AWDC Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Palace Coup

After six years of intimate relations, Hofer treated Queen Mother Margaret like a pet. She had become completely subservient to him.

She could decide the palace budget at her sole discretion. Although the amount given by the government was far from her desires, the palace’s back garden had become her exclusive domain.

She had even gained the power to appoint personnel from cooks to seamstresses within the inner palace alone. Although she was dissatisfied with the total of 40 people, she had absolute authority within that group.

Hofer manipulated Margaret as he pleased, controlling the inner palace.

Furthermore, his influence in aristocratic society was growing daily.

In addition to his sharp intellect, he possessed the charisma of the Queen Mother. He freely manipulated nobles who had weaknesses in their hearts.

Nobles were obsessed with money and status, and they quickly became jealous when others rose in the ranks faster than they did.

“It seems that Lord ○○ will be entering the Secretary’s Office of the Minister of Home Affairs soon. If things continue as they are, you, with your greater age and experience, will be left behind,”

When the Queen Mother said such things, the nobles were consumed with jealousy.

“Why is ○○ getting promoted before me?”

Even if they outwardly maintained a gentlemanly facade, they were filled with the desire to drag down their rival nobles by any means necessary.

Sensing the opportunity, Hofer approached them.

“It’s strange that you, with all your abilities, are not being promoted.” A single whisper like that was enough to make most nobles nod as if they had found their voice.

“That’s right. I have dedicated myself so much. It’s strange that it’s not being rewarded.”

The nobles listed their grievances and complaints. And they believed that Hofer accepted and understood all their anger.

“If you do as I say, it will be resolved.” They followed Hofer’s words without doubting them in the slightest.

Although not everyone fell for it, when even Queen Mother Margaret seemed to agree, many nobles fell under Hofer’s sphere of influence.

The number of nobles who obeyed Hofer increased. Furthermore, he set his sights on talented individuals.

However, his control did not extend to those in the center of the government. They knew about the relationship between the Queen Mother and Hofer, and they despised Margaret herself.

“That Toma is a troublesome fellow,” Hofer muttered to himself.

Toma had determined Prince Raphael’s regency. It was safe to assume that Toma was also the one who had organized the government system.

Earl Midland and Duke Gregg were also excellent, but it was Toma who was providing them with ideas.

He had to either bring Toma to his side or eliminate him.

“Even dangling money and status in front of him didn’t work.”

At several banquets, he had several women attend to Toma.

“That blockhead didn’t lay a hand on any of the women. Is he made of wood and stone?”

Toma had acquired more money and status through his own power than the church could ever provide. He couldn’t be tamed from that angle.

“And he showed no interest in women, nor did he indulge in alcohol. That rigidity of his is stricter than a monk.”

“A man who is unmoved by money, honor, sake, or women should be killed.” These were hardly the words of a religious man.

His ability was to exploit human weaknesses, gain mental superiority, and control the other person. Therefore, that ability was useless against someone with equal or greater ability, or someone with a higher status.

Even so, Toma was the person he wanted at all costs.

Among the nobles influenced by Hofer was Samarkand.

Due to his father’s misdeeds, he had aided Prince Charles’s rebellion, and as a result, he had received a severe punishment from the King, and his territory had been almost halved.

Moreover, at Toma’s request, the former King had transferred the Samarkand territory to the Robertson family.

From Samarkand’s perspective, it seemed as if Toma had orchestrated it.

“Why must I be under that hick? The Robertsons are poor nobles who can only afford to eat potatoes. My family has been disgraced by such a family.” He came to the capital seeking advancement in order to clear his father’s name. However, Toma had become an Earl and held the highest seat in the government office. He was no match for him.

Hofer was not about to let his frustrated feelings go to waste.

“Are you going to let such a man continue to thrive?” He only hinted slightly, but Samarkand went berserk.

Samarkand ordered his subordinates to follow Toma and attack him if there was an opportunity.

However, Toma was more formidable than expected, and the attackers were defeated instead.

He considered another attack, but was told to stop by the bishop.

