Leaving my office, I headed straight for the bedchambers of my mother—the Empress Dowager.
Due to the earthquake, minor damage was scattered throughout the palace corridors, such as overturned furnishings, which the court ladies were currently clearing away.
Whenever the court ladies caught sight of me, they flusteredly halted their work, parted to clear a path, and bowed their heads to see me on my way.
With damage present everywhere, telling each and every one of them that it wasn't necessary would take forever, so I simply walked past and made a beeline for Mother's quarters.
Mother's bedchambers were located in a slightly smaller detached building within the palace grounds.
Though smaller in scale, it had been used by successive generations of empress dowagers, and its architectural style and decorations were splendidly maintained to preserve the prestige appropriate for an empress dowager.
Standing at the grand main gate was a woman dressed in formal attire.
She appeared to be in her mid-forties, bearing a calm demeanor and composed expression.
Her name was Vivian.
She was the head lady-in-waiting attending to the personal needs of the Empress Dowager.
While she possessed no actual political authority, in terms of rank, a head lady-in-waiting was the equivalent of a provincial governor-general.
The moment Vivian saw me, she bowed her head gracefully.
"I have been awaiting you, Your Majesty."
"Vivian, is Mother well?"
"Yes, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is unharmed."
"Did any of the roof tiles fall?"
Roof tiles had fallen even in the Emperor's office.
If it happened in my room, there was more than enough reason to believe something similar could have occurred in the Empress Dowager's quarters.
"They did fall, but a young maid threw herself forward to shield Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, so Her Majesty suffered no injuries whatsoever."
"What became of that maid?"
"She struck her head and bled, but her life does not appear to be in danger."
"Assign a court physician to her. And grant her a reward of five hundred—no, one thousand Rien."
"As you command."
I spoke with Vivian to assess the conditions in Mother's bedchambers.
It seemed the scale of the damage itself was not much different from my office, and the injury sustained by the maid who shielded Mother was the extent of the harm.
Relieved to learn it was nothing serious, I arrived before Mother's room.
When I exchanged a glance with Vivian, she spoke toward the interior.
"It is Vivian. His Majesty has arrived."
"Enter."
At the response from within, Vivian respectfully opened the door.
The interior was arranged as a sitting room, with a bamboo blind hanging down from the ceiling in the center of the chamber.
Beyond the blind, I could faintly make out the figure of a noblewoman sitting alone.
I walked up to the blind and promptly dropped to one knee.
"Forgive me for the delay, Mother."
"Please raise your head, Your Majesty. More importantly, are you unharmed?"
"I apologize for causing you worry."
I stood up and faced the woman beyond the blind—my mother.
Because of the screen, the sensation was faint, but our eyes were surely meeting.
"I have suffered no injuries whatsoever."
"That is wonderful to hear. More to the point, I apologize for summoning you at such a busy time, Your Majesty."
"Not at all. It is precisely at a time like this that seeing you safe and sound with my own eyes brings me immense relief."
Mother and I spoke with a certain degree of formal reserve.
Vivian and the other maids around us showed no sign of finding it strange, maintaining entirely composed expressions.
We were mother and child, but at the same time, we stood in the relationship of Emperor and Empress Dowager.
We could not simply behave like an ordinary mother and son.
"By the way, Your Majesty."
"Yes."
"What is the extent of the damage among the populace?"
"According to the initial report via wired telegraphy, there appear to be regions where as many as a thousand homes have collapsed."
"Wired telegraphy... That would be the string telephone Your Majesty invented, yes?"
"An improved version of it."
"I see... A thousand homes. Quite substantial damage indeed."
"Yes. I have just finished urgently assessing the details and issuing orders for rescue and reconstruction."
"You may reduce the budget allocated to my quarters, you know."
"Mother?"
I was slightly taken aback by what she had suddenly brought up.
"Knowing Your Majesty, you intend to draw from the inner treasury once the national treasury runs short, do you not?"
"..."
The inner treasury was an informal term.
Matters concerning the imperial family, particularly the Emperor and Empress—the Emperor's "household"—fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs possessed a "purse" separate from the national treasury, and while it went by various names, one of them was the "inner treasury."
Mother had pointed that out.
I could have tried to gloss over it, but...
"...Your perception is keen, Mother."
It was something she would find out anyway, so I decided to admit it frankly.
