Chapter 33
Chapter 33. That Tiresome Name
The commotion in the garden was not made public by Vinea’s order. However, Tetar, furious to the core, ordered that the living quarters of the Emperor Emeritus, already relegated to a corner, be moved to an old, dilapidated palace at the farthest end of the imperial grounds.
Although the Emperor Emeritus and the nobles supporting him strongly objected, Tetar paid no heed.
He also merged the main palace where the Emperor resided with the Empress’s palace. Since they couldn’t demolish a perfectly good palace and build anew, they compromised by relocating the Empress’s key personnel to the main palace and combining the offices and bedrooms. Vinea also took a step back this time, in exchange for stopping Tetar from killing the Emperor Emeritus.
Perhaps because he had been too focused on Sefitiana and neglected imperial affairs, Vinea found it quite displeasing that no one had reported or tried to stop the Emperor Emeritus from meddling with the Empress’s palace.
In the end, despite the inconvenience, she began to earnestly oversee internal affairs.
As if she had never delegated to Tetar, she swiftly and smoothly handled the palace matters. The rumors of “an Empress who only plays while pushing all her duties onto the Emperor” quickly subsided.
She deployed personnel and resources to the right places as if she had lived in Tessibania all her life. Every instruction was perfect, neither lacking nor excessive.
There were concerned voices about her, a woman from Veshnu, taking charge of the upcoming Empire Foundation Day preparations. But as she efficiently prepared everything without any help or advice from other noble ladies, the concerns quietly faded.
Among the servants who had already begun the groundwork, rumors even circulated that the sophistication and harmony would be more remarkable than any other banquet.
Meanwhile, Tetar also began to pressure the Emperor Emeritus’s faction in earnest. He wasn’t satisfied with just keeping Vinea’s sphere of activity close to him, but he was prevented from killing the Emperor Emeritus, so there was only one option left.
He intended to cut out the Emperor Emeritus’s presence from the palace entirely, making people forget he was even alive and breathing.
The forces supporting the Emperor Emeritus had no choice but to be demoted from their political positions or flee the capital as if escaping. Corruptions they didn’t even know they had committed were revealed one after another in Tetar’s hands. It was a swift and merciless attack that didn’t even allow time for defense.
Now, out of ten nobles with the authority to attend the Grand Council, two had lost their heads, and of the remaining eight seats, only three were from the Emperor Emeritus’s faction. Just moments ago, one of those three was dragged out by knights on charges of tax embezzlement, leaving only two supporters of the Emperor Emeritus.
The faces of the two nobles who sensed their precarious position were pale. Tetar, facing them, opened his mouth with an indifferent and bored expression.
“Let’s continue the meeting.”
How could they continue the meeting when the person sitting next to them had just been stripped of their title and property and expelled from the council room? None of the nobles dared to speak up.
“So. You’re dissatisfied with inviting Veshnu nobles to the completion ceremony, Marquis Gendal.”
At Tetar’s cold voice, Marquis Gendal, a supporter of the Emperor Emeritus, tightly closed his eyes.
“I’m suggesting we at least reduce the number of attendees, Your Majesty. To invite the same number as Tessibania…”
“What’s the problem? It’s not like we alone put in the effort to restore the abandoned temple.”
“But it’s the Veshnu Empire, Your Majesty. The country we’ve been at war with for 100 years. Moreover, who is responsible for this restoration in the first place? Isn’t it because of what they did in Haksya village?”
“Someone might think we’re innocent if they heard you.”
At Tetar’s sarcastic reply, Marquis Gendal’s face hardened with discomfort.
The fact that the Haksya village epidemic was caused by the Veshnu Knights, and the details of what happened to Veshnu’s single mothers at the hands of Tessibanian knights, were not publicized solely because the new Empress had played an excellent mediating role.
Since the sins of both empires were too heavy and horrific to be weighed against each other, she used the public attention focused on her as a shield to cover up both incidents and conclude by working together on the restoration of the abandoned temple.
Under the grand title of “Radiance of Blessing,” the incidents seemed to be quietly buried, but conversely, there was intense rivalry between the two empires during the restoration process of the abandoned temple.
It was an occasion for harmony between the two empires, arranged by the Tessibanian Empress of Veshnu origin. As it drew much attention, it was a good opportunity to showcase each empire’s status. While they tried to display their generosity in helping their former enemy and flaunt their imperial wealth, the scale of support from both empires was similar.
The key issue for the completion ceremony after the temple restoration was which side would invite more attendees, but due to the similar level of support from both empires, it was only fair to invite an equal number.
However, a few days ago, news came that Veshnu had delegated the hosting authority for the completion ceremony to the Tessibanian Empress. In other words, they didn’t care even if the ceremony was held without any attendees from the Veshnu Empire.
To suppress Veshnu’s prestige at this prestigious event. It was something the Emperor Emeritus would naturally desire, and also an opportunity to voice disagreement with Tetar’s recent unrestrained actions.
At least until one of the nobles supporting the Emperor Emeritus was unceremoniously expelled from the council room by Tetar’s merciless actions.
Marquis Gendal clicked his tongue as he looked at the trembling noble of the same faction sitting next to him.
‘I thought I had lived without committing major crimes, but who knows. This man would find fault even in a speck of dust accidentally stepped on…’
How many nobles could have lived entirely free of corruption? Especially to gain enough power to enter the Grand Council, one had to see all sorts of things and seize power. There was no one without dirt on them.
