LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 98.1
98. Growth and Redistribution (4)
Recently, Renslet’s administrative system had undergone a complete overhaul, modeled after Earth’s modern organizational structure.
The newly restructured system of the Grand Duchy of the North, heavily influenced by my input, was as follows:
At the top, the High Tower housed the Grand Duke and included several core departments:
The Guard: Responsible for protecting the Grand Duke.
The Royal Household Bureau: Managed the High Tower’s staff and operations.
The Frost Knights: A direct intelligence agency under the Grand Duke’s authority.
Following this was the administrative branch commonly referred to as the “Cabinet,” which consisted of 15 departments:
The Ministry of Internal Affairs: Successor to the enforcers, managing public security in the North.
The Ministry of Finance: Responsible for taxation, financial management, and budget allocation.
The Ministry of War: Oversaw extreme northern expeditions, defense of the Great Northern Wall, and the management of magical zones.
The Ministry of Logistics: Recruited, trained, and supplied knights and military forces.
The Ministry of Justice: Managed legislation and judicial matters.
The Renslet Church: Handled childbirth, healthcare, and welfare.
The Renslet Academy: Functioned as the department of education.
The Renslet Mage Council: Essentially the department of science and technology, also referred to as the department of magic.
The Ministry of Commerce: Managed workers and businesses.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Oversaw diplomatic relations with the Empire and other nations.
Other departments included Agriculture, Civil Engineering, Transportation, and Culture.
At the top of this hierarchy was the Cabinet Office, led by the Prime Minister, which coordinated and managed these 14 departments on behalf of the Grand Duke.
This structure was mirrored in the provinces and cities of the North.
Each province, governed by a Governor (acting as a Lord’s deputy), and major cities, managed by Mayors, followed a similar framework.
For example:
The Ministry of Logistics at the High Tower became the Logistics Department in Haven.
Institutions like the Renslet Church, Academy, and Mage Council established local branches under the name “Haven Branch.”
Larger departments, such as the Ministry of War or Foreign Affairs, were directly staffed and operated by the High Tower.
If Emperor Canbraman of the Empire or the Kings of the United Kingdom were to witness this system, they might have gone mad with envy.
Effectively, this was the first and only fully centralized governance system on the Arcadian continent since the Golden Age.
However, even such a meticulously designed government was meaningless without people to staff and run it.
The North and the High Tower still lacked enough qualified civil servants to fill and operate this structure effectively.
This, too, would only be resolved with time.
The current generation would gain hands-on experience through trial and error, while the next generation, trained at the Academy, would refine and continue the work.
Is this what Plato meant by a philosopher-king’s dictatorship?
A centralized system.
A rational, sensible ruler.
Knights and bureaucrats devoted to such a ruler.
Problems like NIMBYism, partisan conflicts, or populism—common in democratic nations on Earth—were unthinkable here.
Corruption existed but was not rampant.
Social contradictions existed but served as a source of critical vitality.
This era was perhaps closer to Korea’s Joseon dynasty during King Sejong’s reign than to the idealized Yao and Shun era of ancient China.
Of course, this will change over time. The biggest flaw of a philosopher-king’s dictatorship is its inability to sustain itself.
For now, the North was in its early stages of growth, and society was not yet complex.
The legislative, judicial, and administrative functions were all handled by the High Tower.
The so-called vested interests were few, and their power paled before that of the Grand Duke.
But this could not last forever.
Even if a philosopher-king’s rule could be sustained, the people would eventually demand more rights and freedoms.
One day, legislative battles, factional conflicts, and populism—hallmarks of Earth’s democracies—would inevitably take root here.
Our goal was to grow the North as much as possible before then and establish a framework to prevent these issues from stunting the nation’s development.
This royal court meeting was, in essence, the foundation for building that framework.
“The chairwoman of the Renslet Mage Council and Mage of Spring, Lady Isabelle, the president of Arad Company, Count Arad Jin, and his secretary, Lady Mary, have arrived!”
With this announcement, we entered the royal court.
At the far end, seated on a white jade throne in simple clothes made of Lian fabric, was Her Highness, the Grand Duchess of the North, Arina.
Standing behind her were Balzac and Sun.
Below her, on slightly lower seats, were the High Tower’s ministers and summoned officials from across the North, lined up on either side.
In the middle was a long, grand table.
It was the traditional setting of a royal court meeting.
“You’re here?”
“I have arrived late, having foolishly indulged in laziness. Please forgive me for keeping Your Highness and the ministers waiting.”
Before sitting in my designated chair, I made sure to put on a bit of a performance.
Isabelle’s earlier teasing remark had stuck with me, leading to a slight overreaction.
“It’s fine. Just sit down already.”
As I attempted to start the meeting with a dramatic flourish, Arina shook her head with a weary smile.
“…?”
There was a hint of fatigue and annoyance in her tone and expression.
It was understandable; being the Grand Duchess of the North was akin to ruling a small kingdom. The workload must have been overwhelming.
“Thank you for your mercy.”
Grateful for Her Highness’s leniency, I strode to my seat.
When will they change this blasted seat? It’s so awkward.
My designated seat in the royal court was always directly across and slightly to the side of Arina. It was a place traditionally reserved for a consort or national representative.
Next to me was the Prime Minister, and across from him sat Isabelle.
There’s probably no deeper meaning to this. They’ve never discussed marriage alliances with me.
I didn’t think they considered me as a potential consort.
Or could they?
A fleeting suspicion crossed my mind.
Could they be pressuring me into becoming the Grand Duchess’s consort without explicitly saying so, fearing I was reluctant because of the Renslet family’s superstitions?
Nah… The High Tower isn’t that petty.
I quickly dismissed the thought.
It’s just the practical nature of Northerners at work. That’s all… probably.
In truth, I was an extremely important figure in the North.
But since I rarely attended royal court meetings, my seat was usually left vacant.