Chapter 58
Blair’s meeting with Princess Adriana proceeded unexpectedly quickly. As winter arrived, the Princess, who had greeted the imperial citizens while distributing firewood and food from the national treasury, didn’t immediately return to the palace but stayed in the capital. She had someone to meet.
After stepping out of her carriage, the Princess glanced around a couple of times before entering. It was a high-end restaurant typically used by high-ranking officials or nobles when entertaining important guests. When the Princess opened the door and entered, the people seated inside stood up.
“Welcome.”
It was Blair and Theodore. Blair smiled slightly and bowed his head lightly.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“It has been a while. Come, sit down.”
Blair, who had taken his seat, observed the Princess’s complexion. She looked remarkably well. Of course, part of it might have been due to her particularly elaborate appearance, as she had to show her face to the imperial citizens after such a tremendous uproar.
“You look well.”
“Thanks to you.”
Adriana smiled broadly.
“It feels like a bad tooth has been pulled out. I feel so relieved. At this rate, I might not even mind not becoming Emperor. Now that I don’t have to see that viper-like woman I despised, it feels like a decade’s worth of indigestion has been cleared.”
“Haha. That won’t do. You’ve come this far, you must see it through to the end.”
“True. I’ve heard what you proposed. The plan to clear out the human trafficking market in Yureho, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I also think it’s a reasonable scenario. I’ve contacted my grandfather and asked him to provide me with soldiers from House Sichen. Aside from the guards that must be kept for defense, I believe we can prepare about three hundred without any problems.”
The Crassia Empire strictly prohibited private armies by imperial law, as having too many private soldiers could lead to rebellion. Even powerful noble houses couldn’t maintain large private forces. They only had private soldiers organized for maintaining order in their territories.
“That’s good. Combined with our forces, we’ll have just under a thousand. We’ll definitely need to contact the military department. I believe we’ll need two to three thousand to wipe them out all at once. After confirming the information Clara gave me, I found that they routinely trade hundreds of millions to a billion gold in a single night. The market doesn’t open daily but rather appears suddenly, once every week to two weeks.”
“That’s an enormous scale.”
Both Theodore and Adriana’s expressions hardened.
“They probably have their own personnel as well. Managing places that hold hostages would require considerable resources. They’d need to monitor people and prevent escapes. They likely also have mercenaries prepared for situations like this.”
“So you’re saying we need to completely crush their fighting spirit?”
“Exactly. I think we need three times as many forces. The more, the better, but we need to strike before rumors spread and they catch wind of it.”
“I understand. I’ll look into the military department. I think I can mobilize about two thousand at my level.”
Princess Adriana replied.
“That’s reassuring.”
Blair smiled brightly.
“Then, Princess, please discuss this with the military department. We’ll work on the detailed plans here.”
“I will.”
“When I become the heir and Emperor, I’ll reward you handsomely. If there’s anything you need, feel free to ask.”
“Haha, I’m grateful for your words alone.”
While Blair, as the third son of Count Monetery, hardly needed anything, he didn’t decline her promise. Blair fell into deep thought. Looking at Adriana’s face reminded him of Kyle’s bright and beautiful face. The two half-siblings resembled each other quite a bit. Though Kyle, being male, had stronger and more striking features, their facial features and hair color were similar, so one’s face would often overlap with the other’s in Blair’s mind. In any case, Blair didn’t want to see Kyle die prematurely. He still harbored a mix of love and resentment toward Kyle, both present and past.
If Adriana became Emperor, there wouldn’t be severe fratricidal conflict among the siblings. Since she would become Emperor by natural succession, neither Joshua nor Kyle would have reason to object.
If there was no struggle for the throne, Adriana would have no reason to eliminate political opponents who posed no threat to her. Of course, she would welcome the elimination of Joshua with open arms if possible. But without justification, she couldn’t target only Joshua. Since things were falling into place, it seemed appropriate to advocate for Kyle just this once.
“Though I naturally assume you wouldn’t do this…”
Blair slowly laid the groundwork as he began to speak.
“What thoughts?”
“If, after you become Emperor, you feel the need to… handle your siblings, I hope you’ll spare Prince Kyle, at least for my sake. He wouldn’t pose a threat to you anyway.”
“Kyle?”
Adriana’s eyebrows crumpled comically. Kyle, with his modest influence and academic upbringing, was never Adriana’s competitor.
“How do you know that boy?”
