Raud Mentus. The Emperor’s brother-in-law, and the number-one meritorious retainer acknowledged by all.
At present, he was on the verge of going mad and leaping out of his skin in the lake of information pouring in.
Until only a few days ago, the officials of the imperial administration had been docile.
They had been doing their utmost to be careful, lest they offend Mentus in any way.
Yet starting today, all of that was being turned completely on its head.
“Your Imperial Majesty! This is clearly an act that has gone too far!”
“Come now. It is the Empress’s family. Mind your tongues.”
“They may be the Empress’s family, but they are also Your Majesty’s subjects!”
“They are a house that rendered great service in bringing me this far.”
“Every person here has also exerted themselves for Your Imperial Majesty!!”
Officials were saying things they would never have dared to say under normal circumstances.
And the Emperor was listening to words he would never normally have entertained.
Upon receiving the news, Raud felt as though his head might burst at any moment.
“Just what in the world is going on?!”
Raud knew as well that it had begun as an extremely trivial matter.
There had apparently been some problem at the National Tax Service, but was that not always the way of administration?
It was work done by people, so there could not be no margin of error. Mistakes were bound to happen.
If that mistake was decisive or intentional, then one would be punished severely.
But if it was a mistake of an appropriate level, it would be passed over with a warning.
He had thought the matter at the National Tax Service would be the same. Matters of money were always enough to give one a headache.
Yet the spark that began from that issue had suddenly flown off in a completely unexpected direction.
First, it was the head of the National Tax Service. Next, the various departments connected to that head.
Then it moved on to other administrative officials who had recommended him.
And at last, it reached the Mentus family, which had ties to both the commissioner and those officials.
‘Naturally, I believed His Imperial Majesty would stop it at an appropriate point. I thought there was no other way it could go! But, but what on earth is this!!’
For some reason, the Emperor did not stop those who were trying to tear them apart.
From Raud’s perspective, the Emperor’s actions were impossible to understand.
The Mentus family was not merely the Emperor’s in-laws.
It was the current Empress’s family, and at the same time, the maternal family of the princes.
If this place were attacked, it would affect both the Empress and the princes.
Unless he intended to replace the Empress. Unless he meant to strike down the princes.
The Emperor himself had to step forward and draw the line against the subjects’ attacks on Mentus!
Yet even now, the Emperor had made no significant move.
In words, he was saying to keep it moderate, asking if it was not about time to stop.
But he had not truly roared in anger or forbidden it by imperial decree.
Officials were quick to read the room. They knew very well what that meant.
The Emperor was tacitly allowing it. Going further, it could even mean that they should try a little more.
‘Your Majesty. Why are you doing this?! What are you telling the Empress to do? And what of the princes who carry Mentus blood!’
Before the increasingly desperate Raud, news arrived that someone had come from the imperial palace.
It was to say that the Emperor was secretly seeking him—his brother-in-law.
Raud followed at once, and before long, he was able to meet the Emperor alone.
“Your Majesty.”
“Welcome, Brother-in-law.”
That title, brother-in-law, felt particularly cold today.
He hoped it was his imagination. He hoped this would end as nothing more than a warning.
Thinking so, Raud approached the Emperor and knelt before him.
“Your Majesty. All of this is slander.”
“Slander.”
“As our family has grown, those who lost their positions have resorted to these schemes! They are daring to attack Mentus, the family of Her Majesty the Empress and the maternal house of the princes!”
Ethan’s words came to mind. How about stopping at a suitable point and being content?
At first, he had simply thought the man had grown insolent after being treated like a younger brother by the Emperor.
But seen this way, Ethan too had been moving according to the Emperor’s will.
Now Raud had also realized the truth behind it. This was clearly an act of restraint.
As Emperor, he was naturally applying pressure because a subject had grown too powerful.
It was frustrating. He felt betrayed. But there was no particularly sharp method available.
If the Emperor felt it was a threat, then it was a threat. He had to accept it.
Even now, deep down, he was full of boiling grievances, asking how His Majesty could do this after all his family had done.
But he barely held them back and opened his mouth.
“All of this is due to my negligence. I will spend some time in self-reflection and take care with my words and actions from now on.”
Raud decided to prostrate himself and beg the Emperor for forgiveness.
No matter how great his power was, in the end, he was only one subject.
If you, the Emperor, pressed down on us, we would submit at any time.
We are not a threat, so you may withdraw your vigilance now.
Raud earnestly hoped these inner thoughts would reach the Emperor.
“My, my. It seems I have startled you quite badly, Brother-in-law.”
The Emperor approached and patted Raud on the shoulder.
“It cannot be helped when one stands at the center of power. Those who admire you decrease, while those who envy you only grow in number. But it cannot be helped. Unless one is a fool, one does not attack without justification or reason. The higher one rises, the larger one’s flaws become, and thus one must inevitably endure it.”
“Your Majesty…!”
“However, it is true that because of you and Mentus’s immature actions, not only present matters but even old affairs are being dragged out. It truly is a difficult situation.”
Having said that, the Emperor wore an expression as though he were pondering something.
