I could say that my Dad was a man of virtue. In his golden age, he was a reliable man. He has a solid vision and has a clear line between good and bad. He furthermore always tries his best, so that the women around him fall in love not only because of his good looks, but more because of his personality. For my Dad, the handsome face is just a bonus.
It's just that leading a country doesn't merely require a clear vision and mission like managing a bakery on the city outskirts. Leading an empire is about nurturing hundreds of strangers into one common goal. And it will be more difficult than looking to the right and left at the same time. One needs to be a little kind and a little cunning to stay afloat on the hot seat like the imperial throne. And little by little, my Dad's vision and mission of leading the country that everyone dreams of are changing to "I have to defend my position no matter what".
His fear of a new leader who will not be able to achieve what he wants to achieve and continue his dreams for himself, drives him further and further away from his pure image. And I don't blame him for that either.
When I read a fairy tale about a King in a faraway land who is engulfed in endless wars and stricken with poverty every year, I wonder why the King doesn't just donate his generous rations of food to the people on the streets. I also wonder why the old King doesn't just give up and give his throne to the protagonist prince, so he can enjoy his old age in peace. Growing up, I grew up as a boy who likes to question the slightest reason. And in a time when I could do a lot to figure out the answer on my own, I looked up to my dad and got an insight.
By looking at my dad, I finally know that humans have one bad trait that cannot be abandoned. That is when they are given help, they will be even lazier. If my dad set aside more than half of his annual income to feed the poor people of the capital every day, what do you think would happen?
It will only create more injustice in this world. This is not just a matter of covering the hole with excavated soil from another hole.
There's no need to look far for examples, just look at the concubine and children of the Emperor who live in the imperial harem. They are the ones who get the pity of the Emperor just like me. The difference is, to maintain that pity, I worked hard to keep the Emperor's favour by following all the paths he wanted. He wanted me to be the Crown Prince, so I became the Crown Prince. He wanted me to be a useless Crown Prince, so I became a useless Crown Prince.
But the concubines and their children were not like that. Apart from not doing anything useful, they are getting more and more greedy and greedy every day. The Emperor's help and pity alone were not enough, they wanted to swallow more than they could bite and destroy each other.
If only a King in a faraway land that experienced endless wars and prolonged poverty spent half of the state's treasury to feed the starving people, it is conceivable that his people would collapse not because of hunger, but because of destroying each other to get more and more.
Humans are greedy by nature. It's just that some do and some don't.
In my father's case, he was somewhere in between.
Especially as to why the Kings had a hard time handing over their place to the next generations, it was just a matter of their principles and egos. It was very easy to imagine, their strong feeling of belonging was like a child's possession of a teddy bear. When the time comes, sooner or later they will surely let go. Whether it's because of age or other external factors.
And my dad was in that phase so he started freaking out for no reason. He was not old enough to be called an elder and his health was not as bad as imagined that he had to write a will every day. But worrying a lot about things that won't necessarily happen is an adult's forte.
"How have you been lately?" The emperor asked my wife in a friendly voice as he pushed various kinds of food towards my wife.
My wife, who had a habit of still looking elegant and dignified even when she was shivering with fear, straightened her back and smiled kindly beside me. Her right hand was busy accepting the Emperor's hand of cake, while her idle left hand was for some reason looking for mine to play with. She seemed calmer soon after getting fiddled with my hand.
I didn't really understand this tendency at first. But after spending almost a month with her, I seem to understand a little why.
Kirsi has inferiority issues with or without realizing it. With her holding my hand and looking familiar to me in front of someone of Emperor calibre, at least she wouldn't feel so inferior and weak.
She certainly without any hesitation threw herself at me.
As if she truly trusted me.
Why does she trust me?
Do I look trustworthy?
I'm the worst person she can trust.
"Play here often."
"It's my pleasure, Your Majesty."
The two of them somehow started to chat about many things, especially about the condition of her baby. The emperor also periodically asked me questions, but the rest of his questions were directed at the unborn baby in her belly. Kirsi looked so uncomfortable and scared. I've told her many times that I don't mind the baby's origins, but she still often takes it seriously and acts like she's a sinner in front of me.
Because the Emperor's time was not only for the Emperor alone, even if he wanted to, he could not stay here too long. Not long after lunchtime ended, the Emperor had been brought in by the ministers to discuss many matters.
The General Marshal was also in the group.
The stern man with a personality as solid as steel looked neat and clean in his formal uniform. If someone were to ask who the person I respected the most in this empire was, then I would no doubt answer that he was the Grand Marshal. He has his own principles and adheres to them. However, he will not force people to conform to him. He would not scold a thief who killed for a bite of rice. What he would curse was the act and not the person. He is very wise. Talking and sharing views with him is not a waste of time.
