The Founding Emperor stepped down, and a new emperor sat upon the throne.
And today was the first imperial council that emperor would preside over.
The officials who had welcomed the new emperor presented their agenda as usual.
“The taxes currently being collected from all parts of the empire are…”
“Not long ago, a great flood in the southern provinces caused a tragedy in which over a hundred people died…”
“Envoys from the western kingdom are expected to arrive soon…”
At first, the emperor’s face had been quite confident.
During his time as a prince, he had still seen and heard many things.
As the son of the Founding Emperor, he had worked hard so as not to fall short.
But as time passed, his expression gradually stiffened.
In his youth, he had served as a warrior at the Founding Emperor’s side.
He had never been the sort to charge forward without thinking.
He knew how to read the flow of battle and find the enemy’s weaknesses.
The notion that a martial man was therefore ignorant was completely wrong.
However, this was a place where all manner of policies and internal affairs of state were discussed.
The amount of information was different from what he had taken in as a military commander.
Moreover, this was a place where everything had to be decided and set in motion.
With a single word or gesture, the entire empire would move.
The pressure that brought was not something to envy, even as a joke.
If anything, it would be fortunate if one did not suffocate beneath that immense burden.
“Ahem.”
“Your Majesty?”
“Hm, hm. Everyone seems to have grown too focused and overheated. How about we rest for a while?”
If he said it was overheated, then overheated it was. The emperor had said so.
The problem was likely the part that came after: how about it?
The officials could not answer at once and merely exchanged glances.
Then the Minister of the Imperial Household beside him quietly approached.
Here, only His Imperial Majesty’s will was everything. Thus, he should command.
If he made a suggestion, it would only leave all of them flustered.
At that cautious advice, the emperor went, “Ah,” and nodded.
“Minister of Internal Affairs.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“When are we to begin the military portion of the state agenda?”
“It was scheduled to begin after this item.”
“Then we shall rest briefly before moving on to the military agenda.”
“I shall obey your command.”
Everyone was before the new emperor, and whether they knew it or not, they were tense.
As the high officials took a brief breath and cooled their heads,
the emperor called Ishmael, who had been standing at a distance, to his side and spoke.
“Little brother. Why do you say nothing and only watch from afar?”
“His Imperial Majesty is displaying such dignity. How could I dare intrude?”
“You rascal. Are you trying to say this elder brother of yours is lacking?”
“Not at all. I have never once thought such a thing, Your Majesty. If I have made Your Majesty uncomfortable, I shall immediately kneel on the stone floor and beg forgiveness—”
“It was a joke, a joke. Good grief. Since this is what the position is like, it is cumbersome and uncomfortable. His Majesty—no, the Emperor Emeritus. I think I finally understand why he found it all so stifling.”
Then the emperor looked around, noticed an empty seat, and continued.
“Where has the fourth gone?”
“He left before the imperial council began.”
“Suddenly? Did something happen?”
Something happen. Yes, Brother. Yes, Your Majesty. Something is going to happen.
Because, like a fool, he insisted on provoking a younger brother he could not defeat.
And in the end, he would become a foolish elder brother who retreated in disgrace.
“Have you heard that the Enforcement Bureau of the National Tax Service is on the move?”
“I heard this morning. Before the imperial council. They said those impudent nobles were committing tax evasion on a large scale again, so I told them to carry out compulsory enforcement on all of them.”
“I have a connection with the Chief of Enforcement and have just learned of something. It seems he is likely very closely connected to that matter.”
“What do you mean…?”
The Chief of Enforcement, Ethan Montebello, was someone the emperor also knew very well.
He had been rather close to Ethan’s father, the previous head of House Montebello.
And the ability and spirit Ethan had shown were exactly to the emperor’s liking.
So he had thought that, as the Enforcement Bureau did its work, its scale would grow.
But to think that, of all people, his own younger brother would fall within its scope.
He hoped it was not serious. He wished he could cover it up.
Contrary to the emperor’s hopes, however, news soon arrived.
A tremendous amount of tax evasion had been confirmed, along with the creation of illegal funds.
There was even collusion with underworld forces infamous during the Condor era.
An incident that absolutely should not have occurred for a member of the imperial family had erupted.
The Enforcement Bureau, having grasped this situation, was currently doing everything it could.
In the process, an incident had occurred in which Berkel, enraged, grabbed the Chief of Enforcement by the collar.
It had even escalated to the point where he threatened to kill him on the spot.
At last, the emperor sent someone and ordered him to submit quietly to the investigation.
With the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice joining in as well, it became utter chaos.
No matter that he was the emperor’s younger brother, this had gone far beyond the line.
In an instant, he had completely fallen from the ranks of future contenders for power.
The political world immediately judged that Berkel was finished as well.
From the beginning, he had far too many shortcomings compared to Ishmael.
Not only tax evasion, but collusion with underworld forces to create illegal funds.
And, most decisively, he had dared to lay hands on an official of the administration, a servant of the emperor.
Those who had been ambiguously keeping one foot in his camp were the first to leave.
