436 – With a New Heart – 6
The first New Year’s celebration held since the new emperor came to the throne and at the same time, the territory of the empire rapidly expanded.
Therefore, the scale and splendor of this New Year’s wedding ceremony was incomparable to last year. Although the recent abdication ceremony and coronation commemorative banquet have been held in succession and the budget has melted, if the New Year’s celebration is held in a small manner, people will say ‘poor finances’ rather than ‘frugal monarch’. There is a budget in the world that should never be reduced.
“Has the Minister of Inspector General arrived? You are here already. You are as sincere as you have been in a high position.”
But I am not interested in issues such as the emperor’s reputation or the empire’s budget. It’s just important to deal with crazy people who make flashy provocations right in front of you.
“Didn’t the Minister of Finance come before me? He must have lost a lot of sleep.”
Even though he quietly added, “Maybe it’s because I’m old,” The minister’s smile didn’t seem to break.
Actually, I know. No matter what I say, it won’t do any harm to the minister. In the current situation, the minister is in a position to unilaterally attack.
‘No matter what you say, it will make you laugh.’
With a bitter feeling, I looked at the minister and the heads of the Ministry of Finance behind him. Normally I would have been part of that group, but not anymore. I can’t be among them.
Northern faction members standing behind me like totems. As long as there are members of this faction, I must stand in the social hall as the leader of the faction leading the great lords, not as the head of the Ministry of Finance under the minister. As a faction leader, you can’t have faction members and mix with other groups, right?
Of course, the option of mixing with faction members in the Ministry of Finance should not be chosen either. If a certain faction shows signs of being friendly with the Ministry of Finance, other nobles will become jealous in various ways.
“It’s been a long time since I last saw you, Your Excellency the Marquis. It was a shame that we couldn’t even say hello properly, but it’s great to see you again.”
“I know because I have heard that the minister’s work is difficult. Rather, since I have nothing to do, I should have gone there first.”
In the meantime, the Minister exchanged warm greetings with the Marquis of Barandiga, who was behind me.
The Minister is grateful to the Marquis of Barandiga for burdening me with the faction, and the Marquis must also have goodwill towards the Minister in charge of the empire’s budget. Thanks to this, the two had a fairly friendly atmosphere despite their close relationship.
‘There is no one on my side.’
I feel like crying. No one takes pity on me for carrying the enormous duties and responsibilities of being a faction leader.
There are many people who are wary and afraid that I have the power of a group. I have lifelong enemies who laugh at the fact that I went from being an individual to a position of responsibility.
But there is no one to comfort or encourage me. It’s just deplorable.
But I guess there is no law that says people should die in loneliness.
“Standing above your subordinates as a bureaucrat is different from standing in front of them as a noble.”
Rather than someone who avoids or laughs at me, someone who understands and sympathizes with my pain has appeared.
“Leading the nobles is not an easy task. As Carl knows well, unlike bureaucrats who have a clear vertical relationship, nobles are a collection of interests and blood ties. No matter how high or low the rank is, a single title controls all the nobles. “It’s impossible to shout.”
“That is a reasonable statement.”
While the northern faction members were talking with the northern faction members, they kept nodding their heads towards Jeon Seung-gong, who was giving valuable advice in one corner.
Of course, the Duke of Jeon Seung-gong who says that can forcefully lead the nobles due to his overwhelming position as a duke, but there is a difference between a coercive leader and a leader who takes the interests of faction members into consideration. It goes without saying that the latter group receives active support and cheers from faction members.
“I know very well that Carl is reluctant to do this. It is also an undeniable fact that Carl took charge of the North in order to minimize confusion in the political world.”
This time, I almost nodded without thinking. As a subject, I have to say no, but I cannot deny it because it is absolutely true.
There was an embarrassing silence for a moment, but Jeon Seung-gong smiled as if he understood.
“So, as Kal-kun shouldered the burden first, His Majesty will actively support the northern faction. I will also cooperate as much as possible, so don’t try to bear it alone and tell me if you are having a hard time.”
“Yes, Your Excellency. I will keep that in mind.”
I smiled slightly at those words. Although the faction itself cannot be broken, isn’t it encouragement and consolation that it will accommodate as much as possible?
Even that encouragement came from the mouth of Seunggong Jeon, the emperor’s father-in-law and leader of the northern faction. As Jeon Seung-gong said, there is ample reason to ask for help when times are tough.
“Oh, and as Carl’s senior in life, I have one piece of advice for you.”
“I will listen.”
I was moved from deep within my heart. I’ve already heard heart-warming encouragement, but to even give advice, Jeon Seung-gong’s personality is…
“From now on, show off your power and show greed.”
“…Yes?”
It was something I didn’t expect, so even when I heard it, I ended up sounding dumbfounded.
But there is nothing we can do. If the advice was to avoid power and control greed, I would have done so, but instead, advice asking for the opposite came out. What noble in this world would give this advice to another noble? Anyone who hears this will think it’s a tactic to silence political opponents.
And in response, Jeon Seung-gong smiled again and patted my shoulder.
“As a subject, Karl is perfect. He did not wield power for personal reasons and showed sincerity, so he received great trust from the imperial family.”
If it is a big shackle rather than a big trust, then it is true.