"Huftt..." After confirming that no one was here but the two of us, my wife let out a loud exhausted sigh. She asked, "May I lean on you?"
"Yes," I answered without much thought. Shortly, her head rested on my shoulder with her hands still playing with mine in her lap.
"So... Do you like kids?"
I turned to her, only to see the top of her head and the tip of her nose. "You're so random."
"Just answer me, can you?"
"I see a kid the same way as I see a grown-up."
"So basically, you hate kids?"
I frown, "Why do you assume that? See how I treat grown-ups around me. That's how I treat kids too."
"So, you'll smack them if they do wrong?"
"Do you ever see me smack someone?"
"You do choke me."
"That's different."
She lifted her head so she could look at me. In that sweet way, she asked, "What's the difference?"
"Parents beat their children to punish and teach them. That's definitely different from beatings meant between adults, don't you think?"
"But you said that you treat kids the same way you treat grown-ups."
"Well, I won't hit or smack kids regardless of what."
"Why?"
"I've never been beaten up nor smacked as a kid. So either I won't do that to others."
"Really?"
"No. I just made it up."
She laughs, "Yes. Who Dare to beat up nor smacked a soon-to-be Crown Prince?"
"My dad did."
"Oh,"
Ignoring her passive response, I looked at the giant cabinet clock by the door that connected this living room to the outside world. It's time for me to go. "I'll go see the joint training ground."
"May I come with you?"
"Up to you. "
The joint training ground was quite close to here, where whenever the Emperor wanted to take a peek, he only had to look outside through the window.
People didn't stop their activity when we arrived. Instead, they are getting serious about what they were doing before. A wooden sword strike aimed at a straw target doll looked more deadly than a tiger bite. Even those who had previously been rolling on the ground instantly rose like corpses being revived.
Kirsi chuckled behind her fist. She cleared her throat softly to cover it up, as if taking comfort in the fighting spirit of the soldiers who were training was a sin.
She turned her head and asked me, "So, are you in charge of their training?"
"Not really. "
"Do you have a special post in the palace?"
"Yes."
"Can I take a look at your study later? Don't worry, I'll just have a look."
"Yes."
We were standing right under a frozen apple tree. The depth of the snow pile almost buried a quarter of the tree's length. Half of my legs have almost lost their sensation after being exposed to this extreme weather. Worse yet, a pile of snow that was piling up on the tree branches above me fell right on my head. The cold could freeze my brain in an instant, making me momentarily lose control and falter. Kirsi, who was just as tormented, put on a worried face that I rarely saw. She didn't question my condition but instead pulled me in a more friendly direction under the roof of a nearby building.
"Bow down a little, I'll clean the snow off your head."
I did as she ordered. Her embroidered glove hands rubbed my head fiercely, as if she was punishing me. I grumbled, "Do you have any particular grudge against me?"
"Not really. I just wanted to see if the snow would lighten your black hair. I think it's not."
"Do it slowly. My head hurts."
"Okay-okay." she kept her word by reducing the intensity of the rubbing. When she was done, she tapped my shoulder to signal. Her brows furrowed in disdain as she commented, "Your body is very hot but your tolerance for cold is terrible."
"It has no correlation at all."
"Come here. Let's warm each other up. " her hand waved at me. Since I didn't react right away, she pulled me closer so she could put my hand in her robe pocket. That way, I can feel the double warmth.
I looked at her in awe. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
"I will similarly ask you the same thing."
I let out a chuckle, "I don't remember being nice to you."
She sighed softly. White steam billowed out of her mouth and flushed nose. She answered while looking me right in the eye. "You thought that you had never done anything good just because you doesn't put your mind to it. Nevertheless, how much you are indifferent towards it, an act of kindness is still an act of kindness. I do appreciate it."
She thinks too much. But it's not bad either.
I wanted to tease her a little by saying, "So, if I commit ten crimes after that, will you also repay with ten crimes?"
"No. I just want to remember the good ones."
"But you always bring up my choking."
She gave a mocking look. "Not remembering doesn't mean just forgetting it."
Her small hands wrapped mine in her pockets. Even though it was blocked by the embroidered gloves, the warmth it gave off felt so real. Our focus returns to the scene ahead. The rough men were still swinging their wooden swords brutally. I asked her, "Why don't you force me in? It's freaking cold outside."
She let out another sigh, "Well... There must be a reason why you have to be here right now."
"No. I have no reason."
Her brow furrowed, "Then let's go in."
"Not now. "
"..."
"You can come in first right?"
"Not now. " she counterattacks me.
Someone entered my field of vision.
The extreme cold didn't seem to have much of an effect on this person. He walked valiantly and without hesitation towards the group of soldiers who were warming their bodies by moving. His arrival made many people shiver with fear. When he asked one of the training soldiers to go solo with him, not even the dead dared refuse.
