149 – 153
It had been several days since I returned to work at the Imperial Palace.
While working, I took the opportunity to engage in external activities.
I confided in Chairman Charles, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, about recent events with Devian and met with Pompeius to confirm his loyalty to me.
Soon, I’ll need to find capable individuals.
But before that…
– If you don’t have a firm goal or a just cause, no one will truly follow you.
What does Grandfather mean by a firm goal?
Did Father have something like that too? Did Devian?
“I have no idea.”
Do you really need something like that for people to follow you…
Politics is too complex.
From Noble mtl dot com
Wasn’t this my place to begin with?
I never even wanted to become an emperor.
My dream was to marry a nice man and live a decent life. Becoming an emperor was never part of the dream.
How much did Father favor the eldest brother?
He always showed interest in studies and watched over him, even assigning official duties from his teens, and even the second brother was given official duties at an early age.
In contrast, both Joy and I were indifferent to this side of things.
It doesn’t necessarily mean Father was bad.
For a woman like me and Joy to ascend to the throne, it would only be possible after all the brothers were gone.
It could be seen as a natural course of events.
“I really… hate it.”
The burden of inheriting the empire that our ancestors preserved for generations is too heavy.
On top of that, it’s challenging to run the government as I please.
All real power lies with him, and I am just a superficial emperor.
I shake my head, trying hard to push away negative thoughts.
Yes… first, I need to correct the mistakes.
Driving out Devian and seizing power is a duty that must be done as an emperor.
And if by any chance Devian is a demon worshiper… I have no choice but to kill him.
That is the duty of the emperor.
But my intuition and senses tell me that he is not a demon worshiper.
It makes sense. What demon worshiper would work late into the night and lead such a wholesome life?
Not to boast, but he doesn’t even touch the wife known for her beauty in the empire.
“A demon worshiper… too wholesome to be true.”
With such thoughts, I became curious about what Devian’s firm goal might be.
Could a person so unlike a human have their own political philosophy?
Driven by curiosity, I head towards his office.
“Has Your Highness arrived?”
“Yes, is the Duke inside?”
The guard nods in response to my question.
“Yes, he is inside. I will inform him of your arrival.”
– Knock, knock
“Your Highness, the Emperor has arrived.”
As the guard knocks, a weak voice from inside is heard.
[Come in.]
Feeling uneasy about the unusual voice, I ask the guard.
“The Duke’s voice doesn’t sound well… Is something wrong?”
Then, with a cautious expression, the guard speaks.
“Well… he has been complaining about eye pain these days.”
Ah… come to think of it, even before hearing the news about him crossing Epirus and Ezip, I recall him complaining about eye pain.
If he’s in pain… why not say so?
It’s frustrating how he always hides important things from himself.
– Creak
As the door to the office opens, I see Devian lying on the sofa, pressing his eyes, a mix of worry and resentment filling me.
– Thud!
Rubbing his eyes, Devian speaks.
“What’s the matter?”
“Is your eye hurting again?”
Devian nods in response to my question.
“Yeah.”
Seeing him speak briefly, I sense something stirring within me, but I push it down and say.
“Is it happening often these days?”
“It’s nothing, probably just because I can’t sleep well.”
His dismissive tone in response to my words annoys me.
Having seen Devian rub his eyes several times, I can’t help but worry.
“Have you… seen a doctor?”
Devian nods softly.
“Yeah, but it’s just simple stress.”
Simple stress?
Then just take a break!
Despite feeling like those words were a personal attack, I hold back.
“What’s going on?”
Now, with black pupils that no longer hurt, she stares at me and says.
“Just. I wanted to have a chat after a long time.”
In response to my words, Devian smiles and says.
“Oh really? Then don’t stand there, sit here.”
Following Devian’s words, I sit next to him on the couch.
The silence between us.
It’s only a few seconds, but the awkward tension is suffocating, prompting me to speak up.
“Lately, I’ve been thinking about something.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
Seeing Devian’s puzzled expression, I continue.
“Do you have your own national philosophy? Do you have something like that?”
After hearing my question, Devian pauses to think before answering.
“I do.”
In a firm tone, he responds, piquing my curiosity.
