Chapter 36: A throne without substance

Fish and tomato chowder, small bread rolls, pickled olives, and ratatouille.

Livyat was already starving, her appetite fully awakened.

She tore off a piece of bread with her hands and soaked it in the rich fish soup, paying no mind that her pajama sleeve nearly dipped into the bowl.

Julia looked at Livyat’s adorable appearance, her face full of fondness.

“See, I told you. Even though Liv has become an elf, her favorite is still our Landinset’s fish soup. This is a homestyle dish every household in Landinset knows how to make.”

Tesvelan paid Julia no heed.

After the earlier fierce battle, she was hungry too.

She deftly twirled her fork, secured it, and picked up a piece of tender white fish to eat.

Mm, it really was delicious.

As she ate, she didn’t forget to lecture Liv.

“Liv, having this kind of fighting spirit is good. But before you become Queen, you need to fill your stomach first. A Queen with an empty belly can’t go maneuvering through power games, you know.”

Liv had nearly buried her little face in her plate by now.

Gulp, gulp, she wolfed down her food in no time, no longer caring about whatever Tes was saying.

It really did feel different after a whole day without eating.

Julia also had no intention of bringing up anything troublesome at this moment.

She pinched a pickled olive and popped it in her mouth.

That special tangy, astringent flavor burst forth, helping to stifle her own urge to impatiently start discussing political affairs.

Only after Liv had eaten her fill, satisfied her hunger, and wiped her mouth clean of all the soup, did Julia and Tesvelan set down their knives and forks in tacit understanding, looking at Liv.

“Ahem. Since that’s the case, let’s begin our first ever Elf-Human Summit. Our little trio will be called, hmm, the ‘Empty Throne’ Conference. Actually, when I think about it, we’re frighteningly strong—a Queen, a former royal princess, and the Chief Administrator. It’s practically a shadow cabinet!”

“Shadow cabinet” was a term Liv had learned from her previous life, though she had no idea when it had actually existed back then.

Regardless, she thought it sounded way too cool.

Julia was infected by Liv’s sense of humor and laughed happily.

“Pfft. A shadow cabinet, huh? That really does have a certain ring to it. Liv, then you’ll be the leader of the ‘Empty Throne’ Conference.”

“No, no, no, ‘leader’ doesn’t sound good. Let me think, we should call it the main coordinator. I’ll be the coordinator of the conference!”

Liv was now totally into playing with the joke, even more energized.

Only Tesvelan seemed unmoved by all this, simply waiting patiently for Liv to go on.

“Very well, it seems you both approve of founding the ‘Empty Throne.’ Next, our first agenda item. Julia-sis, why don’t you share your thoughts first?”

Julia could finally get to the heart of the matter and speak her mind and concerns.

“The navy. The current problem is the navy. They are very dissatisfied with the repeated suppression. Especially after the Governor ordered the sealing of the March Thirteenth escort ship and demanded the navy send a fleet to intimidate the Kingdom of Camellot. Right now they are complying, but doubts and suspicions are spreading like wildfire. We’ve already intercepted some letters opposing the Governor.”

Yes, from postponing the construction of the Riccardo Dandolo-class battleship, to leasing it to the elves, to demanding that most of the fleet relocate to Kioran Port, the Governor’s relationship with the navy was starting to crack.

Julia continued, “For now, through Lady Emilia of the Ten-member Committee—her family has deep ties to the navy—we can keep things stable temporarily. But that’s not a long-term solution. The northern faction, which favors a stronger navy and control over the great river basin, is bound to gain more favor from the navy.”

As Liv listened, she fiddled with the fork in her hand, occasionally swirling the oil in her plate.

After hearing all this, she looked up.

“Julia-sis, all those navy captains’ grand mansions are in Landinset, and all their income comes from Landinset. Frankly, they’re always counting on Madam Baor to approve more ships, more missions, and a bigger say for them. So, why can’t we just make Madam Baor step down?”

Julia was stunned for a moment, surprised that Liv was so direct—saying out loud what she and her father had only dreamed of.

The old Liv would never have even thought of such things.

“Yes. We would very much like Baor Dandolo to be banished from the Republic, or even die somewhere. Then the navy would quiet down a bit. But it’s nearly impossible. She’s very cautious, has no weaknesses, and has many supporters. Even if some won’t stand against the Governor, they won’t just watch Baor be targeted.”

Tesvelan said, “That’s right. The fleet officers serve the homeland, yes. But if you want to move against Madam Baor, it’s not that simple. Frankly, Madam Baor is happy to bicker in the Assembly with the various councilors—the Ten-member Committee is quite pleased about that. Even if you have Lady Emilia, you’d just plunge the navy into civil war.”

Who’d have thought that even Tes, who had no interest in these matters, could analyze it so clearly.

Liv frowned, then took a step back, “Why can’t the Ten-member Committee bring in more navy people? The Governor only got close to the elves this year, but he’s been in power for more than a decade.”

Julia knew it was time to lay out everything she knew.

Otherwise, the “Empty Throne” would be pointless.

“Of course the Governor knows. In the early years, there were more navy people on his Ten-member Committee. But later, with retirements and deaths, there was no one to fill the gap. The navy’s rising stars weren’t able to fulfill the duties of committee members. If he promoted them, the Assembly would object.”

“After all these years, only Emilia is left, both experienced and willing to cooperate with the Governor. That’s the root of the problem—they therefore lean toward the opposition, Madam Baor. But fundamentally, many of the Assembly members who refuse to let them into the Committee are Madam Baor’s people. They don’t trust officers whose hair hasn’t turned gray. The officers know this, too.”

After listening, Liv felt more and more that the Republic’s muddy waters were truly terrifying.

Each faction tugged this way and that, and in the end nothing was divided up except the territory was already crowded full.

“So that’s it. They need Madam Baor’s votes to get onto the Committee, but if they get her support, of course the Governor won’t be pleased…”

“No, until this year the Governor wouldn’t have minded. In theory, he’s supposed to stand above both my father and Madam Baor. There were several times when he and Madam Baor discussed letting the mainstays of the navy join the Committee.”

“Madam Baor didn’t object, but…the internal strife in the navy was so bad that they could never agree on a candidate. That Emilia could get in is already quite good. But this year, the Governor truly has to weigh Madam Baor’s recommendations.”

A deadlock.

An unmistakable deadlock.

This grand ship that seemed so unstoppable was now a giant with feet of clay, barely able to move forward.

Tesvelan couldn’t be bothered to speak anymore.

She crossed her legs, looking on with interest at Liv, who had been so full of ambition just moments before.

How can you run a country properly with a bunch of vermin like this!

Liv was so angry she couldn’t even speak, she just wanted to cool off.

Suddenly, inspiration struck her.

“Madam Baor…she seems to be a dignified person.”

She tossed the fork in her hand, sending it flying straight into the utensil holder.

“Then let’s let her keep her dignity. But there’s no rush. We still need to build more cards to play.”