CH 13

The morning meeting that seemed to go on forever finally came to an end.

After the ministers left, the Emperor headed to his bedroom to spend his afternoon schedule for a while. Eugène, the only one who was not ordered to leave, was forced to follow the Emperor to his bedroom. 

The Emperor’s bedroom, which he visited during the day, had a different atmosphere in the evening. The entire wall on one side of the room had glass windows that overlooked the palace garden, and the other three sides were decorated in red and green, the colors of the imperial family, which made the entire room look gorgeous and magnificent.

The window frames, walls, and even the footrests attached to the armchair were adorned with carvings emphasizing the Emperor’s dignity. The ceiling painting, which depicted Regire, Goddess of The Sky, and Eustace, the God of Fire and Agriculture, protecting the Emperor, was so overwhelmingly majestic and beautiful to the eye.

“What did you feel, Baron? You must have noticed something after witnessing the whole scene.”

The Emperor asked Eugène as he took off his clothes with the service of the chamberlain. Eugène didn’t know if it was because he’s been served by other people since he was born, but the Emperor had no shame in showing his naked body in front of others. The day before, he wore a thin gown, but today he was revealing his naked body without covering a single spot as he was changing clothes. 

Seems like it’s not only the ladies who are familiar with the Emperor’s naked body. Rather, the noblemen might be more used to it.

Eugène could not look directly at the Emperor like that. Of course, he had a good enough body to be a spectacle, but during a serious conversation about national affairs, it bothered him that one was naked while the other was fully clothed.

There was no reason to be ashamed of a man’s naked body now that he had lived almost half his life among naked crewmen. However, at this moment, for some reason, his face turned red. It was probably due to the self-awareness that he was peeking at someone else’s private moment.

“I understood what Your Majesty said. I could see why Your Majesty desires for a dedicated and loyal man of talent.”

He answered, averting his eyes from the spectacle. The Emperor laughed at the sight. He wasn’t sure if it was because he liked Eugène’s answer, or if he found Eugène’s attitude to be amusing.

“That’s right, quite urgently so. Not someone who would pretend to die for Us, but someone who would truly lay down his life.”

The Emperor passively accepted his words. However, even the calm smile could not hide the coldness of his golden eyes. Whilst he was not showing the same blatant anger as seen in the office, in Eugène’s eyes, the current Emperor looked more menacing than before.

A predatory beast hiding its claws while hunting. He could sense the bleak presence of the faintly lurking wild animal from the Emperor before him. 

“What method must be used to kick their heavy bums and make them move?”

The Emperor smiled coolly, hiding the previous look in his eyes, that was momentarily revealed. Just as his gleaming body was covered under the many layers of silk clothing, the bloody heartlessness calmly hid under his splendid appearance and mischievous smile. The way he skillfully concealed himself was like that of a leopard hiding in the grass, sending chills down Eugène’s spine.

“If it were me, I would first start with the problem of the eastern territories, Your Majesty.”

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Let’s be calm.

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To hold the Emperor’s extended hand, he had to prove his worth. The Emperor was not a benevolent monarch to those who let him down.

“How? Doing what they want will not work. Do voice your suggestions if you have any, Advisor. You must do your duty.” 

The Emperor, as if he had forgotten what he had said was a role only in name, brazenly handed over his duties to Eugène. But Eugène, who knew from the beginning that the public post would be a snare, accepted the word without hesitation.

“While the method of go-slow is an effective way to show off the power of a subject, it is not an approach that can be used often. Furthermore, in the face of a monarch with a strong character like Your Majesty, the drawbacks may outweigh the benefits. The fact that they pushed ahead with the strike without even knowing that means that they’re coveting the eastern territories.”

In a court that liked to talk in a roundabout way, even political acts were done in the same manner. For example, this is exactly what happened at the political affairs meeting earlier. The Emperor thunderously criticized them to be incompetent, but they were senior officials of the empire after all – Moreover, there was no way that the dignitaries in a powerful monarch’s regime, like Ebroin V, were unable to do their assigned jobs because they were genuinely incompetent.

