Very soon, under Budo's escort, Yoshino was brought into the imperial palace.
This was her second time coming here.
The first time, Makoto summoned her mainly because of Honest plan.
But this time, it was entirely Makoto own will.
Therefore, Budo did not take Yoshino to the great hall, but instead directly to Makoto private chambers.
From a distance, Yoshino saw Makoto in his nightwear pacing outside his quarters.
Because he had been occupied all day with matters concerning the Revolutionary Army, by the time she returned with Tatsumi, it was already night.
Judging by his behavior, Makoto was clearly very anxious—otherwise, he wouldn't have summoned them at such an hour.
Makoto , who was pacing back and forth outside the chambers, also spotted Yoshino from afar, and his eyes immediately lit up.
"Yoshino! And Yoshinon! It's so wonderful that you're both safe!"
Seeing Yoshino truly appear before him, the unease and anxiety on Makoto face were instantly replaced by joy and relief.
Upon learning of Yoshino disappearance, his nervousness was no less than that of Honest or Esdeath.
On one hand, it was because his only friend had gone missing; on the other hand, Yoshino was Esdeath only sister. That had caused him to lose sleep for the entire night.
But thankfully, Yoshino disappearance turned out to be a false alarm, and she had returned safely in the end.
"Forgive me for summoning you to the palace at this hour—you must be exhausted."
Suppressing his excitement, Makoto led Yoshino into his chambers. "There are extra rooms in my residence. Why don't you both stay here for the night and tell me everything that happened?"
After speaking, he glanced back at Budo, who was still waiting outside the chambers.
"General Budo, just send someone to inform General Esdeath that I'll return Yoshino to her tomorrow."
"...Yes, Your Majesty."
Though bringing unrelated women into the emperor's private quarters was a violation of royal etiquette, if it had been anyone else, Budo would've immediately voiced his objections.
But when it came to Yoshino—not only him, but even the most conservative court officials—wouldn't say a word.
Leaving aside that in their eyes, Yoshino becoming the empress was practically set in stone, this recent disappearance had once again reminded everyone just how much the young emperor cared about her.
Now that she had returned safely, a little impropriety was understandable.
So, Budo simply nodded and left in large strides.
Glancing subtly at Budo's departing figure, Yoshino felt a bit of relief in her heart.
Just moments ago, she was still worried that if this rigid man insisted on interfering due to ancient laws and wouldn't allow her to speak alone with Makoto , her upcoming plan might fall apart.
As one of the Empire's three Great Generals and Esdeath equal in name, Budo was a loyalist—unlike the corrupt Esdeath, who had aligned herself with Honest.
He had long suspected Honest schemes and repeatedly protected ministers targeted by Honest purges.
He even used his influence to become Honest biggest obstacle in court.
However, constrained by the ancestral law that generals were forbidden from meddling in politics, Budo—though fully capable of changing the government's direction—could only watch helplessly as Honest ran rampant.
"Blind loyalty" was the perfect way to describe this man.
Before meeting with Makoto , Yoshino original plan had been to approach Budo as her first step in completing her main mission.
But Honest had given her a much better opportunity, so she had stopped considering contact with Budo for the time being.
"Makoto , Yoshinon= has something to discuss with you."
As soon as they entered the lavishly decorated chamber, before Makoto could speak, Yoshinon spoke up first:
"Something very important—best said without any outsiders present."
"What sort of thing requires such secrecy?"
Makoto was slightly confused, but his trust in Yoshino left him without any suspicion.
With a wave of his hand, the maids who had been stationed in the room for Yoshino arrival silently dispersed.
Once everyone was gone and only the three of them remained, Makoto asked, "Alright, now can you tell me?"
"Yes." Yoshinon nodded with humanlike expressiveness.
"Yoshino and Yoshino were tricked and abducted by Night Raid—you're aware of that, right?"
"Yes, I had already guessed that much."
A hint of worry flickered in Makoto eyes. "They didn't do anything to you, did they?"
"They didn't do anything. In fact, it was quite the opposite—they treated Yoshinon and Yoshino rather well," Yoshinon replied.
"Moreover, from their conversations, Yoshinon learned some very troubling things."
"Like what?"
"About Minister Honest."
Yoshino lowered her voice, as if even after dismissing the maids, she still feared someone might be listening behind the walls.
"Night Raid's members said Honest is the most corrupt official in the world—a malignant tumor dragging the entire Empire toward ruin. And they showed many pieces of very convincing evidence."
"Oh, that's all? I thought it was something serious."
Originally tense due to Yoshino's secrecy, Makoto immediately relaxed when he heard what she had to say.
He even curled his lip and put on an expression that screamed "impossible."
To be Honest, he had heard such claims before—especially a few years ago, when many officials in the court had jointly submitted memorials making the exact same accusations.
But he had never believed a word of it.
He completely ignored all attempts to impeach Honest.
After all, those accusations were aimed at Honest—his late father's most trusted confidant and right-hand man.
When his father died and his siblings fought over the throne, Honest was the one who stood by him—an imperial prince with little chance of succession—and helped him ascend to the throne.
Since then, Honest had taken care of him in every possible way, helping him survive the toughest of times.
To Makoto , Honest was like a second father—an irreplaceable pillar of the nation.
The ministers who accused Honest were, in his eyes, the real schemers and traitors.
And indeed, when he sent people to investigate, he found that those accusers were the ones secretly engaging in embezzlement and corruption.
So without hesitation, he executed them and confiscated their property.
He had executed wave after wave of them—so many that he'd lost count.
And after heads rolled and blood flowed, there were no more voices of dissent against Honest in the court.
