A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 231 Resignation

The whispering suddenly stopped.

The reason was simple: His Majesty the King strode briskly to the front of the platform, and everyone rose to their feet. The priests and monks bowed in respect, the nobles saluted, and then the king welcomed him with applause.

"Your discussion is very lively; I can hear it even from outside the room."

"I apologize for disturbing Your Majesty."

"No, no, no, it is I who should apologize to the gentlemen. Please understand that after becoming king, my time no longer belongs to myself, nor to a select few."

"Yes, you are the ruler of the kingdom, the representative of all people, just as we are the representatives of the Valuwa people." These words were spoken by nobles who had always considered themselves representatives of the Valuwa people, a realization that had been awakened during their wars with Istani and the Empire.

Charles XVI agreed, smiling as he walked to his temporary throne but did not sit down: "Excellent, well said. Master Cano also speaks highly of this; your proposal certainly enhances public confidence in the currency."

"I believe this is a short-sighted move by Mr. Necker. The late King taught me that the king, nobles, and subjects must first establish mutual trust in order to pursue common interests."

What mutual benefit? This is a matter of life and death! Necker could only force a smile and praise, "Your Majesty is wise."

"Our king is wise!" This was the most unified cheer in the hall.

The prime minister and the treasurer quickly realized why the king wasn't seated. He announced to the assembly, "Since everyone is willing to adopt Master Nakano's brilliant suggestion, then please, Lord Necker, refine the proposal further. And at this point..."

He pulled out his homemade pocket watch and glanced at it: "Preparing meals for two hundred people is no small challenge. It's time to invite you all to test the imperial chefs' skills! I will not fail those who have shared the burden of the country. Please come to the banquet hall for lunch!"

No, no, no! Necker desperately wanted to stop it all, but he couldn't possibly ask the king to withdraw his invitation in front of everyone!

Your Majesty, your hospitable proposal will give these people an opportunity to network, a chance to argue over the wording of the terms, and will unite them to advance and retreat together. Necker vaguely foresaw that the meeting of dignitaries would go awry because of Charles XVI's banquet.

Duplessie Necker glanced at the Red Chancellor, who, surprisingly, didn't stop him this time. He wanted to forge alliances between the Archbishop and the nobles with swords! Necker quickly realized that he had risen from humble beginnings in the banking industry, while Duplessie was an Archbishop and a high-ranking noble; forming alliances would be advantageous for him at this moment.

After a hearty meal and drinks, and with the king and his ministers enjoying themselves, the king logged off again.

His Majesty wishes to enjoy a leisurely afternoon rest, and the meeting will once again be chaired by two ministers.

However, after being forced to include clauses on independent and supervised currency issuance, Necker reiterated his reform initiatives, reciting his ideal blueprint aloud until his voice became hoarse and he endured the pain and blood in his throat.

But the response was lukewarm. The archbishops and nobles in the front row were drowsy and didn't listen; they were waiting for the treasurer to finish reading.

In fact, if the vote had been held on the spot in the morning, there might have been a glimmer of hope. However, after the coordination, the collective response from the participants was that such a drastic change required a three-level meeting to pass.

A meeting of the third tier cannot be convened immediately, meaning that even if the new tax law is passed at the three-tier meeting, it will be delayed until the following year before it can be implemented.

They wanted to make one last quick buck!

The Chief Justice also launched an attack, demanding that Necker fully disclose the finances and explain the royal family's enormous expenses item by item.

Shouts of "Make it public!" and "Make it public!" converged.

Necker and the others, their mouths dry and exhausted from shouting, finally spoke: "No comment."

After the vote was announced as a failure, Necker spoke: "Here, I feel utterly humiliated and ashamed. Please note, I am not speaking for myself, but for all of you present here, for the country I love so dearly. Now I submit my resignation to His Majesty, and please allow me to leave."

The Finance Minister was greeted with boos and jeers, but eventually some people started clapping, as if they had achieved some kind of victory.

The research building after the meeting.

"Come on, help proofread and organize it into print." Pascal carried a stack of meeting minutes into the office, where he summoned his girlfriend Paulina and his good junior colleague Rorschach.

The Archmage's assistant was, of course, Cano's student. "The Imperial" Rorschach certainly wouldn't be attending; he was seeing off Varon when the meeting was held—shoving him into a van that was recycling glass beverage bottles. So, Pascal was the one accompanying Cano.

He was responsible for taking meeting minutes, and then outsourced the rest of the work to Paulina and Rorschach.

As Luo Xia eagerly took it, he reminded his senior brother, "Master Cano took you to such an important meeting, is it alright for us to have this kind of confidential information now?"

"Hey, don't make excuses to run away. If I do this job by myself, I'll have to work all night. I don't really trust anyone else to do it."

Since you put it that way, then I'll accept it. Rorschach successfully obtained a portion of the meeting minutes.

Paulina, who was familiar with Pascal's handwriting, noticed something was wrong: "Your handwriting has improved?"

"No, no, no, it's all thanks to the enchanted stenographer. I just need to record who's speaking and then let it do its own thing. It's just that you guys have to work hard to proofread the text when you type it out."

After finishing typing, Luo Xia suggested exchanging manuscripts for proofreading and successfully read through all the content.

"So the finance minister resigned?"

Pascal nodded: "Master Cano later had a private audience with the King, and I saw that man named Necker leave the palace."

This meeting can hardly be called a conference of unity or a conference of victory. Of all the proposals put forward by the two ministers, the temporary increase in transaction tax was passed. The church, as a compromise, agreed to donate another sum of cash to fill the financial hole so that the kingdom could operate until the end of the autumn harvest and before the large-scale taxation.

Any reforms that introduced new taxes or involved privileged interests were rejected. When the king reappeared, he expressed his hope to submit the proposal to the highest arbitration court of Valuana for consideration, but it was rejected on the spot by the chief judge, who was a nobleman in robes.

Only the Estates-General—a council encompassing all social classes—can legitimize His Majesty and his ministers' tax increases and reforms. This is how these "righteous messengers" silenced their critics.

"Fortunately, Master Cano's suggestion was retained." Pascal was also very proud.

Necker wasn't completely forgotten after leaving office; his monetary policy was affirmed, a new currency linked to taxes was approved at the meeting, and both old and new nobles elected Grand Duke Mervynja to oversee the matter, which displeased Charles XVI.

"I think those people are eager to cut their losses and want to reach for the right to mint coins. Your king only cares about whether his own treasury is full, but doesn't see how valuable money will be in the future." Rorschach commented as he typed on the keyboard, as if he had returned to the days when he used to "keyboard" on the forum.

"You're quite skilled with a typewriter." Pascal was still typing one letter at a time with two fingers, while Rorschach was much faster in comparison.

(End of this chapter)