Night.
After concluding my discussion with Jean, the First Prime Minister, I summoned Don, the Fourth Prime Minister, to my office.
I instructed Don to prepare for Indra's grandson to have his first battle.
Having listened to the entire story from beginning to end, Don's eyes shone with excitement.
"Incredible, Your Majesty! To turn the Thunder Imperial Prince's visit to your advantage on the fly like that..."
"I wonder about that."
"Eh?"
Don looked taken aback.
Eyes wide, he stared at me in sheer astonishment.
"Whatever do you mean by that?"
"I can't shake the feeling that the Thunder Imperial Prince came here for that very reason in the first place."
"For that purpose?"
"Think about it. Why would the Thunder Imperial Prince come to me at this exact timing?"
"Well... it was for the sake of the Empress—"
"True, it wouldn't be out of character for Indra. Usually, he takes no interest in politics, reigning over his fief and enjoying life to the fullest. That's why he could come to complain about his granddaughter to me, the Emperor, without any hesitation....In terms of personality, it fits."
"Yes..."
"However, that man is the Thunder Imperial Prince."
"Eh?"
"He is 'Thunder'—an imperial prince bearing a title. I'm not saying his attitude is an outright lie, but I believe there's a fair bit of playing dumb mixed into it."
"Indeed... Outlandish as he may seem, his governance of his fief has almost never run into any trouble."
"Far from it—if you look into it thoroughly, he governs more methodically and successfully than any other prince."
"..."
Don gave a solemn nod.
I smiled faintly.
It wasn't that complicated of a matter to begin with.
A person like Indra is either truly incompetent, or he's exceptionally capable and simply playing dumb to manipulate others.
And to me, Indra didn't look incompetent in the slightest.
If that was the case, the answer was obvious.
I didn't believe Indra would come merely to talk about Audrey.
At least—not at this exact moment.
"That is why he came. I merely played along with it."
"As expected of Your Majesty."
Don bowed deeply.
"Hm?"
"To instantly perceive the Thunder Imperial Prince's hidden motives behind an unannounced visit and align yourself with them in the best possible manner..."
"Never mind that. Just handle the preparations—now that you understand those intentions, that is."
"Understood!"
Don bowed his head and withdrew.
I was left alone in the office.
After seeing Don off, an older eunuch entered.
"Your Majesty, what are your wishes for tonight?"
"Hm? Ah, none for tonight either."
"As you command."
For a split second, I didn't catch his meaning. Then I immediately realized he was asking, "Whom will you take to bed tonight?"
The Emperor's nighttime partners are meticulously recorded in official documents, so the standard procedure is for a eunuch to inquire about my preference and arrange it accordingly.
In the past, a scholar had once mocked the imperial inner palace as being no different from a brothel—and after becoming Emperor, I found myself thinking how apt that was.
Of course, I wasn't in the mood for that right now, so I declined.
I stood up.
As I stepped out of the office, the eunuch from earlier asked from my side:
"Where are you headed?"
"I'm going to the archives. If anyone comes, direct them there."
"As you command."
Leaving the eunuch behind, I set off.
Immediately, another younger eunuch fell in behind me.
Unlike the older eunuchs in supervisory roles, the younger ones accompanied me as errand runners and attendants.
With this young eunuch in tow, I walked through the deserted hallway toward my destination.
When the Emperor walks, the hallways are kept completely clear of people.
In theory, under the premise that "it is outrageous to obstruct the Emperor's path," thorough notices are sent whenever the Emperor moves, ensuring that no one shows their face to avoid crossing paths.
In reality, however, it was a bit different.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that "it initially began for a different reason."
I glanced back at the young eunuch trailing behind me.
I recognized his face.
"I wondered who it was. It's Luke, isn't it?"
"Y-Yes! It's Luke."
"Umu."
I nodded slightly.
He was the young boy who had become a eunuch to pay for his little sister's medicine.
"How did things turn out with your sister? Has the court physician gone yet?"
"Y-Yes! After I spoke with him, he went immediately!"
"Hm. And how is she?"
"..."
Large tears welled up and spilled down Luke's cheeks.
"Mmh."
The worst-case scenario flashed through my mind.
It was a common enough tale: an illness beyond any cure, yet the physician gives false hope just to swindle money, endlessly extorting treatment and medicine fees.
Could it be that—I wondered, but...
"How did it go?"
"H-He said she's going to make it."
"...Oh?"
"The physician said my little sister will be saved. What's more, he said she'll definitely make it!"
"Hahaha, is that so?"
I looked up at the ceiling and laughed heartily.
As long as she would be saved, there was no problem at all.
The one I sent was a court physician, and the one who sent him was me.
In other words, it was an imperial decree; from the court physician's perspective, he would think his head might roll if he failed to save her.
Even with a somewhat difficult disease, he would pour his heart and soul into treating it, and if it was a fairly common illness, there was nothing to worry about anymore.
Being castrated for his sister's sake was irreversible, but at the very least, his sister would live.
I felt quite pleased with this reasonably good outcome.
Suddenly, Luke caught my attention.
I became slightly curious about this young eunuch's sheer innocence.
"Luke."
"Y-Yes!"
Luke wiped his tears and hastily responded.
"Have you ever accepted a bribe from anyone?"
"What?!"
Still walking, I glanced back behind me once more.
Luke was so utterly shocked that he stopped in his tracks, staring wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open.
I continued, mixing in a bit of teasing:
"What, have you received one before?"
"N-No, I haven't! T-There's absolutely no way!"
"Truly?"
"Truly!"
Luke frantically ran up to close the distance between us.
He dropped straight to the ground, kowtowing with vigor before raising his face to plead desperately with his eyes.
