The Sorrow of a Weak Nation
"You are correct. It was indeed the Empire that failed to find it. But do you know why the Imperial Academy accepts outsiders in the first place?" At my words, Ea's eyes darted around. The Academy had been established centuries ago to accumulate and share knowledge for the benefit of all mankind. In keeping with that founding spirit, even those not born in the Empire could attend as long as they met the qualifications.
"Judging by your silence, you must already know. Even though you are the princess of the Sardegna Kingdom, the Empire has never objected to Your Highness participating in our development, out of respect for the Academy's noble mission. However, I never expected Your Highness to betray the Academy in return."
In truth, what I had just said was a lie. I hadn't had the slightest clue that Princess Ea was involved in the development of the chemical fertilizer. Had I known, I would have pressured her to stay out of it. It was only natural that the Empire should monopolize and sell the fertilizer it developed. I wasn't running a charity; all of this was for the Empire's treasury. And now an industrial spy was in the mix? Absolutely not. How many sleepless nights had I spent to secure the funding for this fertilizer research? Yet she was going to acquire the technology through it, funded by the Empire's coin? Even if the Empire tolerated it, I certainly wouldn't.
Ea spoke up. "I have never betrayed the Academy. And..."
Watching Ea frantically rack her brain to escape this predicament, I cut in. "Well, fine. Regardless of what you say, Your Highness, if you monopolize the fruits of this research for yourself, the Academy will bar all non-Imperial students from enrolling in the future. And..."
Her emerald eyes glared at me.
"...we will lodge a formal protest and demand compensation from the Sardegna Kingdom for deliberately withholding the Empire's research findings."
I had no actual intention of escalating such a trivial matter into a full-blown diplomatic war, but I knew it would instill a healthy dose of fear in her. And as if confirming my suspicion, Ea bit her lip in sheer frustration. I drove the final nail into the coffin.
"Ah, and do not entertain any hope that the Allied Kingdom will come to your aid. I trust you know who my maternal family is."
Ea lowered her head, her body trembling slightly. She had to be furious. The mighty Empire was openly threatening her small homeland. Honestly, Ea's argument wasn't wrong. It was only natural for her to refuse when I demanded she hand over the results of her own research. But anger changed nothing. I was going to seize her research. Well... if any real trouble arose, I could always throw her the Staff of Venian or some magical robe to appease her.
Her trembling gradually subsided, and Ea lifted her head. "Will it suffice if I disclose my research findings?"
Such was the sorrow of a weak nation. There were very few countries capable of standing against the mighty Empire—perhaps the Allied Kingdom with its vast colonies, or the Babylon Empire with its sprawling territory. Knowing her position all too well, Ea forced a smile and continued, "If I do, will you refrain from demanding protests and compensation from our kingdom?"
I nodded. "Yes. I shall do that. First, bring me the research results. We will review them and meet again."
"Understood."
As we left the room, I noticed Theodora casting a pitying look back at Ea.
"Your Majesty, let us go," I said.
Theodora hesitated before following me out, her voice laced with worry. "Aren't you being a bit too harsh?"
"About what?"
She looked at me as if she couldn't comprehend my indifference. "Ea wasn't wrong... There was no need to drag her kingdom into this, was there?"
I shrugged. "On the contrary, it's best to break their spirit right from the start."
At my cold, decisive tone, Theodora shook her head in disbelief. "You really are bloodless and tearless. Come to think of it, you were incredibly cruel to me before we got married, too. Was that also an attempt to break my spirit?"
"Huh? Me?"
As I pondered her question, Theodora held up her hand and began counting down on her fingers. "You threatened me using my family, lied about killing Ipa... and forced me into marriage when I clearly didn't want to..."
Hearing her list those grievances, I briefly wondered if she was harboring a deep-seated grudge for future revenge. I cut her off. "Back then... that was simply the fastest, most effective method."
Given Theodora's personality, she would rather die than be dragged around by others. That was why I had targeted her weakness—her family.
"Do you have any idea how much of a madman I thought you were back then?" she asked, a faint smile playing on her lips.
I smiled back. "I'm sorry about that. Time was of the essence."
Indeed, though we had somehow managed to avert a war with the Emperor Faction, the situation back then had been heavily stacked against me. To be perfectly honest, the Anti-Emperor Faction was weaker than the Emperor Faction. If one had to name the single largest individual force in the Empire... Yohanes would easily top the list.
Perhaps... when spring arrives, that is when he will make his move.
"Hehe... I know now that you aren't a bad person. I'm sure you had your reasons, reasons I couldn't possibly understand."
Looking at Theodora, who was wearing an unusually mature smile... my mind suddenly flashed back to last night's dream.
Are you insane? Why on earth am I thinking about that now?
