Behind the side doors of the grand hall, silence reigned, while the hall outside buzzed with anxious whispers. Suddenly, the imperial door opened, and Ray stepped out with Morgana beside him, followed by Rei, and behind him, Sislin. The sight of Sislin walking behind Rei carried obvious implications; the close advisor was no longer standing in his usual place, and the meaning was clear—the changes had already begun.
Before those exhausted gazes, Ray stood before his throne. He did not sit immediately. Instead, he swept his eyes calmly across the hall before raising a finger toward himself and asking, "Before we begin the discussion, I have a question... The last time I checked, I found that I'm the youngest among all of you, correct?"
The question hung in the air, and no one answered. The nobles looked at one another, trying to understand the meaning behind it, and suddenly the hall trembled with the sound of the Duke of the East's chair as he rose from his seat.
"I greet the Sun of the Empire."
The duke bowed calmly, understanding the meaning, and the greeting that left his mouth awakened the hall. Before anyone could react, the Duke of the South also rose from his seat, followed by the Duke of the West, and then all the nobles who had sent Ray a message this morning after dawn under a clear declaration.
"We greet the Sun of the Empire."
And everyone understood the meaning behind the question
(Since I am the youngest among you, should I be the one teaching you the rules of protocol?).
It was something Ray had ignored yesterday, and everyone else had ignored as well, because this greeting had vanished together with the prestige of the throne since the era of the Twelfth Emperor, and no emperor after him had attempted to restore it...
But the story did not stop at the greeting. Three individuals among the highest authorities in the empire had stood up; and not only that, but among more than two hundred nobles and over one hundred notable figures, one hundred and twenty openly demonstrated that they stood beside the throne as well...
This unexpected situation caused those who had not yet decided, those who had chosen to remain neutral, and even those who were planning against the throne to freeze in their seats, unable to react or adapt to this rapid change and unexpected event. Yet that greeting was incomplete...
Ray looked at the three dukes, his gaze directed particularly toward the Duke of the East because he would understand the meaning behind it.
«Should I consider this a renewal of your loyalty?»
The response of the three dukes was silent at first, but the Duke of the East, with his usual cunning smile, inclined his head a little further and sent a silent message to Ray.
«Your Majesty... the sun is not asked whether it will rise. We are the ones who prepare ourselves for its light.»
Ray's eyes narrowed slightly.
«Then show your respect to the moon that reflects its light before this sun rises.»
The Duke of the East smiled and looked toward Morgana, sending a clear meaning.
«A moon covered by the clouds of the North has neither useful light nor prestige worthy of its station.»
«You invest, but you refuse to take risks.»
Ray sighed and sat down, looking toward the other dukes.
«What a stingy investment.»
The others bowed quietly, and Ray gestured for them to sit. A heavy silence settled over the hall as the nobles returned to their seats. Their movements were heavy, and their eyes were empty. The Duke of the North, who remained in place no differently from the nobles who had not repeated the greeting, appeared like an isolated island amid a sea of defections. The "effect" created by the three dukes standing up had gone far beyond a simple greeting. Among those one hundred and twenty people were many important figures, including Marquis Sislin, Alfred Sislin's father.
Ray did not give them a single second to catch their breath. He leaned back against the throne, and that "morning" smile disappeared, replaced by a cold, practical expression.
"Let us begin the second meeting regarding the appointment of the ten ministries."
The impact of the words was like the strike of a hammer. The nobles froze, even those in the middle of sitting down, and looked at one another in astonishment mixed with a strange sense of excitement among some of them.
«Your Majesty... are you taking revenge?»
The thought circulated through their minds. Was this disregard for every convention a reaction to Morgana's humiliation?
Ray looked toward those who had been stamped with the seal of allies and sighed, sending a clear message.
«I'm not that childish.»
Then Ray continued,
"Given the condition of the empire, and by virtue of the Law of Sovereignty, the Law of Supreme Necessity is hereby activated in order to bypass the vote regarding the restructuring of the old system, by disregarding the Royal Consensus Law that grants the nobles voting rights on crucial decisions."
«Absolute rule?»
