Published: January 4, 2026
I was swinging my sword in the courtyard and ended up sweating and covered in dust.
To wash off the dirt, I took a bath.
I undressed and entered the bath, letting the dedicated maids wash me.
In the usual sense, it felt pleasant.
There are always parts of your body that you just can’t wash properly by yourself, and when you’re tired, the way you wash becomes careless.
But when the maids do it, there’s none of that, and the dirt, the grease, and even the fatigue are thoroughly washed away.
No joke, it’s a bath with an effect that restores your stamina.
After finishing that, I was being dressed by other maids in the dressing room when a reception maid came in.
“Master, a guest has arrived.”
I glanced at the business card she held out without taking it.
Governor Hojoy Murray.
The name sounded familiar.
I left the dressing to the maids and tried to recall the visitor from memory.
“…Ah, he’s the most successful man from my fief.”
I managed to remember.
Because the empire grants fiefs to the princes, it has a strongly feudal character.
Unless something extraordinary happens, it’s common to regard the local lord, a member of the royal family, as your lord.
Murray is a man who now serves as governor somewhere else, not in my fief, but he surely feels strongly that my people are his people, my children.
But what the hell did Murray come here for... well, I’ll find out once I meet him.
“Show him to the reception room. I’ll be right there.”
“Understood.”
The maid took her leave from the dressing room after receiving the order.
I didn’t do anything special.
I let the maids finish dressing me properly and tidied myself up.
Finally, after fastening Leviathan to my waist, I calmly left the dressing room and headed to the reception room.
A maid was waiting in front of the reception room; when I arrived, she bowed and opened the door.
“Ah!”
Inside, a middle-aged man seated on the sofa’s lower seat stood up and smoothly knelt before me.
“Dead Murray. I am deeply honored to behold your esteemed visage.”
“Cut the formalities. Have a seat.”
“Yes, sir.”
Murray stood up but waited for me to sit in the seat of honor before taking his own on the sofa.
“Dead Murray. This is our second meeting, isn’t it?”
That was how I remembered it, but I confirmed anyway.
“Yes, about a year and a half ago, when His Majesty appointed me governor, I paid my respects.”
“Right.”
So that was the greeting at his appointment.
That kind of courtesy to one’s lord from their homeland is indispensable.
“I see. Good to have you here. How’s your post?”
“...”
“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve bitten into a bitter fruit.”
“My appointment was largely because I’m from Almeria.”
“Because you’re from Almeria...? Ah, I remember now — His Majesty commanded you to work on flood control.”
“Yes.”
Now I fully recalled.
Hojoy is a land at a bend of a great river.
Because of this, it has fertile farmland as a granary area but occasionally suffers huge floods causing great disasters.
His Majesty’s idea is to completely solve this and stabilize the granary area, and Murray, from Almeria—the land of the water clan—was appointed as governor for this purpose.
“If you look that way, does it mean things aren’t going well?”
Murray nodded slightly.
“The budget has not been approved; you can’t spend what you don’t have.”
“Budget? That can’t be. It’s His Majesty’s imperial edict.”
“Yes, but the Ministry of Finance keeps citing one reason or another.”
…I see.
So that’s why he came to me, hoping I could do something about the Ministry of Finance.
“Alright, come with me.”
“Eh? Ah, Prince Your Highness!”
I took the bewildered Murray and left the mansion.
☆
We arranged a carriage and went together to the Ministry of Finance.
The building is west of the palace, formerly a detached palace, now repurposed, combining both grandeur and elegance at a high level.
In the most formal room there, I faced Finance Minister Maverick.