“In any case, I suppose I must acknowledge that you’re not in your right mind.”
He meant the fact that I had gone and raided a house connected to the Fourth Prince without a second thought.
In the end, my godfather, who had risen to the post of Minister of Finance, shook his head.
At the very least, it was something I could have agonized over, or quietly sought advice from above about.
He had never imagined I would swoop in like that and strip them clean in an instant.
“But isn’t this what the Enforcement Bureau was created for? That’s why even some veterans of countless battles were assigned to it.”
“Why are you acting like this when you know perfectly well? That was, in truth, a blade the now-dead Chancellor prepared for the Eighth Prince. Yet you handled matters this fiercely.”
“In any case, wasn’t it His Majesty the Emperor’s will that we go find those who take taxes lightly and teach them a lesson?”
“I’m saying it because it seems to me you’re making too many enemies from the very start.”
It wasn’t as though I didn’t know what my godfather was worried about.
Even in my previous life, in the twenty-first century, those in high places were untouchable.
Political heavyweights tangled up with one another. Gentlemen who even kept in close contact.
Striking upward from below was exceedingly difficult, even if it was legally correct.
And what if that upper ruling class belonged to a fantasy world where they could swing swords?
Letting things slide. Going easy. Pretending not to know. All of it was possible.
This time, the target wasn’t even some ordinary noble family, but one tied to a prince.
Even my godfather, a minister, had every reason to say, “Couldn’t you have done it in moderation?”
It wasn’t as if I were some perfectly upright, incorruptible man myself, so I understood well enough.
How had Father obtained the financial power to bet everything on the Founding Emperor?
He had walked the line, so long as it did not become a major problem.
In any case, it was truly laughable. Public office was supposed to be a position that demanded integrity.
But when viewed through the structure of power, in the end, everyone hushed things up, let them pass, warned one another in advance.
Anyone who stood out was judged not as clean and competent, but as an enemy.
“At least the fortunate thing is that the Fifth Prince’s side was not greatly angered by this incident.”
“Because, one way or another, we did the job properly. If we’d gone easy after making such a fuss, not only the Enforcement Bureau but the entire National Tax Service would have been turned inside out instead.”
“So His Highness placed more weight on the fact that, since it had already happened, you at least did it properly?”
“Uh, hmm. I suppose there’s that aspect as well?”
At that, my godfather’s eyes narrowed, and he stared at me.
You definitely know something. Why don’t you speak honestly right this instant!
I am the Minister of Finance! Quickly, tell me everything you know!
“Godfather. In your view, what is the atmosphere like these days?”
“Well. At the very least, it’s better than before. Back then, it felt as though some disaster might break out at any moment between those supporting the Eighth Prince and those supporting the Fifth Prince. In some ways, perhaps things are better now that the lines have been sorted out.”
“That would be your personal opinion, Godfather. What about others’ reactions?”
“Poor. Whatever the case, it was a coup that spilled blood. Though perhaps it’s fortunate that it was unlike the days of Condor, when anyone even slightly connected was killed without mercy.”
In truth, fewer people had died in the princes’ coup than expected.
Only the central figures were removed, and the rest were punished moderately before it ended.
Even the charges were made extremely vague, leaving room for what came afterward.
“Godfather.”
“Why are you lowering your voice? You’re making me uneasy all of a sudden.”
“What do you think would happen if a coup like this occurred one more time?”
“It would be the worst. Even now, the Empire is barely being held together while it trembles. Two coups less than ten years after founding the nation? The country would fall. Even if it didn’t fall, it would be as good as fallen. It cannot endure any more than this.”
Having said that much, my godfather let out a sigh, as if he had realized something.
Then he said in shock, “Surely you don’t mean another coup may occur?”
“His Highness the Crown Prince currently has no heir.”
“No matter how much everyone told him to take a new wife, he never listened at all.”
“If that happens, then in the end, another prince will succeed him.”
“Wouldn’t it naturally be His Highness the Fifth Prince? Even at the founding of the nation, his merits were overwhelming. And in that recent affair, he was the one who acted most decisively.”
“If we look only at the merits he established, yes. But did we not all see until just recently that that is not everything?”
The Founding Emperor and the Chancellor chose the Eighth Prince over all the other princes.
Thanks to that, all the existing princes had nearly been driven to the edge of a cliff.
If an older brother became Crown Prince, that would be one thing. But a younger brother becoming Crown Prince?
And if that younger brother became Emperor? Would the older brothers truly be able to remain unharmed?
That was why they had acted. The ostensible reason was the conspiracy to assassinate a prince.
But within it lay another reason: “Does it make sense to pass over the older brothers and raise up the younger?”
A reason that was not difficult for everyone else to understand.
“…His Highness the Third Prince or His Highness the Fourth Prince might step forward?”
“It isn’t impossible.”
“His Highness the Third Prince has always been exceedingly quiet, and aside from the military men at his side, he has no force worth mentioning. And His Highness the Fourth Prince is full of enthusiasm, but he has a hasty temper and is not close to the officials. They are far too lacking to compete with His Highness the Fifth Prince over the right of succession.”
Yes. That was correct. Logically, rationally, there was nothing wrong with it.
But everyone had already seen many things that were wrong, logically and rationally.
My godfather seemed to find something strange in his own words as well, and stroked his chin.
