Ten months after departing for the east, I finally returned to the imperial capital.
The first thing I did was submit my report to the crown prince and the prime minister.
In the Founding Emperor’s stead, the crown prince was temporarily overseeing state affairs.
But in truth, it would be more accurate to say that the prime minister was the one handling matters.
The crown prince told me I had worked hard, then subtly glanced at the prime minister.
At that, the prime minister said that His Majesty was greatly pleased as well, and that I would receive a grand reward.
He added that a party to celebrate my accomplishments had even been arranged, so I should look forward to it.
And lastly, he once again put forth a proposal similar to the previous one.
This time, it was outright about whether I would form a blood alliance with Rezestis.
‘Marriage again, is it?’
Fortunately, this time too, I had the perfect excuse.
Though I was the family head, my elders were still alive, so I would ask their opinions.
Marriage was an important matter for the house, so would that not be the proper course?
At my words, not only the crown prince but also the prime minister nodded.
And so I left the imperial palace and was able to return home for the first time in nearly a year.
As it happened, my uncle and aunt had heard news of my return and had come over.
Thanks to that, I was able to hear from the two of them about what had happened while I was gone.
“Quite a lot has happened, it seems.”
“There was especially a great deal of talk when the crown prince was appointed. But in the end, once the investiture ceremony was over, it quieted down as if nothing had happened. His Majesty’s will was truly powerful.”
“By any chance, are you two also at His Highness the Crown Prince’s side?”
“You know well enough. This aunt of yours has ties to the Second Prince’s wife’s family to begin with. Your uncle’s circumstances are much the same.”
Somehow, without intending it, the two of them had ended up standing on the side of the existing princes.
Good. I’m the only one still in an ambiguous position. Now I simply have to decide.
*
“So you’ve finally come.”
“Godfather. Nothing happened while I was gone, did it?”
“Oh, plenty happened. Why were there so many things that had to be done?”
When I entered the Ministry of Finance, my godfather welcomed me warmly.
He even sat me down in the vice minister’s office and personally served me coffee.
In the past, it might have been a scene that could give rise to slightly unseemly talk in the eyes of others.
But not anymore. This was a meeting between the Vice Minister of Finance and the next Enforcement Director.
If we said we had met for official business, even the prime minister could say nothing.
“First of all, I should say that it’s a relief.”
“A relief?”
“Was it about two months after you left for the east? There was a rumor that the noble from Rezestis who was supposed to become the Commissioner of the National Tax Service had been quietly going around saying things. That if things went well, the person to sit in the Enforcement Director’s seat might change, so shouldn’t they look into someone else in advance?”
“Oh-ho.”
It seemed they had been hoping I would fail my mission as an envoy.
They would find fault, drag me down from the Enforcement Director position, and fill it with one of their own.
For the Eighth Prince’s faction at the time, there could have been no better opportunity.
If they wanted to put a chain around the neck of the troublesome Fifth Prince’s faction, tax matters were the best way to do it.
But what a shame. I completed my mission as an envoy in splendid fashion.
I did not merely receive Beiler’s reply, but also his expectations as a friend.
And I did not stop there; I exerted influence over all the surrounding tribes.
It was a relationship forged not through simple threats or transactions, but through trust.
Now no one could touch the Enforcement Director seat I had been promised.
“Almost everything was completed while you were away. Within two months, the National Tax Service will officially be launched. Once that happens, you too will become frantically busy as Enforcement Director. Not only in terms of work, but politically as well.”
“The upcoming party must be an extension of that too, I suppose?”
“There are times when neutrality is useful, but I think the time has come for you to start deciding. Where you will stand. Whose hand you will raise. There are times when you’ll be welcomed even after weighing your options, and there are times when you won’t, Ethan.”
“I agree. Godfather. To be honest, I’ve been seriously thinking about it as well.”
Looking at things now, it seemed for all intents and purposes like the crown prince’s side had won.
Should I quickly run to the prime minister, wag my tail, and pant for favor?
Well. Would the Fifth Prince really sit still and let himself die?
