If the people around me had been connected to Mentus.
I would have staked everything and tried to persuade them somehow.
If I had been a member of House Mentus, or had ties to them.
I likewise would have used all my strength to make them stop where they stood.
It was a dangerous sprint. Mentus was like a race car without brakes.
Drunk on speed. Drunk on splendor. Drunk on the admiring gazes of others.
Without even realizing it, they kept raising their speed. They raced on without end.
They themselves would probably think that, at some point, they ought to stop.
After all, everything they had done, running without rest until now, had been their own choice.
They were certain to think that stopping, too, was something they could choose.
But how could that be easy? Could they really stop?
Now, if they stopped, the worry that they might be caught would grow.
They had come this far, so they would feel the urge to go just a little farther.
Power is like a drug; it destroys a person’s reason.
Many who had been wise throughout history had ended up submitting to power.
All the more so for someone who had merely been a little greater than others.
Someone who was not even the person directly involved, but the son of the former head of House Mentus.
Now intoxicated by the title of the emperor’s brother-in-law and the empress’s younger brother.
Could Loud, whose greed was growing larger and larger, escape it?
‘I don’t know the right answer, but what I have to do is already decided.’
Not a single person around me had even the smallest point of contact with Mentus.
And I was in a relationship of gradual opposition to them from the complete opposite side.
If they stopped on their own, that would be good. If they kept running, I did not care.
“Good day.”
In any case, I did what had to be done. I moved on to my next targets.
The head of Mentus was Loud, but other members of the house were also in politics.
While speaking with them, I subtly let them know that the current atmosphere was strange.
It was only natural that if one rose too conspicuously, one would eventually be pressed down at least once.
They were already more than impressive enough, so how about proceeding a little more slowly?
It went without saying, but to those who were wary of me, it was of little use.
Instead, they even grew wary of me, asking why I was saying such things.
If I was so afraid of House Mentus, I should simply join hands with them.
Shouldn’t the emperor’s in-laws and the man the emperor called his younger brother unite?
Let us gather together and support His Majesty the Emperor even more firmly!
‘This is driving me insane. These people haven’t changed at all.’
Until the emperor became emperor, he needed people to support him. That much was true.
But now? The situation was entirely different. The emperor was the sun of the empire.
No sun is supported from behind by someone else. It simply shines alone.
What we had to do was prostrate ourselves before him and uphold him.
It had to change from a relationship of mutual aid into the form of sovereign and subjects.
But Mentus still regarded themselves as political partners.
Companions walking together. They were under the mistaken impression that they were accompanying the emperor.
Subjects who should be following behind were daring to stand beside him.
“Ethan. What have you been going around doing lately?”
One day, my godfather called me to see him privately.
“Your name came up from the Mentus side. There are even rumors that they’re digging into your background.”
“I see.”
“By now, they will also know that you had an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”
“They know something that only a few people should know?”
“Are they not the emperor’s in-laws? Her Majesty the Empress may have told them. Or someone with ties to Mentus may have told them.”
Yes. Even that was clearly crossing the line.
It was a matter that could have been overlooked only when the emperor was still an imperial prince.
Was it because it had only been two years since their brother-in-law became emperor?
Did they think it was enough to change little by little from now on?
Did they not even consider that the one who set that standard was the emperor?
“It seems they’ve gravely misunderstood something. Drunk on that damned title of meritorious retainers. Drunk on the liquor called power.”
“But House Mentus are the ones who gave everything so that His Majesty the Emperor could stand where he does now. They have grown considerably, but in truth, I cannot help thinking that much is only natural.”
“Is that what you think, Godfather?”
“Not only I, but others in politics think similarly. Just look at the time of the founding ceremony. Countless meritorious retainers appeared, and all of them became giants in politics. Ethan, have you not also benefited greatly from the name of meritorious retainer?”
Even my godfather seemed unable to comprehend the purge of the greatest meritorious retainers.
If even my godfather, who could be considered a third party, was like this, how much worse must it be on the Mentus side?
Surely the emperor would not. Surely their brother-in-law would not. Surely the man who owed so much to them would not.
They would think there was no way he would cut them down just because they were enjoying a little of the reward.
‘That might be true.’
Contrary to my expectations, the emperor might endure it.
This place was not that day in the history I knew from my previous life.
Many things were different, so the ending could also be different enough.
I might be too tense simply because it was similar.
“There’s nothing bad about being careful, is there, Godfather?”
Yes. This was why I was on edge.
One could say this and that about power. But in the end, a life was only one.
At least the former head of House Mentus, the emperor’s father-in-law, had known that.
But he had long since handed over the position of head and retired.
He had even died a year ago, so there were no brakes left.
Mentus would race on without even knowing where their lifeline was caught.
*
“According to what we have learned, His Majesty the Emperor has spoken with the head of Montebello several times.”
“Hmm.”
Loud rested his chin on his hand and organized the current situation.
