I Became the Master of the Empress

238 – 242

Did you think I would just let you be?

After you’ve shaken my heart like this! If you love me, you’ll leave me?

Never! I can never let you go. You are… you are…

You’re mine, you can’t go anywhere.

-Crack.

And so, I head to the office to devise future plans.

“What should I do?”

All the soldiers guarding Rome are in his grasp.

Meaning… I must mobilize a force other than the regular soldiers.

Currently, my personal guards number just about a thousand.

He had halted activities to draw in the Locusts, but the knights who have returned number around a thousand.

That’s not enough to take over the imperial palace.

Moreover, if his soldiers die, things will get even more complicated.

The rest are the security forces responsible for the city’s public order under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the agents of the Intelligence Bureau.

I know the agents excel in tasks involving force and espionage.

It would be a great help if the agents were on our side first.

As I ponder this.

A visitor arrives.

-Knock knock.

“Who is it?”

-Sir Alexander, His Majesty, has arrived.

“Let him in.”

In comes Alexander, tasked with the empire’s external affairs.

His eyes are haggard, hair matted together.

Looking at his wrinkled clothes, it seems like Alexander, the senator, hasn’t been able to leave work for days.

He was once a senator of Nicaea, but after the rebellion, he took to farming until he caught his eye.

“What brings you here?”

“I’ve brought letters from the embassies of various kingdoms, including the United Kingdom and Sardinia, which are now operating normally.”

As I watch Alexander lay down each king’s letter, an idea strikes me.

“Leave them there, oh! Chancellor Alexander. Summon Sabinelli, the new secretary Müller, and my grandfather-in-law.”

“Yes, I will convey the message.”

This task is impossible to handle alone.

Without his permission, what I can do is limited. If I’m not careful, even that freedom could be taken away.

So, I must borrow everyone’s wisdom.

***

I came to see off Agrippa to the port, heading towards the Grand Duchy.

But for a brief moment, I was startled by a chilling sensation behind me, yet there was nothing there…

“Hmm? Is someone talking behind my back?”

At my words, Agrippa chuckles.

“Who would dare speak ill of a saint?”

“Just stop calling me a saint.”

I’m still not used to someone referring to me as a saint.

Especially when I ride the carriage to the Papal States or go out like today, I can’t fathom how they know to pray in the direction of the carriage.

It’s not like they can see inside from the outside.

“But really, should I be going? In case something happens… I’m rather concerned.”

At Agrippa’s words, I wave my hands dismissively.

“Worry is part of fate. Who here could possibly stop me?”

I say this, looking at him, who worries about me letting him go so easily.

“Or… do you want to stay and work overtime with me until I go to the Grand Duchy?”

“It seems the Grand Duke’s ship has arrived. I shall take my leave now. Until we meet again.”

Disliking the idea of working overtime to death, he hurriedly grabs his luggage and heads for the ship, and I shout after him.

“Say hello to Meri for me!”

“Yes!”

With that, I wave goodbye to Agrippa.

The undercurrents of power succession are slowly coming to an end.

“So many things have happened since I came here.”

I muse, looking at the splendid cityscape of Roman.

My work here is done. Even without me, Sabinelli and Alexander will keep the empire running, and after that, Muller will assist Theodora in leading this empire.

Just as I’m about to board the carriage.

-Saint! It’s the Saint!

-The Saint has come to the port!

-Oh! Divine being.

Seeing those fanatics, I can’t help but smile.

They used to despise and hate me so much, but now they revere me as a saint.

Mother, I must have done well, right?

I gazed up at the night sky filled with stars.

Seeing the full moon reminded me of my mother when I was young.

“Your Grace, won’t you ride?”

“Ah? Yes, I shall.”

And so, I head towards the Grand Duke’s residence once more.

***

Theodora is meeting with high-ranking officials outside the imperial palace.

Prime Minister Alexander, Minister of Justice Sabinelli, Marcus who had retired and then been reappointed, and Lucius who had been appointed as the Emperor’s secretary, along with her grandfather, Duke Yans.

They do not know why they have been gathered today.

But the Emperor must have a significant reason for summoning them so secretly.

“Your Majesty, there are no magical waves. The eavesdropping magic is clean.”

Ever since learning that the former intelligence service had secretly gathered information through eavesdropping magic, they prepare detection magic against it whenever they meet.

It’s a measure to prevent the leakage of information from this place.

Hearing the soldier’s report, Theodora opens her mouth with a serious expression.

“I have an important announcement to make.”

Everyone perks up their ears, waiting to hear what the Emperor will say.

“The Grand Duke, no, Devian is planning to annul his marriage with me.”

Theodora’s unexpected words.

The people in the room wear expressions of confusion at her words.

