There's Always Work After Work - 2
The new year dawned.
Of course, calling it a new year did not mean anything dramatic had changed overnight; yesterday had simply been last year. If one insisted on finding differences, Pedi's babbling had grown a little clearer, and Trixie's belly seemed a bit more swollen.
It's huge.
As if possessed, I ran my hand over Trixie's stomach. Carrying triplets, it felt as though she was expanding three times faster than Mar had.
"Tell me the moment it gets hard. No New Year's Audience is more important than a pregnant woman."
That was why, before we left for the Imperial Palace to attend the ceremony, I had repeated the warning several times. If her body felt even slightly off, she was to say so at once.
The New Year's Audience existed to exalt the Emperor's authority, so titled nobles could not simply skip it—yet pregnancy changed everything. Even the most authority-conscious emperors of the past had shown mercy when a titled noble or accompanying family member was with child.
It was only natural. If you drove a pregnant woman too hard in the name of prestige and something went wrong, how would you ever answer the resentment? You would only destroy the very reputation you meant to build.
"I will put our children first as well, so do not worry."
After my string of admonitions, Trixie only smiled softly and stroked her belly.
"I am hardly in a position to sit still just because someone is watching me."
"That is true enough."
And her words carried real weight.
Trixie truly was not the sort who would force herself to endure the New Year's Audience out of concern for the Emperor or the other nobles. Even if she were not pregnant and simply said, "Urgent business has arisen at the Magic Tower," before vanishing, who could protest? The Emperor himself would probably thank her for at least offering an excuse and wave her off.
"Master. Baron Hardiner has arrived."
With Trixie's firm assurance in hand, I was just about to move when the butler approached and announced Erich's visit.
Right on time.
He had arrived at a perfectly balanced hour—neither early nor late—and that pleased me.
No: the simple fact that Erich had come at all made me glad.
About time that bastard got put through the wringer himself.
Naturally I was not the only one who had inherited a title from Father. Just as I had become Count of Tailglehen, Erich had become Baron of Hardiner, and thus he now shared the duty of attending the New Year's Audience.
Moreover, starting this year he would serve as a deputy member of the Imperial Diet, so merely showing up was no longer enough; he would have to meet the other Diet members as well. The youngest member of the Imperial Diet was no longer Zenobia but Erich. If the greenest junior failed to greet the elders first, his future would only grow thornier.
For reference, even Father had counted as relatively young among the imperial councilors. The Imperial Diet was essentially a nursing home overflowing with seniors Erich would have to serve.
Suffer well, you little shit.
Watching Erich trudge forward with a dark expression, I smiled in deep satisfaction.
It was the very picture of karma, and I felt the lingering grudge from the half-rebellion wash completely away. Holding onto resentment against someone who was already paying a fair price would have been far too cruel.
...Hang in there.
Then satisfaction shifted into the faintest pity.
Honestly I was already being worked like a dog in the administration, yet if someone asked whether I would rather transfer to the Imperial Diet, I would refuse with my entire body. Life in the Diet was never easy.
Unlike the administration, which had a clear hierarchy of minister–deputy minister–director–section chief, every member of the Imperial Diet was treated as an equal. There was a speaker, of course, but the post rotated on a fixed term, making it little more than the role of group-project leader. Real ranking among members was decided silently by age and seniority.
And I, young and short on experience as an Imperial Count, was supposed to enter that place? In the administration I at least received a minister's treatment; there I would be the absolute baby of the group. I would rather die than go.
"Welcome. The trip must have been hard."
So when Erich finally reached me, I gave his shoulder a gentle, brotherly pat.
The Season '79 Erich who had driven a bamboo spear into his older brother's solar plexus no longer existed. Standing here was only Season '80 Erich, the one who had walked into hell in his brother's place.
"I just teleported. What hardship?"
See? Even now he spoke as if it were nothing, afraid of making his older brother feel burdened.
There could not be two younger brothers this excellent in the whole world.
There could not be two fine little bastards like that in the whole world, either.
"The founding of the Inspectorate Ministry was the final command issued by His Majesty the Retired Emperor. It was His will to secure the Empire's stability and the integrity of its officials. How, then, could We who succeed Him cast aside so fair a purpose? Therefore We hereby elevate the Audit Department, hitherto under the Ministry of Finance, into the Inspectorate Ministry, and formally appoint Count Karl Crassius of Tailglehen—former Chief of the Audit Department and chairman of the founding committee—as its first Minister."
Having finished his New Year's address, the Emperor declared the official inauguration of the Inspectorate Ministry in a flat tone. I had heard the plan from him many times and had already guessed it would happen, so I felt no irritation.
"The newly born Inspectorate Ministry shall stand as one of the pillars that support the Empire; its rank shall be placed immediately after the Ministry of Justice."
This, too, fell within acceptable bounds. Ranking it right after the sixth-ranked Ministry of Justice meant the Inspectorate Ministry would be seventh.
High for a brand-new ministry, yet still below the fifth place that was my personal Maginot Line. Being higher than expected was a little disappointing, but not enough to provoke anger.
