Audience with the Emperor (2)

The Emperor's booming laughter, resounding through the Grand Audience Hall as if to swallow it whole, gradually faded away.

"What an entertaining fellow you are. Indeed, I am well. A most impressive first greeting."

The Emperor looked down at me with evident interest.

But the voice that followed his praise carried a sharp chill once more.

Propping his chin on his hand, he eyed me askance.

"However, your kingdom is the type of nation I despise most on this continent."

"……."

"Surrounded by seas and buffer zones of other countries—a natural fortress. Thanks to that, you've gone decades without a proper war, not even a territorial dispute, rotting away in peace like the overwhelming weaklings you are."

The Emperor's eyes curved slyly.

"Those who don't know the true smell of blood are frail. When the strong bare their bellies and roll over, you roll. When they demand you kneel, you kneel. If they order you to die, you grovel on the floor begging for mercy like beasts just to survive. Just like your Sterling Kingdom now."

It was an insulting tirade.

The gazes of the countless imperial nobles lined up behind me stabbed like needles as they snickered and whispered.

But I showed no sign of grievance or humiliation, simply bowing my head calmly.

"Your Majesty's words are most just. We are mere weaklings before the mighty Empire, reliant on Your Majesty's mercy to survive."

"Ho?"

"However, we simply cherish that modest peace we've guarded without spilling blood for so long."

Honestly, we were total pushovers.

The Emperor snorted at my response.

"Peace."

And suddenly, he uttered words in a most alien and unfamiliar tongue.

"Si vis pacem, para bellum. Do you know what this means?"

For a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moment, I nearly burst out laughing while bowed.

I knew it all too well.

Rejoicing inwardly, I replied without the slightest hesitation.

"If you want peace, prepare for war. A most famous and excellent ancient adage, is it not, Your Majesty?"

No sooner had my answer fallen than the elderly scribe below the jade throne gasped in surprise, and murmurs of disbelief erupted among the assembled ministers.

"…A famous adage, you say. A dead language spoken by no one, with words unknown in Sterling Kingdom—yet you call it famous?"

"A slip of the tongue, Your Majesty."

Shit, should've pretended not to know.

The Emperor's purple eyes gleamed fiercely like torches.

"I jest. Impressive, nonetheless. A young royal not even a scholar, knowing ancient tongues… Very well, then. I shall ask you this."

The Emperor leaned forward, pressing down on me threateningly.

"My great ancestors and I lived by that old adage—preparing for war from horseback, devouring half the continent in victory. But after slaying all enemies, what must one prepare next? With no more foes for the drawn sword, all that's left is for it to rust, is it not?"

I took a deep breath inwardly, striving for the best reply.

"A brilliant insight, Your Majesty. A sword without enemies will inevitably rust. But I believe that felling all foes does not end war."

"What do you mean? Spare me the clouds. Give me a clear analogy that strikes my heart."

An analogy. The dormant soul ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the liberal arts student deep within me ignited.

"One can conquer the world on horseback, but can never rule it from horseback."

It was from the Records of the Grand Historian—an advisor named Lu Jia's counsel to Emperor Liu Bang.

All eyes in the audience hall fixed on my lips.

The Emperor stroked his chin, intrigued.

"If an overwhelming sword fells all enemies and brings the continent to its knees, then the wielder must melt that sword into a plowshare and mint gold coins. For a vast empire after conquest rolls not on the fear of a blade that might rust anytime."

I slowly raised my head, meeting the Emperor's purple gaze head-on.

"Firm roads threading the empire like veins, laws and administration so tight no rebel dares dream, and bread to fill the people's bellies. What topples those not slain by the sword is ultimately bread. Men kill each other for a single slice."

"……."

"Having prepared for war to win peace, after victory one must prepare for the invisible war called governance—to fully digest the conquered lands. It is the most tedious yet greatest war for a conqueror ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dismounted."

"Hmm."

"Men do anything when hungry. Among them, some with talent, luck, and ambition shatter the old order. But if a conqueror feeds all his people, such ambitions end as vain delusions. A full belly seeks sleep, not a sword."

"Are there not men who scheme when sated?"

"Removing such men so the simple majority sleeps content when full—that too is war, I believe."

As my words ended, a perfect silence fell over the vast audience hall, not even the sound of swallowing audible.

"……Ha."

A deep sigh escaped the Emperor's lips.

He stared at me with wide eyes in disbelief, then pressed his palm to his forehead.

"Madness. Utter madness."

"Y-Your Majesty…?"

"Kahahahaha!"

The Emperor erupted in laughter that threatened to collapse the hall once more.

This time, it held not a drop of mockery—pure delight and admiration.

"A mere hostage boy from the boondocks, barely in his teens! To explain the essence of rule so lucidly! Remarkable. So erudite, so bold!"

"My thanks."

"How old are you this year?"

"I turned twenty."

"Heh, truly… Remarkable. Twenty, just twenty? A mind so wise at that age?"

"To call merely voicing what I've learned 'wisdom'—I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's grace."

"Most of the world can't manage that simple feat. Well, let me ask something else. What makes a good sovereign?"

"A good sovereign is…"

Machiavelli should work here, right?

After that, the Emperor and I traded questions and answers for quite some time, the hall's ministers mere backdrop.

At the end of our exchange, the Emperor, smiling in satisfaction, suddenly tilted his head.

"……I may have to rate your country far higher than I thought."

"Pardon?"

"Isn't it so? If the second prince alone wields such profound knowledge and nerves of steel, how vast must the vessel of Sterling's heir, the crown prince, be?"

I nearly choked.

Joseph's innocent, dim-witted face flashed in my mind—that gentle prince who hid behind me, tears welling, from a mere finger cut by a branch during sword practice.

No, Your Majesty. Joseph would piss himself on day one here and collapse sobbing from exhaustion by day three.

Swallowing the truth threatening to spill, I merely smiled enigmatically and bowed in silence.

"Knight Amber White's report on your escort, and what I've confirmed today firsthand—Sterling Kingdom seems no mere den of wretched weaklings, as my eldest daughter Victoria claimed."

The Emperor stroked his chin beard, adding cheerfully.

"She couldn't contain her bloodlust, judging you solely by force. What a delightful hostage after so long!"

The Emperor rose smoothly from the jade throne and issued an imperial decree.

"We obey Your Majesty's command!"

Hundreds of ministers and knights lining both sides of the audience hall knelt as one, submitting to the imperial will.

The sneers and contempt once aimed at me had shifted to shock and faint awe.