episode_0138

‘The realization of this plan requires unconditional approval from the Imperial Family.’

As Rupert waited to enter the now familiar main gate of the palace, he thought about what Esteban had told him.

“Sir Rupert, the second son of the Marquis of Somerset, has been identified.”

Rupert passed through the main gate after completing the identification check by the palace guards he had become accustomed to.

Because the Imperial Palace was so large, it was common for visitors to have a servant to guide them, but Rupert, who had visited several times and knew the way to some extent, went to the royal palace where the Emperor resided alone.

‘I have been selected as a meritorious subject twice, visited Lady Iolin several times, and even came to see His Highness the Crown Prince several times.’

Rupert thought that among the nobles without official posts, he was probably the one who visited the palace the most.

No wonder the servants working in the royal palace recognized him and greeted him.

“Thank you for coming. Sir Rupert, it’s your turn next, so please get ready.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The Emperor’s chief chamberlain, Count Julius Palatine, was busily going back and forth between the royal chamber and the waiting room, coordinating those entering and leaving the royal chamber.

The Count Palatine, whom he had already met at the time of the selection of the Duke, gave Rupert a brief explanation of the necessary etiquette and precautions when preparing for the meeting, and then left again.

‘We’re finally meeting. But it’s still pretty quick.’

Now, even for Rupert, the heir to the Marquisate and a professor at the Imperial Academy, it was never easy to face the Emperor.

This meeting was requested two months ago, and now it is my turn to meet the Emperor.

This is also possible only for Rupert, but for nobles, even a request would not be accepted, and even if a meeting was promised, it was common to have to wait for half a year.

“Hmm… His Majesty has asked you to come in.”

Rupert sits in the waiting room for a while and soon his turn comes and he enters the throne.

Up until now, whenever he met the Emperor, he was always surrounded by other people, so he wasn’t overly nervous, but this time, he was meeting him alone, so even Rupert couldn’t help but be nervous.

Rupert had met a goddess, but the Emperor also held god-like authority in the empire.

No, rather, the emperor was more dangerous than the goddess in that he could directly cause harm.

“Sir Rupert, no, Professor Rupert is the correct name, but you are so young that you keep making mistakes.”

“I am very grateful for your permission to meet me, Your Majesty.”

“No, I thought it was time to come.”

The Emperor responded to Rupert’s words with an unexpected remark.

Because of that, Rupert’s mind started to spin anxiously.

‘Is it time to come? Have I ever had the chance to see the Emperor?’

Even if I think about it quickly, there hasn’t been anything that could have involved the emperor recently.

However, Rupert could not question the Emperor’s words, so he could only nod as if he agreed with what the Emperor said.

“Your Majesty, as a loyal subject of the Empire, I have brought you something to present to Your Majesty.”

“things?”

“Yes, these are them.”

Rupert stepped forward a little further, held the prepared items in both hands, and bowed his head.

Then, one of the servants waiting next to the emperor carefully examined the item and then passed it on to the emperor.

“Books and cards.”

“Yes.”

The things Rupert presented to the Emperor were none other than books and cards.

“Rupert Fable?”

When the Emperor picked up the book first and looked at the title on the cover, Rupert immediately responded.

“This is a book made for children who will become the driving force of the empire. The contents are filled with educational stories that are instructive.”

“Hoo.”

The Emperor, perhaps intrigued by Rupert’s words, opened the book and began to read lightly.

was a series of short stories.

As Rupert said, it was a book that not only contained the instructive content intuitively, but was also written in a structure that made it interesting, so it seemed like a book that children would really like.

“Do you know what this means?”

“I am not so foolish as to offer such a thing to Your Majesty without knowing it.”

The Emperor asked with a meaningful expression, and Rupert answered with a resolute expression.

And when a smile appeared on the Emperor’s lips after hearing Rupert’s answer, only then was Rupert able to feel relieved.

‘That was the right answer!’

The emperor was equally satisfied.

‘I don’t know if it was your own idea or if you received help from those around you, but you understood my intentions exactly.’

The current emperor, Leonius Bel, had a goal he wanted to achieve during his reign.

‘The strengthening of imperial power must be achieved before Alex inherits it.’

The imperial power, which was strong when the empire was founded, became weaker as time passed and peace came.

On the contrary, the power of the nobles had grown steadily during the times of peace, to the point where it now easily surpassed that of the imperial family.

