[West Fantasy] The noble lady who was divorced became rich

"Don't forget what I told you." After Lucius left, Grand Duchess Aquiqui asked Lena to ask a few words. After getting some vague answers, she gently put down her relationship with her children. Instead, he was busy with more important things - that is to avenge King Obstar and put Mariana on the throne.

So after Mariana accepted the banquet invitation from King Obstar, the Grand Duchess Aquique specially instructed her to prevent Mariana from being fooled in the court of Obstar.

But before that, Marianna had to go to see the territory she had obtained before becoming the Duchess of Brittania, and then, in the name of "borrowing", she went to sit in the Obsta court.

"You really have to find other reasons for everything you do." Abigail complained when she was arranging Mariana's clothes: "What's the difference between going in a fair manner and going by 'borrowing'? Aren't the destinations the same? Is it?"

"How could it be the same?" Marianne felt that Abigail's question was very naive: "The former was intentional, so it was difficult to leave room for turnover when encountering some difficult questions. The latter just 'passed by' , so feel free to use 'hurry time' as an excuse to avoid questions that can't be answered directly."

Mariana scanned the gift list that Lena had listed, then watched as the fairies tidied up the corners of some old clothes for her.

Although Mariana is rich enough, she can't be so extravagant that she doesn't wear a piece of clothing twice.In particular, some dresses with special significance are not only difficult to find, but also need to be passed on to Marianne’s descendants, so not only need to be repaired many times, but also have to be regularly sent to the temple for more advanced maintenance.

It can be said that taking care of these clothes is no less troublesome than taking care of a newborn heir to the throne.

Lucian also specially cut her nails before trimming the threads on them, so as not to leave hooks on the precious shark silk and lotus silk.

"How is your brother recently?" Marianna asked Lucian in the gap before departure.

"He... brother, he's pretty good, and he's working hard to play the game." Lucian, who was closing in, almost pricked his fingertips, but he still said in a calm voice as much as possible: "He is very grateful for your arrangements for him, And I hope that I can achieve enough outstanding results.”

"Really?" Mariana thought about Figgohill's temperament, and it was not difficult to find that most of Lucian's answers were made up.

Facing Mariana's probing eyes, Lucian had no intention of doing the work at hand, and almost stuck a needle into her palm.

"Do you...do you want me to bring something to my brother?" Lucian is also a smart person, so she knew that it was useless to play tricks in front of Marianne, so she lowered her eyes and put on a very respectful look: "Please Regardless of the order, I will definitely bring the words as you wish, and then supervise my brother to complete your task."

Mariana's eyes lightly fell on Lucien's eyelashes, and she said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Dear Lucien, you have always been a smart girl."

"Your Highness, I still can't afford your compliments." Lucian was so nervous that her toes hidden under her skirt turned into claws, and her hands trembled.

"You don't need to be afraid of me. After all, I haven't... the intention to abandon you." Mariana sighed, and slightly softened her tone: "I know that your brother has a very good relationship with the gladiator, and also Rented the other party's house."

Lucian didn't know what Mariana was going to do, but she listened intently.

"One month from now will be the off-season for the Adventurer's Guild, so there will be adventurers coming to play in the Colosseum." Mariana threw a button-sized badge to Lucian, signaling her to give it to Figohill : "Let your brother prepare well, it's best to attract the attention of a relatively high-level adventurer team."

Lucian put away the things Marianna gave her, and said somewhat uneasy: "But my brother still has slave records in the Adventurer's Guild, so how could he join the Adventurer's team?"

"You don't need to worry about this, because I will find someone to erase the slave mark on Figohill and the related records in the Adventurer's Guild." Mariana explained: "As long as he does not conduct a blood test, no one will He will doubt his identity, and besides... the team of adventurers who captured you has been wiped out, as for the slave trader who sold you to me."

Mariana paused deliberately, and then showed a rather sarcastic smile: "Thanks to Emperor Odin, he will never be able to identify you in his life, so you don't have to worry about Figohill being exposed."

It was the first time for Lucian to face the horror of royal power.Those who terrified her and caused the tragedy of their brothers and sisters were just existences that would be wiped out when Mariana talked and laughed.

This cognition undoubtedly subverted Lucian's understanding of the world, and at the same time triggered her thinking.

