episode_0016

If you know me this well, there’s no need to hide anymore.

No matter what I say… Jija won’t change her mind.

“Hoo… How did you know?”

Yoenes smiles at my words.

“Well, didn’t you demand as a condition for reinforcement… to place all government agencies under your control?”

Ha… Just that?

“And, by handing over the Emperor’s jurisdiction to us, you weakened the Emperor’s power…, and finally, you formed an alliance for the future to take control of the empire. Isn’t that right?”

Smiling at his words, I nod.

“Yes. And Yoenes, don’t you feel the same? Don’t you want to enjoy the Ephirus and Ezip I gave you alone?”

Nodding as if my words were correct.

“Yes, if we only get those two places… it’s not about controlling the Emperor’s faction.”

I smile at his words and reply.

“We will not give those two places to the Emperor’s faction… but to you, Your Highness.”

In reality, this is what I hoped for. The internal division of the Emperor’s faction… that way, I can absorb the divided factions.

And… Yoenes probably knows that too.

“Haha! I won’t fall for such shallow tricks. You must be planning to strike me while I’m trying to control the Emperor’s faction, right?”

His eyes seem to pierce through me.

I smile calmly in the face of his sharp gaze.

The reason I can be so relaxed in front of his intense gaze is that.

His thoughts are wrong.

That’s why I calmly reveal my plan.

“No, I am in the same situation as Your Highness… we need to restore the anti-Emperor faction.”

In fact, the current situation of the anti-Emperor faction is so embarrassing that it’s almost awkward to call them factions.

Yoenes looks at me with a skeptical eye at my words.

“Is that true?”

I smile and say, “After the wedding, I planned to make the defected nobles kneel once again.”

For a hundred years, our family has earned the loyalty of each and every one of them by making them kneel.

So, I plan to do it again.

“Oh…? Can it be done?”

Shoulder shrugging, I reply to Yoenes, who looks surprised.

“You don’t have to believe it. Anyway, we need to tighten our family control.”

Now, let’s complicate things… should I start internal control first, or try to absorb your divided factions…

You will ponder over my actions. Depending on what I do… your precious time will be wasted.

“Haha, I heard from Alexander, but you… are indeed extraordinary… not just a young age, but also a strategist.”

Yoenes smiles broadly.

He changes his expression and says, “Then, let me see why I should spare you.”

-Snick.

I chuckle at his words.

Threatening me now.

You probably didn’t want to kill me when you said you wanted the empire, did you?

“It’s not a reason to spare me, but a reason not to kill me. If I die, there will be a civil war within the Emperor’s faction to seize power, and as the weak king of Nikea, you won’t have the power to overwhelm the other nobles within the Emperor’s faction, right?”

Yoenes laughs as if my words were correct.

“Right, then what should we do to help each other?”

“Well, we should form a secret alliance and I will give you Ephirus and Ezip, and in return, you will give me time and power.”

-Clap, clap!

Clapping in agreement with my words.

“Perfect, yes… that’s why I’m handing over all government agencies to you… wise as you are, you will never reveal it to me if I ever take control of the Emperor’s faction.”

No, you’re wrong, I have no intention of leaving you to completely control the Emperor’s faction.

It would be a bit difficult to fight against someone who has complete control of the Emperor’s faction and has Ephirus and Ezip.

Winning may not be impossible, but the damage would be significant.

There might be lingering aftereffects as well.

“Well… that might be true, but I have another proposal in mind.”

Yohannes inquired with a gleam in his eyes at my words.

“What proposal do you have in mind?”

“The Empire holds vast territories, we both could have territories that satisfy us.”

Yohannes responded with amusement to my words.

“What do you mean?”

“I propose that I rule the west, and you take the east. How does that sound?”

Yohannes, who had been rolling his eyes upon hearing my words, burst into laughter.

“Haha! You are truly wise…”

The east is more developed than the west in the Empire. And to the west lies the powerful maritime nation, the United Kingdom.

If they were to reveal their intentions towards the continent, the west would surely turn into chaos.

But at least during my rule, that won’t happen.

The reason being…

“The King of the United Kingdom is your uncle, right?”

He is my uncle. And I heard that he cherished my mother.

So, I cautiously speculate that there is a small chance of him attacking me while I rule the west of the Empire.

