Chapter 108

Where Franz and Duke Toulouse get their comeuppence and Tara gets good news.

This chapter is dedicated to ck! Thank you for your undying support!

Disclaimer:

DO NOT publish our edit anywhere else. Especially on social media. Otherwise we may have to stop doing this. Thank you!

Episode 108. About a Year (35)

The First Prince was frozen, speechless, as the Emperor shouted at him.

"I... Just... Fa...Father...." *

Franz didn't look like a grown man at all. He sat there with his head bowed like a scolded child, looking up at the Emperor with a vacant expression.

"I also forbid the Duke and the First Prince to meet one another or the Empress until the trial is over!

The corners of Joseph's lips twitched. Unable to contain himself any longer, he turned his head away and covered his mouth with his sleeve.

‘They practically served themselves up on a silver platter.’ **

“... Provide a detailed report on the trial proceedings for all of those involved in this matter, including Baron Hound Paliport, and execute the appropriate punishments as soon as they are found guilty as charged!”

"Yes. Your Majesty."

Kyle bowed in response.

".... The positions of Minister of Finance and Deputy Minister of Finance will remain vacant until the outcome of the trial, and for the time being, all final Treasury reports will be sent to Viscount Allen Godfrey, my Chief Consul and First Secretary."

Inside, the chamber was in disarray. At a wave of the Emperor's hand, the councillors rose and the Chamberlain announced a short recess.

The councillors looked at each other, puzzled about why he had chosen to call a recess instead of a dismissal. Viscount Allen Godfrey spoke on the Emperor's behalf as he sipped his honeyed water.

"The Emperor wants to discuss the dispositions against House Elias."

The Councillors, who would normally have scurried off to the common room, huddled in small anxious groups. No one dared to go near the First Prince or the Duke of Toulouse for fear of sparks flying.

As the recess was nearing its end, the Emperor spoke firmly and euphemistically.

"The Imperial Guard will protect the Duke and the First Prince until the trial."

The Emperor wanted them out of his sight but also wanted to avoid unnecessary disrepute. Everyone knew that 'protection' was just another word for 'surveillance'.

The special investigators waiting outside dragged Baron Paliport, Hugo and Orlando out first. Then, several guards approached the First Prince and the Duke. Joseph took the opportunity to slip unobtrusively towards the Duke.

He blended in with the councillors to avoid the Emperor's gaze. Standing next to the Duke, Joseph whispered quickly.

"I didn't expect it to be discovered so quickly, I apologize, Uncle...."

"... No. I shouldn't have asked the First Prince to handle something I should have handled alone in the first place.... I really shouldn't have."

"I'll rally public opinion. I assume that you'd prefer returning to the Ministry of Finance?"

The Duke realized he was being asked to choose between the positions of Minister of State and Minister of Finance.

Before answering, the Duke looked at the Third Prince, as if he were gauging something...

"... Yes. Your Highness."

“Don’t worry, Uncle. I will prepare for your return.”

Joseph met his uncle's steady gaze and gave a short nod, his resolve unwavering.

The Duke of Toulouse and the First Prince left. As the recess ended, tension engulfed the throne room again.

Kyle had posted all the reports from the special investigation team.

"... You were asked to hold him for another day? What does this mean?" asked the Emperor.

Having listened to Kyle's further explanation, he was puzzled by the peculiarity of the last line in the report.

"Tara Elias, the fifth child of House Elias, asked this favor in order to gain the upper hand in her succession competition with the eldest son."

"... You mean to tell me that you granted her that favor?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It was a deal of sorts."

"A deal that benefited you?"

"...Yes."

In truth, Kyle didn't know how the deal would benefit him.

He couldn't say he agreed to it simply because he was curious to see how Tara would get an edge in the competition

The Emperor tilted his head.

"... A personal favor from the daughter of a family who hasn't been cleared of charges yet?"

"She is also a secretary under my command. Aside from the charges, I thought it was worth accepting because it allowed us to obtain the medicine faster. I am reporting this to your Majesty because what I have recorded in some of these reports is an abuse of my authority as Head of the Ministry of Security. If you punish me, I will accept it."

"Enough. It is fine to flex your authority like this... Ha! Well, I never thought I'd live to see the day where you would do such a thing."

"...."

The Emperor had finished reading the report and handed it over to Allen.

"Truly, it must be troublesome for the family to have a young lady like her asking for a deal. Now then. Let's see what the councillors have to say about this. What should we do about House Elias?"

The Emperor leaned back in his throne with a worldly and kind smile.

The councillors smiled back, but were inwardly seething? shaking their heads? at the Emperor's skillful maneuvering.

There was a reason the Emperor had managed to maintain his modest power all this time despite the pressure of House Toulouse and many noble houses.

He knew when to push forward, when to hold back, and when to lay low and wait for the right opportunity.

Earlier it had been a good time to push the limits, now it was better to hold back and show generosity by temporarily lending some of his power to the councillors.

"... They may have been cleared of the charges, but they are certainly guilty of neglecting their managerial responsibilities," the councillor who had assisted the Duke of Toulouse earlier said.

"Yes, and the manner in which they obtained their monopoly is questionable. It appears House Elias chose to thank House Toulouse for their generosity by creating trouble for them.”

This opinion also came from a vassal of House Toulouse.

"Furthermore, the Head of House Elias wasn't even aware they had gained monopoly over the dragon fruit supply. I doubt we should continue to entrust this deal to such a clumsy Head. Please reconsider granting them the exclusive rights."