No matter how they acted on the surface, they were deliberately sabotaging the affairs, and even the Emperor would not be aware of it. In Eugène’s view, the Emperor’s bustling rage was nothing more than a kind of ritual, as were the overreactive apologies of the dignitaries. 

To have a proper understanding of what was going on between them, you had to read between the lines, rather than directly pay heed to their words or actions. Anything of actual importance would only take place between those lines.

This meant that there was a reasonable benefit for the competent ministers not to work despite the Emperor’s wrath. Moreover, the fact that the most important record of merits in the post-war settlements has not yet been written was a story of aim in itself.

In the current situation, there was only one target surrounding the record of merits. A fertile territory in the eastern region that had been recovered from the last war. The coveted land was considered the best granary of the empire and nourished the eastern nobles until it was taken away by Shaak.

Traditionally, in principle, newly expanded territories were bestowed upon nobles who had contributed to the war. However, the soldiers mobilized in this war were not the nobles’ territorial soldiers, but from the Emperor’s central Army, and even the Emperor himself revitalized the war situation that had been pushed back to the early stages. 

By all accounts, it was the Emperor who made the most significant contribution to this war. As such, even the noblemen who participated in the war as officers could not desire the greater credits, even if they claimed the small ones.

In such a situation, if the record of merits is completed, there will be an objective indicator dividing the merits. It goes without saying that if there is a rule in distribution, there will be less room for intrusion. In addition, the area where discretion can be exercised would be greatly reduced, so the aristocrats cannot look forward to the completion of the record of merits.

Perhaps they were hoping that the territories would be distributed without the completion of the record of merits. In order to further expand their interests even a little.

“I have been wandering the open sea for a long time, but I’ve heard the rumors. Lately, the eastern nobility faction, which has led the theory of responsibility for the past, has been openly speaking out. The fact that those who lost their influence more than a decade ago are raising their voices again means that there are other forces impelling them. Fools will believe they have a friend who will listen to them, but supporting those without any moral duties means someone else is benefiting from it. However, Your Majesty can make use of that too. There is nothing better against the enemy than the enemy’s own weapon.” 

What the agitators of the eastern nobility want is for them to not achieve their goals. By making noise with their contention, the issue of territorial distribution is bound to become a political issue, which would press the Emperor to speed up the distribution, thus completing their masterwork.

The Emperor frowned upon hearing Eugène’s words. He lightly gestured to the attendant, who was braiding his hair carefully, to step back as if it were bothersome. Then he went to the nearest armchair and slumped down.

The attendants, who were grooming the Emperor with a sincere attitude scattered like a swarm of startled bees and then gathered again. They tried not to offend the seated Emperor and stepped forward to fix and adjust his clothes.

“Fighting the enemy with the enemy’s own weapon? Do you mean to put a snare on the cause of the eastern nobles?” 

“That’s right.”

“How?”

“Please listen to what they want, Your Majesty. As they wish, you can return the territories to their original owners. However, not only that but for the time being, those who are not the former owners should be ordered not to occupy the eastern territories.”

The vertical lines between the Emperor’s brows deepened. He looked at Eugène with a doubtful face and then casually asked. 

“That’s an interesting proposition. Especially considering where you’re from. …Fine. Keep going. Let’s see how ingenious you can be.”

Even though he spoke as if it was really interesting, his eyes were sharp. It was as if he would cut him off if he said anything nonsense. Eugène looked at his eyes without shame.

“Just attach a clue. No matter what they claim, they are the ones who lost their territory and fled, leaving their people behind. Giving the territories back to them without payment would only reveal one’s folly, rather than mercy. So make them pay. As it is, the empire’s finances are in a rough spot due to the war, so Your Majesty can simply ask them to take responsibility for that share.”

“Ha? Are you telling Us to do business with the territories?” 