“Great! Great!”

As I shared a part of my plan with him…

“Hahaha! You are truly a political genius, aren’t you? Great. I will follow your words, imagining the chaos that will ensue in the Imperial Council already makes me feel refreshed, hahaha!”

Yohannes, who had been laughing heartily, changed his expression.

“But… if I push you so hard, and you betray me…, our Imperial faction will destroy the reinforcement, and somehow we will annihilate you and your family…, so don’t think about betrayal.”

I smile at his words, lightening the mood.

“Don’t worry, there are 150,000 soldiers here. How could I betray you?”

I won’t do it now, because he has a lot to offer me.

And so, that night.

We formed a secret alliance. A short-lived one.

***

After that, I returned to Roman with Jo In-sik.

“Phew…”

I loosen my tie roughly and listen to the reports I received during my absence.

“We have a spy gathering information for us?”

At my words, Agrippa nods.

“Yes, there has been a maid who has been actively trying to find out the whereabouts of Your Highness since you left Roman.”

A spy…

A troublesome existence that steals our secrets or even incites trouble.

“Then, we should catch her and hang her immediately, did she wait for me to come back?”

I let out a hollow laugh at the absurd situation, but Agrippa nods solemnly.

“That… is because the mastermind behind her actions seems suspicious.”

Curious, I ask, “Who is it?”

“It’s… Princess Theodora.”

I am taken aback by the unexpected name.

“Huh? Theodora still has that kind of power?”

As far as I know, the only person loyal to Theodora is Chief Charles…

Does Theodora still have enough power to operate a spy to that extent?

As I question, Agrippa nods and says, “Currently, we have control over all of Roman’s military and government institutions, but we have not yet fully taken over the palace.”

“I see!”

Finally, I understand how Theodora has been gathering information.

“The courtiers in the palace still follow Theodora?”

“It’s inevitable, Your Highness. To the people of Roman, both Your Highness and I are invaders, aren’t we?”

I nod at his words.

“That’s true. But how did you happen to catch her?”

At my question, Agrippa hands me a few papers on my desk.

I quickly skim through the six-page document.

The content is not as grand as I had thought.

The soldiers of the Grand Empire and the maids of the royal palace were getting close, and recently the soldiers were talking among themselves about how the maids were curious about my whereabouts. Agrifa happened to find out and leaked the information, which was then passed on to the maid Ipha of Theodora.

“Hmm…”

I pondered as I looked at the report.

The status of the palace maids serving in the royal palace was generally that of ordinary citizens of the empire.

Although they were called by grand titles, they were essentially no different from commoners in a general sense.

Well… unlike what you see in common novels or movies, they did have various legal rights guaranteed.

“So, what should we do about that maid?”

I furrowed my brows in contemplation at the question.

“Hmm… before that.”

I recounted the story I heard from Johannes to Agrifa.

“He’s insane.”

“I agree…”

Johannes wanted to control the empire and have everything under his feet. Although he had suggested dividing the empire, I could understand.

Surely, if we each built up our own power, he would definitely challenge me to a fight.

“Well, it’s not all bad. Isn’t it an opportunity to form a temporary alliance with the leader of the imperial faction?”

I replied to Agrifa’s question.

“Well, we agreed to help each other in the Roman Council.”

Agrifa nodded in understanding at my words.

“But what does that have to do with the maid?”

“It does matter. If we want to pass the laws we want, the emperor shouldn’t have veto power, right?”

Agrifa nodded in agreement to my words.

“Is that so?”

“Then let’s just take away all the emperor’s authority while we’re at it.”

Agrifa seemed puzzled by my words.

“Would Princess Theodora willingly hand over the emperor’s privileges like that?”

I chuckled and replied to Agrifa’s question.

“Theodora cherishes her family, right?”

Agrifa nodded in agreement.

Upon hearing that, I rubbed my chin in thought.

“Theodora will surely think I wouldn’t dare do anything harmful to Princess Joy.”

In reality, it would be difficult to do.

If I were to send Joy to prison, the hard-won peace might be shattered.

But I couldn’t appear weak either.

A certain level of fear would resolve this situation.

“So, how about doing it this way?”

“What do you mean?”

And so, the two of us discussed how to make this situation work in our favor.