episode_0128

Breakfast the day after William was imprisoned.

The atmosphere is cold.

The owner who creates a bitterly cold atmosphere…

The Empress Dowager can be said to be the adult of this empire.

In other words, you will become my mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law, with her long gray hair braided high, glares at me with her searing blue eyes.

Why? What did I do wrong?

How could the person who told me until yesterday that everything would be fine because I had clearly done something wrong become so cold?

I’m the first to speak because I feel like I’m going to feel embarrassed while eating in this stuffy atmosphere.

“Mother-in-law… Is there anything you feel uncomfortable about?”

At my words, my mother-in-law puts down her fork and rolls her eyes.

“You. The reason I have watched your reign in silence until now is because I know that you are trying harder to protect this empire than anyone else.”

A cold voice instead of the usual kind voice sends a chill down my spine.

Sometimes, it makes me think that Theodora’s sinister aura came from somewhere, and that it came from her mother-in-law.

“But this matter has gone too far. No matter how much he obeys the laws of the empire, Sir William is a loyal servant of the late emperor. How can you put someone like that in jail and humiliate them?!”

-bang!

Clink…

When the mother-in-law hits the table violently, silverware rolls around the table.

“Mom?!”

“Mother…”

I think about my mother-in-law getting angry at me.

This person always looked at me gently.

Of course, it was a desperate attempt. I was fully prepared to be criticized to some degree… no, to a great extent.

“Sorry.”

I bow my head and apologize to my mother-in-law, but she snorts and continues speaking.

“That’s it, release Sir William quickly. He is not the kind of person who should be insulted by you.”

My mother-in-law’s voice was cold and bitter, as if she could not forgive the backlash.

If my mother-in-law comes out here, I think this plan will work quite well.

Even that foxy Savinelli probably didn’t expect that I would put William in prison.

“That is not possible. Sir William is personally guilty of leading the Emperor’s army and acting recklessly, and following him…”

“Can’t you just shut up?!”

-Percussion!

My mother-in-law gets up from her seat.

“From what I heard, Sir William was simply deceived by Terra’s false letter. If you had given the Emperor’s Seal to Terra in the first place, none of this would have happened! But what?!”

“Mom! Hold on! My brother-in-law must have thoughts too!”

Joy grabs her mother-in-law’s arm and tries to stop her…

“Let go! Oh my!, how can you become a princess and not know how to look after the public sentiment?! Can’t you even hear me cursing your brother-in-law and your sister outside the imperial palace right now?!”

Joy becomes tearful at those words.

“I won’t talk any longer. Release Sir William immediately.”

At those words, I swallow my bitterness and speak.

“I can’t listen to that.”

“You! Even if you are Terra’s husband, you have no authority to arrest the leader of the Golden Knights who serves the Emperor! And I heard you were giving orders to Sir William to do this and that! Do you dream of treason?”

It’s treason… whatever. I have nothing to say.

“No.”

“Then quickly release him! Isn’t it on display now? The Golden Knights will definitely be of great help to the empire. Don’t you know that it would be foolish to imprison him? The council will probably be suspicious of you too. How can you act so rashly? Tsk tsk…”

My mother-in-law’s harsh criticism.

Honestly, I feel frustrated. This is very important for future planning.

so. I can’t release him yet.

As I repeat this to myself, I suppress my bitterness and speak with a calm face as if nothing is wrong.

“Sir William is destined for great things. Please… trust me and let it go just this once. We will bring you good news soon…”

When I bowed my head, my mother-in-law snorted.

“Hmph, it’s been a week. I can’t take it any further than that, so be prepared.”

-Trudge…Trudge…

I sigh as I see my mother-in-law leaving the restaurant and Joy leaving with an embarrassed look on her face.

“Ha… I knew I would get criticized.”

“So. Why did you arrest Sir William?”

“There is a saying that if you want to deceive your enemy, you must first deceive your allies.”

“Yes? Is this your first time hearing this? So what are you going to do?”

A word that does not exist here but exists in the original world.

“First, I have to go to the Grand Study Department.”

Although Theodora knows about the landing in the Adriatic Sea, she does not know about the next operation.

There is a plan that only I and Agrippa know about.

So I get up from my seat and head to the Grand Duke’s office.

“Your Majesty the Archduke, are you here? Now Minister Victor, Minister Anthony, Minister Marcus, Minister Gaston, Minister Frank, and Chairman Charles are all here.”

