The Shadow of Aquitaine #4
The bureaucrats I passed all kept their heads bowed low, not daring to meet my eyes.
“Y-y-y-your, Your Majesty.”
“H-huff.”
Some even looked as if they were suffering from respiratory failure. I sat upon the throne, looking bored. It was to be expected. After all, their colleagues, whom they had been working alongside just yesterday, had been wiped out overnight without a trace. Who wouldn't be terrified? I understood it all.
“There are many empty seats.”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.” The Minister of Finance replied obsequiously.
“I assume everyone here roughly guesses the reason.”
They couldn't possibly not know. Every single person purged yesterday was someone who deserved it. If they didn't know, they hadn't been paying attention to life in the Imperial Palace.
“Proxy.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Elizabeth stepped forward. She held a list of those who had been purged.
“Thirty-five from the Ministry of Justice, thirty-one from the Ministry of Interior—including the civil engineering officers—and twenty-eight from the Ministry of Military Affairs. It is safe to say the logistics officers were wiped out entirely.”
After reciting the composition of the 171 purged individuals, Elizabeth folded the list with a sharp snap. “That is all.”
“Good work.”
I rested my chin in my hand and scanned the desolate audience chamber. The seats for the Ministry of Justice were particularly empty. The Minister of Justice had already lost his head during the previous purge, and now the entire line of command beneath him had been swept away as well.
“It seems the burden on those remaining will be heavy, given the many vacancies. Minister of Finance.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Confiscate the assets of the criminals and distribute them appropriately as performance bonuses. The work will be grueling, so you should at least put plenty of money in their pockets.”
“I shall do as you command.”
The complexions of several officials brightened. In truth, the salary of an Imperial Palace bureaucrat wasn't exactly meager. In terms of absolute numbers, they were among the high earners. But where were we? This was the Imperial Capital, the residence of the Emperor in a romance fantasy novel. That meant it was a place where all sorts of trends and luxuries converged. Noble daughters would sometimes pull the very roots of their family's pillars just to prepare for a single debutante ball. Add to that the exorbitant cost of living. They had massive expenses.
Because of that, they were already strapped for cash, so the fact that I was personally taking care of their wallets must have felt like a breath of fresh air.
“Indeed. Only when one’s pockets are full do they refrain from foolish thoughts. Isn't that right, Minister of Finance?”
“H-haha.”
The Minister of Finance, who had survived thanks to his competence, only laughed awkwardly. Once I had brought it up, it meant I was willing to turn a blind eye for now. So, this wasn't so much a jab at the Minister of Finance as it was a message for the surviving bureaucrats to hear. *You know you shouldn't feel safe just because you survived, right? I’ve decided to keep your pockets full, so let’s not cross the line like you did before, shall we?* One could say that was the underlying meaning.
“Now then.”
Up to this point, it had been about keeping the survivors of the purge in line. What came next?
“Since there are many empty seats, we must prepare to fill them.”
Filling the vacancies with rising talent.
“I shall select the talent from each family and bring you the list.”
“No.” I raised a hand to stop the Minister of Finance. Filling them in a hurry wasn't a bad method, but there weren't many decent families left in the Empire right now. The Great Lords? They were probably reeling from the purge as well, even if they had suffered less damage. In normal times, they might have sent someone over, saying, ‘He’s talented, but if we keep him, it might cause factional strife, so take him and use him.’ Now, they were in a position where they had to use those people themselves.
“We shall select them through an examination.”
“An examination? Is it not too early for the Academy cadets to graduate?” The Minister of Finance asked in a puzzled voice.
“There is no need to select only from the cadets, is there?”
I had no intention of abolishing the class system in this romance fantasy world. But separate from that, I had no intention of blocking the hiring of anyone who was simply competent, regardless of their status. If they were capable, I should use them.
“Prepare for a large-scale examination. The interviewers can be the Proxy and you, Minister of Finance.”
“Yes…?”
The old man, already busy enough, looked up at me with trembling eyes. What was the point of looking at me like that?
“……I shall do as you command.”
When I stared at him blankly, the Minister of Finance finally bowed his head low.
As a result—though the true results would only be known after some time—the large-scale purge had been carried out cleanly. This was only within the Empire, however.
