“Show him in.”
The moment the Emperor’s permission left his lips, Macton Willias threw open the doors of the audience chamber himself and strode inside.
The knight standing guard flinched in bewilderment, watching him enter.
The Emperor’s brow furrowed as he took in the sight of Macton Willias—a man who wore composure like a second skin, now stripped of it entirely.
Willias had clearly dressed in haste. He lowered his head with a bow that was hurried, yet still respectful.
“I present myself before Your Majesty.”
“What is it, Duke Willias?”
“Urgent news, Your Majesty.”
“Urgent news?”
The Emperor, who had been leisurely reviewing a petition, set it down.
Cold blue eyes fixed themselves upon the Duke.
At the Emperor’s silent signal, Willias steadied his excitement and spoke with measured calm.
“It appears that all the legion commanders of House Arachrene who were stationed along the border have returned to the capital.”
“…What did you say?”
“The rumors would seem to be true. House Arachrene is preparing to move into the central territories.”
Macton Willias’s mouth had gone bone dry.
There was no news more shocking than this. Society’s most well-connected circles were already buzzing with it, and some houses had already confirmed its truth through their own networks of informants.
This is a disaster.
The Duke meant it sincerely.
The borders of the Declair Empire were guarded by hundreds of thousands of imperial troops.
But it was undeniable that discipline among those troops had been quietly eroding over time.
For more than a century, House Arachrene had been shouldering the responsibilities that should have belonged to the imperial army. They had carried that burden in the army’s stead.
So thoroughly, in fact, that some noble houses would deliberately send their second sons to the border—simply because with House Arachrene holding the line, nothing truly catastrophic was likely to happen.
But that was not the worst of it. There was something far more pressing.
Nothing disastrous would happen at the border immediately, no—but as time passed, gaps would begin to form. Cracks would appear where there had been none.
And those gaps were precisely the moments their enemies had been waiting for.
“Why is this urgent news? Is this not what I have long been waiting to hear?”
“Your Majesty—!”
“Duke Arachrene has finally come to his senses.”
The Emperor gave a satisfied nod.
“Though the impudence of it rankles. To not report such important news to me first.”
A short click of the tongue followed.
Macton Willias felt something burning hollow in his chest.
He was among those who did not wish to see the Arachrene forces dissolved.
He held firmly to the view that the border, at the very least, absolutely required the strength of House Arachrene.
But he could not be so foolish as to say such a thing before an Emperor who harbored deep resentment toward that house. After considerable deliberation, he carefully chose his words.
“However, this presents a different kind of problem. Could this not be a ploy—using the border as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the imperial family?”
“What do you mean?”
“Has House Arachrene not built its power upon the arms trade? Would they truly disband their private forces? I suspect this is nothing more than a brief performance—a gesture of compliance, nothing more.”
“And so?”
“Before such a situation arises, might it not be wise for Your Majesty to ease the pressure on House Arachrene in advance, and employ an appropriate balance of incentive and restraint—”
The moment Macton Willias met the Emperor’s blade-sharp blue eyes, the blood in his veins seemed to run cold.
The Emperor had lifted his chin and was looking down at Willias, his expression carrying a silent command to continue.
“Do not dare attempt to deceive me.”
“…”
“They have simply come to their senses at last. Does a house truly believe it can stand in opposition to the imperial family and still survive with its dignity intact?”
“…”
“How do you suppose everything the Empress has given to the Arachrene collateral branch was made possible all this time?”
Macton Willias closed his mouth.
Every single one of those allowances had been possible only because the Emperor had permitted them to pass.
When the Empress had proposed inviting Risideon Arachrene to serve as the Crown Prince’s swordsmanship instructor.
When she had been orchestrating events to have Prince Adrian named as Crown Prince.
Through all of it—the Emperor had known every detail, and had chosen to look the other way.
This time is truly different!
Yet Macton Willias felt a heaviness pressing against his chest.
The Emperor had a tendency to hold House Arachrene in unwarranted contempt.