“His Highness the Third Prince would absolutely never be that sort of man… But if something truly were to happen, His Highness the Fourth Prince might step forward.”
“There’s no need for him to even cause an incident. Think of the reason His Highness the Fifth Prince put forward. How could it be proper for the turn to pass to a younger brother while the elder brothers remain? Especially if there is no particular disqualifying flaw.”
“If that logic is applied as it is, then His Highness the Fourth Prince has something to say in the current succession struggle as well?”
“It isn’t entirely without sense, is it?”
Only after hearing that much did my godfather seem to understand the current picture.
Why His Highness the Fourth Prince had come out rougher than necessary.
Why the Fifth Prince had not shown any particular displeasure at the Enforcement Bureau’s actions.
We had hoped that the power struggle had finally come to an end.
But when one thing ended, another was already about to begin.
“Then it must not be true that His Highness the Fifth Prince came to see you and scolded you.”
“He merely smiled and left. Is that how the rumor spread?”
“His Highness the Fourth Prince caused that commotion, and then His Highness the Fifth Prince went straight to the Enforcement Bureau. No matter who looks at it, doesn’t it seem like a younger brother who got scolded by his older brother and went to find the cause?”
If it truly looked that way, then that was fortunate. It was good for both me and the Fifth Prince.
One side reduced suspicion. The other gained the image of a younger brother acting for his elder brother.
It was best to build up justification like this, one piece at a time, in advance.
If you tried to find it later, you would end up having to force matters.
“Ah, Godfather. What happened with what I asked you about last time?”
“You mean the second team leader of your Enforcement Bureau? He is indeed from Rejestis. He is even related to the Empress.”
“And yet he can remain in public office perfectly fine like this?”
“That fellow’s father actively supported His Highness the Fifth Prince.”
“Ah.”
As expected, a person had to pick the right line. He had survived even from that angle.
Other Rejestis people were being raided the moment they did anything right now.
They would have to live for many long years literally doing nothing but breathing and reading the room.
The end of those pushed out in a power struggle. And even that was relatively better.
At least, judging from the fact that no talk had emerged of three generations being exterminated or being sold off as slaves,
the Fifth Prince had clearly paid considerable attention to the matter.
“So. What do you intend to do now? The matter with that family should be more or less finished.”
“We only move when someone plays games with the taxes they ought to pay. Rather, in my view, they’ll bear a grudge over this and try to light a fire elsewhere.”
“Because they feel wronged that they’re the only ones whose unpaid taxes were seized and who got cursed at?”
Looking at it this way, it was like watching people pass a bomb back and forth.
There was no way ordinary imperial citizens who knew nothing would send in petitions.
It was people who already knew everything about one another striking each other in the back once apiece.
Then, if one of them felt like only he had been hit too hard, he set off something much stronger.
Especially if the one struck had always had a hasty temper, he would try to come back even harder.
“I will continue doing what I have to do. If they play games with money in a way that crosses the line, they’ll meet the frightening friends of the Enforcement Bureau holding clubs.”
“Seeing this, I think I understand that you won’t be satisfied with work in the Enforcement Bureau.”
“Of course not. It’s too much of a burden to stay here forever. I know well enough that nothing good comes of remaining in one place for too long.”
“Are you saying that for me to hear?”
“You began as an official on the Ministry of Finance side from the start, Godfather. That’s different.”
At first, I had even thought about burying my bones in the Enforcement Bureau. Or beyond that, in the National Tax Service.
But when I considered the way the world was turning, and the matters in the east,
perhaps trying things differently somewhere else might be better than expected.
“Ah, for reference, the next enforcement target will be one of the nobles on His Highness the Fifth Prince’s side.”
“Cough! Cough, cough!”
My godfather spat out the coffee he had just been drinking and waved his hands frantically.
He said nothing, but I could tell from his gestures. Are you truly in your right mind?
Was it really proper to dare touch the Fifth Prince’s faction in the current world?
But, Godfather? It’s not as though I’m a hopeless fool.
Naturally, this matter was something His Highness the Fifth Prince had requested.
‘It was a request loaded with many meanings.’
Could I truly carry out the burdensome task of striking his own faction?
How far could someone like me go for his sake?
Could I quietly suppress those whose influence had risen far too much of late?
It was a rather difficult task, one that required me to set a clear line before raiding them.
“Are you serious? You truly intend to proceed?”
“Taxes are a basic system that ought to be applied fairly to everyone, are they not? If they’re caught, they must be beaten down.”
I am the first head of the Enforcement Bureau of the Empire’s newly established National Tax Service.
And as is always the case wherever one goes, the beginning is extremely important.
The future of an organization depends on the disposition of the first person entrusted with it.
If it was the Fifth Prince I knew, there was a very high chance he was taking that into consideration.
No matter who it is, if they are caught over a tax issue, dig thoroughly and carry out enforcement against them all.
Regardless of rank or status. Make those who fail to fulfill their duties kneel.
This principle had to be maintained, at least within the National Tax Service. Within the Enforcement Bureau.
That was why he must have made the decision to cut away even a piece of his own flesh.
‘Or it may be something meant as a subtle internal warning under the guise of this opportunity.’
The Fifth Prince was that kind of person. How could one let one’s guard down around him?
At times, he showed outstanding ability. At other moments, he showed that he would accept losses and still move forward.
If my family was to live on for generations as a founding contributor house, this moment was important.