Chapter 8
Blair looked down at Kyle. Those beautiful blue eyes, so often praised, were trembling slightly. Yet Blair’s expression as he gazed at him remained emotionless.
Blair spoke with calm detachment.
“The problem is that we’ve done too well. Before long, there will be people who’ll challenge all the achievements I’ve built. Right now, the high nobles are being cautious since Your Majesty has only recently ascended to the throne, but once things stabilize, I’ll be the first one they’ll want to remove. This is the right time for me to step back from the capital, even if I retain my position as Grand General.”
Perhaps, when that moment came, Kyle himself might be the first to want Blair gone. But Blair decided not to voice this thought. If he allowed himself to think that far, the wound in his heart would be impossible to mend. Blair had resolved to only bear as much pain as he could handle. He simply continued speaking dispassionately.
“It doesn’t make sense for the Grand General to remain in the capital in the first place. The Grand General of a nation should be at the borders, protecting the frontier. Since Your Majesty no longer plans to reclaim more territory, I intend to lay everything down and guard the border adjacent to my domain. Defending is just as important as conquering, isn’t it?”
“What if I refuse?”
Kyle’s face hardened as he looked at Blair. It was a rare expression from the usually smiling handsome man, but Blair had steeled himself. Kyle’s anger couldn’t evoke any reaction from him.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to retire altogether.”
Blair’s violet eyes were steady. Those unwavering purple irises, like violets, gazed calmly at Kyle.
“Blair!”
Kyle’s anguished voice echoed throughout the office. Watching him, Blair had the detached thought that even in anger, a handsome man made a beautiful picture.
“There’s no need to be so upset, Your Majesty. My departure isn’t such a strange notion. If anything, my staying in the capital all this time has been the unusual situation. It’s been over five years since you granted me my domain, yet I haven’t visited it once. Now I want to tend to my lands and perhaps start a family. It’s time for me to rest.”
“How can you make such a decision without consulting me at all? How could you!”
Kyle’s angry voice reverberated through the office. Though Kyle rarely lost his temper, he seemed incredibly angry now. Was he furious because Blair had made a decision without consulting him, or because Blair was leaving him? No one present could tell.
“Was I the only one who didn’t know? Did you know too, Aaron?”
Filled with a sense of betrayal, Kyle glared at Aaron. The usually talkative Aaron kept his mouth firmly shut. In situations like this, silence was the wisest choice. Blair bent his right arm, placing his clenched fist below his left chest and bowed at the waist. It was a perfect formal salute. Normally, Blair would greet Kyle with an abbreviated version of this gesture. This formal salute was Blair drawing a line.
“Therefore, I, Blair Monetery Gladius, humbly request Your Majesty’s permission to retire.”
It was his final ultimatum. A deep, dark chasm had formed between the two men.
“Request denied.”
But Kyle was equally resolute. He responded firmly, as if he would never allow it. At Kyle’s answer, Blair furrowed his handsome eyebrows. Kyle’s blue eyes, which had been trembling, were now hard with determination. Seeing Kyle’s expression, Blair’s face showed slight dissatisfaction.
“Your Majesty.”
“No. I won’t allow it, no matter what you say. Let’s pretend this conversation never happened.”
“Then I will step down from my position as Grand General.”
Having anticipated this situation, Blair relaxed his furrowed brow. His dark, thick hair and eyebrows, along with those calm violet eyes, revealed his determination.
“No.”
“My health is poor, and I wish to recuperate in a place with better weather outside the capital. Please grant me permission. It would be disloyal to serve in public office with an unhealthy body, Your Majesty.”
Kyle was beginning to show signs of anxiety. He had never once considered that Blair might express a desire to retire.
“Why are you doing this? Have I offended you somehow? Tell me, and I’ll rectify it.”
“It’s nothing like that. The reasons are exactly what I stated earlier. I’m not thinking irrationally. Please don’t doubt me. I simply want to visit and care for the domain you’ve granted me, and I’m starting to think about establishing a family. Of course, the fact that it’s not a good look for me, as Grand General, to continue staying in the capital and imperial palace is also an important reason.”
“I’ll extend your vacation time. Three months a year—stay at your Gladius domain as long as you like and then return. As for starting a family, you can do that here, can’t you?”
It was an extraordinary offer. Nobles holding official positions couldn’t normally take three-month vacations away from the imperial capital at their discretion.
