Three days after Manuel dumped all those files on Serenus, he felt a lot lighter.
This rekindled an idea he had previously abandoned: perhaps he should seriously consider expanding the Chief Secretary's authority, elevating the position to a true Chief Minister, to help him handle the busy state affairs.
It's worth noting that although Justinian Seresnus's current position as Chief Secretary and Lucas Notaras's position as Chief Minister in Constantinople both literally translate to the same word (Mesazon) and have quite similar functions, due to Manuel's intentional restrictions, the Chief Secretary could only be considered an ordinary cabinet member, and his authorization was far less than that of the Chief Minister under the Emperor of Constantinople.
The Chief Minister's status and authority, based on their actual performance, might be closer to an official position in the context of the Eastern Dynasty: the Chancellor.
Perhaps if Manuel just expanded the Chief Secretary's authorization, he could then push off all those boring, unimportant, yet mandatory repetitive tasks.
Caesar also has his own life, after all.
But if he started this, would he be able to ensure that his descendants could suppress the "Chief Minister" as firmly as he did?
Manuel couldn't guarantee that.
If someone knew Caesar's inner thoughts, he would probably be utterly depressed.
However, even if he didn't know, he was already exhausted.
After all, in these three days of dealing with the piled-up archives, he was so tired he felt he could vaguely see his grandmother, who had already gone to heaven.
Even so, Serenus, to Manuel's surprise, completed all the piled-up work later on the third day.
As for the price, when he emerged from the room, his face was as pale as that of a slave laborer who had been forced to work continuously.
"Although it was indeed my fault, it shouldn't have required three days of non-stop work to finish all this," Manuel said to Serenus with slight embarrassment after having a servant bring him clear water and delicious food to reward him.
"If I dragged it out, I don't know what else you, Caesar, might come up with on a whim," Serenus said faintly, his complexion having recovered slightly.
"Ah, haha…"
After a few more casual chats, the two returned to their previous harmonious state.
Manuel, following this good atmosphere, discussed with his Chief Secretary the future direction of the Autocratic State and the series of reforms he had made during this period, attempting to exchange opinions.
Although Serenus had slight reservations about Manuel's various measures to strengthen autocratic rule, it was, in the final analysis, not even opposition, but merely a trivial opinion.
Soon, they once again discussed the matter of church unity.
This time, Manuel, unlike his previous ambiguous evasions, clearly informed the Foreign Minister and Chief Secretary in front of him that if one of the ultimate outcomes of church unity was to launch a massive Crusade against the wicked Turk Muslim, he would very likely side with the church unity faction.
"What a pious and realistic demand," Serenus thought to himself.
Having received a definite response from Caesar, Serenus no longer dwelled on this topic.
In the following days, they very tacitly avoided it, as if they had never discussed the so-called church unity.
But Manuel had already determined his stance, waiting for the upcoming Grand Council.
In the days that followed, just as Manuel was planning to continue developing Bosporus as scheduled, a request from Karaman temporarily interrupted his plans.
It was the morning of late early June, and Bosporus Caesar Manuel was casually sitting on the throne in Trabzon Palace, surrounded by cabinet members and Pontus dignitaries who had come for the morning court.
They were, as usual, gathered around their monarch, offering various opinions beneficial to the Autocratic State.
Incidentally, although the formal etiquette of the Bosporus court now strictly followed the late East Rome style, Manuel intentionally aligned its frequency with that of the Eastern Dynasty.
By mid-year, Bosporus had habitually held morning court every three to five days, and Caesar also listened carefully to the opinions of his subordinates during these sessions, even if he himself didn't have much confidence in how much practical effect they would actually have.
After carefully listening to the various reports from his subordinates, Manuel suppressed his desire to yawn and, with an incredibly earnest and serious expression, read every report they submitted.
Although he had no fondness for the format of his court meetings, to prevent his country from falling into the state Constantinople was currently in, he had to force himself to be diligent in governance, striving to present a somewhat wise image to his subjects.
Fortunately, this court meeting did not end with a boring midday dismissal like previous ones.
Just as Caesar finally finished listening to the unavoidable nonsense presented by his key officials, an unexpected message reached the court.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Rutaoglu, the special envoy sent by Karaman Bey Suleiman, requests an audience," his guard reported.
This made Manuel, who had originally fallen into a state of dullness, regain his spirits.
"Hmm, let him in," he said.
In the interval while Rutaoglu was coming to meet him, Caesar carefully pondered the reason for his visit to Pontus.
"Rutaoglu, Suleiman's loyal servant, a foolishly loyal person who never abandoned him even during his exile.
So, his visit this time must represent Suleiman's will.
In that case, has Karaman encountered some trouble?
But the intelligence I received earlier said that Karaman, currently allied with the Mamluk and other nations, was not at a disadvantage in the war against Ottoman.
If that's the case, has Suleiman encountered some trouble that isn't apparent on the front lines?"
Although this line of thought was extensive, it actually only took Caesar less than a second.
And soon, he personally saw this Turk servant whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
At this time, Rutaoglu, having experienced various events, had matured like his master; his formerly ordinary appearance had become considerably more mature, and his skin tone had turned bronze.
"State your request, given the relationship between Us and your master, there's no need for so much pointless courtesy."
Seeing his friend's confidant, Manuel waved his hand very relaxed, without much of a monarch's pretense.
Rutaoglu, seeing this, pursed his lips with some surprise and immediately loudly stated Suleiman's request, "Manuel, my master, protected by Allah, requests you, in the name of friendship and agreement, to help our country Karaman disrupt the current marching arrangements of Ottoman."