“I heard you’ll soon be taking the minister’s seat, Godfather.”
“The current minister requested to step down due to health issues. If a seat opens, it must be filled.”
“Are you still on bad terms with the prime minister?”
At my question, my godfather grumbled that it went without saying.
He said they had clashed again recently over various issues.
“I understand that he’s brilliant, but he ought to consider the feelings of those who have to follow him. Good grief.”
“Then from their side, they’ll practically see you as a supporter of the existing princes.”
“So what? Are you saying they might not give me the minister’s position? Let them. I’d rather not take that paltry minister’s seat. Is it a problem to say I don’t like something because I don’t like it?”
“Not at all.”
After my uncle and aunt, I had now confirmed my godfather as well.
If I could not raise up the Fifth Prince, the people around me would truly be in danger.
Now that things had come to this, the correct answer was for me to cooperate with that side too.
The problem was when exactly that time would come.
“Go enjoy the party. Once that’s over, all that will be left for you is work.”
“Should I say now that I won’t take the Enforcement Bureau after all?”
“If you want to go back to the eastern steppe tribes again, do that.”
Ah, I could go again, but going right after returning would be a bit much.
“Godfather.”
“What is it?”
“What do you think about getting a daughter-in-law from the steppe tribes?”
In that instant, my godfather’s expression changed from moment to moment.
From, Did I hear that wrong? to, Has this lunatic lost his mind?
Then through, Did I hear that correctly? he raised his hand and…
“Why are you trying to hit me on the back again?!”
“Don’t tell me you went there and caused an incident?! You insane fool, did you make some outrageous mistake?! If an envoy is caught doing such a thing, it’s a serious crime!”
“Aren’t you going to ask who the other party is?”
“Who is it?!”
“Beiler’s daughter.”
“You madman!”
Calm down, Godfather. I absolutely did not do the deed.
I was just asking because I was curious. So please stop hitting me!
*
A few days after the eastern envoy delegation returned, a party was held for them.
Since it was something the prime minister was personally arranging, many people were invited.
Among them were the Fifth Prince, Ishmael, and the other princes as well.
Ishmael decided to go there together with the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince.
It was thoroughly intentional. The Third Prince, who had no opinions of his own, and the rough-tempered Fourth Prince.
If something happened, he would be able to take the lead and stir things up.
On top of that, those who had gathered in secret had now finished all preparations.
Only one thing remained. They had to make this absurd undertaking succeed.
“Your Highness. You’ve arrived.”
A man he had planted in the military in advance came over and greeted him subtly.
Then he nodded, signifying that they had accepted the proposal.
They would not openly strike the crown prince, but neither would they work hard to stop it.
Trusting a crown prince with whom they had no particular connection was too unsettling.
Only when there was a period of mutual entanglement could one gain faith that he would not abandon them.
If that was the case, it was far better to bet on the Fifth Prince’s side.
“His Highness the Third Prince, His Highness the Fourth Prince, and His Highness the Fifth Prince are entering.”
In the past, the nobles would have rushed over and groveled.
But now, they were instead carefully watching the prime minister’s expression.
Since the crown prince now stood behind him, it could not be helped.
Seeing such things, the Fourth Prince was already huffing with anger.
But Ishmael walked around as if nothing were wrong.
He leisurely enjoyed the party, then happened to run into Ethan.
“So it’s my younger brother.”
“You’ve come, Your Highness.”
“I’ve heard everything. They say you performed remarkably. To win the hearts of the steppe tribes—if His Majesty hears of it, he will find it extremely interesting.”
It was not empty praise, but the truth. To achieve such diplomatic results.
They were only somewhat quieter compared to the northern barbarians or the southern pirates.
The steppe tribes of the east were also a burdensome place for the empire.
They had their own history, pride, and honor.
If they united, it would mean one more worst possible enemy.
On top of that, from the Condor era to the empire, relations had never been good.
Imperials had looked down on them as barbaric and considered them lowly.
Those things had piled atop one another, leading to the present situation.
