Common Sense of a Duke's Daughter

CHAPTER 32:Idle Talk: Various Speculations

"Come to think of it, Alfred. Recently, it seems that you've been going out a lot with Ludy."

I called out to my grandson, Alfred. My name is Arya von Tasmeria. This Kingdom's... The Kingdom of Tasmeria's Queen Dowager. The person in front of me is Alfred. My grandson, and the First Prince. And the person who is standing on the side is Ludy. He is Alfred's childhood friend and his aide.

"Yes, grandmother. I've been busy with something lately."

Although he responded with a smile... This grandson of mine, I cannot accurately read his expressions. The smile he has looks all too natural. If I didn't live in a world where trickery in is the norm in social circles, I probably would not have noticed it either.

"Even if it's me, I know about it. Because Ellia and Ed have been perpetrating a lot of things recently, so you probably had to follow up with the Prime Minister, right?"

Although it's unfortunate, our Kingdom still shouldering the debt from the war that occurred thirty years ago. That said, the debt is gradually being repaid, and unless we do something untactful, there shouldn't have been any problems.

However, Ellia and Ed pulled it off magnificently. Frequently opening soup kitchens for the people, Ellia purchasing a number of dresses for which I don't know if there will be enough official events for her to wear them all, and buying a new dress for Ed's new partner to wear during their engagement...

Afterward, after the engagement party, Ed went to travel to resorts with the new person he was engaged with... The girl's name was Yuri or something if I'm not mistaken... And she said, "This is a great place. It would be great if more people can enjoy it." And because of that... it seemed like Ed took it to an extreme and decided to develop that resort.

Lastly, they seemed to have splendidly opposed the Prime Minister's notion, acted extremely unreasonable and refused to listen to anything. In the end, the opposition of paying for Yuri's clothes eventually fell on deaf ears.

...In the first place, paying for Yuri's clothes with the royal family's budget is strange. Because of Ellia spoiling Edward too much, he has grown impudent and it has become really troublesome.

The budget of the Kingdom is divided between the royal family and for national management.

The royal family's budget should be used for the royal family's private lives.

As for the funds meant for national management, just like its name says, it should be used to operate the Kingdom. Take my clothes, for example, the royal family's budget is used to purchase clothes I usually wear. But for official functions, funds is taken out from the national budget because it necessary for the Kingdom's management.

The wages paid to my personal maid who takes care of my daily needs are taken from the royal family's budget. However, the court ladies who takes care of me as the Queen Dowager, they are paid using the national budget.

To be honest, I'm not completely certain about the difference between a lady's maid and a court ladies... For example, if I want to send a personal letter, the help of a lady's maid will do.

But if I want to send a letter as the Queen Dowager, the help of a court lady is necessary. Because depending on the situation, it would be imperative for them to look over the contents of the letter and compare it with past cases to make sure they match.

In terms of wardrobe, the lady's maid helps me to get dressed up, while the court ladies checks to see if my clothing is suitable for the event.

Although the story has gone astray, sometimes discussions happen whether things should be paid by the royal family's budget or the national budget.