“Are you entirely sure you don’t require any holy water to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, my Lady?” Stella asked curiously as Francesca sat diligently at her study desk, actively reviewing household documents.
“I am perfectly fine, Stella... Miller told me that even though he isn’t confident about how to properly raise a child just yet, he has absolutely no intention of running away if I do happen to get pregnant,” Francesca replied, a warm smile gracing her lips as she continued her writing.
“If you say so, my Lady,” Stella replied with a knowing smile, placing a fresh stack of household ledgers onto the table. “ You don't usually work quite this seriously. Usually, you are constantly trying to find clever ways to be lazy and avoid paperwork... What exactly is so important today?”
“Moon Light Day, of course,” Francesca sighed, leaning back slightly. “It would have been perfectly fine if Ivan wasn't coming... After all, there would be no real reason to throw a massive celebration here at the castle, since Miller is an only child and the rest of my own siblings are all the way back in the Capital.”
“But since Ivan is officially coming to visit, we seriously need to decorate the entire castle and ensure the North Gate is completely cleared of snow so I can personally welcome him,” Francesca explained, her ink pen flying across the parchment as she mapped out every single logistical task that needed to be completed within the week.
“Go ahead and ask Priest Roland about his sermon schedule for the holiday so we can align it with Miller and Ivan’s arrival times. I want all of us to attend together,” Francesca noted. She then looked over one of the local charity files and added softly, “And make sure the orphans are invited to be present at the chapel as well. They may have tragically lost their birth parents, but they are each other's chosen family, after all.”
“I am on it immediately, your Ladyship,” Stella nodded respectfully, taking the instructions and leaving the study to carry out her tasks.
Once she was alone, Francesca pulled out a hidden document from beneath the ledgers, a detailed technical blueprint for the cable cart system that she had been secretly drawing.
Though I certainly didn’t possess an engineering degree or any practical construction experience in my past life as Kim Hanna, I am thankfully able to perfectly recall the random blueprint boards displayed at the luxury ski resorts I visited during those grueling corporate team business trips, she amused herself.
She carefully applied the final, finishing touches to the mechanical drawing, just as a soft, familiar knock echoed against the wooden door.
“Can I come in? It’s me, Miller.”
Miller’s deep voice carried smoothly from the other side of the panel, causing Francesca’s smile to widen. “Of course. Do you even need to ask?”
The door swung open, and Miller entered with a warm smile, walking straight up to her desk. “I see you are rather busy... Wait, is that the design for the cable cart system we were talking about?” he asked, his eyes locking onto the intricate drawings.
“Yeah... take a look at it,” she said, handing the parchment up to him.
Miller bent down, giving her a quick, tender kiss on the cheek as he took the drawing from her hands to examine it.
“I thought your assembly with the Vassal Council would go on until late evening like it always does,” Francesca noted, looking up at him curiously. “How are you back here in the study so quickly?”
“Ah... I ended the session early. To be completely honest, there wasn’t much left for me to do after I executed my little scheme, so...”
“You just wanted an excuse to see me, didn’t you?” Francesca teased, leaning forward from her seat to plant a soft, playful kiss against his neck. “You are truly terrible at making up believable excuses, my Lord~”
Miller's hands instinctively wandered down, wrapping securely around her waist as he offered a low chuckle. “Only when it comes to you. I'll have you know I am actually remarkably good at fabricating lies for high-stakes military missions.”
Without warning, he smoothly lifted her out of her seat, sat down in the large chair himself, and placed her comfortably onto his lap. Francesca giggled, adjusting her position. “That still doesn’t answer my question. How exactly did you manage to end a council meeting so fast?”
“I officially submitted a formal dissolution request to the Imperial Overseer’s Office, the Warden of the North, and the Northern Central Church,” he answered casually, his eyes scanning over her household decoration brainstorming documents.
“What?!” Francesca gasped in genuine shock, her golden eyes widening. “Miller, that is way too aggressive, don’t you think?”
Miller smiled nonchalantly, letting his hand slip beneath the hem of her top to gently trace her skin, letting out a soft hum. “Hmm...”
Francesca leaned into his touch, her breath hitching, but her mind kept racing. “If the Vassal Council actually gets dissolved right now, we will be completely stuck with a massive administrative backlog. Every major policy will be put on hold until we can establish an independent board of aides and secure formal approval from the Imperial Overseer’s Office!”
“I am fully aware of that... and the council knows it too, which is exactly what has been giving them the arrogant confidence to do whatever they please for the last year,” Miller explained smoothly. As Francesca made a small, soft noise in her throat due to his touch, he continued, “Which is precisely why I threatened them with that three-month grace period around their necks. Because they are terrified of immediate destruction, we can force them to pass any policy that benefits the Viscounty without facing a single shred of opposition for a while.”
“Ah~,” Francesca panted slightly, leaning her forehead against his shoulder before kissing him deeply. A brilliant smirk returned to her face as the genius of his play clicked. “I see... You want to weaponize their desperation to finally fix the infrastructure of the Viscounty. It doesn’t even matter if they are ultimately able to overturn the dissolution request later on. The sheer panic of the ticking clock will force them to behave for the time being.”
“Yeah, and if we can manage to make the cable cart system functional by that time, they won’t possess an ounce of leverage over us ever again,” Miller finished.
As he began to playfully withdraw his hand, Francesca reached down, catching his wrist to stop him. “And by that time, even if they somehow manage to overturn this first request, we can still simply file for a second dissolution request immediately after.”
She slowly guided his hand back downward beneath the fabric of her dress, her voice dropping into a confident, hushed whisper. “The Emperor is almost certain to have the Imperial Overseer reject this initial request anyway. His Majesty wants to avoid giving you a completely free reign in the North, out of fear that you will use your unchecked power to heavily support the Third Prince's faction.”
She leaned in, raining soft, continuous kisses along his jawline, his neck, and down toward his chest. Miller let out a low groan, his fingers tightening against her skin.
“But since a formal record of us requesting a dissolution will already exist in the system beforehand... we can strategically stage a calculated public revolt by the common people right when we submit the second request,” Miller countered, picking up on her brilliant strategy. “A widespread popular strike will give the Crown no choice. It will legally force His Majesty to back off and dissolve the council, purely to protect his own public reputation and maintain a facade of neutrality among the high nobility.”
Miller leaned up, capturing her lips in a deep, burning kiss as Francesca’s hands urgently shifted to begin undressing him.
“Wait... here in the study?” Miller asked, his breath hitching slightly as he looked around the room.
Francesca let out a soft, impatient sigh, her golden eyes locking onto his with clear, undeniable desire. “It is your private study, Miller... absolutely nobody dares to enter this room without your permission!”
Flustered by his hesitation, she eagerly rushed to unbutton his shirt, pulling him down into another deep kiss to silence any remaining arguments.
Outside in the quiet corridor, Stella was walking back toward the room, holding the completed sermon and travel schedules that Francesca had requested just a short while ago. She reached out her hand to knock, but instantly stopped when the muffled, unmistakable sound of soft, breathless noises carried through the thick wood of the closed door.
A knowing smirk slowly spread across Stella's face.
“I guess I will just have to come back in an hour or two...” she giggled quietly to herself, turning on her heel. Walking away down the long stone hallway, she shook her head with a fond smile. “At this rate, I think I am going to be meeting a healthy godchild much sooner than I originally anticipated.”