If... if she and Figohill could touch Mariana's power, wouldn't they become quite terrifying people?

Or in other words, will they, under the oppression of this terrible power, indulge in the environment that Marianne uses to boil frogs in warm water.

"Lu Xien? Lucian?" Seeing that Lucian didn't reply for a long time, Mariana called softly a few times.

"Hey! I'm sorry, Your Highness, I just suddenly remembered something from the past." Lucian picked up the dropped needle, nodded to Marianne, and continued with the previous work.

……… I am the dividing line………

Colin was the dowry gift Marianne got when she got engaged to Richard. Because it is bordered by the Grand Duchy of Aquique and the Dark Forest, one of Colin's economic pillars is the sale of gold from the Dark Forest to the Grand Duchy of Aquique. Obtained items, such as the remains of monsters, rare medicinal herbs, and humanoid handmade items.

Although the northern part of the Grand Duchy of Aquique is also bordered by the Dark Forest, considering that the domestic demand for this aspect is not low, and the locals are more willing to receive imperial food than to try their luck in the Dark Forest, Aquiqui The Grand Duchy of Kui still needs to import various items in the dark forest from abroad.

In the southern countries, only Solins and Odin can meet the import needs of the Grand Duchy of Aquique.

Even after Colin was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Aquiqui, the prices of related items in the Dark Forest in the Aquiqui market still did not drop much, but the Principality of Aquiqui didn't care about this.

After all, they imported these items to be processed into magic props, so the adventurers from all over the world were the ones who paid the bill in the end.

Compared with the wealthy Aquique Royal City, Colin is indeed far behind, and even the first impression is not as good as the border city of Aquique.

"Compared to a few years ago, this place is more than a little bit richer." Mariana lifted the curtain of the car and looked at the streets of Colin and the pedestrians coming and going: "I remember when I first took over here, Colin was not so much a town, Rather, it is a relatively large village."

"Aren't you at a loss?" Abigail didn't understand why Mariana made a wedding dress for someone else.

If Solins wants to get Colin back one day, wouldn't the money Mariana spent on rectifying Colin be wasted?

"Wonderful? Do you think I will do something thankless?" Mariana felt very funny and said: "Not to mention that most of the money I used to rectify Colin was spent on Colin people's taxes, just say that I Among the Solins officials who got Colin and fired, there were not many who were not self-serving."

"So you bought Colin without spending your own money at all?" Abigail said dumbfounded: "Wait, when you got Colin, you probably haven't broken off the engagement with Richard! Then how did you Fire Officer Solins?"

"It's not easy, just ransack the house!" Mariana showed an expression of "what's the difficulty": "Richard may not do it because of the face of the nobles in the country, but who am I? I It's his fiancée, a simple-minded, capricious and pampered noble lady, who also has the 'young and ignorant' panacea excuse, so no matter what kind of impulsive actions he makes, he can be forgiven."

At the end, he added: "Besides, I also gave Richard a favor fee as compensation for turning a blind eye to this matter."

"Favourites?"

"I gave Richard a third of the money I paid from the corrupt officials."

"One-third? King Solins is willing to suffer such a big loss?" Abigail said in disbelief: "Based on his cards, it is half of the embezzlement amount."

"I lied to him that it was half of the embezzlement amount, but it was actually only one-third." Marianna who talked about this matter was not usually calm...or could be called shameless.

"Those corrupt officials are also happy to deceive Richard in this regard. After all, the crimes have been convicted, so the amount of corruption will also determine whether their whole family will be executed or only the person involved will be beheaded." The fact is established, so Mariana doesn't mind confiding to Abigail: "Because Colin borders the Grand Duchy of Aquique, I can transfer some assets before Richard notices. As for those corrupt officials..."

Mariana shrugged, and said indifferently: "They will be handled by Richard, and King Solins will not refuse a cooperation that will bring fame and fortune."

Abigail subconsciously applauded for Marianna, her face still had an expression of shock: "You did a great job."

"Borrowing other people's money and being generous to others has won the support of the people."

"Even if Richard will leave a reputation as an afterthought, he can't refuse the huge sum of money he is about to receive and the good reputation of killing harm for the people."

"High, really high."

Facing Abigail's praise, Mariana did not show how happy she was, instead she sighed and said, "It's a pity that I wasn't brave enough at the time, otherwise Richard wouldn't have gotten a third of the stolen money, but a quarter."

