down, took three small sips, and finished his drink before leaving.

It was already late at night when I left the tavern.

Ronan went straight back to the palace.

Before his secret meeting with the Prime Minister, Ronan had already spoken extensively with Ambrina. After all, he had previously suspected that someone was planning something big, and his conversation with Alexander confirmed this to be true.

Inside the palace, Ambrina, dressed in a light gauze nightgown and a thin velvet cloak, was eating her last meal of the day at a small table.

Three slices of chicken liver, grilled to a tender perfection and simply seasoned; a savory and tender steamed egg with meat sauce; a small teacup; five slices of thinly sliced ​​green apple to cleanse the palate; and a glass of lemonade.

Ronan sat down and told Ambrina about his secret talks with the Prime Minister.

"Are there any other people in China with this kind of ability?"

Ambrina asked, somewhat incredulous.

Bringing out Ussel and causing problems in the Ministry of Finance, which in turn led to problems in other departments, as a cover-up is something that can be done with just intelligence.

But this group of people in the shadows is bound to do something big. Their goal is either the throne she is currently sitting on or the White Tower occupied by Ussel. In the end, they will have to prove themselves with strength.

In Ambrina's view, all the so-called conspiracies were simply a means to gain more advantages in the final showdown.

“Yes,” Ronan said. “Your father’s eldest brother, and the last of the three, but those two alone are not enough.”

Ambrina remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly. “It is indeed not enough. If that fake monk were to leave the church and become king, many people would probably be very happy. But the problem is, he has been a monk for so many years, and our finance minister will definitely not give him any credit. Moreover, that bastard Bruno can't even command many people himself.”

"As for the last of the three giants, he is indeed very powerful, but he doesn't have the kind of power that the Lord of the White Tower has, nor does he have the kind of extensive social network that the Headmaster has. He is basically all alone."

“So, if it’s the two of them, then there must be at least one other person,” Ambrina concluded. Suddenly, her expression changed. “Could that person be the Prime Minister?”