Chapter 40
I escorted the carriage back to the Royal Palace.
His Majesty, Indra, and I came to a library-style study.
His Majesty addressed his confidant, Curuz.
"Go outside, and do not let anyone pass until I call you."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Curuz bowed reverently and exited the study.
The three of us and a young eunuch remained in the study.
"Is this guy good?"
Indra asked, pointing at the young eunuch.
"Hmm, this one's a bit special. He's deaf, he can't speak, and he can't read."
"Well, that's a good way to talk about confidential matters."
Indra looked at the eunuch with a satisfied and amused expression.
His Majesty, on the other hand, looked straight at me.
"Well, you've given me a good idea. I think I'll go with it."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
I stepped forward and said with a slight bow.
"I think you should regain full command of the army."
"Command of the army?"
"Yes, sir. Including brother Henry's Ministry of War and my position as Governor of the First Order of Knights."
"..., I see.:
"You're good, boy."
His Majesty thought for a moment and then understood, and Indra smiled, the corners of her mouth twisting.
"Sure, if a member of the royal family who disagrees with the Emperor's will has command of the army, it will complicate things. It is possible that they will forcefully eliminate the other Princes and take over as Emperor."
"Yes, it's practically a coup d'état, but if they control the army while His Majesty is gone, they can push their way through."
"That's right. But I didn't expect you, boy to suggest it."
"He is suitable to be your grandson-in-law."
"Yes."
His Majesty ran his pen over the paper.
In no time at all, he had created two sets of rescripts.
He handed me one of them.
I read it and saw that it was an imperial decree to dismiss the Governor as well as to thank me.
So, the other one must be for Brother Henry.
His Majesty made some kind of jerky gesture to the eunuch in attendance.
The eunuch nodded, walked out of the study with the rescript, and came right back.
The gesture was large and simple.
Perhaps this eunuch has been trained to carry out only a few fixed orders, I thought.
"What about the Crown Prince's disinheritance?"
This is where it all begins.
I felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped two degrees at once.
"That can be done any way you like."
I answered.
"Hmm?"
"The nomination and disinheritance of the Crown Prince is a matter of state for the empire, but it is also an internal matter for the royal family. It is up to the emperor to appoint or disinherit an heir."
I expressed my view as the Minister of Justice.
"I see."
"Just."
"Just?"
"Unlike Gilbert, Brother Albert has not done anything wrong. Therefore, I think it would be better to keep him as the Prince even after his disinheritance."
" Hmm. Then how about this? Although Albert has no double-mindedness towards me or the nation, he is not strong enough to be in charge of the nation. Therefore, abolish the Crown Prince and return him to the position of Prince."
"I think that's a good idea."
"Oh. And, Emperor, do you intend to make Albert the heir again?"
"No."
His Majesty said firmly.
He has given up on him... very much.
"If that's the case, you'd better make it known."
"Hmm. ... make it obvious, huh."
"Just a single character. Like 'End' to signify that Crown Prince's role ends here."
It is an honor to be given a character, but it also means that the character's nature will be known throughout the empire.
That's why I suggested it.
"Umu. That's good. Noah, you've made a good suggestion."
His Majesty praised me and then ran his pen over a new piece of paper set up by the returning eunuch.
However, while the previous time he could write quickly and easily, this time he was stumbling around for some reason, and when he looked up after finishing, he had a complicated expression on his face.
"Fuu… ..., that's not good."
"What's wrong?"
"What the heck. I can't understand the meaning of the text unless I read it carefully, and the handwriting is terrible. It's a horrible sentence."
"I'm actually sentencing my own child to a crime, even if it's only a disinheritance, I can't stand it."
"I see. Well, you can rewrite it."
"With all due respect, sir."
"What is it, Noah?"
"I think we should just issue it as an Imperial Decree. A formal Imperial Decree will be recorded. His Majesty's feelings will also remain with the Imperial Decree. Of course, it will also be conveyed to elder brother. ... So, if he can feel His Majesty's heart and be able to serve the empire as a prince in the future…"
"Fumu..."
His Majesty stared at the Imperial Decree that he had written, full of mistakes and leaking his feelings.
After a while, he raised his head and looked at me.
"You better get on with it. ... No."
He started to say something, then shook his head and canceled.
"You have given me good advice, Noah."
"It is my honor."
I bowed my head.
His Majesty wrote the decree on another piece of paper.
The letters reverted to his usual style, otherwise, the authenticity of the decree might be questioned.
However, he preserved the text. He adopted my suggestion that the text is left as it was since it would be recorded.
After making a clean copy, His Majesty called the eunuch over again with a gesture and handed him the Imperial Decree.
The eunuch took it, looked puzzled for a moment, then turned himself around and walked out of the study.
"–! Wait."
I caught up with the eunuch, grabbed his shoulder from behind, and held him back.
"What's the matter, boy"
"The eunuch reacted to the Imperial Decree."
"What?"
"His Majesty's handwriting was as usual. Yet he was confused because he could read that the text was wrong."
""— !""
