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The Crown Prince Wishes to Retire

34. The Emperor’s Burden!

Finally, all the schedules came to an end, and the Emperor’s funeral was approaching its climax.

As the late Emperor’s coffin was lowered into the grave, Kariel and the other officials worked tirelessly, day and night.

The Counts of the Borders and the expeditionary forces also gradually returned to their original posts.

For three final days, the Empire’s citizens honored the late Emperor.

During these three days, the Empire’s military and bureaucrats scurried about to chase the enormous shifts occurring in the West Continent.

As a result, messengers from other nations also hurriedly returned to their homelands.

The movements began from the South.

“The movements of the Southern Kingdoms are unsettling.”

Talion reported with a serious expression while explaining the general situation in the West Continent.

“Rotheon was the first to act. Currently, Rotheon’s military is gathering in Iron.”

“But the Count of the South should be there, right?”

“They’re ignoring him and moving ahead.”

Kariel made a puzzled expression at Talion’s report.

“Are they so sure that the Empire won’t strike? Or…”

Kariel paused while reading the report, puzzled over what Rotheon was aiming for.

“How many spies from Rotheon are within the Iron Alliance?”

“About a thousand, we estimate.”

“…That’s less?”

Talion flinched at Kariel’s question.

In a situation where the Empire is investing heavily in Iron to create a pro-Empire faction, why is Rotheon reducing its number?

Sensing something foul in the air, Kariel turned to Talion.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“…I’ll investigate.”

“Right. Also, make sure the special forces in Iron can pull out at any time.”

“Yes.”

“You know not to make any noticeable moves in Iron and Rotheon, right?”

Talion nodded at Kariel’s words.

Currently, in Iron, the pro-Empire faction and the opposition were in intense conflict.

The opposition was receiving support from Rotheon and Talos, while the pro-Empire faction was even stationing the Empire’s military in their territory to counteract that support.

But what if all this was a ruse?

‘Did they betray even the pro-Empire faction back then?’

When the Southern Kingdom and the Holy Nation forged a secret agreement, Iron had also shown signs of breaking its alliance with the Empire.

Afterward, by assisting the weak pro-Empire faction, they arranged a split between the two factions, but if all of that was just a performance, then the Empire was essentially pouring money into Iron.

“Should we label Iron as an ‘enemy’?”

Kariel muttered, a vexed expression on his face.

The internal dynamics of Iron were too complicated to easily judge what was going on.

The Empire’s Intelligence Department was not incompetent.

If only real “enemies” remained in Iron, they would have noticed.

One thing was certain: fierce conflicts were occurring within Iron right now.

Merchants, who would go mad over money, were enduring the destruction of their markets out of fierce opposition.

Iron was already consuming vast amounts of funds just from the conflicts between the pro-Empire and opposition factions in real-time.

If they were trying to pilfer money from the Empire, the scale was far too large.

“If this is a prank, then Iron has some guts.”

Kariel mumbled, becoming engrossed in his work once again.

He had already definitively separated from the Southern Kingdoms. Thus, he had to tidy up the affairs within the Empire as quickly as possible.

The West Continent should already view everyone but the Principality as potential enemies of the Empire, leaving much work to be done.

The officials were aware of this and moved as if prepared for every possible scenario.

They prepared to supply military provisions at any time and sped up road repairs for swift resource mobilization.

Among these efforts, the most significant was the contract with the Magic Tower.

“Your Majesty.”

“Is that you, Chancellor?”

Seeing Winston visit him, Kariel rose from his seat and approached the table.

Out of consideration for the elderly Winston, he didn’t stand to receive reports and instead sat down as if welcoming a guest while preparing tea.

“This is a report regarding the Magic Tower.”

“They have caught wind of my intentions, haven’t they?”

As Kariel laughed while speaking, Winston nodded gravely.

“It seems so.”

The powerful interests held by the Magic Tower at present—

Kariel saw this as one of the greatest hindrances to the Empire’s development.

As it progressed towards becoming an industrial nation, the nobles’ rights would naturally crumble. However, as they had acquired techniques through magical engineering, development was only allowed within the bounds of the Magic Tower.

There were many items that could not be activated without magic.

Even things that could have easily been non-magical were obstructed from technological advancement via the inclusion of magic.

They did this solely to secure their own status.

As time passed, it became a common perception that all engineering was dependent on magic, and that belief persisted up to the present.

But having lived on Earth, Kariel could plant the seeds for engineering and nurture them in his past life. However, at that time, the Magic Tower was half-collapsed, and the Empire was in decline, allowing it to be consumed.

Now, the Magic Tower was solidified, requiring careful preparation.

“Your Majesty, it seems premature to disturb the Magic Tower at this time.”

“I know. I’m just preparing. Using these will take a long time.”

The Magic Tower and the officials both understood that one day Kariel would implement reforms.

The Eastern region was already spearheaded by revolutionary forces, and a large-scale industrial complex was being prepared at Salem Port.

Due to this, the inhabitants of surrounding territories flocked to Salem Port, pushing the lords who had been squeezing taxes to lower rates to secure the residents.

If this expanded throughout the Empire, it would ignite a revolution.

That’s why the nobles resisted, but with clumsy opposition, they were easily crushed by Kariel.

In contrast, the Magic Tower was different. While the nobles were in revolt, the Magic Tower remained calm.

During that time, Kariel prepared to ensure that they could not easily encroach upon their interests.