However, there was no justification for nobles of that level of power to unite, and the forces supporting the imperial family were still strong, so it seemed like there would be no problem.

However, the emperor knew that if things continued this way, the time would come when the royal family would be dragged around by the nobles, so his worries only deepened.

‘The moment the imperial family falls under the control of the nobles, the empire begins to split.’

From then on, it was obvious. Each local lord would claim to be king, and the empire would inevitably split apart, no matter how hard they tried.

At that time, the imperial family will only be more powerful than others, but it will no longer be a kingdom that can be called an empire.

The countries of the continent, including the enemy countries that had been waiting for that moment, may return to the Warring States period before the old empire was founded in order to take over the fragmented empire.

The Emperor did not want his son Alex to experience such a disastrous future.

To do this, it was essential to break the power of the imperial nobility.

That is why he started a war with Sylvania and secretly supported the power of the new nobles, thereby expanding the conflict between the old and new nobles.

But this alone was not enough.

Even if he was an emperor, it was impossible to start any more unjustified wars, and supporting the new nobles and causing conflicts with the old nobles would only increase the power of the nobles, so it was only a temporary measure.

Ultimately, another class of power was needed to keep the aristocracy in check, and that class was the commoners.

-Father, please allow me to distribute this book to the people of the empire.

At that time, his daughter, Iolin, had asked him to distribute comic books.

The proposal to give commoners a chance to learn to read and write through a comic book called was very interesting.

There were some who grew up, especially among the merchant class and commoners, but their numbers were extremely small compared to the overall population.

This was because the majority of those who did not meet the minimum requirements for advancement to the upper class.

Commoners were unable to take on important tasks because they did not know how to read and write, which was a prerequisite for the upper class, and were always exploited by the nobles.

Learning to read and write was a tedious, difficult, and time-consuming task, but for commoners, simply doing their jobs was more important than the need to learn to read and write.

‘It won’t work! If I keep waiting for someone else to read it to me, it’ll be a waste of time!’

‘That’s why you have to learn how to write! They say that you can get a general idea of the meaning of a text by looking at this comic book.’

‘I heard that Hans learned to read and write while working at the upper level in the village across the river. Let’s bring him something so he can learn!’

But it was still hard to believe that such commoners began to teach themselves to read and write, and that it was because of comic books.

“I hope this book can be distributed to people throughout the empire.”

“I will follow your command and ensure that Your Majesty’s grace spreads to all the people of the empire.”

Of course, it was clear that there were still more people among the common people who could not read and write than those who could.

The growth rate was extraordinary.

Moreover, I was convinced that if the commoners’ level were raised through such educational books, then they would truly be able to emerge as a new force that could check the power of the nobles.

‘When that time comes, the imperial family can remain an entity that mediates the conflict between the noble and commoner classes and maintains a balance between the two.’

The Emperor could not hide his joy at the thought that if things went smoothly, this plan might be somewhat completed by the time Alex ascended to the throne.

“Your heart for the Empire is admirable. I will grant you funds for supplies, so consult with the Court Count on your way back and report.”

“Your Majesty, I am so grateful!”

The Emperor was satisfied with Rupert’s answer.

There were times when I hated him for no reason during the Crown Prince incident, but seeing his actions and behaviors after that, I thought he was a smart person.

He also showed a bold side and the ability to make plans and execute them.

However, it is difficult to gain popularity among the people around him, but no one who knows him has anything bad to say about him, so he must have had a good personality.

The Emperor thought that it would be good for the Crown Prince to have such a talented person, but he also thought that it wouldn’t be bad to have him as Iolin’s partner.

“Oh, by the way, there was this too?”

Finally, the Emperor put down the storybook and his eyes turned to another item Rupert had presented: a card.

“Is this a new popular card these days?”

“That’s right.”

The Emperor had already been informed about this.

“Recently, it seems like there are a lot of fights on the streets because of this, regardless of whether they are nobles or commoners… .”

Although the Emperor had been looking favorably upon Rupert recently, he still had difficulty understanding the new artifacts he had brought this time.

‘Why are you so fascinated by this?’

I was dumbfounded when I heard a story about nobles, not commoners, getting into a fistfight over a single card.

“The card presented to His Majesty will certainly be of help to the imperial authority.”

“This is it?”

“Yes, I have a plan. It is… .”

The Emperor, who had been looking incredulous at the story that the cards could only help the imperial authority, gradually changed his expression as Rupert continued his story.

By the time the story ended, he was smiling brightly.