His Majesty and Indra's complexion changed at the same time.
The eunuch complexion changed, and he shook off my hand that grabbed his shoulder and ran away.
"Don't let him get away!"
I used Leviathan to intimidate and stop the eunuch's movement.
The eunuch ran with all his might for a moment, and then immediately collapsed, weakening like a puppet with broken strings and plunging face-first into the floor.
"Oi, Oi, Emperor, isn't this guy a spy?"
"... That's what I'm thinking. Curuz!!"
His Majesty called out loudly for Curuz.
It was so loud and filled with anger that it could be heard from several rooms away.
A few moments later, Curuz walked in.
"You wanted to see me, Your Majesty?"
"There, he can read the words."
"Eh ..."
Seeing the eunuch on the floor, Curuz's face grew pale.
"I'm sorry, I was careless! Please, please, please forgive me!"
Curuz got down on his knees and slammed his forehead on the floor.
I've never seen him like this before.
"How do you want to handle this, Noah?"
The prostrated Curuz freaked out.
"The eunuch is to be executed, and I'm thinking it should be done now."
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"And why is that?"
"He pretended to be unable to read when he could, and took on the duties of this study. It is essentially the same as pretending to be a eunuch when you are not. I think the death penalty is appropriate for the crime of defiling His Majesty's forbidden grounds."
"That's all well and good, but wouldn't it be better if you made him throw up first?"
Indra said, and I shook my head.
"If that happens, we'll have to get rid of the ringleader. Depending on that, ..."
I trailed off there.
There is a saying that silence is golden.
Your Majesty will understand if I say this much.
Yes, on the off chance that this eunuch was sent by my brother Albert?
Or one of the Princes?
"I see."
Indra seemed to understand.
"Noah, you're right. You will continue to serve me as Minister of Justice."
"By your will."
"What about Curuz?"
Curuz freaked out.
He raised his head fearfully, his face still pale.
Giving a light laugh I said.
"I think he should get a six-month pay cut for poor supervision."
"I guess so. Then he'll get a six-month pay cut and you can handle the rest."
"Yes Sir!"
He literally slammed his forehead on the floor with a pardoned expression, then dragged the eunuch out of the study as if to escape.
At night, this time, all the eunuchs themselves were kept away, in the Emperor's study.
There, the Emperor and the First Vizier were having a secret meeting alone.
The emperor told the First Vizier about what had happened today.
As soon as he heard Noah's suggestion, the First Vizier nodded his head in admiration.
"Noah-sama is amazing. Even I hadn't thought of that idea."
"Umu."
"And, coincidentally, it's also in line with His Majesty's decision to consider ... the grandchildren. That only works if you drag out the decision as much as possible."
"Yeah."
"As expected of the Wise Prince, an idea worthy of his name."
"Umu."
Perhaps because he had just put down another son with his own hands during the day, the emperor was in a good mood to be praised for his son.
It was only for a moment, and soon his expression returned to normal.
"So, did the eunuch spit it out?"
In the end, the emperor heeded Noah's advice and had the eunuch tortured in secret.
By First Vizier, his most trusted confidant, who he was sure would not reveal the truth even if he were to interrogate him.
"Yes, I did it in person, all by myself."
"How did it go?"
"... Noah-sam was incredible. It's almost as if he can read people's minds."
The First Vizier, as expected, kept all the eunuchs away, but still avoided saying anything.
Still, the Emperor could understand well enough.
It was Albert who had sent the spies.
If it hadn't been for Noah's suggestion, he would have had to take further action against Albert.
"How to proceed, sir?"
"I do not know."
"..."
"Just because he can't be trusted with the kingdom doesn't mean he's not my son."
"..."
The First Vizier did not say anything but instead bowed his head in a begrudging manner.
There are many Viziers in the Emperor's reign, but the first Vizier has lasted the longest and has not been dismissed at any time.
His strength lies in his ability to keep quiet at times like this.
On the other hand, the Emperor, perhaps disliking the heaviness in the air, tried to change the subject.
"Well, do you know the name Leviathan?"
"That's ... I believe he was one of the four Sages who helped the emperor during the Silver Age."
"Umu."
The emperor nodded.
And then he told the First Vizier about what happened in the city before he spoke to Noah and Indra.
Because he had been there, the emperor had heard the voices of Noah's servants.
"So you're saying that ... one of them, Leviathan, is helping Noah-sama?"
"Yes."
"Oh my! That's amazing! And if what you say is true, won't there be even more of the Four Sages?"
"I guess so."
"It's amazing. ... Noah-sama may be able to surpass the Silver Age."
"There is a possibility."
The Emperor and the First Vizier both nodded excitedly.
However, these two do not get ahead of themselves.
The Emperor of the Empire, the highest power on the land, and the person who has been his right-hand man for many years.
They are two people who can act calmly.
"So, let's hope for Noah-sama's potential."
"Umu, we'll have to wait and see how he develops."
They said this with restraint.
Noah's likeability among the two of them had undoubtedly increased significantly after the series of events.