"Luke."
I called out toward the hallway.
Luke, who was always stationed outside the office door to manage all callers and messages, came rushing in.
"You called, Your Majesty?"
"How long until the next report is compiled?"
"Um... The next one should arrive in an hour."
"Then let's grab a bite in the meantime. Oscar, join me."
"Understood, Sire. I would be honored."
"Have them prepare enough for two."
"By your will."
Luke, who had once been clumsy and hesitant, could now handle these routine orders effortlessly.
He bowed and hurried out. Almost immediately, several lower-ranking eunuchs entered, set up a table and chairs in a corner of the office, and began laying out the tableware.
"You dine here?" Oscar asked, looking slightly surprised.
"I started doing so a little while ago."
I rose from my desk, walked over to the newly arranged dining table, and took a seat.
Prompted by my glance, Oscar bowed before sitting down across from my side.
It was a long, rectangular table.
Oscar took his seat along the long edge.
This was my office—within the inner palace itself.
Given that the palace was a semi-formal setting, Oscar deliberately avoided sitting directly across from the Emperor, choosing the side instead.
Observing such strict etiquette at a formal banquet was one thing, but seeing him maintain it even at a makeshift table in an office amused me.
"I am often away from the imperial capital, which leaves me little time to attend to administrative affairs. It's a waste of time having people search for me every time a report arrives, and just as bothersome for me to move back and forth. That's why I prefer eating here during work hours."
"I see. Even so, Your Majesty truly never ceases to amaze me."
"Where did that come from all of a sudden?"
I was slightly taken aback.
It was rare for Oscar to flatter me out of the blue.
Oscar looked toward the doorway and elaborated.
"I was referring to that eunuch."
"Luke?"
"Yes. He was just a naive child not long ago, yet now he has become remarkably capable. As always, I am in awe of Your Majesty's keen eye for talent."
"Ah."
Realizing what he meant, I turned my gaze toward the door.
There, Luke was briskly giving instructions to the lower-ranking eunuchs under his supervision.
Just as Oscar said, when I first met Luke, he was an innocent boy who knew nothing of the world.
He had become a eunuch solely to earn money for his little sister's medicine. While I understood his motives, I had mixed feelings about resorting to an irreversible act like castration.
Yet that very same boy had transformed into an indispensable aide.
"A person changes according to their environment. I simply know that from firsthand experience."
"From firsthand experience?"
"For instance, had I been born and raised in a farming village, my entire life would have been consumed by the desperate struggle to protect my wife, my child, and my fields."
I gave a faint smile.
I used the phrase would have been, but to me, it was an undeniable truth—simply my past life.
Before being reborn as Noah, that was the exact life I led, and that was all it ever amounted to.
Being born as Noah had changed everything.
Noah Ararat.
It was precisely because I was educated in the finest possible environment as the Emperor's thirteenth son—the Thirteenth Imperial Prince—that I had become the man I was today.
If what one could learn from an aristocratic education was a hundred, what commoners—especially peasants—could acquire did not even amount to one.
The difference in environment was truly that vast.
Having experienced both worlds, I understood it better than anyone.
"You jest, Sire. Even if Your Majesty had been born in a remote hamlet, you surely would have distinguished yourself in no time through the Knight Selection or some other trial."
Oscar clearly did not believe me.
Expecting someone to grasp something they had never experienced was unreasonable, so I let the matter drop.
Before long, Luke returned, leading the lower-ranking eunuchs as they carried in the food.
They set portions for two before Oscar and me.
Once everything was arranged, Luke quietly led his subordinates out of the office once more.
"This is..."
Looking at the dishes before him, Oscar wore a look of utter bewilderment, as though he had been bewitched.
"What is it?"
"No, it's just... this meal..."
"Is it too meager?"
I chuckled softly. Oscar flustered slightly.
"No, that's not what I meant, but..."
"You must understand, don't you, Oscar? After living as an imperial prince for decades, one exhausts every luxury imaginable."
"Well... I suppose that's true."
Oscar gave an ambiguous nod.
I picked up my utensils and dug into the food before me.
A bowl of rice, a single meat dish, and a single vegetable side.
That was the entire meal.
Even without Oscar pointing it out, I was well aware of how far this was from the lavish banquet expected of an emperor.
"One meat, one vegetable, and slightly heavy on the salt since I'm always on the move. That's more than enough for me."
"Even so..."
"Besides, this makes it easier to keep opportunists at bay."
"What do you mean by that?"
Oscar's reluctant expression vanished, replaced by genuine curiosity.
"The more worldly indulgences you have, the more avenues people have to curry favor with you. If you show no interest in fine dining or women, no one will attempt to tempt you with them, and you won't waste energy staying on guard against petty schemes."
"I see! That is... truly brilliant, Your Majesty."
Oscar smiled wryly in genuine admiration.
"For some time now, having people use every trick in the book to win my favor has been a constant headache."
"I imagine so. That comes with holding the greatest authority in the empire second only to me."
"Indeed. If they approach me directly, I can guard against it. But when they go through my wife or concubines, I am utterly at my wit's end. Ah, unlike Your Majesty, I am incapable of renouncing lust. Whenever a favored concubine whispers in my ear in bed, I become completely defenseless."
"That is fine. Be as defenseless as you like. As long as you remain 'completely defenseless' in that manner, you remain trustworthy."
"...It is remarkable that you can view it that way, Your Majesty."
Oscar and I ended up trading compliments.
Whispering in bed—in other words, concubines making demands after employing their feminine charms.
Oscar admitted he was helpless against that.
Yet as long as he recognized his weakness, he could keep it in check, preventing situations from spiraling out of control.
So long as he maintained that balance, being a little soft on women was a necessary evil I could overlook given his exceptional competence.
We continued our casual conversation over our meal.
A short while later, Luke returned with a stack of documents.
"Pardon the interruption during your meal, Your Majesty," Luke said.
Oscar shot Luke a sharp, reproaching glare.
Interrupting an emperor during his meal was an offense severe enough that some rulers would have ordered an immediate execution out of sheer displeasure—however.
"It's fine. I gave orders to interrupt without hesitation whenever state affairs are concerned. What do you have?"
"Yes, Sire. The summary of the disaster damage has arrived."
"That was quick. Did the couriers overexert themselves?"
"Um, from what I heard, it wasn't that they pushed too hard, but rather that they aren't used to the speed of the new communications network yet, which caused them to miscalculate the delivery estimate."
"Ah."
I nodded with a light chuckle.
"That's bound to happen when dealing with new methods."
Remaining seated at the table, I began browsing the papers Luke handed me.
Just as he had reported, it was a comprehensive overview detailing the extent of the earthquake damage.
I scanned through the pages—until something caught my eye.
"...Hm."
"Is something the matter, Your Majesty?"
"Look at this."
I pulled out the sheet that troubled me and had Luke pass it to Oscar.
Oscar took the paper and looked it over.
"This... Are there not far more fires than usual?"
"It looks that way to you too, doesn't it?"
"Yes."
Oscar gave a firm nod.
When a major earthquake struck, widespread fires were an inevitable consequence.
That much was unavoidable.
"With these numbers... it shouldn't be this high unless the flames spread extensively."
"I think so as well—Gigi."
After a moment's thought, I called out the name of my confidante.