Chapter 28: Politics or marriage

Translator: effefille

Proofreader: xoxomonami

For some time, since the human trafficking scandal, the empire has been very noisy.

In no time, the exposé was known all around. The people couldn’t help but talk about it! It was something the salon lady would chat about, scholars seated at a cafe would discuss, and even commoners made visits to each other’s homes with cookie jars in tow just to talk about the news.

Each time the whole story of the incident was revealed, the people were immensely excited.

When it was revealed that most of the trafficking in the casino house was children, parents who had lost their children clamored and flocked to the security office.

There were also parents who sold their children themselves, but after hearing the news, they stopped working from far away and came to look for their missing child.

When it was revealed that a considerable number of them were sold as sex slaves, fires of anger swept across the capital.

A rally was held calling for the public execution of those involved. Some people hopped up the podium in the park and made a resentful speech.

Newspapers poured out criticism about the lives of the fallen nobles.

The citizens were outraged and were on the verge of starting a riot when it was uncovered that Count Eisen had continuously supplied children under the age of 10 and then later killed and buried.

Dry firewood was piled up around the security office building and oil was poured out. The magistrate responded by calling a gun squadron there and aiming guns.

Eventually, the popular Chancellor Lin, came out to apologize, and promised to direct the investigation himself and make the criminals pay.

Even so, the anger of the citizens did not subside. The assembly was disbanded until Cedric stepped forward and made earnest promises.

The news reached the annex where Emperor Gregor was in less than a day.

The emperor responded to the first human trafficking case with appropriately disguised anger.

But when he learned that Lawrence was involved in Count Eisen’s case, he turned his desk upside down in anger.

The information revealed to the public was that Count Eisen was a pedophile who regularly had dealings with Baron Yetz.

However, the report received by the emperor contained much more detailed news.

According to what was written there, Count Eison not only personally killed the children, but also bought 30 children at once at half-year intervals and used them for hunting.

The hunting game was renowned for being stimulating and exciting among the young and prodigal nobles.

And the biggest problem was that Lawrence got involved in the game several times.

“Are you crazy!”

The emperor shouted and threw the inkwell at Lawrence. The attendants fell on the floor and shivered.

As he dared not avoid it, Lawrence was completely struck.

The glass did not break. However, the lid was open, so the coveted hair and white face were stained black with the dripping ink.

“Father.”

“I knew you were going wild. I thought that a young man might do that. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. So no matter how you play around, I understand you. But you hunt people and bury them in the dark? Are you playing with the guy who stripped them and released them in the forest?”

“Father, I-.”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

Not listening to Lawrence’s excuse, the emperor threw the report to his head this time.

Lawrence closed his eyes tightly, enduring the humiliation.

“Who doesn’t know Count Eisen is a friend of yours?”

“It’s not a personal relationship. Didn’t Father have a relationship with Count Eisen’s predecessor?”

“You mean you don’t have the ability to judge what kind of guy he is? You’re that far off? Oh, you’re so incompetent that you don’t even have a head around you to even think that you’d be in big trouble if you got caught?”

“….”

“It’s not anything else, it’s human trafficking! It’s killing a child! Do you not even know what the foundation of the empire is? Do you know that the people of the Empire are under the protection of the emperor and can only be disposed of by the Imperial Law?”

The emperor pulled out a letter from the report and shouted while shaking it.

“Ced said that it would be okay to handle the bribery case at my disposal, so that only the trafficking side would be dealt with. Do you know what this means? The case is serious enough that a stubborn guy like that says that it is okay to cover this whole-scale bribery case. It means that even if I tried to stop him, he won’t stay still. But, because you’re involved, I can’t raise my face to Ced!”

Lawrence wanted to ask. No matter what he says, the emperor will not listen. However, his lips trembled with anger.

It was then. The door opened wide and Miraila came in. Lawrence glanced at her.

Miraila stared at him once with anxious eyes, and approached the emperor with a gentle walk.

The emperor did not scold her for coming in. Then Miraila approached the emperor’s side, sweeping the nape of his neck with her hands.

“Don’t be so angry,” she said, tenderly.

“Are you here because you were worried about your son again? What the hell is he? I clearly said not to let people in.”

“I’m worried about you too. Don’t be angry, huh? It’s been a while since the doctor said that getting too excited is bad for the heart.”

Miraila whispered in a sweet voice.

“Well, it’s because you’re this way that he can’t get himself together at his age. When I was that age, I grabbed the crown prince’s seat with my hand.”

“Isn’t it because your Majesty is too excellent?”