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "Stop talking nonsense and let's head back quickly. There's a mountain of work waiting."
A few days passed.
Sharing a bed with Theodora had been awkward at first, but once I started sleeping in it, my body flatly refused to go back to the sofa. Having grown accustomed to the plush, springy mattress, sleeping on the sofa made me feel as if I hadn't slept at all, leaving my body stiff and aching. Thus, even after I had fully recovered, I continued to sleep in the bed.
Besides, Theodora didn't seem to mind. Perhaps because it was an imperial bed, it was massive enough to comfortably fit four people, so she probably didn't give it much thought.
I looked at her sleeping beside me. She truly was breathtaking when she slept. Her porcelain skin, her rosy lips, and her mysterious gray hair. Though this world was filled with handsome men and beautiful women, I had never seen anyone as stunning as her. She wasn't called the greatest beauty of the Empire for nothing. Looking at her icy, haughty aura, I sometimes felt a strange, inexplicable emotion stirring within me.
What am I thinking? Feeling attracted to a future avenger?
Slap!
I slapped my own cheek to snap myself out of it.
Theodora rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Are you... awake?"
"Yeah. I'm heading out now, so sleep a bit more."
As I made to get out of bed, Theodora, still half-asleep, stretched out her arms toward me.
"Before you go... *yawn*... hug me."
Watching her yawn and ask for a hug, my face flushed hot.
Huh...? A hug?
She peered at me through half-closed eyes. "Hug me."
"Uh... what?"
As I froze in embarrassment, she crawled across the bed on her knees—
Thud.
She collapsed into my arms and whispered in my ear, "See you later."
Then, she gently pulled back and gave me a soft, beaming smile. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs.
"Y-yeah... see you later."
Muttering those words, I hurriedly fled the room.
Lately, Theodora's advances had been formidable. At this rate, it felt like only a matter of time before I was devoured and fell victim to an "assassination by pregnancy."
Ever since I realized that the Ea from my dream and the Ea in reality shared the exact same face, I had reached a firm conclusion. The Theodora I saw in my dream—the avatar of vengeance and power—and my current wife were one and the same.
Step, step.
The thought of that power-mad, vengeance-driven Theodora from my dream wrapping her arms around me sent a shiver down my spine.
I must be careful... One can never be too careful.
By nature, I trusted no one except those who had proven themselves absolutely reliable. Perhaps that was the destiny of anyone involved in politics. In the political arena of the Empire, there were no eternal enemies, nor were there eternal friends. Depending on their respective interests, even mortal enemies would frequently join hands.
Right now, Theodora's interests aligned with mine, which was likely why she wasn't openly trying to eliminate me. After all, I had ruled in her stead and saved the Empire from the brink of ruin. I had replenished the depleted treasury and restored order to the chaos.
But if our interests ever diverged... it would be extremely dangerous. Once she endured her current humiliation and bore my child, she could simply eliminate me, reclaim her imperial authority, and seize control of the Grand Duchy.
I need Mary and Agrippa to get married as soon as possible.
Once they were wed, I would declare that I would not pass the Grand Duchy down to my own children. That should alleviate some of her ambition, right?
With those thoughts swirling in my head, I made my way to the office.
I let out a long sigh as I looked at the sparse stacks of paperwork on my desk.
"Phew... thank goodness."
Not long ago, I had nearly worked myself to death trying to clear the backlog. Now, I could feel that things had finally returned to their normal pace.
Still... there's just too much for me to handle alone. Is it even normal for the entire administration to fall into such utter chaos just because one person collapses?
For now, I was grinding my own bones to keep the gears turning, but I decided that I needed to restructure the organization to prevent any future mishaps.
I need to implement the tax reform as well...
I thought to myself as I looked at the final draft submitted by the Ministry of Finance. Restructuring the administration could wait; there were too many urgent matters that required immediate attention.
I carefully reviewed the tax reform proposal.
"Hmm... good."
The draft was written exactly in the direction I wanted. Just to be safe, I read through it meticulously once more, checking for any potential loopholes or problematic clauses.
"This will do. Now, I just need to win over the neutral factions and the free cities."
The neutral factions and the free cities, who currently stood in opposition to me, would have no choice but to join hands with me once they saw this bill. This was because the law would drastically cap the absurd taxes levied by the nobility.
The Emperor Faction would gnash their teeth, but Yohanes would secretly be overjoyed. I would have to discuss this with Victor...
"Ah, I wonder when Alexander will arrive."
It was about time to negotiate with him. My plan was to bring Savinelli, Yohanes's brilliant strategist, to Roman and demand a massive indemnity. Yohanes wouldn't hand Savinelli over easily, but... well, I had to get him to the negotiating table first.
With that in mind, I began organizing my plans for the future.