Chapter 34
Central Palace Grand Hall
The ministers were in a frenzy.
In front of them lay the proposal for the establishnt of a dical bureau. The ministers had just finished reading it.
The court was divided into two factions: the pro-imperialists and the pro-temple. They continued their heated debate.
“If the proposal by Her Majesty the Empress goes through, it will be the best thing for the empire. The budget is sufficient, and the planning is complete.”
“Does everything in the imperial palace go as planned?”
“Still, we should give it a try. You all saw the power of the dicine made by Her Majesty the Empress.”
“I acknowledge that, but establishing a dical bureau is another matter entirely.”
It was always like this. Leto watched the proceedings silently.
The tension wasn’t high enough yet. They needed the high-ranking nobles to speak up.
Soone shouted.
“This is about the foundation of the empire! This is not a matter to be decided lightly!”
Count Jules then spoke up.
“The foundation of the empire is its people. The health and lives of the people.”
“You speak dangerously, Count Jules,” retorted Duke Bern. Leto raised an eyebrow slightly.
“The foundation of the empire is the goddess’ teachings. Isn’t it a violation of those teachings for the imperial family to lead the production of dicine?”
Even the counts and dukes were speaking up. It ant that the ti was ripe.
The two continued their argunt, which was essentially a battle between the pro-imperialists and the pro-temple factions.
“Enough,” Leto said. The two imdiately fell silent.
“I’ve heard enough of your argunts. Now, let’s summarize. First, let’s agree on this proposal. Is there any error in it?”
Silence.
“Good. Then we can agree that the proposal makes sense. The problem seems to be that there are objections even though the proposal is sound.”
Leto looked at Bern. Bern calmly bowed his head slightly.
“Since you hold the highest position among those opposing this proposal, it would be appropriate for you to represent them. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“…Very well.”
Bern had been a minister since the reign of the previous emperor. He was not one to back down easily.
“The dicine created by Her Majesty the Empress was indeed powerful. However, there are practical issues to consider.”
“Practical issues?”
Leto asked, holding back a smile.
“It’s interesting. To use the word ‘practical’ while defending religious doctrine.”
“Ahem…! Please listen to , Your Majesty.”
“By all ans. My ears are open. You said there’s a problem, correct?”
“Yes. To be honest, the temple will view this matter very unfavorably. This will disrupt the balance between the temple and the imperial family.”
“You are close with the high priest, are you not? Why don’t you, who work for the imperial family, try to persuade the high priest?”
Bern swallowed hard. He had tried to keep his friendship with the high priest hidden. He hadn’t expected this young emperor to point it out.
“It’s not about pandering to the temple. It’s about the need to persuade them.”
“Persuasion. A good word. For example?”
“We need proof. Proof that the dicine is effective for everyone.”
“Wasn’t that already proven by Doctor Kinas?”
“It’s not sufficient. For the benefit of the people, we need to make it comrcially available. The painkiller created by Her Majesty the Empress has not been proven to be effective for everyone, so the people are reluctant to use it.”
It was a plausible argunt. The pro-temple nobles nodded in agreent. Leto thought to himself.
‘Livia was right.’
Just a short ti ago, they had reviewed the draft proposal together. At that ti, Livia had said,
The ministers won’t openly pander to the temple. Instead, they’ll ask for proof that the dical bureau will be successful.
That’s right. Dramatic proof would be good, but we don’t have ti for that.
Farahm has succeeded in refining Indigo.
Farahm?
Yes. If we handle it well, we can use it in the eting.
“That’s right, Bern. I fully agree with your statent.”
Bern’s lips curled upwards at Leto’s words.
“Thank you for listening.”
“So, I’ve prepared for this proof you speak of.”
“…What?”
Leto gestured to Yuton, who was standing in the corner. Yuton opened the door to the eting room. Farahm walked in.
“B-Baron Farahm?”
“H-His skin… How?”
“It’s unbelievable!”
His skin had almost completely healed, with only small scars barely visible.
Farahm placed a small jar on the table.
“This ointnt is made from herbs collected from the ‘Forest of the Wizards’ and refined under Her Majesty the Empress’ guidance.”
The ministers were quite taken aback. Even the pro-imperialist ministers were speechless. Count Jules asked Leto,
“Then, when you went to the ‘Forest of the Wizards’…”
“Yes. We went to find the raw materials for the dicine.”
“Incredible…”
Farahm spoke up,
“Not only , but fifty other patients with the sa symptoms showed significant improvent. If you need further confirmation, I can bring them in as well.”
The advantage had now shifted to the emperor’s side. The pro-temple ministers looked to Bern, as if asking him to do sothing.
Bern’s eyes wavered with unease. Then suddenly, sothing flashed in his mind.
“The ‘Forest of the Wizards,’ you say?”
“Yes.”
