Chapter 6: 6

TL Note: I decided to change “Miss” to “Lady” since it sounds more formal and appropriate to the timeline. This is most likely so late for an update, school really just threw stuff at me. I can’t promise a monthly update, but I’ll try. Thank you for staying and reading! 

Chapter 2 – It’s Dangerous Outside the Blanket

 

6.

 

The Emperor’s day began before dawn. 

 

He was born 32 years ago with a sign that he would bring prosperity to the Altius kingdom, and so Mikhail Dnar Altius was an impressive strategist and emperor.

 

Although the Dnar family had generations of outstanding knights thanks to their enemies, it was said that Mikhail was not talented at swordsmanship when he was young. 

 

But most of the people believed that he was born with different talents from the other emperors because of his incredible knowledge on history, diplomacy, and politics. Mikhail was known as the most “hard-working” genius.

 

 

His schedule didn’t change from when he was 7 years old till now. His swordsmanship training began as usual at 5 a.m.

 

He didn’t feel proud nor disappointed of this. He thought that it was his natural duty.

 

A year, and then another.

 

Time went by and with that, he defeated the most prominent imperial masters with his skills, changing the way people saw him.

 

There were still plenty of knights in Altius who were better than the Emperor. But the Emperor’s sword contained the character and will of one man.

 

Those who knew what the Emperor had shown with his sword always felt admiration whenever he held it.

 

The Emperor, who never gave any slack in his work, was not popular with his ministers, but he was respected by the Knights of the Mui Road.

 

Stabilizing his breath, the Emperor finished his training. His Chamberlain, who took the towel from the royal guard, stepped forward.

 

 

“The temple has made a request for an audience with Lady Dayeon.”

 

The Emperor took the towel and wiped his face.

 

“… The temple? I thought they’d calmed down.”

 

“Would they give up that easily?”

 

“Who did they send this time?”

 

“I do not know who it was. They did request it officially. But they used a person with a temporary title to ask for it. I’ve tried to find out through our people in the temple, but they also didn’t know who it was. I think they are trying to avoid our eyes and ears.”

 

The Emperor, contemplating with grimace, handed the towel back to the Chamberlain and spoke to the royal guard.

 

“Whoever it was, we can’t leave her alone with the people from the temple. We’ll put someone reliable, and if necessary, we’ll have extra surveillance there.”

 

“Yes, I understand.”

 

“Keep that in mind, and don’t let the temple make things up.”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

After a brief break, Mikhail headed to the State Council’s meeting. Except when he went to train, his daily routine always ended up between reports and meetings.

 

On one hand, the Altius Imperial family was busy with the post-war reparations from Sarmans, and on the other, the tax’s reform was busily going on.

 

“The delegation’s attitude is not sincere.”

 

“In what way?”

 

When the Emperor asked him as if he was interested, the wrinkled-faced Minister of Foreign Affairs, who underwent through all sorts of hardships, spoke with a look of fatigue.

 

“The amount of compensation you offer falls short if we compare it to what we offer. I think they’ll end up having a tug-of-war with us.”

 

“You don’t have to be so uptight. It’s okay to show that you’re willing to accept their demands to some extent.”

 

When the Emperor bowed and went in, the representative hardliner, the Minister of Domestic Affairs was furious.

 

“Your Majesty! It was the kingdom of Altius who won, not the Sarman!”

 

“Meaningless words.”

 

The Emperor gave a cold glance.

 

“Sure, it was the Altius Kingdom who won. But the Minister should also know who led the kingdom to victory.”

 

Concisely, “I won the war so shut it up.”

 

The Emperor changed the subject.

 

“Civil Affairs Minister, ask the Foreign Affairs Minister. Do you think it will be possible to build a school in Sarman’s land?”

 

The Emperor’s unexpected question shocked all the aristocratic members in the room.

 

“Whether they accept it or not, I’m asking for opinions and talking about feasibility.”

 

“… Do you intend to unfold an oil painting book?”

 

When the Foreign Affairs Minister asked carefully, Mikhail smiled widely.

 

The smile on his face was like a villain trying to make things up again.

 

“It’s just an example. You don’t really need to pay the price of war.”

 

Everyone’s faces then turned serious.

 

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The Sarmans were a representative militant nation that had been stealing and harming its own people in the border region since the early days of Altius’ founding.

 

As the Emperor of the Dnar family, who also values his pride as a knight, he didn’t really consider peace with the Sarman people.

 

“But it’s unprecedented.”

 

Carefully, the Emperor shook his head when an official raised an objection.