"Furthermore, the Minister of the Inspectorate has led the Audit Department with distinction since his days as its chief, thereby laying the foundation for the smooth founding of the Inspectorate Ministry. That merit is by no means light."
But then increasingly incomprehensible words began to leave the Emperor's mouth.
Merit that was by no means light? What nonsense. The actual running of the Audit Department and the preparations for founding the ministry had all been done by the deputy chief, not me.
"In consideration of that merit, We appoint the Minister of the Inspectorate, Count Karl Crassius of Tailglehen, as a member of the Lisizariune Knights. The fief accompanying his knighthood shall be Zern, within the County of Granoye; so long as the Minister fulfills a knight's duties, it shall remain his fief in perpetuity."
At those words not only I but every other noble present lost the power of speech. We had expected nothing more than the inauguration of the Inspectorate Ministry; instead an extravagantly unexpected title had been tacked on.
The Lisizariune Knights?
Cold sweat ran down my spine. Lisizariune was the name of the former Dragon Lord who had been the consort of the Great Emperor Eimanka. The dragon born of their union was treated as the great elder of the Ribnoman Imperial Family, so the respect shown to his mother, the former Dragon Lord, was correspondingly great.
Thus the knight order that bore her name was a hall of honor nearly equal to the Ribnoman Count title itself. The difference was that, while even the dead could receive the Ribnoman Countship, only the living could enter the knights, and one of the conditions for appointment was noble birth.
...There are only four members right now, aren't there?
And the current roster of the Lisizariune Knights numbered a mere four.
Trixie, who had reigned as a duke for over a century and reached the pinnacle of magic.
My first father-in-law, who had crushed the challenges of the eastern kingdoms and solidified the Empire's Mandate of Heaven.
The Duke of Victory, who had expanded imperial territory through two northern expeditions.
And finally the former Minister of Palace Affairs, the foremost retainer who, as the Retired Emperor's right hand, had rebuilt a collapsing Empire.
And I'm being shoved in among them...?
For a moment my vision went pure white.
What kind of bomb was that damned bastard trying to drop on me with this stunt?
When We named the Minister a member of the Lisizariune Knights, his expression twisted sharply.
We understand. Even We thought the method was far too radical and abrupt. We had planned to bestow the name of Lisizariune upon him at a leisurely pace some twenty years from now; instead We had accelerated it in a single stroke.
There was no choice.
It feels as though We keep saying "there was no choice" whenever anything involves the Minister, yet it is the truth.
To dispatch the Minister to the Leon Kingdom, he needed a post that outranked Armein's commander. The abstract honor of Continent's Best Swordsman might win respect and awe from warriors, but it could not legally overawe them.
Moreover, once the Minister was in Leon, he would need authority that even imperial nobles would bow to if he were to seize legitimate interests. Only then could a man who had left on a business trip during his honeymoon fill his own pockets without anyone whispering behind his back.
An authority no one could deny—a name bestowed by the Emperor himself. That was the only gift We could give him.
"Your Majesty, the Minister of the Inspectorate."
...Of course the best solution would have been never to send the Minister abroad at all, but since that was impossible, this was the alternative.
At the report from beyond the door We let out a small sigh. From the Emperor's standpoint, acting rationally produced this answer. Yet reason did not always conquer emotion.
"Admit him."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Now it was time to soothe the Minister's feelings.
I glared at the Emperor, who had automatically become the foremost bastard of the Ribnoman Imperial Family the moment the Second Prince died.
"Your Majesty, I humbly beg that You repeat Yourself once more."
A slightly trembling voice escaped before I could fully suppress my rage.
I had wondered what was going on when He suddenly handed me a seat among the Lisizariune Knights; it turned out something truly enormous was waiting.
"It seems... at the beginning of this year the Minister will need to join the expeditionary force to the Leon Kingdom."
Even the Emperor found the words awkward; he continued while carefully avoiding my eyes.
Knowing he was embarrassed yet still doing this only made him more detestable. He dared to send a man who should be enjoying his honeymoon not on a domestic trip but on an overseas assignment?
Should I just punch him once in the solar plexus?
I seriously considered it. Anticipating just such a possibility, I had already drunk a little beforehand; if I were dragged to court I could claim diminished capacity.
But if I misjudged the force, diminished capacity or not, it would be regicide. Even industrial alcohol would not earn a reduced sentence for that.
"Minister. We fully understand how you feel."
Bullshit.
If you understand, why issue an order like that?
"Leaving a newborn child to go to work is already sorrowful enough; crossing a national border is no simple matter. By the time you depart you will have just finished your third wedding as well. Your feet will be even heavier."
I stared steadily at the Emperor as he recited every line that deserved a beating. If after all this he finished with something like "But what can we do? Orders are orders," I was fully prepared to throw a real punch—
"Yet Minister, We have striven to guarantee your honeymoon and your time with your children. As Emperor it is Our duty to protect a vassal's rights. Circumstances simply refused to cooperate."
Having said that, the Emperor opened his mouth again before I could react.
"...When the Crown Princess was born, and when We married the Empress, We never rested either."
The Emperor's face, after uttering words that made the listener flinch, looked deeply bitter.