“How long can we rely on the wizards for raw materials, Your Majesty? We should start with dostic plant research first. Only after proper research should the dical bureau be established—”
“That’s correct. That is the proper order,” Leto agreed with him again.
“Research will, of course, be conducted. It’s written in the proposal. But the ‘Forest of the Wizards’ is part of the empire. Researching its plants will speed up the process.”
“The wizards will never allow it!”
“No, that’s not true.”
Leto picked up the proposal from the table. Beneath it lay a sheet of paper. He pushed the paper forward.
“What is that, Your Majesty?”
“An agreent with the Wizards’ Guild.”
The ministers began passing the agreent around. Their eyes were filled with amazent.
“It states that if the dical bureau is established, we will be granted access to the ‘Forest of the Wizards.’ Of course, there will be a fee, but it can be covered within the budget.”
The agreent finally reached Bern. He looked at it with disbelief.
“Do you have anything more to say?”
The ministers were speechless. Whether it was out of reverence or surprise, they could not tell.
Leto smiled.
“Then I take it we are all in agreent on this proposal. The eting is adjourned.”
He was the first to leave the eting room. The sun was already setting outside.
‘It took longer than I expected.’
He asked Yuton, who followed him,
“Is the empress in her room? Or the office?”
He rembered her waving to him from the balcony. He wanted to share the news with her as soon as possible.
“She just received a ssage. Master Luminus is waiting in the reception room.”
“Luminus? At this hour?”
Leto frowned.
“Yes. He brought a blank check.”
“Sigh… I need to deal with him quickly then.”
“And he wants to discuss the ‘matter’ you proposed earlier.”
“The ‘matter’?”
Leto hesitated, then carefully asked,
“Is it possible?”
“Yes. So he said there are many things to discuss.”
“Then let’s go. Prepare dinner. We’ll dine with the master.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Leto looked out the window again. The sky was cloudy as if it was about to rain.
‘Looks like I won’t be seeing her today. There’s nothing I can do about it.’
I heard the news that the proposal had passed. The maids chatted about the eting all day.
“It’s really great. You’ve worked so hard.”
“That’s right! It’s all thanks to Her Majesty the Empress.”
Lady Mare also had sothing to say.
“I heard the eting dragged on because Duke Bern caused a lot of trouble.”
That must be true. It would have been hard for him to hide his pro-temple stance in such a eting.
“So, now the rumors about the eting must have spread. How did it go?”
“We heard in the hallway! Everyone was talking about it.”
The maids started to share the details.
Hmm… Sending Farahm to the eting was a good idea.
I was also surprised. Leto had already made an agreent with Luminus. I didn’t expect him to be that prepared.
“Well done.”
“When will His Majesty co to tell us the news?”
One of the maids said absentmindedly. Another maid nudged her with her elbow. The maid then covered her mouth.
“Oh, I misspoke…”
They thought things were not good between Leto and . They assud we had fought because I had returned early from our date last night.
They couldn’t possibly guess the real reason.
“It’s late. Go rest. Lady Mare, you too.”
“Oh… Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Rest well.”
The maids looked uneasy as they got up. Lady Mare led them out of the room.
Darkness had already fallen outside. It was late enough to fall asleep.
See you later.
He had said that, but he must be busy now. Maybe we can celebrate tomorrow.
I lay down in bed but couldn’t fall asleep. The establishnt of the dical bureau was becoming a reality. Worry and anticipation filled .
I eventually got up.
‘Maybe a night walk will help.’
I put on a thin robe and stepped outside.
‘I’ve walked the imperial palace garden many tis, so let’s go to the central palace grand garden. It’s the largest garden in the palace.’
I walked for a long ti.
Drip, drop—
Raindrops began to fall, followed by a sudden downpour. The rain in this place always seed to co out of nowhere.
“Damn.”
I took shelter under a large deciduous tree. The tree was big enough to shield
from the rain, which was fortunate.
No one was around. Waiting for the rain to stop seed like the best option.
Then I heard hurried footsteps approaching. The sound stopped behind the tree.
“Damn it. What’s with this sudden rain?”
It was Leto’s voice.
“Indeed. It’s night, so the guards won’t be patrolling much.”
This ti it was Yuton’s voice.
“It’s all because of that bastard Luminus.”
“There’s no helping it. I’ll go get an umbrella. Please wait a mont.”
Yuton hurriedly ran off.
‘Where are his usual secretaries and attendants? Why is he here in the central palace garden at this hour?’
I glanced in the direction they had co from.
‘The only place in that direction is the empress’s palace.’
What should I do? Should I just stay hidden here? I didn’t intend to hide in the first place.
‘It feels weird to just stay here…’
I slowly stepped around the tree. I hadn’t taken more than two steps when,
“Who’s there?”
He sensed my presence imdiately. If I took another step, he might draw his sword.
“It’s .”
“…Livia?”
He ca around the tree. His eyes widened in surprise. His expression was a bit foolish.
I said to him,
“You curse well.”
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