I Became the Master of the Empress - Chapter 265



265 – 269

As always, I was reading the report normally when I noticed a striking update.

Victor… met with the minister Wilhelm?

Seeing the meeting between the aristocrat Wilhelm and his aide Victor reminded me of what he had said a few days ago.

Is this already an underground negotiation?

His judgment has always been cold and swift.

Giving up all power of Debian is something that would undoubtedly tempt them.

That’s why he must have told me in advance.

If the aristocrat accepts his proposal and it passes through the imperial council for my approval, it would be hard for me to turn back.

But… if such an unreasonable thing happens as a price for the things he has done to save the world, to protect the empire, and for me…

I feel like I might go insane.

He is a person who is more suited to rule than I, the emperor.

Perhaps if he belonged to the Augustus family, he could have become the greatest ruler of the empire.

His insight and abilities are broader than any emperor, and his authority as a saint compels even the citizens of the empire to follow him.

Yet the aristocrats, who know nothing but their own families, are trying to gamble their lives with him.

And the kind man is trying to withdraw from all power in disgrace…

I absolutely cannot allow such a sight.

How can someone who cannot protect their loved ones protect the vast empire and its many citizens?

“I will never let it be… never.”

But there isn’t much I can offer the aristocrats.

Abolishing the tax ceiling like before is out of the question.

It makes no sense to say to go back to the past when the empire is experiencing explosive growth.

To halt the empire’s development merely for their benefit is nonsensical.

So, there is only one answer.

The only way is to thoroughly suppress them with fear…

– Knock, knock.

– Your Majesty, Minister Karl has arrived.

“Let him in.”

– Creeeak…

Soon the door opened and Karl entered.

“Did you call for me, Your Majesty?”

Karl greeted me with a bow.

I asked him in return.

“I saw in the report that Minister Victor met with Wilhelm. Do you happen to know what they discussed?”

Karl shook his head.

“That might be difficult. It’s already hard to use magic detectors for secret conversations these days.”

After it became known that the intelligence department had a listening spell, they began to check for eavesdropping spells using magic detectors in the meeting room.

“I see… I called you because I wanted to consult you on something.”

“A consultation… you say?”

Karl looked puzzled.

I nodded at him and shared my thoughts about Deviant.

“If it were me, I would be suspicious and act accordingly.”

His words, which were almost akin to surrender, made me curious, and I asked.

“Why is that?”

“Well… isn’t he quite a cunning person? Even if he says surrender, I believe it would actually be a scheme to stab us in the back.”

I thought the same way, but if we enshrine it in law through the Imperial Assembly… it wouldn’t be easy to turn back.

“Well, whatever the case, his true intention is to give up everything to prevent a civil war. In a way, that could be his sincerity.”

That’s why it made me even angrier.

He… is trying to sacrifice himself again.

He could lean on me a little.

The workaholic giving up on work… my heart ached already at the thought of what kind of despairing choice he made.

“Anyway, I will stop that from happening. To do that… I plan to negotiate with the aristocrats. I need you to arrange a meeting with Wilhelm.”

Karl stroked his chin.

“That’s not difficult, but… do you have anything to persuade them with?”

“Persuade? Why should I do that?”

I had no intention of persuading the aristocrats.

If they were to rebel… if I were to drive a nail into his heart…

I would erase their lineage from this world.

“However…”

“I will persuade them myself, so please set up an appointment.”

At my words, Karl nodded with a reluctant expression.

“Yes. I will try to schedule it as soon as possible and report back.”

I nodded at Karl’s words.

*

– Flutter!

With the loud sound of the curtains, Sena’s voice was heard.

“Your Grace, I will loosen the bandages for a moment to examine you.”

From noble mtl dot com

I nodded at Sena’s voice.

Today was the day to check on the progress of the surgery.

The pressure from the bandage that had been tightening around my head began to lessen.

– Swoosh…

As the bandage was loosened to a certain extent.

“Just a moment. Don’t open your eyes yet.”

She gently caressed my eyelids.

“Now, keep your eyes closed and stay still. If you open them, the nerves might get damaged.”

I swallowed hard at Sena’s chilling words.

– Gulp.

At the same time, Sena began to remove something from my eyelid.

“How does it feel? Is it a bit brighter?”

