Merry Christmas folks.
Chapter 120: The Emperor Who Studies History
Night.
After finishing my conversation with Prime Minister Jan, I called Fourth Chancellor Don to my office. I instructed Don to prepare for Indra’s grandson to make his first military campaign.
Hearing the whole story, Don’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Your Majesty, it’s amazing how you were able to use the visit of the Thunder Prince in such a timely manner.”
“Is it?”
“Huh?”
Don looked surprised. He stared at me with wide eyes, a look of astonishment on his face.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I can’t help but think that the Thunder Prince came here for that very reason.”
“For that reason?”
“Think about it. Why is Thunder Prince coming to me at this particular time?”
“Well… for the sake of Her Majesty the Empress—”
“Indeed, if it were Indra, it wouldn’t be surprising. He usually has no interest in politics and enjoys life as a ruler in his fief. That’s why he came to complain to me about his granddaughter without hesitation… Characteristically, that fits.”
“I see…”
“However, that is Thunder Prince.”
“Huh?”
“‘Thunder’—a Prince who holds this title. While I wouldn’t say that attitude is completely false, I believe it has a component of feigning indifference as well.”
“Indeed… He may seem reckless, but there have hardly been any problems in governing his fief.”
“On the contrary, if you look closely, he governs more coherently and better than any other Prince.”
“…”
Don nodded solemnly. I smiled faintly.
It isn’t such a complicated matter. People like Indra are either truly incompetent or competent yet merely pretending to be so. And to me, Indra certainly does not appear to be incompetent. Therefore, the answer naturally follows.
I can’t believe Indra came just to discuss Audrey. At least—not at this timing.
“That’s why he came. I just went along with it.”
“Truly impressive, Your Majesty.”
Don bowed deeply.
“Huh?”
“In just a moment, you were able to read the intentions of Thunder Prince, who arrived without warning, and align it to the best possible outcome.”
“More importantly, see to the preparations—while understanding those intentions.”
“Yes!”
Don bowed his head and exited the office. I was left alone in the office.
After sending Don off, an older eunuch entered.
“Your Majesty, what shall you do tonight?”
“Hmm? Oh, nothing tonight either.”
“As you wish.”
For a moment, I didn’t understand what he was referring to. However, I quickly realized that he was asking, “Who will be your partner tonight?”
The Emperor’s nighttime partner is properly recorded in official documents, so the basic format is for the eunuchs to listen to wishes and set things up. There were once literary figures who ridiculed the Emperor’s harem, saying it resembled a brothel—and I, having become an Emperor, can understand that sentiment anew.
Of course, I wasn’t in the mood for that right now, so I declined.
I stood up. As I left the office, the eunuch from earlier asked me from the side.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to the library. If someone comes, send them there.”
“As you wish.”
I left the eunuch behind and started to walk. Soon, another young eunuch followed behind me. Unlike the older eunuchs in management positions, this young one tagged along as an errand boy.
Leading such a young eunuch, I walked through the empty corridor towards the library I was aiming for.
When the Emperor walks, typically the corridor is empty. The reasoning is that “to obstruct the Emperor’s path is unthinkable,” so when the Emperor moves, notifications are thoroughly given so that no one accidentally crosses paths.
However, the reality is somewhat different. To put it more accurately, “it started for different reasons at first” is the right way to put it.
I glanced back at the young eunuch following me. I recognized his face.
“If it isn’t Luke.”
“Y-yes! It’s Luke.”
“Very well.”
I nodded slightly. He was the young boy who had become a eunuch to pay for his sister’s medicine.
“So how is your sister doing? Has the doctor been yet?”
“Y-yes! After that, as soon as I spoke to him, he went right away.”
“I see, and how is it?”
“…
Luke was shedding big, heavy tears.
“Huh?”
The worst thoughts crossed my mind. It was one of those common patterns where a patient suffers from an incurable disease, yet doctors, in their desperation, manage to squeeze money from the helpless by instilling false hope about treatment costs and medication.
Could it be that? I thought.
“How did it go?”
“Th-they said she’ll be saved.”
“… Oh?”
“The doctor said my sister will be saved. They said it was guaranteed.”
“Hahaha, is that so?”
I laughed loudly while looking up at the ceiling. If she’s going to be saved, then there’s no problem at all.
A physician had been sent, and I was the one who sent him. In other words, it was at the Emperor’s command, so from the physician’s perspective, if they couldn’t save her, they could lose their life. They would put their heart and soul into treating even a less serious illness, and if it was a treatable illness, I could finally relax.
It was irreversible that he had been castrated for his sister, but at least she would be saved. I felt uplifted by what seemed to be a good outcome.
Suddenly, I became concerned about Luke. I noticed a hint of his youth as a young eunuch.
“Luke.”
“Y-yes?”
Luke wiped his tears and hurriedly replied.
“Have you ever received a bribe from someone?”
“Eh!”
I turned around and glanced back once more while continuing to walk. Luke, surprised beyond belief, stopped in his tracks and stared wide-eyed with his mouth slightly agape.
I continued teasingly.
“What is it, have you received one?”
“N-no! I-I would never do something like that, absolutely!”
“Is that true?”
“It is true!”
Luke panicked and ran closer to me. He threw himself to the ground with gusto, raising only his face to urgently plead with his gaze.
“I-I have absolutely no chance to meet important people!”
“There’s a chance even with people who aren’t important, isn’t there?”
“Eh?”