Miraila rubbed the Emperor’s neck, then loosened his tie.

Then, she folded his collar and carefully massaged the place with both hands. The perfume that had been applied to the hand in advance made the scent of flowers waft around the emperor.

It was an obvious move, but it worked. The emperor sighed once and then relaxed his body.

Miraila massaged his shoulders in an earnest, reassuring way.

“Don’t worry me too much. If you get angry, it’s not good for your health. Look at this. It’s tense here again.”

“Okay. I’ll tell the masseur to do a massage later. You said your finger hurts every morning.”

The emperor said, taking her hand, kissing her knuckles.

Then he waved to Lawrence.

“Cut ties with Eisen quickly. I’ll take care of the rest. Consider yourself lucky! Ced may be an uptight fellow, but he won’t condemn you for Tia’s sake!”

“What are you talking about….?”

Miraila was about to ask. This is because the emperor’s anger could not be defused any more.

The emperor sighed and shook his head.

“Go back and think about how you can get closer to Ced.”

“Father.”

“Think carefully. I may be your father, but I don’t intend to choose you as my successor unconditionally. I can’t. Ced is the Grand Duke of Evron. And he has a network that you don’t have. Just put Ced in your hands. Then I will do the rest.”

“……Yes.”

Lawrence replied in a humiliated voice.

“Go back. I’m tired.”

Said the emperor with his eyes closed.

Lawrence stepped back and wiped the ink dripping from his forehead into his cuffs.

The emperor then ordered Archduke Roygar to send a copy of the bribe.

Until then, Miraila, silently rubbed the emperor’s shoulder.

The emperor had written up all the names to be sent to the capital’s Chancellor Lin, and then pulled Miraila to sit on the armrest.

Then he leaned against her soft body and sighed.

“I have to get ready to go back to the capital.”

“Yes, as Your Majesty wants…..”

She gently slid her hand around his chest, bowing her head and kissing his forehead.

“You don’t have to worry about it that much, but Lawrence has to get his head on straight.”

“I say father a lion, a son cannot be a dog. Don’t worry too much. A boy grows up with a lot of accidents. It’s because he has a lot of bugs that stick to him because he’s of noble descent.”

(T/N: Father a lion, son cannot be a dog means that with a distinguished father, the son is sure to do well.)

“I wish Lawrence was as half as good as you,” the emperor said with his eyes closed.

“If he had tried to be loved by the empress, he would have already been the Crown Prince.”

Miraila’s hand paused for a moment. The emperor raised one eyelid and looked at her and smiled.

“Why? Are you going to be jealous again?”

“If I do, will you listen?” Miraila said in a sulky voice.

“You know that I can’t help it. Lawrence too. He should have built up his own power and merit like Ced.”

“.… Still, he is Your Majesty’s son. “

“Yes. My only son.”

The emperor muttered so and buried his face in Miraila’s chest with a weary attitude.

***

It was the very next day that a messenger came running with an envelope bearing the imperial order.

“His Majesty has given permission,” Chancellor Lin said as he opened the envelope.

In short, it meant covering up the bribery case and thoroughly digging into Count Eisen’s case.

“I see,” Cedric replied. He knew this would happen, but he still felt bitter.

“Do you feel bad?”

“Yes. I think the person who turns a blind eye to the money is no different from the main culprit. If it were a junior official who patrolled the gambling house they would have known most of the high-ranking positions. Aren’t these people more evil than the main culprit?”

“But I can’t touch it right now. There are too many people who have been bribed. It is very likely that nobles and officials will come together to cover each other and resist, and the case will be overshadowed.”

“Yes. “

“If His Majesty makes a strong decision, I would not know again. It’s not a conspiracy, it’s a simple crime, so you wouldn’t want to bear that political burden.”

“I think that Baron Yetz is pretty smart. Not only the high-ranking aristocrats, but the treasury and tax departments, as well as the junior officials of the police, are all intertwined. How can we handle it without being prepared to cut the Imperial Government itself? “

Cedric sighed.

“In the first place, His Majesty doesn’t take this as important, and I’m sure he’s probably thinking of just keeping the bribe ledger. My fiancée said that weaknesses are the most powerful weapons when hidden.”

A gun is scary when aimed, and a newly sharpened knife is the sharpest before use.

“His Majesty is a relentless one. Whether a million or a thousand die at his feet, unless the throne tilts, it’s like stealing wheat from a warehouse for him. He may be angry, but it’s not a big deal that His Majesty himself can make up his mind while taking on something.”

Artizea said so.