“I don’t think you’ll succeed with such a sloppy method. There’s no point in repeating failures,” he said bluntly.

When the bishop said so, the viscount had no choice but to obey.

The viscount’s clumsy attack plan was unexpected. Even though he had hinted at it himself, he was amazed that he would carry it out in such a simple way.

He didn’t know what kind of physical abilities Toma had as a reincarnated person. From the reports of those who had witnessed the attack, he had to recognize that Toma was quite skilled. He would consider it a success just for being able to discern that.

If even three people attacking together couldn’t inflict a single wound, the chances of failure were high no matter how many times they repeated it.

Repeating the same mistakes is the way of fools. He should consider other methods from now on.

For Hofer, this failure resulted in accelerating his decision.

If things continued as they were, the security on the government side would become tighter. Fortunately, the identities of the attackers remained unknown, and there was no danger of suspicion falling on him, but it was definitely becoming more difficult.

Furthermore, if he didn’t pull down the Raphael administration forever, there was concern that its foundation would be strengthened to the point where he couldn’t interfere.

The Raphael administration’s reputation in the capital was rising, and there might even be calls to make Raphael the king.

“It might be about time for a hunt.”

“Fatten the prey before you hunt it.” There’s no point in hunting lean prey. It’s fat prey that’s worth hunting.

Eight years into the Raphael administration, the capital had not only regained its peak prosperity, but had even surpassed it.

The population exceeded 100,000, and abundant food was being transported in from the surrounding villages.

In the past, there had been a series of poor harvests, and at times, even people were starving to death. However, thanks to Toma’s agricultural reforms, they no longer suffered from poor harvests.

On the contrary, wheat also flowed in from Toriholi Village and other places, and even commoners could eat white bread.

Even now, many commoners mainly ate black bread or potatoes, but they could afford to eat white bread if they indulged a little.

Even the slum dwellers, who used to hate working, now worked because they wanted to eat bread.

There were still beggars and pickpockets, but they were visibly decreasing.

To that extent, the lives of the common people had improved, and tax revenues had increased.

For Hofer, this tax revenue was tempting.

“I was never interested in a capital full of beggars and starving people. But now, the tax revenue will surpass the Jamal Empire.

With that much tax revenue, we can strengthen the army and overwhelm neighboring countries. Even if we don’t put them under direct control, we should have considerable influence.

If that happens, our church can advance into other countries.”

Hofer’s dream was to increase the influence of his church and build a holy empire.

He did not hesitate to express his ambitions.

The regency was established because the King was too young to handle state affairs. In reality, King Tarim’s intellectual disability made it clear that he was incapable, but ostensibly, his youth was the reason.

Hofer seized upon this reason.

“The regency was put in place because His Majesty the King was young. Now, Prince Tarim is a splendid adult. There is no obstacle to him handling state affairs as King. The regency should be abolished, and the King should rule in person.”

Hofer issued instructions in front of powerful nobles.

“His Majesty the King will turn 18 on ○○ day. You should gather to celebrate His Majesty’s birthday, assert that an adult King does not need a regent, and pledge allegiance to the King’s direct rule.”

“Lord Hofer, His Majesty the King became an adult three years ago. Why have you waited until now?”

“They say you should fatten a pig before you eat it. Do you want a country full of starving residents? It’s better to have a rich one, isn’t it?”

When he said that, laughter arose from the nobles present.

Nobles who had never attended the King’s birthday before were now present.

I felt something fishy, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

Elliot and Richter felt the same way.

When we tried to offer our congratulations to the King, the nobles were standing in a row around him.

At that time, the number of nobles on our side was small. The majority of nobles had built a large barrier between the King and us.

His Majesty Tarim stood on an even higher platform.

“From this moment on, I will take over the affairs of state. I hereby dismiss Regent Raphael.”

King Tarim declared briefly while looking at a written document.

Nobles and officials were gathered in the palace.

At that meeting, the King declared his restoration.

It was clear that the King had declared his restoration in his own words. There was no reason to protest Prince Raphael’s dismissal as regent.

We could not hide our frustration and had no choice but to leave the palace in silence.