The Emperor asked if I would try to persuade his own brothers-in-law.
I wanted to avoid answering as much as possible. If nothing else, I wanted to delay it.
But judging by his reaction, the Emperor seemed to have already made up his mind.
Perhaps I had been the first person to whom he raised this matter.
That meant the Emperor trusted me greatly, at least in this affair.
A person must know when to pull out and when not to.
Because that might be the very opportunity I had been waiting for, wondering when on earth it would come to me.
I was not exactly the type to put blind faith in gut feelings.
But this time, I felt like following that instinct.
“…If you entrust this to me, I will do my utmost.”
“Good. My brothers-in-law might listen if it is my younger brother who speaks. Who would dare take lightly the words of one I call brother? Hahaha!”
They sounded like words lifting me up, but I could feel the blade hidden within.
If I did not obey even this, there would be no more persuasion, no more conversation.
The planned purge would proceed. Someone would be expelled.
“Damn it.”
I felt so uncomfortable, as though I had suddenly become the Emperor’s hatchet man.
Isn’t that a good thing? Are you mad? Is that something said by someone in their right mind?
Once you become a blade, you remain a blade forever after.
You become the man who gets called in every time something like this is needed.
Even if you gain the Emperor’s trust that way, it is only temporary.
Because in the end, every Emperor wants to discard a blood-stained sword.
“You’re back?”
Polia, who had finally started leaving work on time recently.
And Arte, who had formally entered the Empire not long ago.
The two greeted me, then hardened their expressions and stopped in their tracks.
They had probably noticed that my expression was far too different from usual.
“Edan. Something has happened.”
As expected of one from the steppes, Arte seemed to notice first.
She immediately began asking what was going on, demanding to know why.
Polia beside her was also chiming in with worried eyes.
I glanced at the glass window; indeed, my face was a mess.
It was an expression that would make anyone ask what was wrong.
“Wait, could both of you come to the study?”
Polia and Arte are my wives and the ladies of our household.
There is nothing that must be kept secret from them. They must know together and get through it together.
The two entered the study and quickly sat beside me.
They could have hurried me, but they did not; they waited.
Until I had finished preparing myself and opened my mouth.
“Actually, I just came from having an audience with His Majesty the Emperor. And there…”
Not in great detail, but enough for them to understand the current situation.
Enough to roughly know how far the Emperor was planning ahead.
Once the explanation was roughly finished, Arte tilted her head and spoke.
“The Emperor is looking for a blade. He gave that mission to Edan. Isn’t that a good thing? On the steppes, you only let your most trusted brother or friend carry a blade at your side. I do not think it is much different in the Empire.”
“Arte is right. It is similar in the Empire. Entrusting someone with a blade truly means you trust them.”
The problem is, if you ask whether that holds true in the political arena as well, it is only half true.
The blade of a purge never becomes the Emperor himself. It merely swings.
A blade that swings fiercely and cuts indiscriminately is, at first, a terrifying tool.
Before it, everyone will tremble and shout oaths of loyalty.
But the Emperor is no fool. He knows where that fear should be directed.
Not at the blade, but at the one who wields it. Not at the hatchet man, but at the Emperor.
In the end, a blade is merely a blade. A hatchet man is merely someone who can be replaced at any time.
To make that clear, sometimes even the blade is discarded, and the hatchet man is removed.
Because too much blood has stained it. Because the stench of blood does not help state affairs.
Once its usefulness is exhausted, its fate is to disappear suddenly one day.
“Blades are melted down, and hatchet men die. That can absolutely happen in the political world.”
“…It is several times more frightening than the steppes.”
“I do not think even barbarians go that far…”
“Here, the very premise of fighting to survive does not hold.”
In skirmishes between tribes. In battles against barbarians, resistance is resistance.
But resistance here is treason. It can never be accepted.
That is why it is even more terrifying. Because the moment you slip, you are out.
“So Edan, you do not want to play the role of His Majesty’s hatchet man? But from what I am hearing, it seems you cannot refuse even if you do not want to. Am I wrong?”
“No, Polia. You are right. Exactly right.”
There is a difference between not wanting to do something and refusing to do it.
I must do it. Because I am the Emperor’s subject. Because I have received an order.
But there is one thing. At least I can choose my role.
Whether to truly become the Emperor’s blade, to become a hatchet man and run rampant like a madman.
Or to pave the way as much as possible but quietly slip aside.
If I choose the latter, the former role will ultimately be taken by someone else.
Through that, they would probably live as the next top figure in the political world for a few years.
Everyone would strive desperately to get on that person’s good side.
After all, to anyone in the world, a blade drenched in someone else’s blood is a frightening thing.
“As His Majesty wishes. I will at least try to persuade them. With all my sincerity. Pray that they might escape His Majesty’s gaze, even if belatedly.”
