Chapter 113

After hearing the princess’s judgment, the Minister of Defense couldn’t help but shake his head, a strange sense of sorrow welling up in his heart.

No matter who became the new Lionheart Duke, they could only watch as the Lane Family completely fell apart. And the princess and himself, also “holding things together,” were their situations really much better than his?

Currently, the old nobles’ power was deeply entrenched. Among the twenty-odd large departments, nearly one-third were controlled by the old nobility, like fat lice, leeching off the nation with wild abandon.

And the merchants and legislators cultivated to counterbalance the old nobility’s grip on the upper house initially had some restraining effect. But after more than a hundred years of development, they gradually grew too big to control and began using the legislative powers of the lower house to desperately grab benefits for themselves.

With the support of both houses, the kingdom’s regulation of commercial activities has become increasingly lax in recent years. Despite the kingdom’s commerce becoming more prosperous, the taxes that can be collected are rapidly decreasing.

The wealth of the entire kingdom is beginning to concentrate wildly into the hands of major merchants and old nobles. They continue to grow stronger and fatter, while ordinary people and the country itself keep getting weaker and thinner.

These problems could barely be held back before, but the national defense war six years ago burst everything open. Now, the kingdom’s finances have been running deficits year after year, military preparedness has slackened, rebel groups are causing chaos everywhere, and all issues have reached the brink of explosion.

Even though fiscal authority has returned to the royal family through the efforts of two generations of royalty, and I, as part of the “Princess faction,” have taken advantage of this to be appointed Minister of Defense, gaining influence over the military, the overall situation remains far from optimistic.

If the princess’s reforms ultimately fail and don’t clean up these deep-rooted ills, then the whole kingdom will just be a cabbage that’s rotting a bit slower…

“Princess Veronica!”

Thinking about this, the old man with graying hair took a deep breath, then straightened his slightly hunched back as best he could, his expression serious as he said:

“After the Leon Blood Night, there are quite a few powerful vacancies in the military department. I plan to seize this opportunity to grab a few more. If you have no other matters to discuss, then I shall take my leave.”

“None.”

Shaking her head, the princess noticed how much whiter the Minister’s hair had become since the last time, a warm look appearing in her eyes. She gave an extra reminder:

“You haven’t been looking very well lately. Please take care of your health.

I understand time is short, but if you collapse from overwork, then all our efforts these past years would truly be wasted.”

“Certainly!”

The old man vaguely acknowledged the princess’s words, refusing her offer to see him out. He left the room with two young officers in quick strides. Once his footsteps faded completely, someone lightly knocked on the door a few times.

“Come in.”

As the door hinge creaked softly, a young man clad in a dark wool coat, looking thoroughly lazy, walked in with slumped shoulders and plopped down in the chair opposite the princess.

“This job was done pretty well this time.”

Not minding the newcomer’s rudeness, the princess raised the file of the newly appointed Lionheart Duke in her hand and smiled, asking:

“A person who was just added to the Lane family records a few days ago, whose hair isn’t even golden, managed to become the new Lionheart Duke… How did you manage that?”

“Simple.”

The lazy youth lifted his eyelids slightly, pulling out two dice from his pocket and placing them on the table. Then, with a lethargic tone, he explained: “Without doing anything, the probability of the old duke choosing him is only three percent. If five to seven heirs are killed, moving his succession rank to the top five, the probability jumps directly to fifteen percent.

Then, if you sneak into the hospital, find the old duke’s medicine, add some alchemical supplements that increase heart rate, and kidnap the granddaughter of the old duke’s most trusted butler to force him to deliberately stir the old duke’s emotions, the probability increases to thirty-six percent.”

Without anyone touching them, the two dice on the table kept jumping and changing.

First, one stood on its edge showing three dots; then one showed one dot and the other five; then one showed three and the other six, exactly matching the numbers mentioned by the lazy youth.

As the lazy youth continued his explanation, the two dice on the table flipped over, both showing six dots facing up, signaling the end of his story.

“It’s all down to luck now.”

Pointing at the two dice on the table, the lazy youth concluded: “As long as the final developments fall within this sixty-six percent range, he’ll be chosen by the old duke. If not, someone else will become the new duke.”

“I see.”

Having listened to the entire process, the princess lightly clapped her hands twice, then praised:

“Truly a wondrous ability. Even though we’ve worked together several times, it still feels incredible after hearing you explain. It’s amazing how unrelated actions, when carried out according to requirements, can increase the success rate of any task to around sixty percent…”

“Not around sixty percent, it’s sixty-six percent.”

Carefully correcting the princess’s statement, the lazy youth pointed at the dice on the table and said: “The die on the left represents the tens place, the one on the right the ones place. Dice only go up to six, so the maximum success rate can only be sixty-six percent.”

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“So, have you considered switching to two ten-sided dice?”

“Can’t do that. Only these two dice have this effect.”

“Alright…”

Blinking regretfully, the princess pulled out a blank check, placed it on the table, and handed it over.

“This is the agreed-upon compensation. It’s been a pleasure working together.”

“Sorry, but I need to charge extra this time.”

Folding the check and putting it away, the lazy youth seriously said: “You didn’t tell me beforehand that Leon Lane is also an employee of our Sixth Clearing Bureau, and that he’s highly regarded by the director. My actions this time actually carried significant risks, so the price needs to increase by ten percent.”

“I can accept the price increase.”

Furrowing her brows slightly, the princess didn’t argue but instead made a request after thinking for a moment:

“But this additional fee wasn’t agreed upon beforehand, so as compensation, you must use these two dice to answer another question for me.”

“Fine.”

Nodding in agreement, the lazy youth grabbed the dice and asked:

“What would you like to ask?”

“The same as always.”

Taking a deep breath, the princess closed her eyes gently and whispered softly:

“What exactly must I do to save this country?”

(End of Chapter)