Elizabeth slowly climbed her way back up to the surface. It was dark, so she could walk freely.
Alex III's orders had restricted many of her future activities, but along with orders, he also made exemptions.
He specifically allowed her to continue her king's duties, free from most of those orders.
Speaking about the king's duties, she is now unsure. She would definitely not abandon the throne, but she can no longer work in the morning after today.
She can only work at night.
After reading the book, she knows she will never get old after this. However, she would not remain on the throne forever.
She would abdicate and give way to one of her sons, but only when she ensured they deserved it and would do the right thing.
The kingdom's laws have no provision about removing the kings. Once one becomes king, nothing short of death can remove them.
That means the nobles couldn't say, 'Now that you are a vampire, you are no longer a king.'
She would remain the king even if the news leaked.
In any case, now, as a vampire, nobody would dare suggest removing her.
They don't know about Alex III greatly restricting her; she cannot harm mortals even if she wants.
As for vampires being dead, nobles don't know this; they only know that 'supernatural creatures are powerful.'
Returning to the palace at a fast speed, she entered. It was blocked off, and many guards were patrolling around.
They discovered the bloodstain, what used to be Don.
"Your majesty?" one of the guards found her in surprise.
"It's me," she said in her usual tone.
The guard, Owen, almost cried, "We thought something happened to you!"
The guards protecting the palace are most in contact with her, and during her reign, she has managed to win many of them over.
"Thanks for your concern! What happened to Don and Sam?" she asked.
She can't remember what happened to them.
"They are missing!" the guard said.
Elizabeth thought in grief, "He killed Sam and Don?"
After some silent grief, she said, "Don't look for them anymore; consider them dead."
The guard bowed, not knowing what she had in mind.
Elizabeth then moved on to another room on the other side of the castle. They are cleaning and investigating the main room, so she can't go there.
As king, she can throw them out, but she wants to let them finish.
Even though she became a vampire, she still does not want to let despair into her mind. Now, as a vampire, she can change things for the better.
Elizabeth usually sees the glass half full.
She can use the names of supernatural creatures to coerce nobles into action. She has no plan to hide it; on the contrary, she wants to spread the news that she has become one as powerful as John and Alex.
Most higher-ups in the kingdom knew about Alex, and many also knew about John.
News of the palace cannot be hidden from nobles; today, all high-ranking nobles in the capital know that a supernatural creature attacked the palace a few days ago.
They had no way to investigate it, so nobody even tried. But they knew of the danger the supernatural being posed to the kingdom, and if they knew their king was one of them, they may even be happy.
Hundreds of years ago, their ancestors were killed by such supernatural beings; the king, being one too, will provide them protection.
So, Elizabeth deliberately called one of the eunuchs and leaked the news to him. She knew well that the ones most likely to be spies that get the news to the nobles were these eunuch guards.
They were all here for many years and were corrupted by noble's money.
Regular guards, on the other hand, remained here only a few years, so they had less of a chance of becoming corrupted.
In most situations, when one remains in a position for too long, they get a bit too comfortable to the point that they begin forgetting the laws.
The kingdom is not an entirely lawful country; some laws are taken extremely seriously, while others are ignored.
Inheritance laws, succession laws, laws about the division of power between nobles and the king, laws regarding the leadership of the military—these laws will be followed rigorously.
However, other laws, such as bribery laws, would be ignored on a daily occasion.
Nearly nobody respects them, especially in the capital.
The main reason is the limitations of the king's authority to prosecute nobles.
The king cannot order the death of any nobles or remove any nobles from their position.
Just as nobles cannot remove the king, the king also cannot remove nobles.
This is why appointing higher-level nobles than barons is a grave matter. Once in position, they can hardly be removed; only a high vote threshold of the House of Blue Blood with the king's approval can remove a noble from the position they hold.
Even monetary penalties the king can impose on a noble are limited by House of Blue Blood resolutions.
Even if the king starts fining those who accept bribes, they are worth far more than the fines.
Over the years, the king and nobles have come to an agreement.
Thirty percent of all bribes would be paid directly to the king, and the king would stop fining nobles.
Today, a significant percentage of the king's total revenue comes from the 'bribe tax' paid by nobles.
There are many nobles, but only a few are in the House of Blue Bloods in the capital.
The House of Blue Bloods has much power; smaller nobles not from the capital stand to gain a lot by bribing its members.
Having a supporter there would be extremely helpful. Or rather, not having a supporter would be painful.
The House of Blue Bloods decides matters regarding the deployment of national troops.
There are three kinds of armies in the kingdom.
One is the royal army, which the king has total control over. The royal military comprises knights and soldiers from the 20% of land directly controlled by the king; it is by far the most powerful single army.