“It’s not a business. It is nothing more than consolidating rewards and punishments. If it were actually going to be a business, then it would’ve been better to auction the entire imperial nobility, not just the eastern faction. There are many who covet the fertile eastern territories, so there would have been no shortage when filling the empty state coffers and appeasing the meritorious men.”

The answer flowed naturally as if he had prepared it beforehand. In fact, it was only possible to come up with an answer because he had been thinking about it since he attended the meeting on political affairs. Eugène, despite not having experienced it a few times, knew better than anyone what kind of person the Emperor was.

There was nothing unexpected about the Emperor’s actions. Even if it looks like that at first, once you have a deeper understanding of them, in most cases, most of them were based on subtle calculations that seemed to be a few steps ahead. If you follow such a person without thinking, you are likely to be in big trouble. In order to deal with the Emperor, it was necessary to have an insight into the future.

The Emperor looked at Eugène without saying a word. He did so quietly for a moment, with knitted brows and a piercing look in his eyes. But that moment didn’t last long. Soon after, a smile slowly appeared on the Emperor’s face. The smile of courtesy, that he had become accustomed to, spread to the Emperor’s lips as if painted with a brush. 

“Not only are you smart, but your adaptability is quite strong too. You have become used to speaking in a courtly manner so quickly, now all you have to do is correct your dialect.”

In that way, the Emperor said he understood Eugène’s scheme. Eugène lightly bowed his head and accepted the Emperor’s compliment.

Eugène’s plan was basically based on the Emperor’s policy toward the nobility. Like the Emperor’s basic policy of dividing the nobles, who were originally similar in power, into small groups and keeping them in check, Eugène’s scheme also focused on promoting a struggle for profit among the nobles by putting the eastern nobles on the surface. It gave the eastern nobles, who had already fallen into ruins a justification to recover their territories and provided a niche to dig way into the other nobility factions who have their eyes on the eastern territories.

At first, the two will hold hands as their interests match, but their honeymoon period will be difficult to continue. Nobility from other regions who paid a huge fee on behalf of the eastern nobility would consider themselves the owners of the territories, but the eastern nobility who regained their old territories would consider themselves the true owners. 

Such differences of opinion will lead to strife, and just like in the past, they will be at odds with one another.

If the entire eastern part of the empire could be made to be under the direct control of the Emperor, there would be no other choice. As an Emperor who used a policy of dividing power as much as possible to prevent the nobility from uniting, this task will provide him with an opportunity to create another power structure.

The Emperor, relieved, rose from his seat and approached Eugène. Following the Emperor’s movements, the attendants hurriedly moved one after another. Ignoring the attendants who were following him, the Emperor continued to approach Eugène, then stopped and stood in front of him, and touched his collar.

The Emperor swept down his thumb on the collar of the justaucorps, which had been carefully groomed but clearly showed signs of being old, and looked into Eugène’s gray eyes as he smiled mischievously. 

“Your clothes are too old. Dressing well will also be important if you want to survive in court from now on. When the payment for the first territory comes in, I shall give you a new set of clothes. Not only the latest fashionable justaucorps but also cravat and vests at once.”

It was an attitude that would be more appropriate for his beloved concubine rather than a cherished subject, but the Emperor’s words were sincere. When Eugène learned that he had passed the Emperor’s test, he smiled at him. Unlike before, it was a genuine smile, so the arc drawn by his lips looked much more natural.

“Will it be only one set? I would need more clothes to survive in the court.”

Eugène said quite sincerely. He was in no place to refuse since it was true that he was in need of new clothes. Even though he was not sensitive to fashion, he knew it would be difficult for him to lead a life in the imperial court with the simple clothes he had gotten made several years ago. 

The Emperor burst out laughing when he heard that. Whatever was so funny, the Emperor laughed until tears welled up in his golden eyes, and promised Eugène that he would send him a seamstress along with fabrics. The Emperor added that he would send them right away, not when the territory payment would come in. He actually kept that promise.

Thanks to this, Eugène was able to prepare twelve sets of everyday wear and five formal dress suits. Three equestrian uniforms were a bonus.

The Emperor of the empire was truly generous.