Herald of Steel-Chapter 1621: Alexander’s Intentions (Part-4)

The Queen Mother let out a small, pursed smile at Alexander’s answer. Given what she knew of the man, she already expected this.

Since the man had gone to the trouble of making that, it was very unlikely he was going to stop just because she asked him to. If he were such a pushover, Seelima could have fleeced the recipe for sugar years ago.

However, this reply also sought to strengthen Seelima’s concerns about Alexander’s royalty.

No matter the fun times they shared together, it was examples like that that made Queen Mother still wish to control him... just in case.

’Perhaps Alexander will not truly harm ’us’.. but what about his progeny? Who can guarantee the same for his son or even grandson?’ The regal lady thus pondered with great foresight.

While Alexander was still not done talking, and murmured to himself with anger,

"*Snort*, those robed wastes...who do they think they are? Not only are they useless, they even want to stop others. Hmmm! So they do see mass printing as a threat to their privilege. How quaint!"

The lord of Zanzan did not really hide his voice as he vented, and listening to it, Queen Mother’s lips twitched.

Admittedly, she too was not a big fan of the temple and their priests, feeling they held too much power- however at the same time, she also never dared to disparage so openly. Seelima was still very much a theist, and thus carefully reserved the appropriate amount of respect for the Father’s servants on earth.

She even agreed with the priest’s exalted class and was willing to overlook some of their misdeed- they spoke to the Father after all, they deserved some perks.

’Hmmp... this brat... he really does not care about Father, does he? This...’ Alexander’s venting hence caused a bit of acridness to fill her heart.

But the experienced lady was also clever enough not to confront Alexander right now. Seelima knew she had little muscle to enforce her will.

At best she could ask, and she had already done that.

’Well, this also might not be bad for ’us’. The temples have been pretty neutral until now. But if they and Alexander were to fall out and fight...hmm, this might be a good way to knock both down a peg.’

So the shrewd lady instead chose to have this optimistic thought and simply nodded to Alexander, showing him her support.

Thus it remained to be seen just how the printing press would truly affect the clergy- would secularism sweep them violently away from their feet, or would their dogma actually flourish even more, powered by cheaper, easier access to the sacred scriptures?

....

"Your Highness, thank you for letting these rumors come to my attention. I never knew much danger lurked right under me." Towards Seelima’s swift agreement, Alexander gave a grateful nod, while also being genuinely surprised by the things she said.

’How come I never heard of these before?’ He wondered.

The answer was immediately given by the imperial lady,

"Hmmmp! That is because you got lucky, brat. Assazd was all ready to trap you with every kind of rumor in court... drown you out in a mountain of accusations. But...it seems you struck first, hahaha."

The Queen Mother’s chuckle was laced with clear appreciation, her lips unconsciously curling up. She might not have said it out loud, but the way Alexander killed Lord Assazd was truly sublime. How else could he have succeeded against such a well guarded man?

Seelima almost worshipped the technique in her heart, and to some extent, also the man who invented it.

While learning of this, Alexander secretly let out a sigh of relief, only now realizing the giant boulder he had dodged.

Lord Assazd was possibly overwhelmed by Alexander’s insane call for independence out of the blue, throwing everything else into a curveball. The man then hurriedly met him to try and stop that. Unfortunately....

"Well, I suppose that proves the Father is on our side. Hahaha... " Alexander thus gave an amorous chuckle at the lucky break, before shifting his focus to more pressing matters,

"Now then, I should address those rumors you mentioned, Your Highness." Clasping his hands together, he nodded, "Let us start with the least important ones..."

"All the things they say I do to make my product are of course blatant lies. They only say this to force me to show them how they are really made and, in the process reveal my techniques. Hmmph! What a crude plan."

Yes...remember the other angle Alexander detected, well, this was it.

And judging by the slightly guilty look the Queen Mother gave as soon as Alexander figured it out, she was also likely in on it. She might not have spread the words, but rather wanted to fish for some rewards for herself.

’Tsk.. this boy... really is too sharp for his own good.’ Seelima thus lampooned inside.

While Alexander went on to add the remedy in a smooth, experienced voice,

"The way to counter these rumours is easy. We can simply pay some local gangs and even some priests to spread the opposite!"

"Let’s say, we will say clear glass is made by dipping it into water blessed by His Majesty. Also, white sugar is a divine reward gifted by Lord Ramuh to His Majesty for removing the corrupt prince Amenheraft. And that cement is made from the soot of a volcano in Cantagena. We can spin such tall tales all the livelong day!"

"...." Seelima was left a bit speechless at the proposed plan- more so by the rapid speed than the contents. Now that Alexander mentioned them, the Queen Mother thought she could also come up with similar tales, given time.

But to come up with them so fast... and sound so convincing.

"Sigh!" Her heavy chest visibly rose and fell, as the lady let out a breath of admiration.

While Alexander observed the Queen Mother neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his intention.

So taking it as a done deal, he moved onto the second point, 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Now, the matter of Zanzan’s governance... firstly, commoners do not get to vote, only nobles can. So whoever is spreading this to you is a filthy liar who should be hanged!" Alexander threw such words without any restraint, not caring at all who it might hit.

Perhaps it was even Seelima herself who thought it like that... but Alexander did not bother.

Just like he also did not bother what he said next, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly,

"And even if they were allowed to vote...frankly Your Highness, this is outside the royal court’s jurisdiction. I believe every Pasha is allowed to rule his fief as he wishes. And this is my wish. So..."

Alexander just barely managed to stop himself before outright saying- ’So keep your nose out of it.’

"...." However the message still got across, and judging by how Seelima frowned, she did not like it. So in a rather frigid voice, she insisted, "But this is not how things are done here, Lord Alexander. You should rule according Zanzan in the manner the rest of the Pashas do. That is the correct way- the way dictated by the Father."

Needless to say, this meddling did not sit well with Alexander.

Even if he thought the Queen Mother was advising him out of the goodness of her heart- Alexander would still not have followed her- because he recognised Adhania’s feudalistic rule to be extremely backward and much vulnerable to all kinds of disruptions.

Alexander wished to leave his sons and people with a much better, stable system.

However Alexander did not waste his breath trying to make his case on the benefits of a parliamentary democracy or how even the royal family could benefit by adopting such a system.

He knew such considerations would without doubt flow straight above the extremely old fashioned Queen Mother.

Hence with a casual, breezy wave of his hands, he retorted with a sneer,

"It is funny how it is only the capital that has problems with my way of governance. People who have nothing to do with me."

"Look! None of the nobles under me are actually complaining. They are actually happy... to have their thoughts heard for once. I am a new lord to Zanzan and I lack the expertise and political know how that many of them possess. So I ask for their advice in certain matters."

"Your Highness... if there is any problem with my rulings... it will be the people under me that will let me know. Not some unknown, ’slithering in the dark’ miscreant."

"...." Seelima pursed her lips quite exaggeratedly here, feeling Alexander really did not leave her any face.

He was possibly even more brutal than his last reply.

And the Queen Mother was indeed right here, Alexander intentionally acted like so.

Because his second was really too grievous- attacking at the very core of his power.

He had to shut down the topic with overwhelming force- showing this was totally non- negotiable.

"Sigh...now you can see why ’we’ are worried about your true intention, boy? You blatantly ignore all our asks and only think about yourself! This..." As a consequence, Seelima let out such an exasperated sigh, sending the man an unhappy, wounded look.

She wanted to negotiate, but the man was clearly not in the mood.

"...." Alexander returned a mirrored look, also feeling a bit exasperated.

’Why do I have to explain myself to her? She is here only because of me!’

But given he could not outright say this, he had to think of a more tactful response.