"..."

"But considering Richard's suspicion, it's better not to be so obvious."

Abigail stopped applauding, her expression more inarticulate than before.

Because all of Colin's officials have been cleaned up by Mariana, and after she broke off the engagement with Richard, it is difficult for those who want to keep Solins' nationality to follow Mariana, so Colin is currently in a Under the administration of the Grand Duchy of Chikwi.

Of course, the appointment of officials still had to be approved by Mariana, but after Mariana became the Duchess of Britannia, she still had the idea of ​​letting the Britannia manage Solins.

After all, among those Aquiqui people who manage Colin, there must be the eyeliner of the Grand Duchess Aquiqui.

Especially during the time when Mariana was engaged to Seis of Cantero and the little emperor of Odin, the Grand Duchess Aquique must have placed her own people in Colin.

Fortunately, every place is exclusive to a certain extent, so the Grand Duchess Aquique will not make any major moves, so as not to cause dissatisfaction among the Corinthians.

"Your Highness." After receiving the news, Colin's deputy castellan went to the gate of the castle to greet Marianne in person.

Compared with the last time they met, Colin's deputy city lord had a lot more gray hair, and even his figure was a lot more stooped.

After Mariana got out of the car, she extended her right hand to the other party, and the latter immediately kissed Mariana's ruby ​​ring lightly.

"I have asked someone to clean up Colin's account books in recent years, and I have arranged for professionals to be on standby in your study."

After all, the deputy city lord glanced at Marianna's entourage, and added very considerately: "The head of the court has sent someone to clean up the rooms for you and the maids, so I invite you and the ladies who are accompanying you to enjoy your stay in the department. Lin's time"

"Your Excellency, I am moved by your thoughtfulness and sincerity." Mariana said gently, "Please also attend my welcome banquet so that I have the opportunity to express my gratitude to you."

"Your Highness, your appreciation will motivate me to serve you more diligently." After meeting with Marianne, Colin's deputy city lord went to work on his own affairs.

After all, it is impossible for Mariana to stay in Colin for too long, so Colin's deputy city lord is basically Colin's uncrowned king except that he cannot use the army, appoint and remove officials, and deal with noble criminals.

It's a pity that before him, Mariana had already dealt with an uncrowned king through Richard's hands.

Moreover, Colin's deputy city lord also participated in the execution ceremony of his predecessor.

…………

……

"The number of people who died in the dark forest has decreased in the past two years, which is something to be thankful for." After flipping through the brief report, Marianna communicated with the people who came to report: "Is there any big news from the Adventurers Guild?" Big reaction?"

The person in charge of answering the question was a relatively young civil servant, and it was the first time he met Mariana, so he acted a little uneasy: "The Adventurer's Guild must have a lot of opinions, after all, your arrangement made some lower-level adventurers The hunter team lost a lot of opportunities to get the mission, and..."

The young civil servant did not want to impress Mariana, so she subconsciously swallowed words that might offend her.

"And they are worried that the country headed by the Grand Duchy of Aquique will also form an alliance with similar tribes of the same race, thus canceling the escort missions that the low-level adventurer groups often receive, right?"

The young civil servant didn't reply, but his nod said it all.

However, out of comfort to Mariana, the civil servant also added: "The civilians are very supportive of your policy. After all, for ordinary people who rely on the dark forest to live, the cost of hiring a team of adventurers is still beyond their affordability." range, and makes no sense about the high death toll in Colin."

Shortly after Mariana took over Colin, she signed a series of treaties with the humanoid tribes near Colin.

In short, Mariana is willing to protect the surrounding humanoid tribes in the name of herself and Colin, ensuring that they will not be harassed by the adventurer team or become slaves for no reason.

In contrast, the humanoid tribes near Colin must do everything they can to protect ordinary people who go hunting or gathering medicine in the dark forest.

Considering Colin's geographical location and the living standards of the local people, Mariana also obtained relevant guarantees from the Grand Duchess of Aquique and Richard of Solins, and also used tax cuts to appease the opposing adventurer team them.

Although there are many obstacles in the implementation of the policy, considering that the Corinthians are relatively simple (poor), and the dark forest is a place that most Corinthians fear and have to go, so Mariana’s policy It has not encountered obstacles that are insurmountable or even have an impact on its reputation and ability to govern.