“Don’t you get any stories from ladies-in-waiting?”
“Eh? Wh-what do you mean…?”
Luke looked bewildered. When he first heard the term “bribe,” he reacted with such intensity that he turned pale. Hearing “ladies-in-waiting” next, he was left wide-eyed in confusion.
He seemed to understand the first part but not the latter. Maybe it really wasn’t the case, I thought.
Chuckling softly, I asked Luke further.
“I mean, didn’t you ever get a bribe from a lady-in-waiting and hear what place and time I might be present?”
“No—ah.”
“What?”
“I was just wondering… could that be what it was?”
“What?”
“Yes, there was a lady-in-waiting who was asking a sister about it. I’m not sure if she was being paid or not.”
“I see. She was being paid alright.”
“R-really…?”
Luke responded with a half-hearted tone. He seemed to have lost the fear and anxiety related to himself, but confusion lingered.
By the way, many eunuchs, especially due to their castration, tend to refer to each other as “sisters” rather than “brothers.” This concept is rooted in the idea that “only the Emperor exists as a man in the imperial palace.”[WAT DA FAQQQ]
“So that’s what it was…”
“It’s a common occurrence. If I take a liking to her, she could rapidly be promoted from a lowly lady-in-waiting to a consort. That’s why it’s important to keep track of my movements. It can be quite lucrative, you know? My activities can lead to profit.”
“Y-yes…”
“If such a transaction comes your way, you should accept it.”
“… Eeeeeeh!?”
Luke let out a scream-like, absurd voice.
“No way! I can’t possibly do that.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. Accept it. You can share the information you know they want.”
“But…”
“On one condition.”
I sharply interrupted Luke’s words. He noticed the change in my tone and stumbled over his words, uttering “uh.”
“Who did you get it from, and what did you say in response? Remember that clearly and report to me.”
“Uh? Ah… I-I understand.”
“Mm.”
I was satisfied with Luke’s response and nodded slightly. This youthful boy is indeed clever. He understood from my words that this was a kind of decree—something to be acted upon as per my command—and accepted it right away.
Moreover, his way of thinking is flexible.
If he were foolish or had a rigid mind, he would have probably dragged his feet endlessly.
The more ears and eyes we have, the better, and since the matter of Audrey that Indra brought up is logically sound, I thought it would be best to keep track of the movements of the court ladies as well.
Having reached an agreement, I began walking again. I led Luke, who hastily stood up, to the library.
“Wait here.”
“Y-Yes.”
I left Luke there and entered the library. Among the thousands of books crowded together, I headed to a familiar corner.
That was a section where books documenting history were stored.
“Surely… there was something related to the Parwar Empire.”
Muttering to myself, I pulled out a book detailing the history of the Parwar Empire, which had dominated the world about 500 years ago, and flipped through its pages.
I carefully picked up each letter, each episode recounted within the text. During this period, humans had not yet mastered monsters. A significant portion of the book recorded the battles between humans and monsters.
“Your Majesty.”
“Mm.”
I looked up. Audrey was standing there.
My main wife, the Empress of the empire. Audrey appeared with a demure demeanor.
“Audrey, what brings you here?”
“I sent someone to the office, but I heard that Your Majesty is here alone.”
“Is that so? There should have been a eunuch outside, though.”
“I silenced them.”
“So it seems.”
I chuckled softly.
Audrey is a well-accomplished Empress. She has never once set foot in the office. Throughout history, there have been countless instances of the inner court intervening in politics. And while that may yield varying results for a young ruler, it almost never ends well for an adult Emperor.
Whether it is to avoid that—or for some other reason—it remains uncertain, but in any case, Audrey never steps into the political arena, represented by the office. Even now, she seems to have sent someone there, but came here after discovering that I was alone in the library, a place that is not directly related to governance.
By the way, her casually saying she “silenced” them is nice. It seems as though the Empress has developed enough authority to say something like that about the eunuchs.
“What are you reading?”
Audrey asked this as she approached me. She stood beside me and peered into the history book I had open.
“This is the history of the latter days of the Parwar Empire.”
“The Parwar Empire… is it?”
“It was an empire that had about two-thirds of the territory of the current Empire, approximately 500 years ago.”
“Why would you read something like that?”
To the genuinely curious Audrey, I replied with a gentle smile.
“History tends to repeat itself. For hundreds—or rather, thousands of years, the essence of humanity hasn’t changed, and we are merely repeating the same things.”
“Is that so?”
“For example…”
I continued with a smile.
“The court ladies trying to grasp the Emperor’s movements by bribing eunuchs with small change. That’s something that happens now, in the past, and will continue into the future—”
“Indeed, it will repeat endlessly into the future.”
Audrey chuckled softly. There are those who passionately insist that bullying and other human behaviors should be eradicated, but it is impossible to eliminate what humans do regardless of the environment or era.
The same applies to the fact that money circulates for the sake of power struggles; it is also something impossible to eradicate. Audrey seems to firmly and accurately recognize that.
“That’s why I learn from history. My own past experiences account for only one life, but history encompasses countless existences, allowing me to learn all sorts of things. There is really no such thing as something unprecedented in a true sense.”
“…As expected, Your Majesty is remarkable.”
Audrey murmured softly and leaned against me.
Even if you’re used to heartfelt compliments, they never fail to make you feel good each time.
Do you want to join me on –>discord<— to get update notifications and releases? I am lazy af these days.
Thanks for the treat.