The royal palace, the audience hall.
Before me, as I sat upon the throne, stood two imperial princes.
The Fourth Imperial Prince, Henry Ararat.
The Eighth Imperial Prince, Oscar Ararat.
The two entered the audience hall, took their designated marks, and dropped to one knee before me in a single fluid motion.
"Your subject, Oscar."
"And Henry. We have presented ourselves in response to your summons."
"Both of you, raise your heads."
"Yes, Sire."
"As you command."
The two nodded and rose as instructed.
"Henry, and Oscar."
When I addressed them by name, Henry remained composed, while Oscar furrowed his brow for just a fraction of a second.
Sire!
They answered in unison.
"The reason I summoned the two of you today is simple. There is something I wish to grant you while there is still time."
"While there is still time, you say?"
Henry tilted his head slightly, asking for clarification.
"Yes, while there is still time. From here on, my reign will enact various sweeping policies. Before all that begins, I want to do this now, while I have not yet set anything in motion."
I laid out the premise first.
Both Henry and Oscar wore expressions that said they couldn't quite grasp my intent.
"Lord Reidouk."
"Right away, Sire."
Prompted by my words, Jean-Brad Reidouk—the man recently promoted to First Prime Minister, who had been waiting close at hand—signaled with his hand, and a pair of young eunuchs stepped forward.
Each eunuch carried a tray bearing something long and slender, but with a red cloth draped over each one, whatever lay beneath remained hidden.
The two eunuchs brought the trays forward and stood before Henry and Oscar, respectively.
I gave Jean a nod, and Jean signaled the eunuchs with a glance.
The red cloths were whisked away.
Two longswords crafted from glass revealed themselves.
"Th-This is...!"
"A Crystal Sword..."
Henry and Oscar were so astonished that their faces flushed crimson.
"Indeed. The Crystal Sword. Otherwise known as the 'Sword of Immunity.'"
If an emperor so wished, he could completely disregard Imperial Law.
That stemmed from the premise that the emperor held absolute authority over the Empire—that the Empire, in essence, was the emperor's personal property.
Bestowing a portion of that imperial prerogative upon a subject was the sole purpose of this Crystal Sword.
"As you know, whoever possesses this blade is granted a one-time pardon to nullify any crime, barring high treason. Even a capital offense."
"To us...?"
Shocked, Oscar furrowed his brow, looking at me in disbelief.
Well, that was only natural.
Capable of absolving even a death sentence, this was the highest tier of reward that could ever be granted to a subject.
"Yes, to the two of you."
"It is an honor far beyond our station, but... why give them to us?"
Henry inquired, his expression entirely serious.
"Out of His Majesty the Retired Emperor's nearly twenty sons, Henry, Oscar—you two are by far the most capable. In my reign, I intend to rely heavily on your strength."
"That is merely our duty as subjects—"
"Depending on matters of state, we may clash."
I cut Henry off mid-sentence.
"This 'Sword of Immunity' is my declaration to you: I want you to act without fearing friction, and without fearing accusations of disrespect."
...
"Will you accept them?"
The two exchanged glances, then sank to their knees once more.
Even at the cost of our lives.
They accepted.
After receiving their Crystal Swords, the two withdrew from the audience hall.
"Brilliant as always, Your Majesty."
Jean, who had remained behind, spoke with deeply moved eyes.
"Lord Oscar looked truly touched. Lord Henry kept his composure on the surface, but the hands with which he accepted the Crystal Sword were trembling slightly."
"You're observant."
"The greatest possible reward right from the opening move. With this, both of Their Highnesses will surely work themselves to the bone for Your Majesty's sake."
"I expect nothing less."
Henry, and Oscar.
If anyone were ever to make a move against the imperial throne in the future, it would be those two.
Before that could ever happen, I had to ensure they accepted being my subjects from the very bottom of their hearts.
That night, in the study of the detached palace.
This was the former Thirteenth Imperial Prince Mansion, situated near the royal palace.
Until the construction of a new palace for the retired emperor was completed, the main palace remained His Majesty the Retired Emperor's residence, while I took up living and dining in this detached palace, renovated from my former estate.
As I looked through state documents at my desk...
"Your Majesty."
At the sound of the voice, Shirley the eunuch entered.
"What is it?...Those clothes look good on you, by the way."