"I-I don't have any opportunities to meet with important people at all!"
"It doesn't have to be people acting high and mighty, does it?"
"Huh?"
"You know, haven't you had offers like that from the court ladies?"
"Huh? W-What do you... mean?"
Luke was bewildered.
When he first heard the word "bribe," he had reacted with enough force to turn pale.
Next, hearing "court lady," he was left standing blankly in wonder.
It seemed he understood the meaning of the former, but not the latter.
Seeing that, I thought he truly might not have taken any.
With a chuckle, I questioned Luke further:
"I mean, hasn't anyone asked you to take a bribe from a court lady in exchange for leaking where and when I might be somewhere?"
"No, there hasn't—ah."
"What is it?"
"Could that... be what that was about?"
"That?"
"Yes, there was a court lady asking my older sister about that. Though I don't know if she received any money."
"I see. She definitely received some."
"I-Is that so..."
Luke gave a half-hearted reply.
Since it had nothing to do with him, his fear and panic had vanished, but his confusion seemed to linger.
Incidentally, many eunuchs, partly due to their castration, refer to each other as "sisters" rather than "brothers."
This, too, had developed from the concept that "the only man in the inner palace is the Emperor."
"So that's what that was..."
"It happens all the time. If they catch my eye and receive my favor, they can leap from a menial court lady straight to an imperial consort. That's why grasping my movements is critical. My whereabouts can fetch quite a sum, you know?"
"I-Is that so..."
"If an offer like that comes your way, you should take it too."
"...Eeeh?!"
Luke let out a comical shriek of sheer disbelief.
"T-That's out of the question! I couldn't possibly!"
"Don't jump to conclusions; just take it. You can tell them whatever information they want, as long as you know it."
"But..."
"In exchange."
I cut Luke off sharply.
Noticing the shift in my tone, Luke choked on his words with a sharp intake of breath.
"You are to remember who gave it to you and what you told them, and report it properly to me."
"Eh? Ah... U-Understood!"
"Mm."
Satisfied with Luke's answer, I gave a small nod.
As expected, this young boy was clever.
From my words, he understood that this was a kind of imperial decree—an order to be carried out as instructed—and accepted it immediately.
Furthermore, his thinking was flexible.
Had he been a fool or obstinate, he probably would have whined endlessly with excuses.
The more eyes and ears I had, the better. Besides, Indra's pretext regarding Audrey was logically sound, so it was wise to keep tabs on the movements of the court ladies for that reason as well.
With the matter settled, I resumed walking.
Leading the hurriedly rising Luke along, I arrived at the archives.
"Wait there."
"Y-Yes!"
Leaving Luke outside, I entered the archives.
Amidst the thousands of crowded books, I made my way toward a familiar corner.
It was the section where historical texts were stored.
"If I recall... there should be a story similar to this in the Pawoo Empire."
Muttering to myself, I pulled out a book detailing the history of the Pawoo Empire—which had held supremacy over the land about five hundred years ago—and flipped through the pages.
I carefully picked out each word and every recorded episode.
Humans of that era had not yet overcome the monsters.
A significant portion of the book was dedicated to recording the battles between humanity and monsters.
"Your Majesty."
"Hm."
I raised my head.
Audrey was standing there.
My legal wife, the mother of the nation for the Empire.
Audrey, the Empress, appeared with a graceful and dignified presence.
"Audrey, is it? What brings you here?"
"I sent someone to your office, but upon hearing that Your Majesty was here alone, I came."
"I see. There should have been a eunuch outside, though?"
"I silenced him."
"I see."
I chuckled softly.
Audrey was a fine Empress.
Not once had she ever set foot inside my office.
Throughout history, instances of the inner palace interfering in politics were too numerous to count.
And unless it involved a child monarch, it never led to good results for an adult Emperor.
Whether it was specifically to prevent that or not was unclear, but Audrey strictly avoided stepping into places of government—namely the office, which served as its focal point.
Just now, she had sent a messenger there, but only came in person after learning that I was alone in the archives, a place with no direct connection to state affairs.
Incidentally, the nonchalant way she said "I silenced him" was also delightful.
It felt as though she had acquired enough majesty as the Empress to casually state that she had silenced a eunuch with a single word.
"What are you reading?"
Audrey asked as she approached me.
Standing by my side, she peered into the open history book.
"The history of the late Pawoo Empire."
"The Pawoo Empire... is it?"
"An empire from about five hundred years ago that held territory roughly two-thirds the size of our current Empire."
"Why such a text?"
To Audrey, who looked genuinely curious, I replied with a faint smile:
"History has a way of repeating itself. After all, human nature hasn't changed in hundreds—no, thousands of years; we are merely repeating the same things."
"Is that how it is?"
"For example."
Smiling even more, I said:
"Court ladies slipping coins to eunuchs to spy on the Emperor's movements. Such things existed in the past, exist now, and in the future—"
"Indeed, they will continue to repeat for all eternity, will they not?"
Audrey smiled softly.
For instance, there are those who get all worked up claiming things like bullying and other human actions "must be eradicated," but regardless of the environment or era, one cannot eradicate what humans simply do.
Money changing hands in power struggles is another thing that is impossible to eradicate.
Audrey seemed to firmly and accurately recognize that reality.
"That is why I learn from history. Relying solely on my own past experiences amounts to only a single lifetime, but history exists in countless forms, allowing one to learn every conceivable thing. After all, there is no such thing as truly unprecedented in this world."
"...As expected, Your Majesty is truly magnificent."
Audrey murmured tenderly, leaning gently against me.
A heartfelt compliment always feels good, no matter how accustomed one is to hearing it.