Those words had come from a member of the Upper House which held 7th place in the Imperial hierarchy.

On reflection, they were all valid points that could easily be argued, but no one spoke up for House Elias.

Kyle didn't speak up either. He was just here to report the incident as it was.

It wasn't up to him to determine the gravity of the offense based on the facts as they existed.

Yet...

After a few more negative comments, the Emperor waved his hand as if he had made his decision, demanding silence in the throne room.

"After listening to all of your opinions, I have decided that House Elias should..."

"...Your Majesty, please wait..."

The Emperor was taken aback by Allen's sudden behavior.

He closed his mouth.

"... Today, around noon, I received a letter I think you should review."

The Emperor raised an eyebrow. Secretary Allen managed his private properties and schedules, and they often shared concerns. The word 'concerns' needed to be taken with a grain of salt.

The concerns of a common criminal couldn't be compared to those of the Emperor, Head of the Empire.

First Secretary Allen Godfrey was the only one who dared discuss the future of the Empire with the Emperor. And First Secretary Allen was the Emperor’s favorite administrator.

A learned and intelligent man, but not the kind to run his mouth. In everything he did he acted in the Emperor’s best interests.

A man not beholden to anyone in the Empire, but solely to the Emperor. Whose standards of right and wrong were on par with the Emperor's.

In addition, Allen was a student of Andrei Pitt, author of 'The Monarch' the Emperor's favorite book, and had a decidedly different outlook on the world than previous administrators..

Such was Viscount Allen Godfrey, First Secretary of the Consul's Office.

"...!"

He would not interrupt the Emperor's speech unless it was of great benefit to him. Which meant the correspondence’s content would prove highly advantageous.

The council members were all familiar with Allen's ways and were eager to learn what was in that letter.

Among them, there was one who was particularly focused on the missive, Third Prince Joseph.

What are all these distractions?'

On the other hand, Kyle was vaguely hoping that his suspicions were correct, and was looking forward to the contents of the letter for his own reasons.

The Emperor tilted his head and took out the letter.

Cool, neat handwriting. Clearly spaced sentences. Quite impressed, the Emperor read it at once.

Allen leaned in and whispered. He seemed to be elaborating on the contents.

"So... later...decisions... quite substantial.... benefits..."

The council members waited patiently, pretending to be uninterested while closely watching the Emperor's expressions.

The first was perplexity, then surprise and finally amusement.

When Allen finished reporting, he moved back behind the throne while the Emperor stroked his chin for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts. A short time passed.

"Hmmm. I see the House Elias is more practiced in the duties and virtues of subjects than I thought. Isn't that right, Allen? Hahaha!"

“... It is as your Majesty said.”

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Count Nicholas Cold stepped forward on behalf of everyone.

"Your Majesty. Could you please explain?... You were about to make a decision regarding House Elias."

"I see. Then I will announce what I have decided."

After a pause, the Emperor made his announcement.

"...What?"

"Did I hear wrong?"

"It makes no sense. How is this a punishment?"

The councillors were outraged and distraught. In the midst of all this noise, only one person was smiling. In fact, only one corner of his mouth was tugged up, making it doubtful that it was even a smile, and that was the Second Prince Kyle Amure.

‘Huh... She understands the concept of giving a little to gain a lot.’ ***

***

Later that afternoon. The entrance hall of the Elias Mansion.

A Palace messenger arrived and immediately sought the House Elias representative.

It was customary for the Emperor's letter to be read aloud by the highest-ranking secretary in the Imperial Household, but due to a hastily arranged schedule, the secretary was unavailable.

A red-haired young lady in the front row stepped forward and extended her hand.

"This is a message from the Emperor. Representative of the House, please come forward."

Far from being intimidated by the stern-looking messenger's words, the young lady smirked and said something unbelievable.

"Please. I am temporarily representing House Elias."

The messenger looked around the hall in disbelief, but no one stepped forward to contradict the young woman before him.

A few older faces frowned, but they weren't in charge.

The messenger shrugged and handed over the Emperor's response.

Taking the letter and opening it, Tara quickly skimmed through it.

‘... It worked!'

Editor's Note -

*Here Franz is trying to say 아바마마 Abbamama which is an intimate form of address the king’s children use to address their father. Which is too childish for this particular context, not even mentioning the fact that he's 30....

** Here Jospeh actually says '손 안 대고 코를 풀었네...’ which translates to 'I blew my nose without touching it...' . Other than the lovely image it conjures, it means that you use others to do your dirty, illegal job and you remain clean and innocent. Well-describing phrase for a mastermind, who is controlling everything from behind and orders his/her subordinates and the mastermind him/herself remains clean. Plus here Jospeh gets the unexpected boon to see his elder brother disgracing himself.

*** Here Kyle says ‘훗... 쓸개를 내어 주고 심장을 취하는 건가?' which translates to 'Huh... Are you giving away your gallbladder and taking his heart?' which of course means giving a little to get a lot. I found it just hilarious all these idioms that relate to the human body and are quite gruesome in their suggested depiction. I wonder if it's a historical or only cultural thing... But it makes the Koreans look really intense.

Not to say but the 3 brothers have given me a headache this chapter figuring out what the idioms or terms they used meant.... Thanks to @Rina for the Abbamama reference.

Enjoyed the chapter? Buy us a ko-fi!

Previous Chapter l Table of Contents l Next Chapter