"I knew that was what you would do. You intend to simply grin and bear it once again, do you not?"
"It is a privilege reserved for the nobility, after all."
"Then I shall accompany you in that."
"There is no need for that, Mother. The Empress Dowager's livelihood must remain without hardship—"
"Do not speak foolishly."
Quietly, yet in a clear and resolute tone, Mother cut off my words.
"What manner of mother becomes a shackle when her son is striving to be a wise ruler?"
"Mother."
"Slash the Empress Dowager's budget as much as you can. Fret not; I have a bit of secret savings of my own. It will be more than enough to maintain the maids around me for about a year."
"...Understood. In that case, Mother."
I addressed her, paused briefly, and stared straight at the bamboo blind.
I felt as though our eyes met through the screen.
Perhaps Mother felt it as well, for she asked in a tone different from before, "What is it?"
"Allow me to make use of you."
"Make use of me?"
"Yes. The Empress Dowager taking the initiative to cut her budget and sharing the pain for the sake of the people. Allow me to use that for publicity."
"You truly are formidable, Your Majesty."
Mother said so in a soft, gentle tone.
It lasted only for an instant before she immediately returned to the calm and dignified manner befitting an empress dowager.
"It is governance, an affair of state. I shall not meddle."
"Understood. Thank you."
Saying that, I bowed once more, then turned on my heel and left Mother's bedchambers.
When I returned to my office, a eunuch informed me that Oscar was requesting an audience.
Upon telling him to send him in immediately, Oscar entered with hardly any delay.
Eighth Imperial Prince Oscar.
Though he was my older brother, he was now reaching the threshold between middle age and his elder years.
While that was his actual age, his gentle and kind countenance had remained unchanged since the old days. Perhaps because of that, he still looked far younger than his true years, appearing youthful enough to pass for his mid-thirties.
As soon as Oscar entered, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head.
"Forgive me for my late arrival at the palace."
"It does not matter. Raise your head."
"Yes, Sire."
Oscar stood up as told and faced me directly.
"Was there any damage on your end, Oscar?"
"Fortunately, nothing of note. Merely a panicked servant sustaining an unnecessary injury."
"I see. That aside, you have arrived at a good time. As the concurrent Minister of Internal Affairs, there is something I need you to handle."
"Preparations are already complete."
"Hmm?"
"Knowing Your Majesty, I expected you would eventually declare that we must use the Ministry of Internal Affairs' purse again, so I calculated the amount of funds we can mobilize right now."
"Tactful as ever, I see."
"My association with Your Majesty did not begin yesterday or today, after all."
"Mother said the same thing."
"Oh?"
Oscar wore an expression of surprise.
"And so she offered to join in our prideful endurance as well."
"As expected of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."
"Consequently, see to it that her budget is reduced by a reasonable amount as well. On top of that, casually spread a rumor that the Empress Dowager has done so."
"Are you certain? Unlike the Empress, the Empress Dowager does not receive a stipend generous enough to comfortably accumulate savings, you know?"
"Those around her will likely think the same."
"...Meaning?"
Oscar looked at me with a serious face and inquired.
"Mother is not well-versed in politics. If the Empress Dowager takes such an action and I publicize it, people with money will undoubtedly flock to her side."
"Ah, I see. It would be a prime opportunity to curry favor with her."
"Exactly."
"However, would Her Majesty the Empress Dowager accept bribes?"
"Is handing over cash directly the only form of bribery?"
"...Indeed not. Payments in kind, excessive discounts... there are countless ways."
"Frankly, Mother likely will not see through all of that. But regardless of what happens, it will not lead to Mother's livelihood becoming destitute. In fact, there is a chance it might even improve beyond the norm."
"True enough. However, would that not result in the Empress Dowager—or rather, Your Majesty—incurring debts of gratitude toward those people?"
"I do not mind."
I answered immediately.
"Mother's mind will be put at ease, she will gain the renown of a wise empress in the public eye, and perhaps several hundred more citizens can be saved."
Saying that, I looked straight at Oscar and added:
"If that can be achieved, there is no issue whatsoever with me swallowing a debt or two to such people."
"That, too, is a form of... prideful endurance, is it? Truly incredible, Your Majesty."
Oscar said so, wearing an expression that seemed genuinely moved from the bottom of his heart.