However, Marianne is very clear that this is only due to Colin's "situation".

If it was replaced by the wealthy Grand Duchy of Aquique or other countries, perhaps the obstacles from the Adventurer's Guild and the rich would multiply.

After all, slavery has always been the economic support of rich countries and a source of labor.

Even an existence as unambiguous as Queen Mary, under the pressure of the domestic nobles and the outside world, had to give up the idea of ​​​​abolishing "slavery" and passed the "one-eighth rule" that has now become the basic law of the mainland.

Before Queen Mary came to power, anyone who was detected with a little bit of human-like blood was likely to be treated inhumanely or become a slave.

After the death of Queen Mary, only Felipe and Grand Duchess Aquique are still fulfilling her unfulfilled wish.

It's just that the former is out of the great desire to restore the "old century", while the latter is to consolidate its own rule and at the same time increase the strength of the Grand Duchy of Aquiquie, and on the basis of the "one-eighth rule", the restriction on mixed races and Human-like identity restrictions.Some mixed races and humanoids who have made outstanding contributions, or who have honor guarantees by big figures, are allowed to obtain the status of ordinary citizens.

It is poignant that the Grand Duchess Aquique made this small promise, which turned her country into a "paradise" that humanoid slaves and mixed races dreamed of.

Even though slavery was not abolished or the barbaric Colosseum was demolished in the Grand Duchy of Aquique, compared with Obsta, Odin, and even Cantero, those humanoid slaves who were waiting for death or looking for death, And the mixed races who are not pleasing to both sides, at least they have a goal to fight for.

Mariana couldn't understand why her grandmother would pursue a policy that didn't benefit Obsta.

After all, the authority of the church and the superiority of human beings are based on the absolute contempt for humanoids.

Not only in religious literature and human history, even some humanoids and mixed races are subtly influenced by human propaganda, thinking that they are the defective products of the gods and human beings who have not evolved well.

And once someone wants to overthrow this cognition, it is tantamount to overthrowing the authority of the church and the cognition of all mankind.

Mariana is well aware of how risky this behavior is, and it may even make her a target of public criticism in the Southern Continent.

However, she believed that the "Queen in Red Robe", who had passed away for many years, would never act on impulse and make such a highly risky behavior.

Moreover, judging from the behavior of the Grand Duchess Aquique, Queen Mary's unrealized ideals are not without benefits.

It's just that how to accomplish it requires Mariana to plan carefully.

"Help me find out who is the most vocal opponent in the adventurer's guild in Colin or nearby. In addition, find someone to secretly reveal to the public that I may, under the pressure of the adventurer's guild, abolish the The protection agreement of the ethnic tribe, and then report the reaction of the people to me."

Mariana looked through Colin's recent income and expenses and the details of major and minor events, and signed a few officials' appointment and removal orders and execution orders.

"Is there anything else to report?" Seeing that the young civil servant did not leave immediately, Mariana asked, "You seem to want to tell me something personal."

"Yes, Your Highness, this is not something I should intervene in, but..." The young civil servant blushed and said, "That handsome knight has favored me, so it is difficult for me to refuse his request."

After all, the young civil servant pulled out a red velvet box and a letter with no family name on the wax.

"This is what the knight asked me to give you. Please forgive me for my unauthorized actions and don't blame people related to me for this."

Mariana signaled Abigail to take what the civil servant took out, and then it was delivered to Mariana after a series of magic checks.

"It's a necklace." Marianna, who opened the red velvet box, lifted the precious gift inside with two fingers, watching the beautiful mithril and emerald shining in the sunlight.

"This is not something that ordinary people can afford." You must know that because of the preciousness and uniqueness of mithril, only rulers above the duke are eligible to use this rare metal.

"It seems that the knight who entrusted you is a duke or prince, and also..." A possibility flashed in Mariana's mind: "Templar."

The civil servant who was asked did not answer, but saluted Mariana: "I have delayed you long enough, please allow me to resign."

"Go." Mariana didn't want to embarrass the other party, so after the civil servant left, she opened the letter that did not reveal her family and personal identity, and she noticed some clues in the signature.

"QA." Mariana showed a slight smile: "I hope the little emperor won't be furious over this."