And Ethan had succeeded in resolving it through his personal affinity.
‘I want him. It would be good if my younger brother were one of my people.’
Ishmael suddenly felt the urge to check.
So, with a bit of expectation, he decided to test Ethan.
“Tell me, brother. You arrived at the party hall first. Is there anything lacking?”
“I don’t know about anything lacking. But there is something slightly strange.”
“Something strange?”
“Were there always this many guards standing watch over the party hall? Perhaps it just feels unfamiliar because I spent so long among the eastern steppe tribes…”
“…!”
The moment he heard Ethan’s words, Ishmael’s eyes widened.
He had not known which side this man he called younger brother was on.
His uncle and aunt were close to this side’s princes.
There was even the soon-to-be Minister of Finance whom he called his godfather.
But Ethan himself had remained silent, leaving things uncertain until now.
“It looks like there are many men standing guard?”
“That is how it appears to me.”
It was the perfect reason. There could be no better pretext than this.
The moment he heard those words, Ishmael immediately sought out the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince.
“What are you talking about? The prime minister is targeting us?”
“There seem to be more guards than usual. Isn’t it suspicious no matter how you look at it? He intends to use this opportunity to clean us up while His Majesty lies bedridden.”
“The prime minister does? After all that talk about calling us men drenched in blood?!”
“That is what politics is. It is allowed when I do it, but not when someone else does.”
We must move immediately as well. At those words, the Fourth Prince flinched.
It meant that his younger brother already knew about the things they had been secretly preparing.
But at this point, neither of them bothered to pry into that matter.
For now, they were comrades. If they did not strike first, they would surely be struck.
The princes immediately left the party hall and gathered their forces.
As soon as His Majesty took to his bed, the prime minister had resorted to wicked schemes.
He had manipulated the young crown prince and attempted to remove the princes who stood in his way!
In truth, everyone knew. It was a claim with nothing to prove it.
Why would the prime minister do that? Was he really the sort of man to do such a thing?
But all of them were people who would lose out if the crown prince became emperor.
They had staked more on this side than on that side. If they wanted profit, they had to move.
Their justification was perfect as well. The Founding Emperor was currently unable to move.
They could also draw roughly half of the military forces to their side.
“We begin.”
It was the moment when suppressed anger exploded all at once.
*
…So. What happened?
As you can see, the imperial capital was overturned in an instant.
The prime minister and his faction were eliminated. The crown prince followed after them.
The Seventh Prince, who held the only military authority, chose silence.
He probably thought an opportunity might come to him too.
But instead, because of that, he failed even to protect himself.
The Founding Emperor had to hear all of it while lying in bed.
He must be chewing over what results his own greed had brought back to him.
He yielded to the opinion that the Second Prince should be made crown prince.
And all of this was an incident that happened in a single week.
Think long and precisely. Act fast and swiftly.
Thanks to that, the party meant for me became a sea of blood.
‘From here on, I have to be careful.’
The Fifth Prince could just as easily remove me in turn.
What if he said, ‘That man gave me strange information, and this happened’?
All arrows of blame would immediately pour down on me.
To prevent such a thing, I now had to set about the next matter.
‘The Second Prince has no children. And yet he’s also such a hopeless romantic that he knows no one but his current wife.’
The crown prince had no children. In that case, it would pass to his younger brother.
The Third Prince had no ambition. But the Fourth Prince was extremely blatant.
That Fourth Prince could make up his mind and seize the Fifth Prince by the ankle.
For the Fifth Prince, who intended to become the Second Prince’s heir, that would be troublesome.
The reason he had acted in the first place was, How dare they choose our younger brother over us!
Now, he was the younger brother. He could not treat his elder brothers carelessly.
If the Fourth Prince blocked his path as his elder brother, things would become very awkward.
‘But if he is not an elder brother, but someone aiming for another coup.’
The Fourth Prince was quick-tempered. I could use that.
A chance to topple the Fourth Prince, the final obstacle for the Fifth Prince.
If I could provide that, even indirectly,
I thought I would be one step farther from a purge.