"Run! They're armed!"

Why? She never truly understood why. Why would a bunch of young men storm a peaceful school just to shoot their fellow students?

"What the hell do you mean run? We must get our wands from the locker room and hit back those scums!"

It was a pointless act. Yet they still killed eight students and injured dozens before they were taken out brutally by crude magic. Nothing but deranged terrorists. But while she wouldn't admit it - it forever changed how she viewed men. Deep down, they were but violent, bloodthirsty maniacs to her.

Perhaps it was why she was always so distant from him. Was he a monster like them? Were they all a monster like them? Was the Goddess right, that men were evil and they deserved to be deprived of magic?

"Amelie, they're leaving for the front. Are you not going to bid your brothers goodbye?"

She didn't want to get close to the two. They were always so apathetic, cold, distant, and detached. Almost as if the only difference her brothers had from those killers was that they had not pointed their cursed rifles at innocent women like her yet.

"They didn't find his body. Albert is still recuperating. Amelie...you should at least meet and give your brother company."

She didn't know much about Adam. She sufficed she wouldn't know much more now. Was he really a bad person? In a way, her heart was racked with guilt. He died in the fiery, blood-soaked fields of Liebnich, likely alone. His body was never found. And this was how she treated him. This was how she treated them.

Just because of that event. She lumped them all as demons. No, she must atone and go meet Albert again. If, at the very least, let him know that someone was there for him. He was still her brother.

And so she did. She entered the room. He didn't look at her. He was delirious...and...and his eyes. It was gone. Ugly, shrapnel scars. Bandages. Blood. No. She didn't want to see it. She left in terror. No, he did this to himself. If he just didn't go to war. If only he weren't a bloodthirsty man, he would still have...he would have...

No...it was her mother who sent them. It was they who sent them all there. It was their war, yet...they were the ones fighting and dying. Does that mean-

Her eyes opened as the morning light shone.

+++

Halia, Kingdom of Orland

January 3, 2024

Yesterday was a stressful night for Amelie. After washing her face, she looked at the mirror once more, her sour expression looking back at her.

She began preparing for the day, then she left her chambers and went straight to her office. As she went through the Palace halls, she passed through Royal Guard knights, servants, and other Palace staff. She walked quickly, simply giving them curt smiles as they bowed to her.

When she reached her office, her brother was waiting just outside the door. He looked at her for a few seconds, and so did she.

I'd never get used to seeing him with that eyepatch.

"Good morning, Albert," Amelie greeted. She wondered what his business was today. Usually, Albert stayed at the port, doing his navy stuff. Always ever so busy that even when he now was back home at Orland, she would still rarely talk to him outside of extremely important matters.

"Morning, Your Majesty. I have news from the Admiralty." He replied monotonously as he handed her a document. Sometimes, she still felt uncomfortable at how he would intermittently address her way too formally.

As if I'm not his sister.

"A new naval shipyard is to be constructed by Porter Heavy Industries here in Halia, but the Parliament blocked the budget yesterday."

She frowned as she read the document. Why would they construct a shipyard right now? As far as she knew, the war was over, and the military was set to be demobilized.

"And they want you to reverse that decision."

She looked at him. "Albert, I'm not sure what's wrong with the Parliament's decision. The war is over. Shouldn't we be closing military facilities instead to save funds?"

He gave her a neutral stare before chuckling. She looked confused at his reaction, which prompted him to laugh even more. She was slightly taken aback. It wasn't a simple laugh...it was almost condescending.

How dare he?

[https://i.ibb.co/HNhWcpg/61e3685dcc01edfc640d153fc65d36325e78455d-s2-n3-y1.jpg]

"Pardon me, but I'm afraid I don't understand. What's so funny?"

"That's precisely what's funny, Your Majesty. You don't understand." He handed her another document. Now it was a direct request from the Ministry of Defense.

"The military and these corporations want to keep wartime industries to ensure their readiness and keep the profits flowing. If you refuse this, the military will grow hostile to your rule."

Stolen story; please report.

What? That didn't make sense to her. Readiness for what? Was this connected to what the Prime Minister said yesterday? That the military was preparing for an armed revolt should the Kingdom block men's right to vote?

"...Albert, this won't help the Kingdom." To spend more Orlish Blancs on military matters when they needed to rebuild the economy would be foolish.

"Neither would blocking it. Unless if you find it pleasurable to paint a massive crosshair on your back. Don't worry, I too, find it distasteful, it's better to spend that money for the people, but I'll tell you that you're not in the position to refuse."

Such an ugly situation. It would be great to block it, indeed, but she didn't want the military to turn more hostile than it currently was. Not now, not when her reign had only just begun, and especially not with the coming elections.

But this won't sit well with the court. Nor would it sit well with Parliament. Many women already feared that the ever-growing power of the military would threaten Orland's Arcanist Democracy. The fact that men would be voting already violated the core tenets of arcanist democracy - that only those with magic, women, should have the right to vote.

Fortunately, the previous decades of her mother's reformist policies made it slightly palatable to let men vote, but the idea of allowing them to potentially threaten the elections through military force?

As the Archduchess remarked yesterday, it would be utterly unacceptable.

"What of the Parliament then? Or the court? How could I even convince them to put more of the Kingdom's treasury on the Military? I cannot lose their support."

