Chaise a la Reine

Kayediv’s ships, which were intended for deep-sea voyages and occasionally sails to the icy waters, were known for their inherent robustness.

Since it was made of coniferous trees that had been hardened by the harsh winter, it was not only resistant to any kind of bombardment, but due to the advanced technology of steel manufacture, the artillery production was also quite decent. Although the construction technology may be inferior to that of the Confederation of Five Nations, Kayediv’s warships, which were superior in terms of durability, were worth the fairly expensive price. 

“Seems like you do not know the meaning of the word ‘secretly’. Do you think it would have been necessary to suggest that in particular if We had not been concerned that rumors would leak out?”

“However, Your Majesty-.”

“But I do not want to hear it. This is Our final negotiation proposal. There will be no compromise or consideration beyond this. You can refuse if you wish. However, it will be entirely your responsibility to recover from that.”

The Emperor put the pistol he was holding down on the table and beckoned the attendant to wash his hands. He washed away the gunpowder smell on his hands with lemon water and then, as if he had suddenly remembered it, added. 

“Oh, by the way. We forgot to tell you this. Vice Admiral Chastan will be the one who will manage the ships. He is the most capable admiral under Our command.”

Prince Cyrill felt as if he had been struck in the back of his head by those last words. The Emperor wiped his hands with a towel and passed him unaffectedly.

“Of course, We are not asking to make a decision right away, so take your time and think carefully. What do you want to bring to your country? Actual profit without honor? Or shallow honor? To be clear, you can only take one or the other.”

The Emperor leisurely left the place, leaving the deeply troubled Cyrill with one question that pierced his core. Prince Cyrill, who was left alone, stood there in stony silence with disheveled feelings, unable to say anything. He realized that he had been caught in the trap set by the cunning Emperor, but no matter how much he thought about it, he could hardly think of a clever idea to escape.

***

Even though he achieved almost everything he had set out to do, Emperor Ebroin V felt somewhat uneasy.

… Why do I feel this way?

After a day’s work, the Emperor soaked himself in the bathtub and relaxed his tense muscles in the hot water. The ceramic bathtub was as warm as his body temperature. In the bath with plenty of rose water, a subtle rose scent bloomed, and the beauty salt, said to soften the skin, melted under the body with small popping sounds. 

The Emperor, feeling the buoyancy of the water gently embracing his exhausted body, tilted his head back. The attendants, worried that the water might cool down, poured fresh hot water into his bathtub.

The extravagant bath was a new way of life that the Emperor had learned during his war with Shaak. Although most of Shaak’s land was desert, most of the feudal lords lived in cities that had oases with abundant water.

As a result, a bath culture was developed to wash away the sand and dust from outside, and the feudal lords of Shaak, who became accustomed to it, brought that habit to the newly occupied Landrienne Plains.

Thanks to this, whenever the Emperor arrived at the reoccupied fortresses, he had to face beautifully renovated bathhouses by the feudal lords of Shaak. At first, the Emperor did not even realize what the uselessly luxurious place was made for, but after several trials, he fully understood why they could not give up the habit. 

Shaak’s bath culture was completely different from that of Estina’s, where they washed in a wooden bathtub once or twice a week. A Shaak bath required a lot of hot water, humidity, perfumed oil, and an expert massagist.

However, a proper massagist that met the last condition was unfortunately not experienced because the feudal lords of Shaak took all of them and ran away.

Ebroin V often enjoyed bathing in the Shaak style after returning to the Imbert Palace and even converted one of the lounges next to the hall of his bedroom into a bathhouse for this new hobby.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Ca jcs batfg alwf, tf kbeiv tjnf yffc jyif ab fwqas tlr tfjv klatbea atlcxlcu jybea jcsatlcu jcv fcpbs atf offilcu bo gfilfnlcu tlr ybvs’r ojaluef. Dea abvjs, tlr tfjv kjr jr alutais mibrfv jr lo rbwfbcf tjv ibmxfv la klat j qjvibmx, klat atf atbeuta bo cfnfg bqfclcu la jujlc. 

The Emperor looked up at the ceiling with a dripping face and swept back his long hair that was wrapped around him like seaweed. After rubbing his eyes since his long eyelashes were wet with water, which made him unable to open his eyes properly, he saw a person standing far across the other side of the room.

“Did you call for me, Your Majesty?”

Baron Amieux’s neat appearance was revealed through the foggy steam. As usual, the man, dressed in simple clothes of frugal taste, looked down at the drenched Emperor with emotionless eyes.

The Emperor placed his arm on the side of the bathtub and lifted a finger to call him to his side. It was a haughty gesture, like calling a dog rather than a person, but Eugène followed it without saying a word. 