“What? Why would that be?”

“It’s incomprehensible. Isn’t the empire entirely in the Grand Duke’s hands now?”

The Grand Duke, once reviled for his cruel politics, had a reason to be ousted, but not anymore.

The sacred union between the saint chosen by the divine and the Emperor grants the empire immense legitimacy, internal stability, and a diplomatic advantage.

Therefore, they are puzzled, having planned to coexist, whether they liked it or not.

“It seems he has been planning this… from the very beginning of our marriage.”

Theodora is displeased but needs the help of her subjects in this situation where her marital life is exposed.

It’s better for them to join her own plan.

“Could it be… was he truly a saint?”

Sabinelli, who had long been at odds with Devian, is the most shocked by his actions.

He too knows of the divine’s existence, so he cannot help but feel guilty for opposing the chosen one.

Rather, he was accused of seeking fame deliberately…

But for him, who held all power, to annul his marriage to Theodora without a second thought.

That would be no different from renouncing all his power.

At the mention of a saint, Theodora weakly shakes her head.

“No, the world may praise him as a saint, but in my eyes, he’s nothing but a fool, a simpleton.”

To her, Devian, who loves her and is trying to leave, feels nothing but a foolish idiot.

“I want to prevent him from annulling the marriage. But there’s no force to subdue him. Speak freely if you have any good ideas.”

At Theodora’s words, the hall falls silent.

They had thought Theodora would be overjoyed if the Grand Duke annulled the marriage.

Theodora’s family is known to be close-knit.

The Crown Prince and the second prince also share a deep bond, a harmonious family that has never once experienced the common power struggles. Devian’s father, Balor, met a gruesome death.

Wasn’t the Emperor, supreme above all, tortured and bound, beheaded in the Colosseum?

But to want to maintain a marriage with the child of such an enemy…

One thought comes to everyone’s mind.

‘Is it love?’

“Firstly, the forces I can muster are insufficient to subdue him. It seems like a first withdrawal, but a large force still exists. Therefore, the power of the intelligence department is urgently needed.”

‘Has she already thought that far ahead?’

‘No matter how much she likes the Grand Duke… Is it right to hold onto a man who’s leaving?’

‘Theodora… You may look like my daughter, but your temperament is exactly like the late Emperor.’

‘What? Creating a culture of overtime every day and he’s the one running away?’

Lost in their own thoughts, the hall falls into silence until Sabinelli steps forward.

“If the Grand Duke annuls the marriage with Her Majesty, they must know that Her Majesty will abolish the Grand Duke’s office and take direct control. Speak privately with Minister Karl of the intelligence department and let it slip that the Grand Duke is planning to annul the marriage.”

Duke Yans agrees with this.

“If the Grand Duke steps down, Minister Karl will be frantic without a shield to protect him from Her Majesty’s wrath. The intelligence department hasn’t provided Her Majesty with any information, so the repercussions are to be feared.”

Theodora nods at this.

“Good. But to subdue the Grand Duke, we’ll need knights. Discuss ways to recruit them.”

This time, Alexander takes the floor.

“Currently, the excellent knights are already scattered among many lords. This is not a matter easily solved with money. Perhaps it’s time to move the Great Lords?”

At Alexander’s words, Theodora’s eyes sparkle.

“The Great Lords?”

“Yes, the Grand Dukes harbor deep resentment towards His Grace the Archduke. He has broken their power and greatly reduced their authority, essentially asking them to lend their knights. Under the pretext of meting out appropriate punishment to the Archduke.”

Müller, feeling the greatest anger at the Archduke’s plan, continues.

“There’s merit in that. If only the intelligence department comes over, the Archduke won’t be able to detect the movement. Better yet, contact those among the nobility who dislike the Archduke, not just the Grand Dukes. Ask them to lend knights to punish the Archduke, sending five knights from each domain to join His Majesty’s private troops in Roma, which will significantly increase the soldiers.”

At those words, Theodora closes her eyes momentarily, lost in thought.

‘Even if the nobles rebel, the power I and he possess now is enough to suppress them.’

Moreover, Theodora, who has declared the moral high ground of punishing the Archduke, intends to substitute the punishment with the maintenance of her marriage to him.

-Tap… Tap…

Her delicate fingers drumming on the dining table, she opens her red eyes.

“First, I must win over Karl.”

“But be careful. If the nobles learn that the Archduke has stepped down, they will act recklessly again.”

Theodora nods at that.

“I am aware.”

That’s why Theodora has broached the subject with those she can trust.

It’s the only way for Theodora to surpass Devian.

“But… when will you drive that wedge? To prevent the annulment of the marriage, that… first night…”

At the mention of the first night, Theodora’s cheeks turn a faint red.

“I will take care of that myself.”