Shock seized the hall. Out of all the volumes of laws, Ray had chosen the weapon that the "Tyrant" had long used to crush the nobles. The Duke of the North frowned and, with icy calmness, asked without even bothering to stand.
"Your Majesty... have the bloodstains of the victims of the Eleventh Emperor already dried, that you seek to revive his laws? Or do you wish to openly inform us that the age of the 'guillotine' has returned to sit upon the throne?"
"A law is a weapon, Duke, and its value always depends on the hand that wields it."
Ray replied with unsettling calmness. Then he rested his jaw on his fist and gave the duke a cold glance before sighing as though ending a futile argument.
"When the state is in danger, hesitation becomes the true tyranny. And if this empire is to reclaim the glory that has been scattered over the last century, we will need this law to play the role of the mother and the child... Do you know what that means?"
Ray smiled and directed the question to Morgana in front of everyone, a deliberate move intended to establish her position and prove that she had completely stepped out from beneath the Duke of the North's authority.
"This is unacceptable!"
The Duke of the North sprang to his feet, horrified by the idea alone. He had realized that she had changed, but he believed the reason was merely that she had won the Emperor's heart. He had tried to reach her yesterday, but Ray had severed every line of communication between them. Even the spies he had personally placed within the palace had vanished without a trace.
And the most important piece was Sislin, who had openly ignored him the previous evening in a clear sign that his loyalty had changed. And now the last person whom the duke had expected to turn against him spoke.
"What exactly is unacceptable in your eyes, Duke?" Morgana asked calmly. Although she was trembling inside, her voice did not waver. "Did not the First Emperor use this law as well?"
"Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this...? Putting a girl who knows nothing about politics at the forefront merely to explain your reason for using a law that was one of the causes of the empire's destruction, even though you know that most of the nobles in this hall are prepared to help restore the empire."
Many nobles nodded, including those who had stood for the greeting. Even the three dukes did not understand why Ray had chosen such a hostile stance when the balance was already tipping in his favor. The duke completely ignored Morgana so as not to lose his temper and looked toward Ray.
Yet Ray refused to answer and allowed Morgana to build her position.
"It's alright, Your Grace. Given your age, I shall repeat what His Majesty said. This law will be used to disregard—or in other words, dissolve—the pact that binds the empire and the nobility together."
"Do you even understand what you're saying?"
The duke asked, ignoring the hidden insult. The other nobles did not remain silent either. The Duke of the East frowned and looked toward Ray questioningly.
«Does that girl understand what she's saying?»
Ray smiled and did not answer those looks.
It meant exactly what it appeared to mean.
It was the expulsion of all nobles in the empire from authority over the throne and the transformation of the empire into little more than a province possessing imperial power.
The Commander of the Knights struck the ground and forced the hall into silence so Morgana could speak.
"Has everyone forgotten that the goal is to rebuild the empire upon its former ashes, not merely restructure the system?"
Morgana's words carried little weight, so she continued.
"For that reason, this step is important. It is necessary in order to break the Law of Absolute Sovereignty over Land established by the Thirteenth Emperor."
"Since the empire has become scattered fragments, the goal is to melt them back into a single mold. We will begin by applying the system to the core—the lands of the throne—and then connect to it every province that truly wishes to remain part of Aster. This means that the lands will be subject to shared authority between the owner and the crown, ensuring that the betrayal which cost us half the empire's territory is never repeated, when the border nobles coldly decided to change their allegiance and tore apart the body of the nation."
Here, the body was the mother, and the child was the provinces that possessed the option of independence. In order to break this law, he was clearly stating that whoever accepted becoming part of the mother once again would fall under the empire's protection, while whoever refused would be isolated. And once the empire regained its strength, it would work to reclaim that land.
Was this political suicide?
Yes, it was.
What if every noble in the hall rejected it?
That was unlikely. Ray had not planned to be this hostile until he saw that three dukes had chosen to stand beside him, along with more than twenty figures of equally high status and influence within the empire.
But even if such a scenario occurred and all the nobles isolated him, he had already planned to abandon those lands even if it meant losing this empire. To be honest, this was a gamble dependent upon the level of loyalty possessed by the three dukes and the other nobles who had previously stood up. He had allowed Morgana to speak about it in order to avoid the impression that he was following in the footsteps of the Eleventh Emperor.