 

“War already had been put at stopgap several times. Unless we were to destroy them once and for all, they wouldn’t give up. Even though the previous Emperor won three times against them, they again caused another war.”

 

The Emperor continued his words, looking at the ministers with serious eyes.

 

“There’s no need for Sarman’s women or slaves. Their people are prideful and highly nationalistic, so it’s possible they would prefer trade instead of slavery. We should make them dependent on our economy, and for that we have to make a deal for grains or essentials things below the market-price. I trust that you, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, will be able to do it. For our next meeting, I’ll be expecting good results on this matter.”

 

The old Minister of Foreign Affairs’ wrinkles deepened.

 

“Then let’s stop here and move on to the tax reform agenda. Financial Affairs Minister.”

 

After being called, the Minister of Financial Affairs looked as if he had aged 10 years in just one moment.

 

“Is the draft of the tax reform still in progress?”

 

When he, who had rejected the plan saying it was trash just three days ago, asked with a smooth face as if nothing happened, the Financial Affairs Minister freaked out and jumped from his seat.

 

“The best people in the finance department have been staying up all night for days without going home…”

 

The Minister of Financial Affairs blurted out his words as he tried to look as pitiful as possible.

 

But it wasn’t a very effective method.

 

The Emperor wasn’t a very empathetic person so he didn’t really bother with what the minister was saying.

 

“You still don’t understand the purpose of reforming the tax bill.”

 

The Emperor, who usually shattered the nation’s best elites in every meeting, showed mercy after a long time.

 

But the answer the Emperor threw was literally a bomb and exploded in the conference room.

 

“The gist of this tax reform plan should be the temple’s tax payment.”

 

“Your Majesty…”

 

Murmurs could be heard all over the room.

 

“But Your Majesty, the resistance of the temple will be formidable.”

 

Even the quick-tempered and belligerent Minister of Domestic Affairs carefully expressed concern over the heaviness of the issue, but the Emperor responded calmly.

 

“Isn’t that why all of you are here to solve it?”

 

You won’t just play after being paid for your job. With that insinuation, Mikhail smiled like a villain.

 

At that moment, however, the officials involved in the matter could not smile with him.

 

“Would that really be possible? Although the power of the temple has weakened, many people of the Empire are still members of Hernia. So if we try something, the temple could put us in a difficult situation if they used their followers to interfere with it.

 

The Emperor nodded affirmatively to the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ remarks.

 

“That’s an important point, Foreign Affairs Minister. The public’s opinion should be prioritized above everything else. Spread information about how the temple accumulated their vast wealth and scrambled them up with the Priest’s scandals as much as possible.”

 

In a serious atmosphere, the Emperor continued to speak.

 

“I’m well aware of your concerns. But taxing the temple should also be important. Even though the temple’s authority has fallen low, they still try to disturb the Imperial family whenever they can. The Royal Family’s power resides strongly on their military and defense abilities. And because the temple doesn’t pay any taxes, they can freely spend their wealth training their knights and military assessments.”

 

The Emperor, who scrutinized the faces of his ministers and confirmed that there were no further objections, spoke to the Financial Affairs Minister and the Domestic Affairs Minister.

 

“The Ministry of Finance will make sure to complete the reform plan to get it done as soon as possible, while the Ministry of Domestic Affairs will be in charge of spreading the information to the people.”

 

Following the Minister of Financial Affairs’ face, the Minister of Domestic Affairs’ face turned equally dark.

 

In fact, the Emperor’s short-term goal was not in the implementation of the tax bill.

 

The Emperor didn’t really think it would be possible that fast. The only thing that mattered was to evoke the necessity.

 

It would be like raindrops hitting the dam once, twice, and then thrice—naturally, the dam would fall at the end.

 

But the Emperor, who was a superior of high-standard, wouldn’t say those thoughts out loud to relieve his ministers’ burdens.

 

The higher the goal, the better.

 

“Let’s end today’s meeting here… When is the requested audience from the temple scheduled, Chamberlain?”

 

When asked about Dayeon’s schedule reported in the morning, the Chamberlain replied politely.

 

“We have set it the day after tomorrow.”

 

The Emperor nodded and stood up from his seat.

 

He said he was going to the palace, and was followed by his knights and servants.

 

The conference room from where the Emperor had left was now filled with silence.

 

“Phew, His Majesty is still in a good mood today.”

 

One of the ministers said those words and breathed a sigh of relief, but no one could feel consoled by that remark.

 

Dark clouds were hanging over the ministers’ faces, as all of them were now full with work to do, so they wouldn’t be able to go home again.

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