Chapter 35

On May 5th, the emperor held the second cabinet meeting at Conrad Hall of the Lucio Imperial Palace. It was the second cabinet meeting, but it was the first time that all the cabinet members attended. In other words, the emperor could not govern properly for five months from the beginning of the year. Without the scandal involving his fiancee, the cabinet meeting would have been probably been postponed indefinitely.

Jed cursed them with four-letter words when he saw the letters of Duke Hubble and Ober who belatedly showed their intention to attend the cabinet meeting. Colin kept silent with a bitter look, and Kloud hardly commented. Everyone seemed to think they were mean.

But Eckart had been waiting for the opening of the full cabinet meeting more than anyone else.

“The emperor has arrived!”

The chief chamberlain announced the emperor’s arrival loudly.

The cabinet members sitting on both sides of the long golden table stood up to express their due manners.

“May the endless glory of our god Airius be bestowed upon Your Excellency!”

Eckart walked slowly, not caring at all about their usual greetings. Soon, he sat on the uppermost chair. Right after he was seated, he started to examine the participants from the end of the table with his blue eyes. A total of ten officials were called to the meeting.

First, there were two secretaries from the archives office to record the meeting minutes. The top five cabinet members in charge of foreign affairs, home affairs, education affairs, finance, and law were seated closest to the emperor. Next to them was the chief of the Eluang Knights, the official imperial guard.

The other two were standing side by side on both sides of the throne. On the left was the palace secretary in charge of running the imperial palace while the chief secretary serving the emperor at hand was on the right.

“Sit down, everybody.”

He ordered coldly. The cabinet members were seated, starting with those close to him.

“I haven’t seen you around the palace for a while, and it’s nice to see you all in one place.”

His suggestive criticism subdued the atmosphere of the hall.

“I hear you have agreed to get married to the daughter of Duke Kling,” Duke Hubble opened his mouth blatantly without batting an eye. He could change the topic to his liking all of a sudden without using any unnecessary introductions. His gray hair showed that he had been bossing around in the palace for a long time.

“I’m going to have the engagement ceremony sooner or later. As it’s difficult for you to come to the capital every time, I think it won’t be bad for you to stay here and attend the ceremony before going back,” Eckart replied with ridicule.

“The emperor’s marriage is a national event. How come you are going to decide it without discussing it with the cabinet members at all?”

This time, Ober stepped in.

Eckart’s blue eyes looked down at him sitting next to Hubble. His ash-colored eyes were staring straight into the emperor’s eyes.

“I think your words are very rude. Are you going to interfere with me selecting my wife?”

“The empress is your wife, but she is Aslan’s First Lady, above all. I think it would be proper for you to get the counsel of the cabinet members.”

“I made the decision because I thought deeply about your guys’ advice. Wasn’t it your advice that I should select my wife as soon as possible for the peace of the imperial family?”

Obviously, the emperor made fun of Ober’s letter reminding him of the need to find his bride as soon as possible, so he turned his head, hiding his sharp eyes.

He clenched his fists beneath the table tightly. His discomfort, which he barely held back, was palpable to anybody looking at him.

“Do not be too angry, Your Majesty. Perhaps Ober, the Foreign Minister, meant well when he said that. As you have no father and grandfather, how can’t we, faithful servants, be concerned about your marriage?”

Earl McMillan, the Internal Minister, spoke, filling the teacup for the emperor.

Though he spoke in a gentle tone, he was virtually siding with Ober. In other words, he was trying to appease Ober, not the emperor who got upset.

“That’s a useless concern,” Eckart said, staring at McMillan. Although he wanted to throw the teapot on his crown right away, it was Curtis or Jed’s way of doing things, not his own.

“Did you choose anyone from the imperial family who would be your witness when you swore your marriage to our god Airius?”

Duke Hubble, who was silent, changed the topic again.

“Let me appoint Grand Duke Christopher and Queen’s daughter Katrin for that role.”