"Your Majesty... the empire is not private property."
"Neither is the land."
Ray smiled and replied to the Duke of the North.
"It belongs to the people, and every one of you here determines the fate of a portion of them. It is true that your families contributed to the creation of this empire, but they were also responsible for its destruction... Am I mistaken?"
"Wasn't that because the throne drove them to such a decision?"
"Be careful, Duke. You are insulting the royal family now."
Ray smiled, but it was not him who answered. It was Morgana.
The duke looked at her angrily, shouting with his eyes.
«Be silent!»
«No, I won't.»
Morgana answered stubbornly with her gaze before continuing.
"In crises that threaten the existence of the empire, no word stands above the word of the Emperor. That law has existed since the founding era. As for the 'Law of Absolute Sovereignty' over land, it has existed only for a few years. In order to remove it in a way that satisfies everyone, we have proposed this idea, one that eliminates neutrality. There is no third option here: either you are part of the change, or you are against it, and by doing so, you will no longer be part of Aster."
She continued in a sharper tone.
"Even if you refuse, that is fine... wait until the empire regains its strength, and we will reclaim that piece of land you cling to today. Do not say that the throne is responsible for the destruction. No single side can shatter a great empire. And do not forget that the First Emperor's only companion was a dragon who protected the empire for one thousand years, and none of your families earned the right to that dragon as much as the descendants of the throne did."
Then Morgana concluded without waiting for an answer.
"Has everyone forgotten why this meeting began? And why we are discussing this new system?"
Silence filled the hall.
While the Duke of the North gathered his breath to respond, the Duke of the East let out a dry, quiet laugh. He had been watching Morgana the entire time, and at that moment, when he saw her courage and the steadiness of her voice despite everything, he decided to lend her his support. He understood what Ray was trying to accomplish through this and was not opposed to it. In fact, he believed it was the best decision.
Thus, he looked at the Duke of the North with eyes filled with the coldness of someone who understood and spoke in a mocking tone.
"What an emotional man you are, Duke of the North... making all this noise over a piece of land?"
The duke leaned back in his chair and continued sarcastically.
"Her Majesty spoke the essence of the truth; we are fragmented. The 'absolute sovereignty' you cling to is nothing more than milking the empire. You receive its protection, and what do you offer in return? Especially you, Duke of the North. The lands you govern endure winter throughout the entire year, monsters surround them, and let us not forget the dangers that emerge from the Mountains of Cold. If the price of security is 'shared authority' with the throne, then I consider it a cheap price for the stability of my provinces. What about you? Do you not think that clinging to voting rights aboard a sinking ship is a form of luxurious suicide?"
The Duke of the South sighed and relaxed his massive body in his seat as though he were sitting on a battlefield rather than in a meeting hall. He looked at the Duke of the North with open disdain before directing his rough voice toward the rest of the nobles.
"Stop playing the role of fools. This spectacle has become nauseating."
The hall fell completely silent, and everyone looked toward the Duke of the South.
He continued without hesitation.
"Your wealth, your lands, and the bloodlines you boast about... all of it will be crushed beneath the feet of invaders and erased from memory if the empire perishes because of your childish stubbornness."
"Duke, this is not a matter of—"
"Silence. Do not lecture me. What do you call what you're doing right now?"
The Duke of the South waved his hand irritably toward the noble who had spoken.
"What do you call this hesitation? The question is simple: do you want to save the empire? The answer is even simpler. If your homes were like mine, your choice would be obvious. My house does not fear being lost, because history will glorify our attempt even if we fail. It will remember our names as men who tried to save something, not as rats clinging to pieces of cheese while the palace burns."
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End of Chapter
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[Information: The Uniqueness of the Northern Territories — Cradle of Cold Blades]
[While the East boasts of its golden fields and the South of its deep mines, the North possesses a different kind of wealth: "the spirit that does not break." The Northern Territories are described as the place "where fate never smiles." It is a land of eternal winter where frost gnaws at the bones, where the monsters emerging from the Mountains of Cold know no mercy, where barbarians linger along the borders, and where the harshness of nature endures. Thus, the North's greatest advantage remains the military strength it provided to the empire.]