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Chapter 53.
“Hohoho, well now.”
At the Empress’s remark, the Emperor laughed awkwardly but didn’t deny it.
From early on, the Empress had been his only wife and his closest political partner.
Soon, the warm water she had ordered was placed on the table.
Looking at it, the Emperor asked.
“Empress, why drink water instead of tea?”
“The Empress Consort taught me that water is better than tea.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’ll understand later if you ask.”
“Hmm, so be it.”
As the couple repeatedly lifted and set down the cups before them, they exchanged few words.
But their demeanor was quite different: one looked very relaxed, while the other seemed nervous, glancing at their partner from time to time.
Clink.
The Empress, having emptied half the cup of water, was the first to speak.
“Your Majesty.”
“Speak.”
“Recently, I read a book that someone recommended to me.”
“A book?”
For a conversation after so long, it was an odd topic. But the Emperor knew the Empress would never bring it up without reason.
He quietly waited for her to continue.
“It was a book called The Paradox of Neutrality.”
“Hm, the title itself sounds meaningful.”
“The content wasn’t much.
There were two brothers with a big age difference.
The older brother often took things from the younger one.
The younger resisted but couldn’t win against the larger brother.”
“Then why the title The Paradox of Neutrality?”
“They had a father….”
The Empress stretched out her hand and traced a circle with her fingertip along the rim of the teacup.
“He kept to neutrality between the brothers, siding with neither.
The story was about how things turned out over time.”
“How did it end?”
The Empress’s hand stopped its circle as she spoke in a cold tone.
“One day, the younger brother, always the victim, killed both his brother and father and burned down the house.
Without leaving a trace.”
“Oh dear, oh dear.
That father acted wrongly.
He should have scolded the elder and protected the younger.”
“Hehe, indeed.”
The Empress poured the remaining water from her cup into a potted plant beside the sofa. The tips of its leaves were on the verge of wilting.
It was only after seeing her action that the Emperor noticed the plant’s condition.
He thought to himself that he ought to order someone to water it.
“Your Majesty, do you know what Vincent has been up to lately?”
“If there’s anyone in the Empire as busy as I am, that would be Vincent.
He does so much that I can’t pinpoint any one thing.”
“Then are you aware of the recent tax reform bill submitted by the Duke of Wentworth?”
“The tax reform bill?”
From books to tax laws, the Empress’s topics jumped wildly, but the Emperor calmly tried to recall.
The truth was, countless reports came to him daily, and remembering each one wasn’t easy.
“Ah, yes, I think I saw it. I recall now.”
“What do you think of it?”
“Hmm.”
Not knowing her intent or what answer she wanted, the Emperor replied carefully yet honestly.
“It’s a troubling proposal. Especially when thinking of the people.”
“I see.”
“But why bring this up, Empress?
Why speak of books and then of taxes?”
“They say the nobles’ faction and the imperial faction are splitting into camps over the bill. Vincent is fighting hard.”
“I know as much. But conflict between the sides is nothing new, is it?”
At his question, the Empress nodded.
“That’s true, but this time the division seems sharper.”
“In the end, it will be settled by a vote.”
Looking at his indifferent reply, the Empress shot him a reproachful gaze.
“You speak as if it’s someone else’s problem.”
The Emperor protested, his face sour with injustice.
“No, not someone else’s problem, just that the procedure is so.”
“Your Majesty, the assembly and voting rights exist to respect the nobles’ will, but real authority lies with the Emperor.”
In truth, not all matters were handled in the assembly. If nobles didn’t submit a bill, the Emperor decided them himself.
Even when the assembly passed a bill, if the Emperor opposed, it was nullified.
So, in principle, the Emperor could halt a law before, during, or after a vote.
But since he usually didn’t, it only looked as though the Empire moved according to the nobles’ will.
“Whatever else may be, if that law passes, the people will suffer greatly. This is not something to sit back and watch.”
It wasn’t the first time nobles proposed bills favoring themselves.
But usually, those had been about dividing resources or emphasizing class distinctions.
For example, building separate hospitals and libraries for nobles and commoners, letting nobles bypass lines in banks and get higher credit, and so on.
Even in government posts, nobles were given priority, so most palace officials were younger sons of noble houses.
The eldest sons usually became heads of their families.
There were countless such privileges for nobles.
Unfair as they were, unfairness was the very foundation of a class society.
What mattered most in that age was status. Everyone dreamed of rising higher.
Still, there were limits. Nobles enjoyed privileges, but not to the point of pushing commoners beyond endurance.
For it was the people who provided the resources nobles lived off. Their numbers and living standards had to be maintained.
The Duke of Wentworth’s tax reform bill was dangerous precisely because it broke this balance.
Lowering property taxes while raising consumption and income taxes would naturally increase the burden on the commoners.
The Emperor was not a fool. He understood the process and its results. But as a timid man, he preferred to avoid conflict with the nobles, so he had stayed silent until now.
“Hmm, then do you think it’s best to halt it right away?”
“That would be good, but…. Your Majesty, as I said earlier, Vincent is fighting hard.”
“True.”
“We are rulers of the Empire, yes, but also the parents of the Crown Prince.”
At her words, the Emperor looked at her, half-understanding. The Empress spoke calmly.
“This is an opportunity for Vincent to learn as much as he can.”
“So, leave it as is for now?”
“Yes. And it would be good to bring out what has long been a dormant practice, and remind both Vincent and the nobles.”
“A dormant practice, you say.”
“You can exercise the twenty votes you hold, Your Majesty.”
“…Empress, even our predecessors rarely did such a thing. If I suddenly act, won’t the nobles protest fiercely?”
The Emperor had suspected her intent, but hearing it plainly now, he grew uneasy.
Knowing his indecisive nature, the Empress did not blame him. She soothed him gently.
“Your Majesty, do you know why I mentioned The Paradox of Neutrality?
What did you say about the father who stood neutral between the older and younger brothers?”
“……”
He had said the father should have scolded the elder and protected the younger. In this story, the elder was the nobles, and the younger, the people.
“Nothing will happen. It is your original right, and you’re acting within due process.
If you block it after the law passes, that would stir serious backlash.
But before that, it’s fine. They may grumble inside, but what can they do?”
A deeper smile touched the Empress’s lips. It was the expression the Emperor loved most.