“What is it?”
“It’s something I read in a book once. It goes like this: ‘I will work tirelessly for the country, dedicating myself fully until I die.’”
Hearing this for the first time, I ask in confusion.
“Who said that?”
With an amused expression, Devian responds to my question.
“It doesn’t matter who said it. Anyway, my national philosophy is to appoint exceptional officials and have them work in that way.”
Feeling a chill at his words, images of the victims I encountered flash through my mind.
“Is… Is that a national philosophy?”
As if it’s obvious, he replies to my question.
“Yeah, that’s the national philosophy. As for national tasks, it involves developing technology to increase production and reforming imperial tax rates to unify prices across regions.”
Treating people like slaves is considered a national philosophy?
Can something like that even be called philosophy?
If they are exceptional enough to become government officials in the first place, wouldn’t they want to retire if treated like that?
I had that thought, but then Lucius, Mueller, and Maximilian’s employment contracts come to mind, and I shudder.
Wasn’t it stated in the appointment letter that retirement requires the empire’s approval, making it impossible to retire?
Devil… This person in front of me is no different from a devil.
Seeing Lucius and Mueller, whom I haven’t seen in a long time, becoming increasingly haggard each day.
Didn’t I once receive a massive pile of documents from him?
I never thought that could be considered a national philosophy back then.
Whether it’s his absurd thoughts or my overcomplicated ones, I feel like a fool.
“Ha… Then what is the purpose of doing that?”
“Purpose? Well… The purpose is for the empire and its people.”
For the empire and its people?
When he, who sold Epirus and Ezeb, and arranged the engagement of Johannes’ son and Joy alone, said such words, a bitter laugh escaped.
“Was selling Epirus and Ezeb also for the empire?”
Debian smirked at my sarcasm.
“Yes, if we hadn’t formed an alliance back then, the empire would have been on the verge of collapse. It was unavoidable.”
Knowing that even my mother and grandfather thought the same, I brought up a different question.
“So? Was hiding that fact from me also for the empire’s sake?”
“Well…”
Seeing him at a loss for words for the first time, I felt good and tried to continue speaking, but…
“Yes. That was also for the empire.”
“W-What… What did you say?!”
Am I not the Emperor of the empire? What? Hiding it for the empire?
I was about to be outraged by his insult, but I managed to hold back.
Getting angry now won’t change anything.
It’s okay to get angry and humiliate him later.
“Explain, explain it so I can understand.”
Debian fell into thought after hearing my words.
He cautiously spoke up.
“You hate me, don’t you? If you ruin my plans like you did back then, it becomes… as dangerous as that…”
-Tud… Tud…
What is he saying now?
“Why would I ruin your plans?!”
Debian, who shrugged at my words, spoke in a cold voice.
“You might try to humiliate me like you did before, right now.”
“T-That…?”
I was speechless at his sudden words.
From Noble mtl dot com
“If you keep talking about how you’ll humiliate me or kick me out like you did back then, it’ll get annoying.”
Debian’s words hit me like a hammer to the head.
“S-So, did you say you love me? Without even loving me?”
Debian shrugged at my words.
“Well? What do you think?”
There’s a limit to playing with someone’s feelings.
-Thwack!
I got up from the sofa and…
-Slap!
I slapped his cheek as hard as I could.
“You trash.”
And then, not wanting to see that bastard’s face anymore, I stormed out.
I stare blankly at Theodora’s back as she slaps my cheek and walks away.
“Sigh… My hands are still rough.”
Her hands are surprisingly rough for her slender build.
“I love you…”
I’m not even sure if I love her.
When I see her, I feel like my heart is racing, but I’m not sure if that’s love.
“It seems like she’s really mad.”
Thanks to that, she’ll probably try even harder to get rid of me.
If she’s as proud as she seems, my words will be a big motivation for her.
When I eventually step back, everyone will probably support her so much that no one will dare to treat her disrespectfully…
Thanks to that, I’ll be able to step back faster.
Everything is going smoothly…
Why does my mouth feel so dry?
My chest hurts, and I feel a bit suffocated.
“Should I have some tea at least today?”
Today, I feel like having tea instead of coffee.