Occasionally, rumors would still pop up, but Makoto didn't even bother to listen anymore.
If anyone else had brought up this matter to him, he would've had them dragged away and executed on the spot.
But because it was Yoshino, not only did he not get angry—he was actually touched.
"I know Yoshino was worried about me, which is why she got tricked by those rebels in Night Raid," Makoto said gently.
"But there's no need to worry—these political matters aren't things you need to concern yourself with. I know what I'm doing."
"But..."
Yoshinon hesitated for a moment, then as if making up her mind, she slowly said,
"Miss Esdeath said the same thing."
"Es...death?"
Upon hearing this, Makoto didn't react right away to what this actually meant.
In his eyes, Esdeath had always had a good relationship with Honest.
When waging war abroad, Honest would help her smooth over military and political obstacles.
When the war ended, Esdeath would even attribute some of the credit to him.
They were essentially two pillars of the Empire.
But why... why would Esdeath speak ill of Honest to Yoshinon?
Makoto didn't believe Yoshinon would lie to him.
If what she heard from Night Raid was all part of a ploy—deliberate lies meant to sow discord—
then what reason would Esdeath have to say such things?
An overwhelming sense of unease welled up in Makoto's heart, so much that his body even began to tremble slightly.
"Makoto, do you still remember the village of Tam that I mentioned before?"
However, Yoshinon didn't stop, continuing her words:
"The village that took me in... it suffered under the Empire's heavy taxation, which left the villagers in extreme poverty. Every winter, people would die. But this isn't an isolated case…"
"That's enough. The Grand Minister is my father's right-hand man and the loyal subject who helped me ascend the throne. That fact will not change."
Just as Yoshinon was about to press further, Makoto raised his hand, as if unwilling to hear any more accusations against Honest.
"Night Raid's words cannot be trusted. As for the General, she has always been friendly with the Grand Minister. You must have misunderstood her meaning. As for your village, the Grand Minister has already investigated.
The one responsible for the excessive taxation was executed a few days ago.
I can guarantee you that your village of Tam will no longer suffer from heavy taxes."
With that said, Makoto's expression gradually grew weary.
"That will be all for today. I'm feeling tired."
Seeing Makoto's apparent attempt to escape reality, Yoshinon knew that her effort to sow discord had already started to take effect.
Although he trusted her, compared to Honest, who had been by his side far longer,
he was still reluctant, deep down, to harbor any doubts.
Caught between two people he trusted, Makoto's emotions must be incredibly complex at the moment.
But whether it was Yoshinon or Honest, he didn't want to doubt either of them.
That's probably why, even though he was the one who invited Yoshinon to the palace tonight,
he now didn't even want to continue their conversation.
It was obvious—he didn't want to delve any deeper into this topic.
But having come this far, how could Yoshinon possibly give up halfway?
"Makoto, you must have heard a lot of rumors about Honest before, haven't you?"
This time, it was Yoshinon who spoke again:
"I know you don't want to doubt someone you trust deeply, but surely... deep in your heart, there must be a sliver of doubt.
I have a way. Regardless of whether those rumors are true or false, this method will let you eliminate that doubt completely."
Perhaps it was because Yoshinon had spoken, or perhaps it was her proposed "method" that intrigued him—
Makoto's expression froze slightly, and his gaze returned to her.
His expression was very complicated.
Because just as she said, deep in his heart, he did have doubts about Honest.
Even though he was not even twelve years old yet, he was born of the royal family and had already sat on the dragon throne for several years.
His temperament far exceeded that of children his age.
When he first ascended the throne, so many ministers attacked Honest.
How could he have not been even slightly suspicious?
But at the time, the imperial authority was unstable.
He was just a young child who instinctively clung to Honest as a pillar of support.
Back then, he didn't even know what he was supposed to do—how could he possibly doubt the person who helped him rise to power?
Yet as he gradually grew older, thinking back on those past impeachments, he could sense that something wasn't right.
Even so, that faint sense of wrongness was eventually buried deep inside him,
drowned out by Honest continuous care and string of political achievements.
He wouldn't actively dig up those suspicions.
Nor would he allow anyone else to uncover them.
Because he needed to trust Honest.
He needed that solid pillar who could give him peace of mind.
Meaningless suspicion would only lead him to lose one of the Empire's cornerstones.
But now, Yoshinon claimed she had a way to completely dispel that suspicion.
If what she said was true, this was indeed a good opportunity for Makoto.
If Honest truly wasn't like the rumors said, then Makoto could put all his doubts to rest and rely on him wholeheartedly.
But if Honest really was what the rumors claimed, then he could no longer continue deceiving himself.
He had been emperor for years now—those years were not in vain.
More importantly, compared to when he had just taken the throne,
he was no longer timid. He no longer had only Honest to rely on.
"Tell me the method."
In the end, Makoto finally opened his mouth:
"These rumors about the Grand Minister have been circulating for far too long. It's time to put an end to them."
Upon receiving Makoto's affirmation, the tension in Yoshinon expression visibly eased.
She reached into her large outer garment and pulled out a headpiece that looked like a green eye.
It clearly had the texture of a gemstone, but in the center of the jewel was a pupil-shaped eye—
hollow and eerie, almost unsettling to look at.
This was the key component of Yoshinon plan: the Imperial Arm, [All-Seeing Observer].
"This Imperial Arm was given to me by Night Raid," Yoshinon said, handing the eye-shaped ornament to Makoto.
"One of its abilities is to let the user see the true thoughts inside a person's heart."
"All you need to do, Makoto... is use this Imperial Arm—
then you will be able to see what kind of person Grand Minister Honest really is."