The second is the noble army, which is controlled by various nobles. Combined, it is more numerous and stronger than the royal army, but it is extremely fragmented as it has no leader. For an army, fragmentation is fatal, so even if it is far more numerous, it may lose in a confrontation.
Even though dukes are nobles appointed by the king, they are still nobles. They are the only type of nobles whom the king could remove. Their army is called the national army.
Both sides agree that they should play this role because of their status as both nobles and royals.
Humans are kings on this continent, and no kingdom rivaling the Blue Bloods Kingdom exists.
Lands near the capital are all completely safe and firmly controlled.
Still, there are various rebel groups in faraway lands. The national army is for those purposes.
The local nobles may be unable to handle it, so the national army would help contain those.
But how much and to whom?
Many nobles on faraway territories want to receive the national army as a helper.
One may think they would not want a foreign army in their land, but that isn't very accurate. They want the national military and compete for it.
Raising armies is expensive; if they are to resist the rebel groups by themselves, they will have to spend a lot of money.
The national army, on the other hand, would handle the problems for them. It's much cheaper for them to bribe powerful nobles in the capital, who usually decide where the national army goes, instead of spending money on raising an army.
This is just one area in which bribing House of Blue Bloods members is beneficial.
There are other areas.
The House of Blue Bloods has an exclusive budget allotment; it has a lot of money that must be spent somewhere. Many nobles compete for the funds, bribing the members to spend the money in their territory.
In any dispute among nobles over land, property, succession, etc., the House of Blue Bloods has the final say. Many would befriend the lord of the House of Blue Bloods to have the upper hand in a dispute with their neighboring nobles.
On and on.
That's why membership in the House of Blue Bloods is extremely competitive. Once you're a member, money flows in.
The king, however, never receives a tax.
They just receive the 30% bribe tax; anyone trying to bribe the king directly would be severely punished to the fullest extent possible.
This was the deal they reached when Mark III was the king.
Before Mark III, the king could also be directly bribed; the bribe tax was only 15%.
As for the time when John X was the king, now considered ancient times, the bribe tax was 25% to the king and 15% to the Johnson family.
The Johnson family was far richer then than it is now. After John X died, their power was severely weakened.
When Mark II, the king the Johnson family trained, became king, the Johnson family tried to regain its former position but was stopped by nobles.
Nobles also didn't want the Johnson family to get too powerful.
Back then, they only let the king get 15%, and nothing was left for the Johnson family.
In the end, when Mark III became the king, due to negotiations between the Johnson family and nobles, they compromised on a 30% bribe tax for the king, 70% for the nobles, and nothing for the Johnson family.
Later, the Johnson family negotiated with Mark III and got 10% out of the king's 30%.
When Mark VI, Elizabeth's father, became king, he scrapped the 10% that was left for the Johnson family. That was another reason the Johnson family was very angry with him.
So far, Elizabeth has resisted calls to reverse her father's decree.
Bribe taxes are an important source of money for Elizabeth.
Normal taxes go to the treasury, which is supervised by both nobles and royals. Most of it must be spent with the approval of the House of Blue Bloods.
From normal taxes, Elizabeth can only get a little money for her expenses.
After all, she, as king, owns 20% of the land, so the nobles wouldn't agree on her using the tax money for her own expenditure.
But, she can use the bribe tax for any purpose she wants without anyone's approval.
The previous kings used it to raise their many concubines, and all of their enjoyments. But, she can use it to help people.
As she expected, the eunuch who found out the news informed everyone.
Soon, the rumor that she was one with supernatural power spread.
With the tiger skin of being supernatural, she believes she can force them to let her send a royal observer to feed hungry children.
That is just the first step.
To help commoners, the first step is eroding the nobles' autonomy. Most of these people are evil, not counting commoners as the people.
The commoners are destined to remain poor with nobles in charge.
Those issues aside, Elizabeth touched her stomach with a painful look. She is getting hungry!
After all, as king, she owns 20% of the land, so the nobles wouldn't agree on her using the tax money for her own expenditure.
But, she can use the bribe tax for any purpose she wants without anyone's approval.
Previous kings used it to raise their many concubines and enjoyments, but she can use it to help people.
As she expected, the eunuch who found out the news informed everyone.
Soon, the rumor that she was one with supernatural power spread.
With the tiger skin of being supernatural, she believes she can force them to let her send a royal observer to feed hungry children.
That is just the first step.
To help commoners, the first step is eroding the nobles' autonomy. Most of these people are evil, not counting commoners as the people.
The commoners are destined to remain poor with nobles in charge.
Those issues aside, Elizabeth touched her stomach with a painful look. She is getting hungry!