Lady to Queen

The only two people that could approach her like this were Rafaella and Petronilla. Rafaella noticed this, and lowered her pose and spoke.     

"I apologize profusely, Your Majesty. I have committed a sin that deserves death."     

"Rafaella."     

Patrizia already had a feeling she knew what Rafaella wanted to talk about when she walked towards her. However, my goodness, to have this kind of reaction. Patrizia spoke to her with a serious but gentle voice.     

"I know what you are about to say. But it is not your fault. I was the one that said I wanted to be alone, and it was nearly impossible for you to find me in that kind of situation. If it is about that, then there is no need for you to apologize."     

"But… I should have followed Your Majesty, even secretly. That is what someone should do as your knight."     

"Those words are not wrong. However, I definitely told you not to follow me, and you only faithfully followed my orders. That is why if you try to label your actions as negligence, then you must say that my orders were wrong."     

Actually this was so. That was why she was the one that felt sorry towards Knight Rafaella. Rafaella lowered her head as if she couldn't even show her face at Patrizia's words. She then spoke in a low voice.     

"From now on… No matter what happens, I will make sure that not even a single hair on your head will be in danger of harm. I, Rafaella Bringstone, swear on the Marquis of Bringstone and my own honor."     

Patrizia raised Rafaella up with a slightly choked up voice. The reason she couldn't help but be soft to Rafaella especially, was because in both the past life and the present life, was that she had been an honest and loyal friend to her. She had given her all to Petronilla and had eventually been faced with a cruel death...     

Would she burn up her body in this life as well, for the daughter of Grochester? Patrizia stared at Rafaella with gloomy eyes over her mood suddenly going down.     

Her eyes were clear and bright. Patrizia gave the slightest movement with the nod of her head.     

"Maybe… There might be a need for your help in revealing the culprit behind this, Ella. If you truly feel sorry… can you help me at that time?"     

"Definitely. With all of my strength."     

Patrizia smiled fondly at her friend.     

Advisory council meetings were held every day without fail. Technically speaking, attendance was optional, and historically, there weren't that many Emperors that had attended every meeting daily. Lucio was one of the few Emperors that had attended.     

"The Regent Majesty is entering."     

Along with those words, the council room's door opened, and everyone stood up to show respect to her, regardless of their station. Patrizia sat in her seat with an expressional face, and the other nobles sat in their seats after her. She began with a short introduction.     

"As you all may know, currently, His Majesty is in a state where he has not regained his consciousness. Until His Majesty can regain his consciousness, I will serve as Regent using his authority instead, as the official Empress. If there is any noble that has any objection, please speak up now."     

"..."     

Of course, there weren't any objections. Patrizia quickly moved on to the next topic, as if she had only done it out of courtesy.     

"I will deal with the most urgent matters, and the less urgent ones will be pushed back as far as possible. Since we can not know when His Majesty will awaken."     

"Please do it that way."     

"Your Majesty, what do you plan to do about the issue with the Wizus Empire? They are requesting an immediate response regarding the tariffs."     

"Let us push back diplomatic matters as far as possible. If they have ears they should hear about our current situation, and even if they do not, it should be for the best that we use this as a justification in delaying our final decision. If the time to deliberate increases, the result will be of higher quality."     

"Yes, Your Majesty. We will do it that way."     

Lucio was a diligent Emperor, and because of that, there weren't that many "urgent" matters that she had to solve at the moment.     

She was amazed at his sincerity towards his work and moved on to the next issue.     

"The northwestern part of the country is facing a major drought, and it is said that the damage is extensive. The lords of that region have asked for assistance with relief funds, how much of an amount set would be for the best?"     

It was then that someone opened their mouth. It was the Viscount of Philistine who was in charge of the Ministry of Finance.     

He proceeded to speak after Patrizia nodded her encouragement for him to continue.     

"Your Majesty, it is regrettable to inform you of this fact, but currently, the funds in the Imperial Treasury are not too bountiful. The floods that occurred in the southeastern side of the country, and frequent invasions from northern territories, has cost a lot of money in providing assistance. If we dip into the treasury for this situation, it could put us into a slightly dangerous situation financially."     

"However, even if that is the case, we can not stay still and not provide aid, Viscount?"     

When another noble spoke up, the Viscount Philistine nodded his head as if to agree those words weren't wrong, but he continued to look burdened by the idea of a huge expense.     

"The Imperial Treasury currently does not have enough funds. Nobody can say for certain if something might happen, and if we continue on like this, it will become completely empty, Your Majesty. The annual revenue is fixed, but the spending continues to increase, so please grant a wise decision."     

There were not enough funds, but actions to provide relief had to be taken. Patrizia was slightly confused about this aspect and slowly opened her mouth.     

"If we go by the Viscount's words, that means we should dip into the treasury as little as possible to help… but I only know of one method. Is there something wrong with my way of thinking?"