After a moment, he helped Raud to his feet and opened his mouth again.
“For the sake of your sister, the Empress; for the sake of your nephews, the princes; and for the sake of this brother-in-law of yours. What can you do? I would like you to think more deeply and act accordingly, Brother-in-law.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. I will remain quiet and conduct myself modestly until this storm passes. I will also take measures so that no further talk arises.”
“…Hmm. I see.”
The Emperor answered in a voice that sounded somehow disappointed.
Raud was about to ask if there was some problem.
But the Emperor merely said, You may go now, Brother-in-law.
Though a slight unease lingered, Raud judged it positively.
In any case, for the sake of the Empress and the princes, the Mentus family had to exist.
The Emperor would not cast aside Mentus, a dependable supporting force.
*
“My brother-in-law said he would do that.”
“…”
I had intended to quietly leave work and drink tea with Polia and Arte.
But the Emperor grabbed me again and, in the end, made me sit in the imperial palace.
Then he casually told me a story that was terrifying just to hear.
“It was disappointing. I remember my father-in-law, who had very sharp instincts. So I thought my eldest brother-in-law, or the younger brothers-in-law beneath him, would be able to do something similar, even if not quite as well as my father-in-law. It seems I expected too much.”
As I listened to the Emperor, a sigh rose right up to my throat.
Raud Mentus. That man had kicked away his final chance to the bitter end.
What the Emperor, his sister’s husband, had wanted from him just now was not something like self-reflection.
What the Emperor had truly wanted was an answer to the question of just how far his loyalty went.
It was a kind of command issued as an absolute ruler, asking whether he could prove it.
If it had been me, I would have come to my senses on the spot and answered like this at once.
As of tomorrow, every person belonging to the Mentus family will submit their resignation.
We dared to bear the tremendous name of being the Empress’s family and the Emperor’s in-laws.
Yet with such a grave mistake, we disturbed Your Majesty’s heart; what could we possibly say?
Merely not being charged with high treason and executed at once is an immeasurable imperial grace.
I would have disappeared from the board of power faster than anyone else and shut myself inside my family estate.
Had he done that, the Emperor might have watched for a few years and then permitted his return.
Because it would have been clear proof that he was ready to prostrate himself even if the Emperor merely cleared his throat.
Because it would have been the same as declaring that even if they stood at the center of politics, the leash was in the Emperor’s hands.
But that man Raud could not abandon his greed to the very end.
Even when it was time to be loyal as a subject, he held on to the mindset of an investor.
After all I’ve done. After all we’ve done for you. Isn’t this much acceptable?
Even after daring to understand the Emperor’s will, he had gone and tacked on unnecessary words.
“He kept mentioning the Empress and the princes as well. Haha. Goodness. I wondered whether he was that worried as a younger brother and maternal uncle.”
The fact that a mere subject dared to worry about the Empress and the princes was another demerit.
That was something for the Emperor to worry about, never something for a subject to do.
If he threw that in the Emperor’s face, it became an act of disregarding imperial authority.
Raud was by no means a severely stupid man.
But that meant he was so intoxicated by power that he had forgotten even such basics.
“It seems that in Brother-in-law’s eyes, I still look like his sister’s husband. Brother. Is that not so?”
He had been given so many chances. He had been given so many hints, and yet things had ended up like this.
As the Emperor said, the previous head of Mentus had had quite a good eye.
Had he been so busy supporting the Emperor that he had not educated his sons at all?
Or had he judged that since they were good at earning merits, they would also have the ability to protect them?
“Ah. Come to think of it, there was one piece of news I had to tell you, Brother.”
The Emperor pushed a report containing several documents in front of me.
Wondering what it was, I checked it carefully and found something interesting.
“It seems Brother-in-law viewed you as a competitor. Goodness. It would have been nice if he had competed fairly, but it appears he misjudged, thinking there was an easier path available to him.”
Several years ago, a new saltpeter mine had been organized through investments from me and several nobles.
As the output from this mine increased considerably, Raud had tried to play a trick.
Together with those who supported the Mentus family, he had attempted to quietly take over this mine.
It would still be operated for the Empire, but my rights would be extinguished.
There was only one reason the Emperor was suddenly presenting me with this information.
It meant that since he himself had made up his mind, I should not drag my feet any longer.
Factional fighting was absolutely forbidden, but what if it was something the Emperor had arranged?
At times like this, not striking could instead be called insanity.
Conveniently, the Emperor had even handed me a reason and justification to strike.
‘I’m sorry. But I need to survive too, for now.’
No. Now that I thought about it, even saying I was sorry made no sense.
He had tried to swallow up, for free, the saltpeter mine I had struggled so hard to establish, hadn’t he?
If I stayed still even after that, then I would be an idiot or a fool.
This matter was not about being the Emperor’s hatchet man, but an entirely natural act of revenge.
There was almost no part of it that would damage my political image, either.
“…For the sake of the Empire and His Imperial Majesty, I believe this matter can no longer be overlooked.”
The Emperor smiled, as if those were the very words he had wanted to hear.