Thus, if he were to hastily disturb the Magic Tower, it could lead to serious consequences. This was what Winston feared.

“I know what your concerns are.”

Kariel understood exactly what Winston was worried about, which is why he only set plans but did not implement anything.

To strike against the Magic Tower, he lacked both justification and strength.

Therefore, for now, he would only engage in preliminary preparations.

All the plans he was secretly preparing would be executed once the rebel forces were disposed of and the Empire had entered a period of stability.

‘If all goes according to plan, I might be able to reduce the nobles to mere honorary positions.’

Kariel thought inwardly, his eyes shining with resolve.

Starting with Salem, he would create a large middle class in major cities, transforming the nobles into hollow figures.

Following that, he would drag down “magic” from its current absolute supremacy to merely one of many academic fields.

At that moment, the Empire would undergo a transformation.

However, before these plans were set in motion, it was crucial to quiet the backlash from the existing high-ranking individuals, such as the nobles and mages.

Having thought that far, Kariel looked at Winston.

“If the document in your hand is a resignation letter, you may keep it.”

“Your Majesty, I am too old. As previously reported, appointing one of the capable individuals to the chancellorship would be more convenient for navigating the political landscape.”

At Winston’s words, Kariel chuckled.

“It’s you who is keeping the nobles’ grievances at bay. But what happens if you’re gone?”

Winston fell silent at Kariel’s remark.

“I also plan not to pursue overly contentious policies that would provoke the nobles. All plans will be executed after things are settled internally, so just hang in there until then.”

“Until then…”

“I will accept your resignation then.”

In response to Kariel’s answer, Winston, who had been fiddling with the resignation letter in his pocket, bowed his head.

“Ha… understood.”

Kariel soothed Winston, who came with a resignation letter today, and sent him on his way.

As much as he wanted to appoint a capable individual to the chancellorship, the timing was not right.

More importantly, Winston’s abilities were still quite useful.

As someone recommended by the nobles, the Noble Assembly would somewhat heed Winston’s words, and Winston himself, having been in politics for a long time, was sharp-witted.

He could gauge Kariel’s intentions to a degree and had often tied up loose ends before anything significant occurred.

Therefore, until Kariel’s plans were on track, Winston needed to maintain his position as Chancellor.

The problem was that Kariel had no idea when that might be.

At least a few years were required for long-term plans.

That meant Winston would have to hold the chancellorship for at least that long.

“Still, I bet I’ll retire before you, so don’t blame me.”

Kariel muttered as he gazed at his office.

The view of the desk piled high with paperwork was enough to bore even the officials.

Yet for Kariel, it was the lesser evil.

The officials and central bureaucrats would be far more overwhelmed than he was.

“There seems to be no end to this.”

Although it looked like there was nothing, upon close inspection, there were plenty of overflowing issues.

Every little problem, when added together, formed a colossal one.

Kariel would much prefer to sweep these under the rug, but due to continuous warfare, he needed to save every penny possible.

By addressing the small issues and sealing up all the little corruptions that had been overlooked as customary, he could secure one-twentieth of the Empire’s first-quarter budget.

People might think one-twentieth of the first-quarter budget sounds small, but it was enough to sustain the expeditionary forces for a year.

Given such results, even the officials who had been grumbling about overtime had to fall silent.

Considering not just the rebels and the Alliance of Small Nations but also the unstable situation of the West Continent, every penny they could save mattered; thus, they were pushing themselves to work despite feeling like they might drop dead from exhaustion.

As a result, everyone from the Emperor down to the lowest-ranking employee looked like zombies, sporting haggard faces.

Rumors had already spread throughout the capital that the central offices were the number one department to avoid at all costs.

“It’s hell.”

A never-ending sea of paperwork.

One night, trapped in that abyss, Kariel decided to visit Miriel.

Miriel, who had been waiting with sleepy eyes, approached with a smile.

It was a stroke of luck to have Miriel to heal him every night; without her, he might have unleashed all his fury on the officials.

His moments of mercy towards the bureaucrats came entirely because of Miriel.

“I’ll study hard to help, too.”

“Hmm… but you should play when you’re young. It’s not good to only study.”

Kariel said, ruffling Miriel’s hair.

In response, Miriel puffed up her cheeks, clearly dissatisfied.

“I don’t want to be the only one playing.”

Perhaps feeling guilty that all her brothers were busy working while she enjoyed peaceful moments, she kept insisting on studying.

Seeing this, Kariel, instead, decided to grant her more time for leisure.

He hoped she could avoid entering this hellish world too soon and wanted her to have a happy childhood, if only for a little while longer.

“You might think that now, but in the future, you’ll miss this time.”

Having played with the sulky Miriel, Kariel tucked her in and stepped outside.

Dragging his exhausted body to the Imperial Palace, the old attendant bowed as he reported.

“Your Majesty, a raven has come from the North.”

At the attendant’s report, Kariel entered with a somber expression.

“I greet Your Majesty!”

A raven dressed in black knelt, presenting a piece of black paper. It was a letter.

Kariel read through the letter.

“…They have finally moved.”

Finally, the Holy Nation had begun to act.

Meaning, the old fox of the Holy Nation had judged there was some chance of victory.

“It will be a tough fight.”

Kariel murmured, exhaling a quiet sigh.

The temporary peace established by the late Emperor was coming to an end, and the era of intense conflict was about to commence.

 

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