In response to Eckart’s answer, the chief of knights guard turned his head slightly.

Christopher De Frey. He was the chief of the Eluang Knights, Grand Duke Christopher.

Prince Christopher and Princess Kathrin were the son and daughter of the first Emperor Cassius respectively. The eldest daughter, Alisa, had long left the empire by marrying the emperor of the neighboring Faisal Empire, and the second son, Christopher, still unmarried, served as the leader of the Eluang Knights. The youngest daughter, Kathrin, was the wife of Duke Lamont, the Justice Minister who attended the cabinet meeting today. She was often called Duchess Lamont.

“Are they lower than Duke Hubble in terms of the family tree?”

“Yes, they are. But they are direct family members closer to me.”

Ober’s eyes trembled at his decisive answer. He terribly hated words like bloodline, family lineage, immediate family, or legitimate children.

“I think the blessing of the young descendants is better than the blessing of an old man.”

As Eckart expected, Duke Hubble acted calmly. Even if the hot-tempered Jed had shouted at him, “I don’t need congratulations from a cunning old man like you!”, Hubble would have stayed calm.

“Have you decided on the women who will help you prepare for the wedding ceremony?”

“Countess Renault and Lady Beatrice of the Marquis Euclid family will help.”

When Eckart said that, Earl Renault, the Treasury Minister, and Marquis Euclid, the Education Minister, looked at the emperor. Although they were informed of his decision in advance, they agreed without asking back.

“I can understand your choice of Countess Renault. Isn’t Beatrice single?”

“But I hear she has inherited the wisdom of her father, Sir Simon,” said Grand Duke Christopher, who had been silent all along.

“But don’t you think you will have no trouble preparing when you have a woman who has actually performed the wedding ceremony?” said Duke Hubble, pointing to the emperor as if he didn’t hear the grand duke.

Eckart gently reached out to stop him.

“You don’t have to worry about when it comes to the law and procedures because I have Mrs. Reinhardt who has been serving Duke Kling’s daughter at the Elior Mansion early on. Perhaps she knows more about the imperial customs than you.”

Duke Hubble shut up instead of protesting further. He dropped his olive-like eyes. Eckart was more concerned with his reaction than his outright hostility. His eyes clearly suggested that he was plotting something ominous.

“Duke Kling’s daughter is like a flower that has grown long in the north. If you’re going to plant it, you’ve got to create some familiar soil for her,” Ober chimed in to support Hubble.

But Eckart asked coldly, “Marquis Chester, what do you want to say to me?”

“Mrs. Reinhardt is okay, but Mrs. Renault and Ms. Beatrice are not easy to meet, even in the social circles of the capital, right? What I mean is you need to create the environment that is not familiar to you but to Duke Kling’s daughter.”

“You are speaking as if you know the environment that’s familiar to her.”

“Well, how could I know that? I heard there was one place she chose in person and she went there after arriving in the capital.”

Ober dropped his eyes, laughing shamelessly. Apparently, he was talking about the tea party Marquise Chester hosted. Convinced that Eckart was tipped by somebody about what happened at the tea party, Ober was trying to indicate that Marianne’s choice of the tea party meant that she was now a member of Mrs. Chester’s group.

Eckart calmly looked down while holding the golden armrest of his chair.

“I see,” Eckart answered calmly.

He suddenly recalled Marianne. If she hadn’t offered him a crazy deal, he probably wouldn’t have been able to say what he had to say from now on. He thought the next time he met her, he would give her due credit for that.

“But I have to disagree with you, Ober.”

His blue eyes sparkled. He looked at the five top ministers.

“Duke Shane!”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Duke Lamont responded to Eckart’s call.

“Can you memorize Article One of the Great Law?”

“Of course. Article One of the Great Law of Aslan says that any imperial minister other than the top five ministers can be appointed or dismissed by the emperor’s decision without the consent of the cabinet members.”