The reasons were not lost on him, of course.
On one side stood the Emperor of the Declair Empire—chosen by the gods themselves. On the other stood those who seemed more than human by nature alone—people born already carrying magic in their blood.
Even the common people of the Empire thought of the Arachrene as something extraordinary. The Emperor’s resentment had only deepened with each passing year.
And so there were moments, not infrequent, when he failed to see what truly mattered.
“And yet, Your Majesty—to withdraw the military strength from the border is something that cannot be allowed. Would it not be worth meeting with Arcmund and having a direct conversation?”
“The imperial army stands guard. What problem could there possibly be? The dissolution of their forces is something the empire has awaited for a long time, is it not?”
“…”
“It will prove advantageous for Adrian as well.”
The Emperor waved his hand, dismissing him.
There was still more Willias had wished to say—but he knew with certainty that pushing further would bring down the Emperor’s wrath upon him.
Understanding this well, Macton Willias turned and walked out of the audience chamber with heavy, reluctant steps.
⁂
Today was a lesson day at the detached pavilion.
Carden smiled warmly as he checked over Riersha’s completed homework.
“Excellent work again today. Very well done indeed. Shall we move on to new material?”
“Yes!”
Riersha, seated in the very front, eyes bright and eager, beamed up at him.
Carden stepped to the board and sketched out a large map of the Declair Empire, then began filling in each region with a different color.
The map was divided into four distinct areas.
Today was the day Riersha would learn the history of the Declair Empire for the very first time.
“You’ll be seeing this map often going forward, so it would be good to get familiar with it.”
“Yes!”
Riersha watched the map take shape and picked up her colored pencils, carefully filling in her own copy of the lesson materials Carden had handed out before class.
“Heh hee hee.”
She worked her small hands busily. She loved Carden’s lessons more than anything—every class brought something new to learn and discover.
It made her feel wonderfully, gloriously clever.
“I’m done!”
“Yes, very nicely done.”
Carden, who had been waiting patiently, gave a nod of approval and turned back to the board.
“The Declair Empire is one of the largest nations on the western continent. It possesses some of the most fertile land in the world, and because of that, many tribes were drawn here over the centuries. Even today, a remarkable variety of cultures thrive within its borders.”
“That’s right! I saw lots in the capital when we came!”
“Indeed—the imperial capital is where you can encounter the widest variety of cultures.”
“The places I colored on the map—those are where the ducal houses are, aren’t they?”
“That’s exactly right.”
Carden nodded in confirmation.
The four regions she had colored represented the founding territories of the four ducal houses that now formed the pillars of the Declair Empire.
In its earliest days, the Declair Empire had grown into a great power by absorbing one tribe after another. Inevitably, this gave rise to many different races and cultures, and the origins of its nobility became remarkably diverse.
The empire had come to span roughly half the western continent. Laws differed from region to region, and in time that inconsistency bred enough confusion that a supreme unified code—the Imperial Law—was drafted and passed.
The Imperial Law was, perhaps surprisingly, adopted without resistance or conflict.
The reason was simple: the patchwork of local laws had been causing disorder across too many regions for too long.
Among those who welcomed the Imperial Law most warmly were merchants and businesspeople. A universal legal code meant no more navigating separate verification procedures from place to place—and that translated into very real savings in both time and cost.
“House Arachrene was born in the western reaches of the Declair Empire. They were the last of the four to join, becoming the empire’s final ducal house.”
There were four ducal houses in the Declair Empire in total—great noble families representing the East, West, South, and North.
Each ducal house was responsible for protecting its own region, and in exchange, they had earned the standing to maintain powerful military forces. This arrangement gave each house both purpose and justification.
Naturally, all of them poured their resources into building up their private armies—and just as naturally, this became a source of mounting wariness for the imperial house.
In the end, the imperial family devised a solution.
As an era arrived where wealth and capital became the true measure of power, the empire offered a bargain: surrender the right to maintain private forces, and in return receive a guarantee of prosperity and privilege for generations to come.