“But if they stubbornly refuse to give up…”
“I will have to cleanly give up. I will have to acknowledge that there is no hope.”
Afterward, I would beg forgiveness for failing to follow the imperial command.
And then take a step back and survey the situation.
That was the best picture I could paint.
As soon as I reached that conclusion, I made an appointment the very next day.
Mentus, the Emperor’s in-law family. Its family head and the Emperor’s brother-in-law, Laud.
When I visited him and suggested having tea, he smiled and readily accepted.
He probably had no idea what I was going to say.
*
Over the past two years, House Mentus had reached the pinnacle of glory.
Through all manner of crises and dangers of failure, they never wavered.
With faith and trust, they continued to assist Ishmael, who had been but an ordinary man.
In the end, he went from prince to crown prince, and finally to Emperor.
Mentus, which had been a moderately successful house, became the Empress’s family overnight.
The Emperor’s in-laws. The next Emperor’s maternal family. They had truly become an overwhelming power.
“Our time has finally come!!”
The people of Mentus, including their family head Laud, seized key positions.
Who would dare stop them, the Emperor’s in-laws and meritorious subjects?
They rapidly expanded, as if washing away all the humiliation and shame they had suffered.
At the same time, they completely swept away other factions that had kept them in check.
In the vacant positions, they recommended those who had long been favorable to them or connected to them.
There were times when one wondered if this was really okay, but no great disturbance arose.
The Emperor merely smiled and told them not to overdo it.
Mentus did not stop, but expanded their power even further.
For the current Emperor. For the next Emperor. Because they were his supporters.
While shouting themselves hoarse that their own growth was for the Imperial family’s sake.
Many slowly submitted to the might of House Mentus.
But not everyone. There were others.
Those who pretended nonchalance. Those who expressed disinterest.
Or even those who were wary of approaching.
“Lord Mentus. How about a cup of tea with me today?”
Edan, whom Laud faced today, was also one of those.
A figure who had garnered much attention since before His Majesty became Emperor.
The Emperor had even called him “little brother,” displaying his closeness.
Because he was treated so familiarly, Laud had long been wary of Edan.
When he had come under attack from him over the tax issue, he had regarded him as practically an enemy.
He had even run to his brother-in-law and argued that Edan needed to be cut down.
That hostility had greatly subsided over time, but the wariness remained.
After his diplomatic mission in the east, Edan had proposed the concept of gunpowder weapons.
He had not stopped there, but had gone as the Northern Inspector and achieved military results.
The gunpowder used then was now displaying its might as the Empire’s new weapon.
A person who did not openly covet power, but did not neglect it either.
A youth who neither foolishly pushed forward nor fled like a coward.
A noble who could not help but be watched, because he could become something else at any time.
One who, if things went slightly wrong, could push them aside and take the position of the Emperor’s closest aide.
That was why Laud had continued to be wary of him.
‘But that ends now.’
Edan, who had kept his distance, had approached Laud first instead.
He must have judged that a silent standoff was no longer possible.
He was a clever man; clearly, he had read the flow.
Of course. How dare he go against the Emperor’s in-law family. Against a brother-in-law.
His father may be a founding contributor, but it was the same on this side.
That evening, Laud invited Edan to a meal.
‘You seem to want to start with tea while reading the mood, but no.’
‘Now our Mentus has no need to mind anyone’s mood.’
‘This much is nothing; join hands with House Mentus now.’
Laud wanted to send this message to Edan.
At first, Edan really seemed to intend that, happily accepting the invitation.
At the meal, he was the one who first brought up pleasant stories.
Even during dessert. Even now, while enjoying tea after the meal.
Edan maintained words and actions that acknowledged their superiority.
“Lord Laud.”
But as the evening gradually drew to a close.
“Since you have prepared even this seat for me, I will speak frankly.”
Edan revealed why he had deliberately humbled himself to come first.
“At present, Mentus has grown too large. Too, too excessively.”
“Come now, Edan. We have been talking while smiling all this time. Why suddenly this?”
“I speak with sincerity. Without any ulterior motive, I do this solely for House Mentus. You have already risen high enough; if you stop now, no one can catch up to you.”
“….”
They cannot catch up? Nonsense. How many have died believing such rot?
Power dies the moment you set it down. Only those who do not know that can speak such drivel.
Edan Montebello right before my eyes. You yourself are one of those chasing closely behind.
One who dares to be called brother by His Majesty the Emperor. That is exactly why he must be watched all the more.
For such a person to tell me to stop. Is that not too absurd even for nonsense?
“Mentus affairs will be handled by Mentus. Edan.”
Laud emptied his teacup and bade farewell to this meeting.
“I accept your concern with thanks. It has grown late.”
“…Yes. It has. I look forward to seeing you again.”