Victor of the Foreign Office, Anthony of the Ministry of Justice, Marcus of the Military Department, Gaston of the Interior Ministry, Frank of the Treasury… and even Charles, the President of the Council.

It’s not even the day of the Cabinet meeting. Gathered here…

For some reason, I have a general idea of what brought them here.

“Ha… I’m going to nag you again. Minister of Information Karl?”

Lucius nods when I say that he is lazy.

“Minister Karl says he will come later in the afternoon.”

They’ll probably be annoyed with me too.

With that in mind, I head to the living room.

“Everyone is busy. What’s going on?”

As I open the door and enter, familiar people bow their heads and say hello to me.

“How have you been?”

Minister of Military Affairs Marcus greets me in return.

“No. Because it was a war situation, I didn’t get along well.”

I’m not just saying this. I sincerely hope that slavery is urgently needed right now.

“I guess so. Your Highness… We have come with a petition.”

I can feel everyone, including Chairman Charles, looking at me as Marcus speaks.

Unusual atmosphere.

But I know roughly what they are going to say.

“First, let’s sit down and talk. Everyone, please sit down quickly.”

When I offer them a seat, everyone sits down and speaks.

“Your Royal Highness, I ask you to release Sir William immediately.”

also…

“Now, Sir William, a legend in the Imperial Army, has been arrested and the morale is high.”

Starting with the words of Marcus, the Minister of Military Affairs, everyone says something one by one.

“That’s not all. Currently, the public sentiment among the Roman Empire’s citizens is dire. If you make a mistake, a riot may break out.”

As Gaston, the Minister of the Interior in charge of imperial security, spoke with a worried face, Victor spoke next.

“In addition, there will soon be a war with Nicaea, and if we punish all of the Golden Knights, our powerful army, internally, His Highness will doubt the Archduke’s abilities and insight.”

“It’s not just that. It was reported that this incident occurred because the leader of the Golden Knights misunderstood an order. In that case, only Sir William can be detained, but detaining the entire Golden Knights could be considered a violation of imperial law.”

My head hurts as I look at the ministers talking about everything they know.

But who doesn’t know that?

This is all a way to catch Ioanes.

There’s no need to say it, so I force myself to swallow it down and say something in general.

“I understand what the ministers are saying. In the end…”

“Grand Duke. Now, talk is starting to circulate in Parliament about taking back the command from the Archduke and handing it over to Sir William.”

I say that, getting irritated.

“If you can, try it. Because I will exercise my veto. I know what everyone wants to say, but I have to protect the empire and its people. Sir William, who had rashly moved his army and endangered the country, deserved to be beheaded, but his sentence was commuted. I think this is a sufficiently merciful act.”

I stand up and say that there are one or two other things I need to deal with right now.

“Enough for me. I have a lot to do, so I’ll go.”

He leaves as if he doesn’t want to talk anymore.

***

William and the Golden Knights in prison.

They are beside themselves looking at the luxurious breakfast.

Until yesterday, it was definitely food suitable for a prison.

Is it because of some wind blowing? Everyone’s eyes widen at the breakfast filled with ham, sausage, white bread, and fruit.

[Is this really a prison diet?]

[My… since when does the empire start giving criminals this kind of diet?]

That’s not all.

Cheese made from goat and sheep milk and various fruit juices.

It is also strange that the people carrying the food and dishes are not wearing military uniforms, but rather uniforms similar to those worn by high-ranking government officials.

[This…what on earth is happening?]

William, who was mesmerized by the sight, catches a passing public official and asks him.

“You… what are you doing now?”

At those words, the man with a cold expression bows his head, bows to William, and speaks.

“His Royal Highness has given orders to help Sir William and the members of the Golden Knights live without any inconvenience.”

William says those words with a blank face.

“Now… aren’t you a high-ranking government official? But this is my first time seeing a black uniform. Where do you belong?”

At those words, the civil servant speaks with his lips twitching as if he is trying to smile.

“My name is Goran and I am from the Intelligence Department.”

“Ministry of Intelligence?”

Goran sighs slightly as he looks at William, who only says something incomprehensible.

“The Minister of Information is scheduled to come later. Please ask him then. I have to carry dishes, so I’ll stop…”

The Golden Knights turn to stone as they look at the buttery, golden-brown bread, the deliciously fragrant soup, and the large table.