"Huh? Ah, thank you very much!"
Shirley gave a sheepish smile.
There were two personnel appointments I made almost the moment I ascended the throne.
One was naming Jean as First Prime Minister, and the other was making Shirley the Chief Eunuch.
Just as Father had Cruz, I needed a trusted confidant of my own.
Shirley was a quick study and capable of seeing things from my perspective, so I decided to elevate her first.
That very same Shirley was now dressed in the official robes of the Chief Eunuch.
"I never dreamed I would attain such an incredible position."
"Serve me faithfully, and I'll see to it you rise even further."
"Yes, Sire!"
"So, what brings you here?"
"Ah, right. This."
Shirley carefully presented the tray she had been carrying since entering the room, holding it out before my eyes.
On the tray were two exquisitely crafted dolls, laid face down.
Across their backs were the names Audrey and Anya, respectively.
Empress Audrey, and Low Consort Anya.
"Please select your companion for tonight's bedchamber service."
"Mm."
This was one of the many changes that came with becoming Emperor.
Every night, a eunuch would arrive to ask for "tonight's partner."
They would present dolls representing the consorts who were available to serve that night, and whichever one caught the Emperor's favor, he would flip face up.
Then, the eunuchs would strip that consort stark naked, bundle her up in a rolled mat made of outrageously expensive silk, and deliver her straight to the Emperor's chambers.
The system was so thoroughly streamlined it practically shouted that an emperor's most vital duty was siring heirs.
Incidentally, every night's selection was meticulously recorded by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
I was stunned to discover that Father, even at his advanced age, still did this "every single night."
Well, it made sense; counting just his sons, there were nearly twenty of us, and if you included his daughters, the total neared a hundred.
By the way, having so few surviving sons compared to daughters was an open secret.
For "some reason," male heirs with succession rights to the throne suffered high rates of untimely deaths.
Well, setting that aside for now.
I glanced briefly at the dolls.
"Not tonight. Let the two of them rest."
"Are you sure?!"
Shirley looked astonished.
"What, did you take a bribe from one of them to put in a good word?"
"I would never do such a thing!"
Shirley flusteredly yet adamantly denied it.
Well, that sort of thing happened all the time.
It was common practice for eunuchs to take bribes from consorts to place their dolls in eye-catching positions, or to omit a rival's doll altogether.
Women had their monthly cycles, so naturally they weren't available every single day, which made it all too easy to run petty schemes like that.
"Heh, I'm teasing."
"I know, but... are you really sure you want to pass tonight?"
"Yeah. Right now, this is far more important."
I tapped the paperwork in front of me, which I had been reviewing before Shirley came in.
"That is...?"
"The Knight Selection. By tradition, it's held on a massive scale whenever a new emperor ascends the throne."
It was a custom dating back to when our land was purely a nation of warriors.
In those days, emperors frequently led personal campaigns and sometimes fell in battle.
An emperor dying in combat meant that vast numbers of his troops had perished alongside him.
Thus, the tradition was born from the practical need to recruit a massive host of new knights for the incoming sovereign.
Historical context aside...
People were a nation's greatest treasure, and its greatest potential.
I couldn't afford to take the largest-scale Knight Selection lightly.
"Prioritizing duty over pleasure... Truly magnificent, Your Majesty."
"That's how it is, so tonight is off. Instead, go brew me some strong tea."
"Right away!"
Incidentally, if I wanted to, I could have a bundled-up consort brought directly here, dismiss her once "business was concluded," and immediately resume handling state affairs.
Apparently, Father had done that quite frequently.
A few days later, in the great hall of the royal palace.
It shared almost the exact same architecture as the audience hall, save for the central throne, which was elevated to the height of a two-story building.
It was a hall meant not for routine administration, but for moments when one needed to project absolute authority.
I slowly ascended the grand staircase toward the throne, reached the apex, and turned to face the room.
At that exact moment, over a thousand subjects—including Henry and Oscar—dropped to their knees as one.
Beginning from the two in the very front, the motion of bowing rippled outward in a flawless wave across the floor, like ripples spreading across water.
Over a thousand men, aligned in perfect reverence, kneeling before a single soul.
An indescribable surge of exhilaration welled up in my chest.
This was a privilege granted to no mere noble.
This pleasure belonged to the Emperor alone.