episode_0012

I let out a sigh as I look down at the thick stack of documents in front of me.

“Ugh… I’m exhausted.”

“That’s for sure.”

I can’t leave the positions of the high-ranking officials of the Empire who have been killed or imprisoned by Valoran empty, so I have to fill them one by one.

He had the ability… but he died at Valoran’s hands, right? Unfortunately, he’s a pass.

Right now, I need to choose trustworthy people over abilities. I should recruit them once the situation stabilizes.

“Ah… Agrifa. There’s one thing that I regret…”

“What is it?”

“I wish there was one more person like you or Mary by my side…”

I say this sincerely. I feel like I might die from exhaustion right now.

But I can’t just leave it to anyone. Most of the talents within Roman hesitate to follow the Emperor, not knowing what conspiracy they might be involved in.

Even though it’s something I’ve been dealing with since morning…

My head is throbbing from the endless resumes and recommendation letters.

“Will we ever have more trustworthy people?”

I swallow the words I want to say as I look at Agrifa, who is smiling slightly.

I feel like my head is going to explode from stress right now… what if I come out later and find out that I’ve already died?

As I have such futile thoughts…

“What… Princess Hwangtae?!”

“Is the Grand Duke inside?!”

“I… yes, but… p-please wait a moment.”

There’s a commotion outside the door.

I feel puzzled by Theodora’s voice, which is angrier than usual.

-Knock knock!

“Your Highness, Princess Hwangtae has arrived.”

At that moment, Agrifa and I lock eyes.

What’s going on? Why is she coming in so angrily?

“Let her in.”

-Creak!

And so the door opens, and in comes Theodora, who seems very angry…

-Clop clop!

I try to greet her warmly, but her cold face and fiery red eyes filled with anger make me awkwardly open my mouth.

“What’s the matter, Princess Hwangtae?”

When I feel uneasy about her strange atmosphere.

Before I know it, she’s right in front of me…

-Thud!

She slams her palm on my desk.

“W-what is this?”

Her bewildering actions.

“You… you dare threaten the Supreme Court?”

Upon hearing those words, I immediately understand why she’s here.

I signal Agrifa to leave…

As she leaves with a small sigh, I turn my gaze from Agrifa to Theodora.

She is indeed… beautiful.

She’s definitely worthy of being the main heroine here.

But.

That doesn’t change my thoughts and plans.

“I did not threaten anyone.”

I smile kindly at the angry her and speak in a gentle voice.

“I simply made a private request to those who have been close to our family for a long time.”

To avoid being caught, I bribed them with quite a large sum.

Theodora clenches her teeth as if she’s angry about something. And she glares at me.

“If King Johannes were to come here, I was going to ask you to spare your life.”

Theodora still doesn’t seem to grasp the situation.

If I were to be captured by King Johannes, would he really listen to her?

Being captured means that Roman has already fallen.

Right now, I am playing a game to take over Johannes and the Empire.

The loser will be stripped of everything and die, but would he listen to Theodora?

To a powerless and hollow Princess?

Whether she asks or not, I must win.

For myself, and for everyone.

I shrug my shoulders at Theodora, who is glaring at me.

“That won’t happen. I will win.”

“Hmph, do you think that’s possible?”

Theodora angrily taps her finger on the window.

“Outside, there are 150,000 troops coming this way. Do you want to live as the king of the inner world behind the triple walls, completely isolated from the outside?”

I look at her with a blank expression.

“And your territory will be burned down, won’t it? Your family… the families of those who follow you…”

Theodora laughs bitterly.

“If that happens, will the people who follow you protect you? The one who callously set their homeland on fire?”

Her words are quite sharp, but…

“Don’t worry. I’ve already thought of a way out.”

Negotiations with the Imperial faction will go smoothly.

As if she doesn’t like my relaxed words, Theodora turns her head roughly and tries to leave the room.

She puts her hand on the door handle and turns her head to look at me.

“Watch. I’ll be there to witness your head rolling off the guillotine.”

-Creak!

-Thud!

***

After Princess Hwang’s anger subsided that afternoon.

“Your Highness, Councilor Alexander is here to see you.”

“Tell him to come in.”

-Creak.

Soon, the door opens and Councilor Alexander enters.

“Have you been well?”

I smile brightly at his words.

“Haha, I saw you yesterday, of course I’ve been well. Please, have a seat.”

I say as I gesture towards the chair in front of my desk, and Alexander sits down smoothly.

“Yesterday, I sent a message to His Highness Jonas on behalf of Your Highness.”

I inwardly smile at his words.

“Is that so? And what was his response?”

He smiles and shakes his head in response to my question.

“Unfortunately, His Majesty the King said that negotiations with the rebels are difficult.”

An unexpected response.

Is everything going to the worst possible scenario?

Alexander’s words make my head spin.

Should I give up the Grand Duchy?

Our power comes from the Grand Duchy.

Despite the security of the Triple Walls and the authority of the Emperor, economic power and resources do not come from there.

An Emperor without any power is just an authority in name only.

But fortunately, Rome has a large river that can supply the Grand Duchy.

Even if the river is blocked, we can survive for over a year with the food and water stored in Rome, but the supply of war materials is essential.

What should I do…

Should I leave only a minimal force in Rome and somehow protect the Grand Duchy?

This is a very unrealistic approach.

While I am contemplating this, Alexander cautiously speaks up.

“But shedding the blood of the Empire’s people is not desirable.”

His words make me pause for a moment.