"Amelie," Now that was a surprise. He addressed her by her name. "You're the Queen here. Those aristocrats are your underlings."

He was correct. But only if it was that easy! She absolutely could not just barge in, say, the Parliament or the Arcane Council and proclaim a sudden budget increase for the hated military.

Ideas, ideas, she needed ideas.

Perhaps she could convince the military to stop the project? Or perhaps lower the contract cost to make it more palatable?

But she was no expert at these matters. Again, she was no economist and, thus, absolutely not an expert at military procurement and related projects either.

An idea popped into her mind. She needed advice. Advice from whom? Someone with connections to the military and someone she could slightly trust. Naturally, that automatically removed almost everyone in the military - except for Albert.

"Alright...can you help me?"

"Help you in what?"

"In a lot of things. You're from the military, which means you have a better idea of how I should handle the military and this issue. Maybe you can even help me negotiate a good compromise."

Somehow, he looked at her as if she had gone insane. "Your Majesty, what the hell are you talking about? I'm not even a politician."

"You're still my brother. Surely you hold some sway?"

"So what? Men don't get any titles here. I'm not even a prince like in other countries. I'm just another dude who happened to be the son of the previous Queen." He looked at her with a tinge of resentment. "I'm nothing but a lowly senior officer of the navy. If you think I hold any influence, you're being naive."

"Well, but you're still a naval officer. And you have more experience in politics. Please, at least guide me here." She clasped her hands, and Albert broke eye contact as he conceded.

"...Fine. I'll do what I can, but no promises."

"That's something, at least..." She murmured before she perked up. Perhaps she could talk to him more about family matters now that they're alone, but...

Well, Albert bid his goodbyes and left her, leaving her to ponder on what to do with the project alone instead. She sighed and entered her office. There were mountains of folders and paperwork on the side of her desk from her shift yesterday.

Terribly so, she noticed that her desktop was still open. She probably forgot to shut it down before she dragged herself to her bedroom to sleep last night.

"This is why staying up till 3 am is bad." She remarked as she sat down on her chair, facing the dreaded documents she was trying to deal with last night.

She stared at the devilish reminder of her new job for many long moments, as her mind internally cursed her luck at ending up with this massive headache. So much so that she thought that perhaps she should just leave these matters to the government entirely and laze around like the other monarchs of Pollos.

Oh, how wonderful that would be. She heard that the new Empress of Larissa always would stay in a nice resort built only for her...

She slapped herself. Stop with that train of thought, Amelie! Get a hold of yourself!

There were problems, problems everywhere, and she promised to fix those problems. Her Kingdom expected results, and it was her duty as Queen to deliver it. And she would deliver, she told herself.

With this newfound vigor, she pulled out her pen to finally sign another-

Her telephone rang. Someone was calling. Typically, no one should be able to simply ring the Queen, but she did tell the staff that if someone called, they would be allowed.

It was a part of her "good" Queen goals. Be open to her subjects. She looked slightly proud of herself as she took the phone.

"Hello? May I know who's on the other line, please?"

Her tone was welcoming and perhaps slightly excited.

Not a lot of monarchs are as kind as me. Oh, whoever's on the other side must be so grateful to be able to talk to me. This should help increase my popularity with my people.

The voice that answered wasn't a woman's.

"Good Morning, Your Majesty. I am Well Porter, the CEO of Porter Heavy Industries. I must say, even your mother wasn't as open as you."

PHI...so that company, huh? Did he call to discuss the problem with the project?

"Yes, I did promise that I would be closely interacting with my subjects. So Mr.Porter, what made you call this early?"

"Your Majesty, surely, you have heard of the shipyard project in Halia, yes?"

"Yes indeed, I was just informed moments ago."

"Good, of course. It is nice to hear that our Queen listens well to matters at hand. Your Majesty, I cannot, of course, discuss this predicament with you over the phone line. Thus, would you be so kind as to allow a meeting between us?"

That...well, she expected it to happen anyways. If she were to deal with the issue regarding the shipyard, it would only be natural that she would sit down with the parties involved.

"Of course, I would be delighted. Perhaps on Wednesday? A private meeting could be arranged."

The voice that came back was a tad bit surprised.

"...That's it? No special requirements?"

She giggled a bit. "Did you expect that I would charge you millions just for a meeting or something?"

"Well, something along those lines, I suppose. Even the tiny act of requesting a meeting with a noble would usually cost you - erm, something like the equivalent of your left kidney for her to even think that it's worthy of spending time with you."

It was, well, almost a horrible, dark joke. It was supposed to be a joke, right? Yet, his tone...it was almost as if he was speaking from experience.

Surely, it couldn't be that bad, right?

She laughed awkwardly. "Well, what a funny joke, Mr.Porter. I would never, never ask for someone's kidney just for a chat."

"Oh, pardon me for that. I was carried away."

"No, I assure you, it is alright. So Wednesday it is?"

"Wednesday, Your Majesty. I am deeply honored to have a chance to meet you."

"Well, have a nice day, Mr.Porter."

"You too, Your Majesty."

She placed her phone back as the line stopped. Her eyes were glued to the documents Albert handed to her. It appeared that the stakes had risen. Whoever she would pick to favor now in this dispute would have drastic consequences for her rule. Her expression showed a tiny look of despair at her predicament.

The military against the nobility. Where must she stand?

How am I supposed to deal with this?