Empress

by xLilim

Kouen Ren marries Asta of Ione to further the Kou Empire's plan to unify the world under a single king. He holds no interest in his new bride apart from her country's resources, but Asta, though young and naïve, is determined to make their union work for the sake of her long-suffering citizens. The first half of the story ( Ch 01 - ? ) is pre-canon; KouenOC

4. (02) Ash Field - Pt 1

TWO: Ash Field

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The Ionian House of Nobles

The Ionian House of Nobles was established by Queen Elina to offer the people a voice in country affairs by summoning ten nobles and giving them governmental power, as well as the ability to challenge the crown's actions with the presence of a majority vote. The Ionian House of Nobles was made up of the noble representative of each of the nine provinces that made up the Queendom of Ione—Tjäder, Öman, Nyström, Strand, Hult, Åkerman, Vång, Byquist, and Ljung— and of the queen's consort, Prince Acke, who was head of the House—Kron.

Each Ionian House representative listened to the needs of their province and singled out the more important matters to bring into a compulsory meeting held at the start of every month to discuss with his fellow nobles where they decided what would be proposed to the queen. The queen would then choose which new measures to implement and which to discard. The representatives had a chance to propose their rejected measures in following proposals twice, the second time usually leading to a vote. If more than eight votes were given, the queen allowed the proposal to pass.

The new governmental branch brought more security to the country's streets and allowed the expansion of various businesses that resulted in a wealthier economy. The people were happy with the system because it brought them many new benefits, like a lowered cost of living, the expansion of farmlands to increase the amount of food that circulated through their country, and the amount of work available for them. It also guaranteed that their voices were being heard.

Ione thrived with the presence of the Ionian House.

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xl: We gotta remember these fellas.

I want to take the opportunity to thank everyone that added this to their alert or favorite list. And also, a special shout out to Loteva, who read the story first on my journal before I decided to post it here, and many thanks to these lovely people for reviewing: lilith, colouredred, Musketeer12, lovinurburks, and mun3litKnight. I appreciate all the motivating words!

READ: I created a Character List. You can find it on my wordpress. If you want a direct link to it, PM me.

GUEST REVIEW RESPONSES:

- lilith: You will see her reaction in the next chapter. It might be a little...unexpected? I'm not sure. Thank you for reading and reviewing. :)