“Today We made a final proposal to the Prince of Livonia.”

The Emperor got down to business without adding any sort of context. He thought Eugène was aware of what was going on to some extent as he had been allowed to attend the political affairs meetings all the time, but as expected, Eugène listened to him silently without interfering with his own opinion.

“We told him to fully accept the current negotiations proposed by the empire. In return, the loss will be covered by Our personal commission for the construction of warships. Do you think the Prince Cyrill you know would agree to these terms?”

After listening to the Emperor, Eugène thought for a moment and then slowly opened his mouth. 

“If the construction costs are to be paid in the form of food, it is a matter that is fully agreeable. They might lose face to a certain degree, but this will help them solve a more pressing problem. However, Your Majesty, do you not have any food reserves in the empire that you can afford? … Does Your Majesty have the military supply storehouse in mind for that?”

“Yes.”

“Then how does Your Majesty intend to control the rising grain prices in the empire? I thought Your Majesty would use the grains from the supply storehouse to stabilize the grain prices in the market.”

“That is not a matter to be bothered about. Grain prices in the empire are expected to fall within half a month.” 

“Pardon?”

The Emperor had turned the political affairs meeting upside down just a few days ago. Eugène clearly remembered what happened at that time, and feeling disconcerted, asked back, unable to fully comprehend what the Emperor was saying. The Emperor wiped the dripping face with his wet hands and raised the corners of his mouth.

“Starting this week, the winter wheat in the Vatellin Territory will begin to be harvested. It is the first harvest we will receive after reclaiming Landrienne. When We got the report from the keeper of the territory, it was said that it was an average harvest. That amount is enough to put out the raging fire.”

The war was over after five years, but there was no way a territory could be reclaimed in the same amount of time. 

it could have taken the same amount of time to restore the country. The Vatellin Territory that was just mentioned was fertile land located east of the Bern River, which was reclaimed three years ago. After allowing the land ravaged by the war to rest for two years, they started farming on a trial basis last year. Fortunately, the results seemed to be good.

“Then why did Your Majesty-?”

“-Did We not tell you beforehand? Baron Amieux. The only people who were unaware of it on the spot were you and Marshal Basin. Our officials are not so incompetent. They are simply covetous.”

Upon hearing the Emperor’s answer, Eugène had nothing to say. It was absurd to do such a thing for personal greed in a political meeting that was in charge of the national affairs of the empire of all things. 

“What is important now is not the corruption among the imperial officials. The problem is the contract. We do not want this deal to get into the ears of the Confederation of Five Nations. That is why your help is needed. If Prince Cyrill accepts Our offer, the contract will not be written in Our name, but in the name of ‘Fils de la Mer – Son of the Sea’.”

“Son of the Sea… how do you know that name, Your Majesty?”

Eugène asked, taken aback by the unexpected name that came out of the Emperor’s mouth. The Emperor raised his golden eyebrows that were drenched in water at that question and glanced at him.

Son of the Sea. It was the name of the sailors’ union that Eugène had been sponsoring for several years. It was a union created only by experienced men from the military to help the livelihood of ordinary sailors who were retired due to problems such as injuries or chronic diseases. The initial investment was supported by several admirals, including Eugène, and was currently operated with the retirement money of the present union members and the joint investment of the primary union members. 

“Hundreds of men with military experience gathered under your name. If the leader had different intentions, it could have become the largest private army organization in the empire. Did you not expect to attract attention while creating such an organization? You are surprisingly naive.”

The Empire’s largest private army organization? The Emperor only pointed it out lightly as if it was no big deal, but Eugène’s heart sank when he heard that. He really never even dreamed that something so small that it started out with little good intentions could seem that way. Eugène hurriedly defended their innocence with a hardened tensed expression on his face.

“For it to be called a private army organization is undeserved. While I helped, it was not because I had other intentions.

“There is no need to be serious. It means that We know the inside story. Do you think We would have insinuated this if We still doubted you?” 

‘If We still doubted you’? Conversely, what he said meant that he had doubted him in the past. Eugène was going crazy at the thought that he could have been accused of treason if he had done something wrong, lost color in his hands and feet, and felt a chill down his spine. On the other hand, the Emperor calmly leaned back in the bathtub and returned to the original topic.

“We want you to build a bridge between Adelphe and ‘Son of the Sea’. Would that be possible? It will be Adelphe who will fully represent Us in this contract. On the surface, it is a deal between the sailors’ union with a middleman and Kayediv.:

So this was the Emperor’s plan. Adelphe, who suddenly purchased stocks from the supply storehouse, writes a contract in the form of requesting Kayediv to build a ship under the condition of wheat and reinvest it back into the sailors’ union.