“…Why are you doing this, Your Majesty? This is a choice that would benefit the imperial power as well.”
Once he summoned the courage to speak, the words flowed smoothly.
“Although Her Majesty the Empress has gained fame for resolving the Haksya village incident, there are still many in the empire who harbor resentment towards Veshnu. There’s no better opportunity to appease their discomfort.”
Marquis Gendal continued speaking while avoiding Tetar’s steady gaze.
“With your opposition this strong, I suspect that Her Majesty the Empress might be against adjusting the number of attendees because she is from Veshnu.”
Tetar, who had been listening silently, leaned back in his chair and lowered his gaze gently.
“Marquis, do you think you’re still in this position because you’re innocent?”
“…”
“I don’t know when a place for promoting harmony became a place for competition. Rather, I’m suspicious. Are you so desperate to fight with Veshnu because you’re the Emperor Emeritus’s man?”
The meeting couldn’t continue any further. How could anyone dare to speak up when they might lose their position at the slightest misstep?
As the meeting adjourned inconclusively, Marquis Gendal, upon exiting, berated the noble standing next to him with an face unable to hide his irritation.
“Is that how you try to corner His Majesty? You barely opened your mouth until the meeting was over!”
“What else could I do? What if I had been expelled in the middle of the meeting like Baron Balcarian!”
“This won’t do. With even the military authority gained on the pretext of war taken away, and His Majesty pressuring to reduce our power somehow, we must do something.”
“Even so, there’s no way out. He’s digging up sins we’ve hidden so thoroughly, it’s fortunate if we don’t lose our heads.”
“No… His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus summoned us as soon as the meeting ended. It seems someone has attempted to contact him.”
“Contact?”
“He said that if we play our cards right, we might be able to suppress the current Emperor’s forces and regain our former glory. First, we need to separate the Empress from His Majesty’s side.”
“Is that even possible when the Emperor Emeritus’s feet are tied to the separate palace? Even if it were possible, don’t you know how much attention His Majesty has been showing the Empress lately? You might lose your head if we’re not careful.”
Marquis Gendal furrowed his brow and sighed deeply.
How could it not be dangerous? The only legitimate heir. Due to the marriage with the Veshnu princess as part of the peace treaty, they couldn’t easily depose him, nor was there a proper justification.
His ability, which had shown itself frighteningly since the marriage, was so remarkable that its limits couldn’t be gauged. It wouldn’t be easy to suppress the Emperor’s power, which had driven out the shadow of the previous Emperor and firmly grasped the palace in just a few months.
“…Since His Majesty the Emperor Emeritus says he has a way, let’s go see him for now. If we stay still, we’re bound to be expelled or killed, so shouldn’t we at least struggle a bit?”
* * *
Although Vinea and Tetar were together in the spacious area created by combining their offices, it had been a while since they had time for a proper conversation due to the whirlwind of work.
The task of following up on the clues thrown by Sefitiana had fallen entirely to Vinea, as it was such a large undertaking.
Tetar, who had been handling imperial duties until just moments ago, stood before Vinea as she pressed her eyes in fatigue.
A white envelope dropped from his hand.
“The news the Empress has been waiting for has finally arrived.”
“Is it from the temple?”
“Yes.”
Vinea’s expression furrowed slightly as she read the letter.
“It’s information about the abandoned temple. Apparently, someone who worked there is still affiliated with the temple.”
“It’s been 50 years since the temple collapsed in the flood. Yet someone who worked there is still affiliated with the temple?”
The minimum age to become a priest was sixteen, and it had been 50 years since the temple was ruined by the flood. If a priest who had stayed there was still alive, they would be at least sixty-six years old.
Setting aside the fact that they were still working in the temple without any ailments, most priests stepped down from their positions and trained successors before turning sixty.
It was a situation where they had to doubt the information sent by the temple.
“Well. Since it’s information sent by the temple, we should believe it for now. They say they’ll look into it more and bring additional information when they visit the palace for the Empire Foundation Day.”
Thanks to receiving an apology from the Grand Priest after making him take a truth serum, the information obtained through the temple was quite valuable. Vinea folded the letter and put it in the drawer.
“We discovered Sefitiana by destroying the temple, and now information is falling into our laps by threatening a priest. Should we say this is also God’s help?”
Vinea raised her stiff neck with self-deprecation. The well-defined muscles beneath Tetar’s shirt came into her view as he stood before her.
Perhaps because he had consistently learned swordsmanship even before the regression, his sturdy body seemed to be well-maintained. Or maybe it was from swinging his sword while suffering from hallucinations every dawn.
“—so we should start moving too.”
Belatedly hearing Tetar’s voice after her thoughts had briefly scattered, Vinea asked.
“What did you say?”
Tetar lazily smiled as he casually touched his top button.
“Shall I undo one more for you to look at comfortably?”
His attitude had become more blatant since their conversation in the garden.
A thirsty gaze, greedy eyes. Vinea didn’t much like his attitude that seemed to suggest he could forget reality by simply relying on plain pleasure.
“…I’ll pass.”
Just as Tetar, looking somewhat displeased, reached out his hand towards her, Lineue arrived with a knock on the door.
“What is it?”
At Tetar’s irritated voice, Lineue stuttered in confusion.
“The-there’s a message Her Majesty the Empress has been waiting for…”
Tetar snatched the letter from Lineue’s hand as if taking it by force and gritted out the name written on the envelope.
“Balak Utar.”