Kyle’s voice trembled slightly as he continued. Blair had expected that the news of a loyal subject and friend with whom Kyle had shared life and death was leaving would be shocking to him. But he hadn’t anticipated Kyle would try to dissuade him this much. It would be a lie to say his heart wasn’t wavering at all. Blair’s resolve faltered slightly at Kyle’s beautiful face, but he had firmly made up his mind this time.
“You know that’s impossible, Your Majesty.”
Blair spoke gently but firmly, cutting off the conversation. Kyle knew everything intellectually. He knew that everything Blair said was correct.
“I don’t want to be discarded after I’ve served my purpose.”
When the hunt ends, hunting dogs are typically killed. Even if Kyle himself didn’t harbor such intentions, there was no guarantee the high nobles wouldn’t try to bring Blair down. Blair was immensely popular among the common people—perhaps dangerously so—and had a high rank and considerable power. Though he had lost his right of succession to his family, he was still the youngest son of House Monetery, considered the wealthiest in the empire.
It was not good for a single subject to have excessive power and popularity. Blair had always kept in mind that he could be ousted at any time. Being discarded after serving his purpose was far from a groundless paranoia.
“Blair! What do you take me for! I would never cast you aside.”
Kyle slammed his fist on the desk.
“I’m not saying Your Majesty would kill me. But you know how it is. The world doesn’t always go the way we want it to. And that’s especially true for an emperor.”
Blair tried to soothe Kyle.
“Blair.”
“Kyle.”
Blair spoke calmly. The man who had always addressed the emperor formally and respectfully as “Your Majesty” now uttered the emperor’s name. It was a name Blair had never spoken since Kyle ascended to the throne. Kyle’s shoulders twitched.
“I’m not saying I’m leaving completely, Kyle. The Gladius domain isn’t that far from the capital. I just want to stay in my territory and firmly protect the border. That’s how it should be, anyway.”
Blair reached out and patted Kyle’s shoulder.
“It’s not like I’m leaving right away. Reorganizing the structure of the Ministry of War and the Imperial Guard, and handing over my duties will take at least three months. I’ll oversee the upcoming National Founding Festival and the imperial hunt before winter, so there won’t be much disruption.”
“Blair, can’t you just stay here?”
Kyle dragged out his words like a child. Though Blair was actually two years younger than Kyle, he was the person Kyle trusted and relied on the most. He was a friend who had been by Kyle’s side like a shadow since childhood. He was the subordinate who had always stayed beside him when Kyle was fighting for his throne, when he was hovering between life and death after consuming poison sent by Empress Kalshon. He was also a comrade-in-arms who had watched Kyle’s back during the years they spent on battlefields due to the succession dispute. Blair was Kyle’s most trustworthy and reliable subordinate, subject, friend, and mentor.
“You know better than anyone why I can’t, Kyle.”
Blair’s hand fell from Kyle’s shoulder. Kyle’s expression hardened. Aaron remained silent, calmly observing everything. This wasn’t his place to interfere. Blair had to tie this knot of their relationship himself. And he was qualified and capable of doing so.
“You, me, and Aaron—it’s time for all of us to graduate from each other. You two have already established families and are living well, but I’ve stayed in the same place for too long. Now I need to go my own way too. Find someone good and get married. It’s time for me to move forward.”
After saying this, Blair neatly arranged the scattered documents. He gathered the papers elegantly, organized them, and placed them squarely on Kyle’s desk before stepping back a couple of paces.
“So, Your Majesty, I humbly request your permission.”
“You’re dismissed.”
Despite everything Blair had said, no affirmative answer came from Kyle. As if wanting to end the meeting for now, he waved his hand vigorously. Blair bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment.
Kyle knew. He knew that everything Blair said was correct. He knew that to strengthen the imperial authority, which had been weakened by the protracted succession dispute, he should accept Blair’s words, strip him of his position as Grand General, and reduce his power. He also knew that if Blair indicated his desire to retire, everyone would welcome it with open arms for the very reasons Blair had mentioned.
The only problem was his own heart. His selfish desire to keep Blair by his side as before. That was the only issue. Kyle didn’t think it was time for Blair to leave and become independent yet. Till the end, Kyle wouldn’t give an affirmative answer. For the first time, the two men stood at a complete impasse.
[To be continued in the next chapter….]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
