I! Cleaner!

"Of course, I know what I'm talking about."

Faced with Princess Veronica's questioning, Leon blinked, and then continued speaking:

"And I haven't finished my words. Besides the officer elimination order, aren't you also preparing to propose the bill to expand citizen suffrage at the parliament meeting the day after tomorrow?

This proposal, apart from diluting the merchants' influence and preventing them from excessively profiting from the royal family and nobility, also practically expands the power of parliament, giving more groups the opportunity to speak up.

I've read the newspapers. In the policies you've been implementing these past years, you've been strongly supporting the energy industry, reducing taxes for small craftsmen, subsidizing farmers, and recently even regulating the minimum hourly wage of factories. Therefore, big merchants do not support you much, but it's uncertain for other groups.

I don't know how you see it, but I think that once the bill to expand suffrage is passed, a newly formed parliament not entirely controlled by merchants might be very welcoming to a new queen who has been striving for their interests."

"..."

Could it really be seen this way?

Watching Princess Veronica's slightly parted rosy lips and her expression full of amazement, Leon remarked meaningfully:

"Actually, after hearing you talk about the officer elimination order and the proposal to expand suffrage, I even thought you were already preparing to ask the old king to abdicate.

After all, the royal family will not truly support you, but the mid-to-lower ranks of the military and the new parliamentarians representing craftsmen, farmers, and workers can only choose to support you to stabilize their newly acquired positions and power.

So, as long as you wait a bit longer and push these two matters through completely, the mid-to-lower ranks of the military and the new parliamentarians coming in after the expansion of suffrage will be fully tied to your chariot... To be honest, are you really not doing this on purpose?"

"I... I really never thought of this..."

After hearing Leon's words with her mouth open, Princess Veronica said with a somewhat bewildered look in her eyes:

"The purpose of my restructuring of the military was because the military held by the old nobility was too corrupted, leaving the kingdom's armament in disarray, and expanding suffrage was because there were too many merchant-born legislators, and the proposals in the past two years have been too biased... This... this..."

"This proves that you chose the kingdom, and the kingdom, in turn, chose you."

After defining this coincidence, Leon stared into the princess's eyes, adjusted his emblem accordingly, and earnestly advised:

"Whether intentional or not, what you've steadfastly been doing over these years has indeed given you returns, becoming your strongest support!

So, you don't need to feel uneasy, nor should you have any mental pressure. After all, you're not an ambitious person seeking power; you've simply done the right thing."

"..."

I just... did the right thing?

Troubled by Leon's words and repeating this sentence twice in her heart, the princess unconsciously clenched the corner of her clothes with her palm, then bit her lower lip and shook her head, saying:

"The mid-to-lower-ranking military officers and the new parliamentarians, they... although they certainly are strong supporters, they are only supporters. They haven't truly grasped power, while for the past few hundred years, the royal family and the nobility have led everything in the kingdom. They will never tolerate such behavior.

If I really did so, it would be fine if it succeeds. But if it doesn't, the entire kingdom would certainly fall into chaos, and after the Icefield Kingdom just went through a harsh winter, once the weather warms up and they take advantage of the kingdom's internal unrest..."

"There will be no chaos."

Leon shook his head and then pointed at himself, saying:

"Did you forget? I'm the biggest old nobility! You're worried the Upper House might declare your throne invalid, but as the Duke of Lionheart, I'm the vice president of the Upper House.

Moreover, if necessary, I also have a good relationship with the last member of the Bauhinia Family. I could probably secure her support, which means that the president and vice president of the Upper House are now both on your side!"

"It's not the same!"

Facing Leon's suggestion, the princess, for some reason breathing a bit rapidly, hurriedly shook her head and said:

"After the Ryan Blood Night, many key figures of the Ryan Family perished, and Bauhinia has only Miss Emma left. The current Twin Pillars of the kingdom no longer hold the same status.

Although according to the foundational laws, as long as your two families have people remaining, the seats of president and vice president must be retained, but when it truly comes down to it, you two can't decide the Upper House's judgment."

"That doesn't matter. According to the kingdom's laws, when both the president and vice president concur, it's equivalent to direct approval in the Upper House. If it can't pass, then it means there's a problem with the Upper House itself."

Having thought long about this issue, Leon said without blinking:

"If the Upper House goes against the will of both speakers and forcibly invalidates your throne, you can simply declare the Upper House's judgment invalid under the kingdom's laws, can't you?"

"Huh?"

"My point is, don't play by their rules. At times like these, everyone should fight their own battles."

Leon looked directly into the princess's eyes and, with heartfelt sincerity, explained:

"You don't need to make the Upper House acknowledge your throne. You just need a reasonable argument to start dragging and bickering with the Upper House, making sure they can't justly declare your throne invalid, and that's considered a goal met.

After all, as long as your throne isn't declared invalid, you are still the titular queen. The Upper House doesn't have the power to muster forces and drive you out of the palace, while with the support of mid-to-lower-ranking officers, you can instead mobilize forces to surround the Upper House... After all, aren't they the ones who broke the law?"

"..."

Ah, could this... really be possible?

Seeing Princess Veronica, her thoughts not entirely open yet and still thinking of "playing by the rules," Leon, his eyes gleaming, couldn't help but remind:

"You've already said it, the only stationed troops in the entire capital are at the palace, the rest are all outside; even if the guards of the noble manors are elite, facing an organized army with heavy weapons, what kind of waves can they raise?

To be straightforward, under the current circumstances, if you don't care about legitimacy, you wouldn't even need to surround the Upper House, because even with the power of the old nobility, inside the capital, it's just one squad of guards.

Just mobilize two squads; one to blockade the manors on Redwood Avenue to prevent people from coming out, and the other to block Louther Arcade, pile up some random things along the riverway, and then the Upper House is effectively dissolved on the spot.

After all, to have a say in the Upper House, one must at least be a viscount, and there are only so many nobles above viscount in the whole capital, all living on those two streets. If you trap their entire families, are you still worried they won't listen to you?

To be even more blunt, you only want to succeed your father, you're not intending to take the lives of those old nobles. Given their loyalty to the royal family, do you think they would risk their entire families' lives in a deadlock against someone who can mobilize troops?"