Taking Back the Empress’s Financial Authority
After hearing the nobles out, Conrad let out a faint sigh. His face was heavy with worry, and even the most outspoken among them had no choice but to fall silent.
They wondered what Conrad would say next. He was the finest knight in the empire and the commander in chief of the armed forces; perhaps they were about to witness his wrath firsthand.
“I have verified that the reports brought forward are true.”
His voice was calm, stripped of emotion, and that only sharpened the nobles’ attention.
There were only two possibilities when Conrad, who was more sensitive than anyone to the treatment of knights, spoke like that: either he was barely holding back his rising fury, or he had already let it out.
“I’ve detained several attendants and obtained confessions from them. This began while I was away from the imperial palace.”
Some of the nobles were already aware of the rot that had taken hold in the palace.
But once they learned that it had been allowed to continue with Chloe’s tacit approval, they had not stepped forward.
“The knights who go beyond the barrier to deal with the monsters gladly lay down their lives to protect the empire. The ones who remain here are no different.”
Duty in the imperial knights was rotational. Since they all belonged to Conrad’s order, some stayed behind to guard the palace while others went to the barrier to defend the empire.
“It should go without saying that such people must not be disregarded.”
Quite a few nobles nodded in agreement with Conrad’s view.
Marquis Ludvika tried to object from among them, but before he could even raise his voice, he shut his mouth again.
The looks from the other nobles were too sharp to ignore.
“Fortunately, the Empress has brought this matter into the open, but we cannot accept that such a thing happened in our empire.”
“Then, Your Majesty...”
“In a situation like this, I can no longer ask the knights to risk their lives. Starting today, I will cease sending them beyond the barrier to exterminate monsters.”
At Conrad’s declaration, the nobles’ eyes widened.
***
The day before the State Council meeting.
“Have you seen the materials I submitted for the council agenda?”
“Ah, that.”
Conrad, who had already answered that he had passed them on to the nobles, sat down in front of Regina.
She took a seat as well, and as if on cue, Limutan came in and began organizing the documents.
The maids who pushed in the tea tray set cups down on the freshly cleared desk.
The room was so quiet that the only sound was the trickle of tea pouring from the pot. As the fragrant aroma spread, Regina reached out and let her fingers rest against the cup.
Warmth rose through her hand, and a small smile touched Regina’s lips. Conrad waved the maids and Limutan away.
Once they had withdrawn, Regina spoke first.
“I want to take the imperial palace’s financial authority away from the Grand Empress.”
“And your plan?”
“We pressure her, starting with the matter I raised at the State Council.”
Regina said it with such offhand ease that she lifted her teacup only after speaking.
“She’ll have no choice but to hand it over. I’ll make sure of it.”
“If that’s what the Empress wants, then so be it.”
In truth, the financial authority of the imperial palace belonged to the Empress. Until now, Chloe had only managed it in place of an Empress, because Conrad had had none.
When generations changed, the person holding that authority should have changed naturally as well, but Chloe’s faction had blocked it and delayed the transfer.
Conrad could not interfere lightly with the financial authority granted to the mistress of the imperial household.
That power belonged solely to the Empress, so even knowing there was a problem, he could not step in.
“But to take it back, Your Majesty—no, Conrad—will need to cooperate with me.”
“Mine?”
“Yes.”
Regina’s blue eyes, like the sea, turned to Conrad. Their color was similar to his, yet somehow different, and he found himself pausing for an instant.
When Regina leaned closer and her lips brushed near his ear, skimming his earlobe, he curled his fingers into a fist.
“So, will you do as I say?”
***
On the day of the State Council meeting.
The nobles who had attended the meeting were so stunned by Conrad’s statement that they could scarcely close their mouths.
Conrad had never once abandoned his duty to the empire’s people, no matter what happened.
“Yo, Your Majesty...”
It was the first time he had ever declared that he would no longer hunt the monsters at the barrier. The man who had turned a blind eye to whatever the Grand Empress did was now saying he would stop the extermination campaign altogether.
“No, Your Majesty. For the sake of the empire, I beg you to reconsider!”
The noble whose lands lay closest to the barrier hurriedly stepped forward.
If the exterminations ceased, he would have to recruit new knights immediately in preparation for a monster wave.
“That’s right, Your Majesty. Please consider the hardships of your people.”
As though sensing an opening, another noble quickly joined in. Like the first, he too held lands near the barrier.
“My knights and I have always done our utmost to deal with the monsters.”
Conrad ignored their pleas and spoke of something else.
“But if what comes back is not gratitude but contempt, then why should we continue making such efforts?”
“Please, Your Majesty, you cannot take the behavior of a few thoughtless individuals as the whole.”
“Yes, exactly! The imperial citizens in this palace and in the capital all respect the knights and Your Majesty!”
“That’s right! Who would dare look down on those to whom they owe their lives?”
Watching the situation unfold, Marquis Ludvika stamped his feet in agitation.
He gripped the armrest of his chair tightly, even tried to raise a different opinion from the noble seated beside him, but once public sentiment had already shifted, there was no turning it back.
If this continues, it will put Her Majesty the Grand Empress at a disadvantage.
There was no doubt that what the Empress had done was unjust.
“So, Your Majesty, please calm yourself and...”
“If my Empress had not brought this matter before the State Council, I too would have remained unaware of this insubordination.”
At Conrad’s stern words, the nobles no longer dared to speak.
“To think an attendant who treated the knights so brazenly also dared to behave arrogantly toward the Empress—how deplorable.”
Conrad shook his head.
“S-such a thing happened?”
“Your Majesty! That attendant must have lost his mind!”
“Exactly! No one who understands proper conduct would do such a thing!”
The sequence had been reversed, but Conrad deliberately brought up the incident between Regina and one of the Grand Empress’s attendants.
Whoever strikes first wins. That’s what public opinion is.
Regina’s face flashed through his mind, smiling lightly as she had spoken of the plan with such mischievous ease.
She really isn’t ordinary.
Regina truly was the perfect partner.
Even now, look at them.
The sight of those nobles panicking and scrambling made him feel absurdly refreshed.
They had taken for granted the knights who risked their lives protecting the empire, and now, with their own interests under threat, they were begging pitifully for mercy.
“Once public opinion turns, it isn’t easy to reverse. Fear of the monster at your doorstep always outweighs inconvenience in the distant future. Even if the Grand Empress intervenes now, it will be too late.”
Conrad was certain from Regina’s bitter tone that she, too, had once been trampled by public opinion.
Given what she had endured in the Ferman Empire, it made sense that she could handle this so skillfully now.
Just then, Conrad’s lips curved.
“Your Majesty! The vice-commander of the Fredericks Imperial Knights requests an audience!”
Suddenly, the chief attendant’s cry rang through the council chamber.
The nobles, and even Conrad, turned toward the chamber doors. The nobles, clinging to the hope that they might somehow escape the emperor’s pressure, looked back to Conrad, and he granted permission with apparent reluctance.
“Let him in.”
The vice-commander of the knights, dressed in full military regalia, walked into the chamber.
His imposing presence felt like a silent threat to the nobles, though in truth Herzen was tense as well.
There’s nothing else to it. I just have to say I’ll devote myself to the empire.
Remembering Regina’s reassurance—that he only needed to do as he always had—Herzen gave Conrad the formal salute of a knight.
“To the empire’s highest sword...”
“Enough. Rise.”
Before Herzen could even finish his greeting, Conrad cut him off.
---