That person was the Grand Marshal, Alastair.
Kirsi muttered beside me, and just like me, she was watching the same person. "The last time I saw him, it was a few weeks ago when his skin was still as brown as wheat. Look at him now, so white and pale..."
Since we were so close shoulder to shoulder, it was natural for me to hear it clearly. A Marshal is someone who basks in the sun 12 hours a day. Moreover, the sun in the West is hotter and stinging. But his skin only darkened to the colour of wheat. It was clear that he was basically a pale white, just like me. We're both damned by the cold weather here.
The snow is falling harder. Someone was standing in the middle of the splash of white particles while looking here and there.
That person is Galen. During his sentence, he is not allowed to leave the palace grounds during his working hours. He was still allowed to roam in many places, even being able to enter and exit the Emperor's study. However, the first self-conscious Galen chose to limit himself so as not to offend the Emperor any further. Therefore, we decided to meet and chat for a while outside. I turned and informed Kirsi, "Come in first if you're cold. I'll be ahead in a bit."
"No problem. I'll let you know before I go in."
"Okay. "
She removed my hand from her robe pocket and waved. At first glance, we looked like a normal married couple in general. But it was the cruellest irony I could imagine.
"Your Majesty." Galen greeted me.
His body seemed still as strong and sturdy as before. It seemed that the trouble in the hunting ground last time didn't bother him in the slightest. His face looked fresh, seems like he didn't think much of it. I tapped his shoulder to return the greeting.
I said, "This is a golden opportunity for you. Take my word for it that we are not competing with Viceroy Sirius. Your job is to investigate the latest strange murder cases in the capital with or without the Emperor's knowledge. The Grand Marshal will provide back-ups and not ask for any credit."
He nodded earnestly.
His mistake last time on the hunting grounds was that he was made a scapegoat. Even the emperor understood this. His anger at Galen was merely a diversion so that the enemy faction would not feel so disadvantaged. Galen's punishment was to temporarily disable him, to give the opposition plenty of opportunities to take advantage, so the Emperor could see how far they would go. We knew the enemy might have expected it, but just like us, they were also forced by circumstances to make this decision.
The Imperial Guards' internal condition wasn't very good due to several factors. One of them was that there was a faction of the Empress in their command line. And another factor is that public trust has been eroded since the troubles of some time ago. To restore that trust, they had to move quickly and lick the top's shoes while trying to save the capital's ass.
Since the Imperial Guards couldn't move freely during their decommissioning, the remaining options were to move under the name of the imperial army and monopolize the eventual bounty. This would have sounded impossible before because the Imperial Army and Imperial Guards had never gotten along. Galen and Viceroy Sirius may be drinking buddies backstage, but at work, their relationship is like a cat and a dog.
The mediator we really need right now is the Grand Marshal. It's very easy to get the guy's support as long as we have a solid and sound reason. Not to mention that this action was not taken to bring down and harm any party. The Grand Marshal did not reject the Empress faction and at the same time, he was not on their side either. His always neutral position is a bit risky, but I can trust him because he has a clear view of virtue. In essence, he is not a man who is easily seduced by the 3 most troublesome seducers, namely treasure, throne, and women.
For a while, Galen and I talked about the latest strange murder case that was rife in the capital.
Kirsi Daciana took shelter under the roof of the personnel building with its back to the joint training area. Just behind her was a giant casement window that clearly displayed the contents of the training arsenal. I could tell exactly where she was because there was a similar window near me. The exact window is facing me.
As long as there is glass in this world, it is not difficult to know everything.
Someone was walking closer to her, but I couldn't pay attention to the details as I had to focus on my conversation. Galen opened a wad of paper and showed the original location of where the Empress locked up. After I finished reading it, Galen put in the tobacco and rolled it up, then he burned the tip and naturally made it into a cigarette.
This was just a bit of a procedure that needed to be done to cover up the oddity that I had known the Empress' position before anyone else.
"Fine. Leave her there for a while as long as the Osiris clan has not complained. Call a minor magistrate and inquire about the legal loophole for this action before we have solid evidence to depose her. Never talk about this in front of the Grand Marshal."
"Understood, Your Majesty." Galen nodded firmly.
When I looked at the lively joint training area next to me, I saw that Alastair had exhausted nearly everyone in a one-on-one duel. I chuckled and joined in the clapping in the distance.
"Your Majesty!" Galen abruptly shouted frantically next to me. When I turned to him, he pointed in the direction where Kirsi was standing.
I turned in the direction indicated and found Kirsi hyperventilating. She was half kneeling on the snow with her hands tightly gripping the cloth in front of her chest.
I ran towards her.
What happened?
Who did she just meet?