The others, too, began to waver while watching Berkel’s mood.
—Kwaang! Bang!!
It was only natural that Berkel flew into a rage upon hearing this news.
“Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!!”
Even when he had been the Fourth Prince, his short temper had kept him from receiving favorable evaluations.
Becoming the emperor’s younger brother did not mean his nature could change.
The emperor had tried somehow to quiet the controversy, telling him to please remain calm.
But Berkel, trembling with fury, eventually lost his reason.
And then he came up with something an ordinary person would never even imagine.
‘There is only one way now. I have to get rid of that bastard Ishmael. If I do that, a path to survival will open somehow. No, all of this right now must have been created by him!’
His suspicion was true, but taking action was an entirely different matter.
In forces, in justification—there was not a single thing in which he held the advantage.
Even so, Berkel decided to move before it was too late.
If he delayed, there was a very high chance that even his remaining forces would disintegrate.
This brief moment of being attacked would instead raise their unity.
If he could not settle the match now, what remained was the life of an old man shoved into a back room.
“Let’s see how this goes, you damned little brother.”
*
Ugh. In any case, maybe because he rolled around on battlefields, but his strength is ridiculous. Ridiculous.
If Wesley hadn’t been beside me, it really might have turned into a serious problem.
It was Wesley who subdued the excited Berkel.
As expected of a private soldier of the former emperor, his combat ability alone was truly incredible.
I changed out of my half-torn upper garment and headed to the appointed place.
It was after I had left the Enforcement Bureau. In other words, I had officially gotten off work.
That reduced the worry that anyone would raise an issue about today’s meeting.
Even if talk did come out, I was going to quit soon anyway, so it was fine.
You think I’m giving it up too easily after volunteering for an envoy mission to obtain it?
On the contrary, now is the perfect time. It was brief, but I had achieved something extremely impactful.
On top of that, I had succeeded in leaving a strong impression of myself on everyone else.
The reputation that I knew how to bite even at the heart of power was quite useful.
‘And today’s appointment must have something to do with the position I’ll sit in after Chief of Enforcement.’
So the most important thing was who exactly I would be meeting today.
I had never entered the military, but I knew the faces and names of military figures.
Because if I met them while passing by, I had to greet them first and act like I knew them.
We were all meritorious subjects, but since I was a latecomer, I had to be even more enthusiastic.
They say you can’t spit in a smiling face; if I greeted them first, their impression of me would change too.
Making friends in politics was also very important.
But what was more important than that was not making definite enemies.
Recalling that, I lowered myself first and reached out first when necessary.
Without crossing the line into looking ridiculous. All to draw out goodwill somehow.
‘Let’s see. He said it was here.’
I got down from the carriage and looked around for a moment.
Fifth Prince. No, Your Highness? Argh. Whatever. Brother Ishmael!
In any case, I arrived at the place that man had told me about.
He said if I walked about ten minutes from here, it would appear, right?
—Boom!
‘Wait. That sound just now?’
If I hadn’t misheard, that was definitely the sound of something exploding.
A faint blast. Come to think of it, there seemed to be a slightly acrid smell too.
As I tilted my head and walked, someone appeared up ahead.
“You there, who are you? If you’ve taken the wrong path, it may be dangerous, so you should turn back at once…”
Then the man narrowed his eyes and studied my face from every angle.
“Ah. Might you be the head of House Montebello? The Chief of Enforcement of the National Tax Service?”
“Yes. That’s right. Um, Prince Ishmael told me to come this way.”
“I’ve heard about it. You arrived earlier than expected. I thought you would come later since you have so much work. For now, please come this way.”
There were very high fences and even walls erected around the area.
At first, I thought they were meant to keep people from watching.
But seeing this, they instead meant that it was dangerous, so no one should approach.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Hessen, in charge of the Imperial Armaments Office.”
“Ah. So this was the Imperial Armaments Office? As far as I know…”
“The Armaments Office is not here but elsewhere. This is the testing ground used by the Armaments Office. Here, we test all kinds of newly made weapons.”
“Then, by any chance, that sound I heard on the way here?”
“Ah. It was probably because of the experiment just now.”
What Hessen then showed me was something extremely familiar.
“After repeated improvements, we finally made something decent. At first, I thought it would do no more than make flames. But this seems like it may be better than expected!”
The acrid smell. The black powder. Good heavens. Gunpowder. To think I would see that here.
Of course, it was the most basic black powder, and its performance still seemed insignificant for now.
But I knew all too well how that thing would change the world.
“This is a strange powder I’ve never seen before. What is it?”
“They say the settlers in the west used it to make starting fires easier. It is a mixture of saltpeter from the west and charcoal in the proper ratio, and now we are trying to add various other things to it. As for the name, we simply use what the settlers called it. Since it is a medicine for making fire, we call it gunpowder.”
“I see.”
Looking at this, the next thing I had to do immediately came to mind.
The Armaments Office. Gunpowder. The recent rumors of the northern barbarians stirring again.
A far better picture than I had expected was being drawn in my mind.