Huh? It had definitely been pitch dark, but it felt brighter now.

“Something has definitely brightened up.”

It was as if I could tell it was daytime even without opening my eyes… I could feel the light coming through my eyelids.

“That’s good to hear. The optic nerve is regenerating. I will reapply the bandage now.”

Saying that, she brought something close to my eyelids and soon wrapped the bandage around them again.

“It seems that the Lady is indeed taking care of Your Grace. Your condition is really good.”

I responded to Sena’s bright voice.

“No matter how much the heavens look after me, it wouldn’t be this good without Sister Sena. Isn’t there a saying that heaven helps those who help themselves?”

At my words, Sena spoke as if she were puzzled.

“The sky is the sky, but to help someone? El governs the sky, but he is not the sky itself. I’ve never heard such a thing before?”

I felt awkward at Sena’s puzzled tone.

Is that so?

I’m not familiar with the doctrines here, but it seems they differ somewhat from where I lived.

“Is that so? Haha…”

I brushed it off since I didn’t know much about religious doctrines.

“Your Grace, the Grand Duke, but it seems like the atmosphere has changed a bit lately.”

“Pardon?”

What does it mean that the atmosphere has changed?

“I really liked your previous serious expressions and the way you didn’t whip yourself.”

Well… back then, I was in a position of responsibility, and now I have no responsibilities to bear.

“You look a hundred times, a thousand times better than before.”

Sena’s words made me smile involuntarily.

“That’s true. Now the burden has been lifted.”

In this situation where the pressure has disappeared, I think I want to throw everything off and rest deeply.

Whether it’s aristocracy or whatever, I believe Theodora can handle it on her own.

There are still some clumsy parts, but the vassals who follow her will be more than enough to fill those gaps.

Now that I plan to enjoy the life of a carefree nobleman, I already feel happy.

*

“Duke Wilhelm… Did the Grand Duke really make such a proposal?”

The hall fell silent at the Grand Duke’s proposal.

The imposing Grand Duke… negotiating as if it were a surrender?

The nobles, who thought they would either reach a smooth agreement or be threatened, were caught off guard by this situation.

And in the minds of the many aristocrats present here…

‘Is this… a death sentence?’

‘Is he trying to reassure us only to kill us all?’

‘We have to trust what we can trust. That cunning Grand Duke.’

It felt as if everyone present believed their names were on the Grand Duke’s death list.

“This is… the Grand Duke’s scheme. There must be something he has prepared!”

“Method! We must find a method. We cannot simply succumb to the Grand Duke like this!”

“What a vile little b*stard!”

A cacophony of chaos…

Forming an alliance with Johannes, he baited him into inciting a rebellion, captured Sir William to lull the enemy into a false sense of security, and lent money to the war-torn great lords, turning them into slaves of debt.

He captured the Pope, delivering a blow to everyone in the Empire, and the one thought to be a devout worshiper of the demon race, Debian, turned out to have struck from behind to ensnare the demons, leaving him twice betrayed by the claim that he was a saint.

In the current political arena, there is a saying that one should first suspect whatever the Grand Duke says, for he is treacherous and cunning.

Honestly, it is hard to believe that someone who strikes from behind so well could be a saint.

At this point, some nobles are already presuming that the conditions of a saint are that he must be an extraordinary liar.

“Quiet! Quiet!”

Wilhelm raises his voice to draw the attention of the nobles.

“I too believe the Grand Duke has sinister schemes. But how about we accept this proposal and strike from behind ourselves?”

The nobles, lost in thought, begin to speak up.

“Why… why not just disband instead? I am an aristocrat, but… I have a son who is without a mother.”

“Indeed. To be honest, it wouldn’t be strange if the Imperial Army appeared here and took us away for execution.”

Thus, there are minor and middle-ranking nobles suggesting to nullify the uprising itself…

“Let’s not accept the proposal and instead proceed with the uprising. We don’t know what kind of plot the Grand Duke is concocting, so accepting it feels unsettling.”

“Agreed, we must push forward in our own way.”

“Perhaps the Grand Duke is trying to incite discord among us.”

With distrust in the Grand Duke, there are even nobles advocating for an uprising to overturn him.

And so, they debate back and forth throughout the night.