“However, Carl, the faction leader who is not a subject of His Majesty, must show a different side. The faction members must be reassured by clearly showing that the faction leader they follow is strong and what the faction leader prefers.”
The next words made my head spin. Since you are the faction leader, does that mean you have to show off to your faction members?
“It is a virtue for an individual to be frugal, but it is a problem if the leader is quiet. You may not understand it right now, but there will come a day when even Karl will understand.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Of course, your Majesty will understand your actions as a faction leader, so don’t worry.”
It was still difficult to understand, but I just nodded. These are certainly words from Jeon Seung-gong, who has lived as a duke for decades, so they are probably not without nutritional value.
‘Show off your power.’
The problem is that it is very far from my life, and as a beginner in society with a short life as an aristocrat, it is difficult advice.
‘I am not an individual, but a faction leader.’
Still, he repeated Jeon Seung-gong’s words several times and imprinted them in his head. Remember the advice, it won’t hurt you.
After joining Jeon Seung-gong, I did not have any contact with other nobles. The situation is already crowded with northern faction members and northern faction members merging together. If other factions join in, the population density will become too high.
After waiting and putting off meeting with my father-in-law, the Emperor’s New Year’s address finally began.
“Nobles who follow heaven’s orders, kneel!”
I quietly lowered my head as I listened to the voice of the head of the imperial family announcing the emperor’s arrival on the podium. It seems that the head of the Imperial Household Department was the one who filled the vacant position of Minister of Imperial Household Affairs.
Well. Being the head of the Imperial Household Ministry is enough to be a minister. Even when the 2nd prince was in power, he was warm towards the emperor, who was the 1st prince at the time, and after the 1st prince became the crown prince, he immediately joined the crown prince’s faction. He has good ability and character and is good at riding a line.
“A descendant of Emperor Eimanca, who established the will of heaven under the protection of Enen, the lord of Ribnoman who protects the will of heaven, and the legitimate and only emperor of Kphelopen! Khan of the Steppe and King of Tiraf, Groten, Ratia , King of Prunian and Galan! Duke of Itiruna, Hanten, Nygal, Raum, and Leneu─”
The corners of the mouth slowly rose at the constant series of titles and positions of the emperor. Last year, the title that Sangang held was something he shared with the emperor, who was the crown prince, but now the emperor doesn’t even have anyone to share it with. As such, there were so many titles that it was embarrassing to compare it to last year.
‘I live thanks to you.’
I am sincere. On my business card, I saw the names of Minister of Inspector General, Count Wiridia, and Count Tylglehen—seeing those brilliant titles, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the emperor.
The emperor has the qualities of a saint. What would an emperor who gives comfort to his suffering subjects be if not a saint?
“Raise your head.”
After the feast of titles and positions that crowned the emperor, all the nobles gathered raised their heads at the emperor’s shout.
To be honest, the New Year’s address that followed was not memorable. It wasn’t particularly important.
***
Last year, the New Year’s celebration was held with great tension, but I was not very impressed this time, perhaps because I had developed some tolerance due to the successive events. I just have a small wish that the New Year’s wedding ceremony will be over without any fuss.
Suddenly, it occurred to me that this might be the vision that Sang-tae had. Rather than the pride of being at the peak, the hassle of having so many places to look down was greater.
“─As we welcome the new year, the imperial family will make even more progress, so we will bestow the title of Marquis of Idrafen on Emperor Ainter Ribnoman and make him a pillar of the imperial family and the empire. Although this is a single rank, he will be granted the title of Marquis of Idrafen. “The treatment will be no different from that of an ordinary marquis.”
However, he continued his New Year’s address by trying hard to hide those feelings. He casually announced the imperial family’s position and awarded Ainter a title.
Of course there was no agitation. It’s not particularly special for the emperor’s siblings to receive the title of Marquess of Danseung.
‘That lady is the daughter of the Marquis of Barandiga.’
Naturally, while looking at the nobles below the podium, I found a lady near the Minister of Inspection.
A rather sharp look, I thought he would have sunburned skin since he was a nomad, but surprisingly, he had pure white skin and silver hair that contrasted with the blonde hair of the royal family.
‘He has silver hair.’
I almost burst out laughing. I also married the silver-haired empress, and Ainter also ended up marrying her silver-haired daughter. It seems that my brother and I have a deep connection to silver hair.
… Now that I think about it, her mother also had silver hair. Is this a taste you inherited from the situation?
‘The expression is not bad…’
Now that I had confirmed it, I looked more closely and the lady’s expression was normal. He doesn’t look particularly dissatisfied or scared. At least that’s how it appears.
This means that the minister carried out my orders perfectly and the Marquis’s daughter agreed to the marriage, or even if he was dissatisfied with the daughter, he was not in the mood to express it openly.
Of course, it doesn’t matter either way. The former is the best, but since it is a political strategy, the latter is also something to be prepared for.
‘You handled it well.’
So, I looked at the minister with a satisfied heart. In any case, the minister successfully performed a mission that was important to the imperial family.
‘I need to make sure to take care of the happiness of the person involved.’
Since the minister worked hard for the imperial family, it would be right for the imperial family to also work hard for the minister.
It would also be a good idea to rent St. Paronas Cathedral as a venue for the minister’s wedding.