I folded the newspaper I had been reading. It was a paper published by the Kingdom Alliance. One day. I had succeeded in overturning the Empire in just one day, and now the surrounding countries were in an uproar. The justification was plausible. After all, many of the Empire’s nobles had blood ties to noble families in other countries. In a way, they were arguing: *These are nobles of our own countries, so why are you killing them as you please?*
Elizabeth furrowed her brows. “It’s annoying.”
Annoying. That was exactly the extent of the sentiment. The statement released by the Empire also contained that sentiment in abundance.
[So what?]
That was the gist of it. In reality, it wasn't much different from that. It had already been done, and there was no turning back. And I had no intention of apologizing for this matter. If you are angry because your country’s nobles died, declare war and come at me. It should have ended there, but…
An unexpected obstacle emerged.
[The Emperor of the Aquitaine Empire, as one favored by the Goddess, must set an example… However, we respect his choices.]
The Holy Kingdom, with whom I had a very poor relationship, had taken my side this time. They didn't openly advocate for the massacre, but that was to be expected since they were a nation of religious people. The problem was that because the Holy Kingdom took the Empire’s side, the Kingdom Alliance, now isolated, was shouting at the top of their lungs and criticizing the Empire every single day.
“Shall we just crush them?”
“With what?”
Elizabeth stared at me intently. I knew what she was getting at. Indeed, drafting troops during a time of chaos due to a purge was not a good choice. But to suggest I go myself?
“I’m joking.”
“I thought you were serious.”
Elizabeth pouted. “In the first place, Your Majesty, you don't have any intention of going to war, do you?”
That was true. I nodded. Unless they were hoping for war on their end, I didn't desire an all-out war either.
“I know that much.”
One shouldn't confuse my plans. World conquest? If I wanted to, I could do it if I were willing to accept many casualties. In that case, the ones suffering the damage wouldn't be me, but the Empire. My goal? It was to bring the half-collapsing Empire back to a normal trajectory and then hand it over to Theodore. Not to become a conquering monarch expanding the Empire’s territory. If I were struck first, as in the previous case, I would be more than willing to jump into the fray myself, but…
“In any case, they have no intention of going to war with us either.”
“That may be true, but still.”
The Kingdom Alliance weren't idiots. Well, they were idiots, but they weren't incompetent enough to throw themselves into a fight thinking, *‘What if?’* If they were that incompetent, their country would have already fallen. I knew that very well because the Empire was on the verge of doing just that. In reality, even the Barca Kingdom was only in that state because a Black Mage had intervened from behind the scenes. Basically, they knew the Empire’s stance was, *‘If you’re unhappy, declare war first,’* so you could see this as something like WWE.
Elizabeth was just annoyed that they were pulling such stunts against us. As for me…
“Do not concern yourself with matters outside the Empire.”
There was plenty to do inside. When would I have time to worry about the outside?
“Ugh.”
Elizabeth turned her eyes back to the documents without a word. After I said I would select talent through an examination, many bureaucrats had reportedly visited her. They had received countless petitions saying things like, *‘How can you bring unverified people into the Imperial Palace?’* They probably thought Elizabeth was on their side. She was from the Valerian Ducal House, and her usual attitude was the very definition of a noble. In fact, if you talked to Elizabeth, you could feel a subtle, underlying nuance of class discrimination. But that was separate.
“If they are competent, we should use them, right? Is there any reason not to?”
Because of how she was born and raised, she did have some ingrained prejudices or biases. But that was no reason not to hire a competent person. Since that was her philosophy, all the bureaucrats who came to find her were given a stern dressing-down. Elizabeth came to me and said, “You knew it would be like this, didn't you?”
“Naturally.”
I had called her here to play that role. “*Sigh.*” Elizabeth let out a sigh. I stopped worrying about it, knowing she would handle her own work well even while grumbling. By the way, I had been so busy with the sudden discovery of a gold mine and the long-delayed purge that I hadn't been paying attention. Was Serena doing well?
Whether it was the Northern Grand Duke or the Magic Tower Master, she should be seducing them well, right? I couldn't help but be concerned. I would have to go to the Academy again soon.
“Your Majesty.” Lily caught me. “Grand Duke Siegfried von Reinhardt has arrived. Shall I show him in?”
Why was the Northern Grand Duke visiting all of a sudden? He was one of the twelve who had signed the document, too. Wasn't this the time he should be cleaning up his subordinates? This was dereliction of duty.