According to the investigation, meetings between the emperor and Ethan had begun some time ago.
After that, Ethan, who had been distancing himself from him, had suddenly approached.
Then, in the most roundabout tone possible, he had asked him to restrain himself.
‘His Majesty the Emperor summoned Ethan. And they had a private conversation.’
Unfortunately, there was no way to know what conversation had passed between them.
He was not the man who had once simply been his brother-in-law. He was the emperor of the empire.
No matter that they were House Mentus, what was impossible was impossible.
‘What on earth is he thinking?’
The first thought that came to mind was, as expected, a check on House Mentus.
Having grown too rapidly in size over the past two years, the emperor was worried.
He had told Ethan of these feelings, and Ethan was conveying the emperor’s will.
While he was saying it nicely, he was telling them to stop in moderation and simply enjoy what they had now.
If they ignored this warning, what came next would not be pleasant.
‘But… truly, His Majesty? Us? House Mentus?’
Impossible. What kind of place was House Mentus to the emperor?
They were not simply the empress’s family. They were not merely his in-laws.
From the time when the current emperor had still been nothing. From a very long time ago.
They were the foremost among meritorious retainers, those who had risked everything they had on an adventure.
If funds were needed, they had even sold the family’s treasures to supply them.
If more people were needed, they had gladly paid the price.
When something had to be done, they had taken the lead ahead of anyone else and accomplished anything.
It was certain that the emperor had come this far because his ability was outstanding.
But if asked whether he could have come alone, the answer was absolutely not.
Mentus had already been one with the emperor from a very long time ago.
It had been a single path of life: to live together if they lived, and die together if they died.
They could not abandon him and flee simply because it was dangerous, as others did.
And now he would discard such a Mentus? Impossible.
He was merely trying to give a moderate warning. Yes. That had to be it.
‘I should begin reducing things.’
It was a pity, since they could do more, but what they had now was enough.
Mentus already exerted influence over many places.
Even with only what they had now, they could remain giants of politics for at least three generations.
Of course, they would not discard or give up everything they had been doing.
He would understand that much. How many years had they spent together?
“Is he trying to foster an entirely new faction…?”
Yes. That must have been one of the reasons he had summoned Ethan.
The periphery centered on Montebello, and the center centered on Mentus.
It was likely his intent that the two appropriately check each other, harmonize, and show loyalty.
Thinking that, for some reason, a competitive spirit suddenly surged within him.
Though he was the emperor’s brother-in-law, in all honesty, he had not received affectionate treatment.
By contrast, Ethan? Was he not called younger brother every time they met?
The ones who had sworn brotherhood were the founding emperor and the former head of Montebello, surely.
To an outsider, one might think the current emperor and Ethan were sworn brothers as well.
*
As with all things, the beginning starts from an extremely trivial matter.
“Your Majesty. There seems to be a minor issue with the National Tax Service’s tax records.”
“Is the Imperial National Tax Service not headed by a person from House Mentus, my in-laws? He is hardly the sort to do his work carelessly. Could there not have been some mistake?”
“I will investigate in greater detail.”
The start of the matter was an extremely small incident that occurred in the work of the National Tax Service.
An administrative department was bound to make mistakes, so it could not be called a grave offense.
However, the matter soon began to spread in a strange direction.
“Your Majesty. Something suspicious has been discovered regarding the commissioner of the National Tax Service.”
“Something suspicious?”
“The Ministry of Finance is currently investigating, but it seems to be related to bribery.”
A small mistake by the National Tax Service suddenly spread to the commissioner’s evaluation.
At first, it had been a matter unrelated to the current commissioner. But not anymore.
In an instant, each administrative department began an investigation into the National Tax Service.
In the midst of that process, Ethan, the first executive director, quietly opened his mouth.
“I do not know about bribery, but there is no way the commissioner could have been unaware of internal problems within the National Tax Service. I believe it is certain that he was negligent in his duties.”
Even normally, Ethan was the one the emperor called younger brother.
At a few words from that Ethan, the minds of political figures began spinning rapidly.
‘Because the opponent was Mentus, we did not dare open our mouths. They are His Majesty the Emperor’s in-laws, after all.’
‘Ethan Montebello is someone His Majesty the Emperor trusts greatly. For such a person to speak at this timing?’
‘…Then, could this perhaps be?’
Politics required ability, but it also required sharp perception.
Those who had come this far. Those who had kept their positions until now.
They knew what conclusion to draw about this situation lately.
“Your Majesty the Emperor. Petitions are coming in concerning other administrative officials besides the commissioner of the National Tax Service.”
“Merchant companies are claiming damages, saying that House Mentus has been applying continual pressure since before.”
“They say there has been unfair treatment in several departments. A precise investigation will be needed, but for now, the reason repeatedly appears to be that they refused recruitment by House Mentus…”
They had to change. They knew they had to change.
But the tragedy of those who missed the very moment when they had to change had begun.