Then, the ‘Son of the Sea’ Union takes over the ship launched by Kayedif according to the contract with Adelphe. Fortunately, due to the nature of its origin, the Son of the Sea Union had branches in each port where the navy head offices were located, so it would not be too difficult to hand over the acquired ships to the Navy… 

Eugène tried to concentrate on the conversation with the Emperor. But no matter how much he tried, it was hard to get his head straight. Strangely, he felt more disturbed now than when shells fell under his feet or when he was surrounded by dozens of pirates during a melee.

It was said in the past tense that it didn’t actually happen and that it simply could have happened, and even the Emperor asserted that he no longer cared about it and moved on.

“Of course, it is not expected that this will completely deceive the attention of the Confederation of Five Nations. But for now, it can buy us some time.”

The Emperor’s plan was terribly specific. Though variables were being collected according to changes in circumstances here and there, the basic framework seemed to have been in shape for a long time. He didn’t know when it was stopped, but once the Emperor started to move, everything started to progress insanely fast. Thanks to this, Eugène felt like he was riding on a galloping horse without a saddle. 

Due to the dizzying speed, he suffered from slight vertigo and lowered his eyes, and took a deep breath. He tried to figure out how many years all these had been in the Emperor’s mind with eyes still closed. It was three years ago that he first submitted a proposal for the Navy’s long-term strategic plan. And it was a year before that, that he helped establish the ‘Son of the Sea’ Union.

Does he mean that he was planning the next war in the midst of war? Four years ago, it has been less than a year since His Majesty initiated the Third Landrienne Revolution.

Eugène had a terrifying feeling. Perhaps this is what a difference in potential meant. If his thinking was correct, the Emperor had been fighting two wars in his head for the past five years. Just as one master would take turns attacking two chess opponents, the Emperor planned to fight a war against Shaak with his body and against the Confederation of Five Nations in his mind.

It was as if the Emperor was born only to rule. A mechanical being created to rule over the world, conquer, and prosper the empire. The Emperor had a reason both for meeting people and for sleeping with women. He was a meticulous rationalist who would not take even a single step without a purpose and was a frightening person, not because he was cold-hearted and brutal, but because he was supremely cold. 

“What are you thinking so hard about? Did you find something that could be problematic?”

When Eugène, immersed in thought, suddenly stopped speaking, the Emperor, waiting for his answer, asked curiously. Eugène belatedly came to his senses, as if he had gone to another world for a while and came back, realized what he had been thinking so far, and lowered his eyes to hide his expression.

“No. For a moment… I was thinking about the situation on Kayediv’s side.”

“Kayediv?” 

“Yes. While I am not certain right now, I think over time they will realize what they are helping with. It is difficult to crack down on the situation domestically, but they do not know how to prevent information from leaking to other countries.”

Even if he truly felt that way, he couldn’t confess that he once again realized just how terrifying it can be with the Emperor in front of him. Eugène evaded the Emperor’s search for he was approaching clearly, as if he could see through his mind, with a roughly plausible excuse.

“There is nothing to worry about that. We had something prepared in advance.”

Although it was an excuse, the problem Eugène spoke of was a matter that should not be taken lightly. However, the Emperor brushed off his worries so easily that he was puzzled. Something felt odd so Eugène frowned slightly. He couldn’t understand why someone who prepared everything so meticulously that it appeared to be finical was acting out of character. 

“Your Majesty prepared in advance?”

“Yes.”

“What preparation was made?”

“We have no intention to speak of it.” 

“… Pardon?”

“It means that sometimes secrets are required to solve matters easily. What is with your shocked expression? Then did you really think We would report to you all the things We had planned elsewhere?”

The Emperor raised his well-shaped lips and raised a shallow sarcastic sarcasm. Eugène, who had never had any ambition to receive a report from the Emperor, bowed his head as if in apology and sincerely asked for an apology. As hard and formal as a piece of wood, his attitude is always the same as that of Baron Amieux.

As always, he was polite and showed no sign of noticing that the Emperor had intentionally shown reacted in annoyance to repel him. 

But it was strange. After saying that, the Emperor felt uncomfortable on such a delicate level that could not be expressed in words, just like he did before Eugène came in. A subtle yet persistent grittiness, like sand stuck in the buttocks or porcelain chips the size of sesame seeds stuck on the scalp, continued to nudge his nerves.

The Emperor suddenly felt like scratching his head and petulantly changed his position in the bathtub. However, no matter how much he changed his position, the persistent prickly feeling did not go away.