“So I have submitted a petition to His Majesty the King to at least consider our proposal.”

Ah… is he trying to gain the upper hand in negotiations?

It sounds like he’s trying to take advantage of us.

We also tried to take advantage of them. That way, they would have internal conflicts.

But it’s not easy to give in. If we do, they will have doubts, and I also have things to receive from them.

“Haha… Councilor Alexander, you truly care about the Empire’s people.”

I smile warmly at him.

“Haha, you flatter me.”

After exchanging smiles for a moment, I speak up.

“Then, please let me know a proposal that would satisfy them. Then we…”

“No. Your Highness… I think you are mistaken.”

I feel puzzled by Alexander’s abrupt interruption.

“What do you mean?”

“We, as the victors, will be making demands of His Highness the Grand Duke.”

-Gasp.

Oh… really… are we going all the way with this? Fine, let’s see where this goes.

It seems like Councilor Alexander wants to engage in a power struggle with me.

Well then, let’s do just that. The start of negotiations is about establishing dominance, so Alexander’s actions are not wrong.

“War hasn’t even started yet. Winners and losers? I don’t understand what you mean.”

“The tide has already turned. Once Queen Ioannes arrives in Rome, your fate will not be so bright.”

-Sigh.

“Why don’t you give it a try?”

With that, he rings the small bell in front of me.

-Ding, dong.

-Clank.

“Did you call for me, Your Highness?”

I say to the guard entering the study room.

“Lord Alexander is returning.”

And I stare at Lord Alexander with cold eyes.

Now… what should I do? Should I finish everything and leave? Or should I continue negotiating?

If you told your king that negotiations had started, you should at least convey the conditions, right? If negotiations fail without even hearing the conditions, your ability will be questioned.

So, are you anxious? Be anxious, and hurry up and catch me.

Internally concealing my anxiety, I put on the most expressionless face possible.

At that moment, Lord Alexander and I lock eyes.

Eyes that are hard to read.

A subtle smile and gaze emanating from experience.

For a brief moment, he and I competed to read each other’s thoughts.

In that moment…

As if agreeing with my earnest wish or thoughts, Lord Alexander smiles and says, “Your Highness seems impatient.”

-Sigh.

“My family name is Ryan, isn’t it?”

I won.

Lord Alexander might be burning inside. He underestimated his opponent, whom he thought was just a young boy.

“Hoo… I have lost. Please forgive my rudeness earlier.”

I chuckle and say in response to his words.

“Since Lord Alexander seems to linger a bit more. Sorry, but please attend to your duties again.”

As I say that, the guards salute and leave the room.

“Well, shall we start the negotiations then?”

I smile inwardly as I see Lord Alexander nod with a sigh.

***

“So, have the negotiations been concluded successfully?”

I sigh and slump on the desk in response to Agrifa’s question.

“More or less. It hasn’t been long since the negotiations started, so I’m not sure…”

It’s not as easy as I thought.

Should I say they are demanding more than expected? The thought makes me sigh unintentionally.

“We are within the expected range… but… sigh…”

Exhausted, I let out a sigh.

“But your expression doesn’t look good.”

I try to relax my fatigue while enjoying the subtle scent of wood on the desk.

“But the progress is slow… negotiating while hiding our true intentions, the other side knows what they want clearly but can’t easily reveal it…”

Agrifa laughs heartily at my words.

“Haha! Your Highness, why don’t you try bringing out our essential conditions first?”

I ponder on her suggestion.

“No, that old man is not as easygoing as I thought. How can I bring out one excuse after another in front of him?”

The saying that old ginger is spicier suits him well.

“Well… what do you suggest then?”

“Well, we have made some progress.”

Agrifa responds with amusement.

“Oh… what happened?”

“As expected, we agreed to grant war permits to Epirus, Epirus, and the Kingdom of Nikea, as well as a ceasefire… and to pass a bill in the council limiting the Emperor’s authority and expanding mine, along with the marriage of me and Theodora.”

Agrifa looks slightly surprised at my words.

“So, the negotiations went well then?”

But it seems like trouble is brewing again.

“However… they suggested that Princess Joy and the son of King Ioannes should marry.”

Agrifa’s face stiffens at my words.

“Isn’t that… a bit risky?”

If they marry and have a child, they could use it as a pretext for rebellion at any time.

Originally, there was a law that stated only the Augustus family could become the emperor… But I received a verdict that the succession was possible for the allied families…

“It’s dangerous… But what can I do. I fell for my own scheme…”

But I have no proper reason to refuse.

In the future, as I build trust, if they argue for fairness on their side when I marry the crown princess, there’s nothing they can say.

Fairness…

Thinking of Johannes demanding fairness from a traitor like me.

Even if they call themselves the imperial faction… Everyone only thinks of their own interests, right?

-Chuckle.

I chuckle.

“So, will you accept?”

I ponder at those words, stroking my chin.

“How old is Princess Joy this year?”

“To the best of my knowledge, she is eighteen years old.”

“So she’s not an adult yet, right?”

Agrippa nods at my words.

“Then how about this method?”

I suggest the idea that comes to mind in a moment to Agrippa…

After a while, Agrippa, who has heard all my thoughts, smiles and says, “If we wrap it up within two years, it seems like there won’t be any problems.”

I nod vigorously at his words.

“But… If two years pass, then I’ll have no choice but to give up the princess.”

“It’s okay, we won’t need two years.”

Because… I will make sure of that.