The Bewilderment of the Sacrificial Second Princess

Chapter 26: His Highness Auglia’s thoughts

“To put it simply, we need to standardize future marriages. Regardless of whether they are among commoners or nobles, they should all follow the same format.”

The next day, His Highness Auglia and I met at Lord Balk’s office in the General Affairs Department.

Religion could be a useful tool for standardization, but we don’t have that in our country. The royal family serves as the representative of God.

“Religion isn’t necessary. Take the Faithnum Empire, for example. They have witnesses present for all types of contracts and contract renewals, correct?”

“Witnesses… you mean creating trained individuals?!”

“Exactly. We’ll train people who are able to read and write, and understand all laws related to contracts. Since the royal family can’t be present at every ceremony, we want to make sure that at least one person in each town or village is trained. We’ll create laws that they need to know by heart. Lord Balk, what do you think?”

“I have no objections. Merchants can also participate, so we can guarantee a certain number of trained people.”

“Let’s also have staff from each government office take the exam. For the first five years, the exam fee will be waived and we’ll provide the trained individuals with relevant books to ensure a steady supply of future generations. We’ll subsidize the attendance fees for five years to encourage widespread adoption. As the status of the individual improves, the attendance fees will increase so that even commoners can easily afford it… We’ll discuss this with the Tax Department.

Thanks to His Highness Auglia, we now have a clear path forward.

What I considered normal was a new idea for His Highness Auglia. By creating trained witnesses and calling it a “contract,” we’ll make this system more flexible.

By requiring individuals to bear the cost themselves, they can foster stronger relationships. Of course, if the marriage is unhappy and tumultuous, the couple should seek a divorce, and the fee for the witness should be paid by the party responsible for the dissolution, so the witness can earn a livelihood.

If we provide a monthly stipend to trained professionals from the government, we may see a lower turnover rate.

It’s acceptable to travel and earn a living, and having a certification as a secondary source of income is also acceptable. If government officials realize that obtaining a certification can boost their salary, they may all strive to become qualified.

“I concur. Let’s draft a proposal in about a week. I’ll take care of it, and then I’ll present it to His Highness and Lord Balk for their consideration.”

As a foreigner, I was initially unaware of this, but as someone who has lived here for a while, I am now able to see it clearly. I believe it would be beneficial to align the laws of my home country with those of this country and to change the names of exams and certifications to something more familiar.

My mind starts to race with ideas. I can feel a small smile creeping onto my face.

“Okay, let’s aim to have all the materials ready in a month, and then we can focus on printing the certificates, exam content, and study guides. I thought it would take a year, but it’s looking like we’ll be able to accomplish it sooner. Thanks to Claire.”

“Claire is truly remarkable.”

…I was too shy to respond and simply blushed, knowing that they were giving me genuine praise.

Let’s merge my knowledge with the knowledge of this country. Let’s listen to the voice of the people and make improvements within the five-year trial period.

Most importantly, let’s create something that brings me and His Highness Auglia closer together.

I doubt I’ll encounter many jobs that excite me as much as this one in the future.

With that, I left the General Affairs Department and headed to my designated office.