“We’re not friends, but I’ve somehow developed a connection with him at the Academy.”
“I see. Come to think of it, you and that child are about the same age.”
Adriana slowly nodded and rose from her seat.
“While I have no such intentions at the moment, if a situation arises where I must act, I’ll reconsider it once as you suggested.”
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t know the third son had a connection with you.”
“It wasn’t intentional, but somehow it turned out that way. He’s someone too precious to die young in many ways, so I wanted to mention it once. Prince Kyle has a good character, is intelligent, and is extraordinarily beautiful, isn’t he?”
Blair smiled knowingly. Adriana, caught off guard, returned the smile.
“That’s true. The third son has rather delicate features. Alright, I’ll consider the matter of that child separately.”
If she didn’t eliminate Kyle, there was a high probability that Joshua would be spared as well. Though Blair had no intention of being lenient toward someone with whom he had bad blood in the past, it seemed like a matter that could be overlooked with the magnanimity of a victor, both then and now. Of course, if Joshua foolishly started a rebellion after Adriana became Emperor, just as he had in the past, he might still be purged, but that was no longer Blair’s concern.
“Yes. Please contact us when the military side is prepared.”
“I’ll contact you through Theo. Let’s meet here again then.”
“Yes. Please return safely. You must be tired in many ways today, so rest well.”
Blair bowed his head respectfully. The three left the restaurant. After helping Adriana into her carriage first, the two brothers stood on the street, silently watching her departure. The carriage carrying Adriana disappeared toward the imperial palace.
* * *
Returning to the imperial palace after a long absence, Kyle could physically sense the changed atmosphere. It was due to the purging of Empress Spirenda’s faction, who had dominated the entire palace, acting as if she were already the Empress and ruling tyrannically. Those with something to hide were cautious, while others, like Kyle, raised their voices in relief.
The Emperor was not particularly old but was not a healthy person. Until now, the position of heir had remained vacant due to Empress Spirenda’s public declaration that her child would be the successor, but it could no longer be delayed. An heir needed to be appointed as soon as possible. Naturally, attention turned to the three imperial siblings of suitable age.
Forces that had lost their focus floundered momentarily before quickly gathering around Adriana. Despite being a woman, stories began to circulate that she could certainly become Emperor. After all, the imperial law prioritizing primogeniture inheritance had not been abolished. Moreover, Adriana’s mother had been the Empress, and she still had the protection of House Sichen.
The first force that could have checked Adriana had self-destructed due to excessive greed, while Joshua’s faction wasn’t substantial enough to confront Adriana in many ways. He lacked legitimacy, justification, and power. Having seized actual authority, Adriana began systematically fulfilling her duties as the heir.
She asserted her position as Imperial Princess, attending assembly meetings and showing her face, but everyone in the imperial palace knew that Adriana sincerely aimed for the throne.
Joshua’s faction showed signs of confusion at Adriana’s challenge, which they hadn’t even considered. They had only been wary of Empress Spirenda and her potential child, but the situation had completely reversed. Who would have known that the First Princess, who had been bedridden and awaiting death just a year ago, would regain such vigor? That same Princess had recovered, risen up, confronted him, and eliminated all forces trying to kill her. It was time to be cautious.
In truth, Empress Spirenda’s plan would not have failed had it not been for Blair, who understood the entire situation. But she had been exceedingly unlucky, and Adriana had been exceedingly fortunate.
In any case, though a different atmosphere of war prevailed in the imperial court, Kyle didn’t find it particularly unpleasant. Though his dream self had been Emperor, Kyle clearly felt that things shouldn’t repeat that way. He absolutely didn’t want to lose Blair like that again. He couldn’t tell whether the dream was prophetic or something else. Kyle knew only one thing.
Kyle wanted to live a completely different life from his dream self. He didn’t want to cause Blair’s death in the same way.
Even in Kyle’s opinion, Adriana was a woman qualified to be Emperor. Initially, the idea of a female Emperor had seemed unfamiliar, but there was no reason it couldn’t happen. Adriana was the eldest, and her mother’s family was far superior to those of Kyle or Joshua. Having a good maternal family meant having an advantage in political struggles.
He had no desire to get involved and meet an untimely death while competing for the throne. In truth, Kyle had never been particularly attached to life. But recently, Kyle had been thinking differently. For some reason, he wanted to live a little longer. He was too young to die right now, and there were too many things he hadn’t experienced yet.
[To be continued in the next installment…]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
