#35

“To compact the soil?”

After a moment of consideration, the emperor answered.

“Because the more you step on the sprouts, the deeper their roots grow into the ground.”

To Leonia’s eyes, what Emperor Chrisetos was doing now was exactly that.

“It was a necessary decision—and more importantly, the public’s response was positive.”

She looked straight into the emperor’s eyes.

“A newly crowned emperor is an easy prey.”

She earnestly advised him not to show any gaps—and if he must, to turn them into traps and solidify his position.

“...You’ve got to step on the ones that need stepping on, or they’ll climb all over you.”

That, she said with a grin, was the most important thing of all.

The emperor, who had looked dazed just moments ago, let out a sheepish chuckle.

“Truly, Voreoti is the most reliable ally to have.”

“I’ll treat Your Majesty well, for the sake of my Boom-Boom.”

“I must be lucky to have such a fine younger brother.”

He looked at Scandia with delight.

Scandia gave a soft smile, the corners of his lips lifting gently.

“Ah, I should make room now.”

Only then did Leonia step aside, and another carriage entered through the gate vacated by the Voreoti carriage.

It was the carriage of the Kerata family.

“But, Your Majesty—shouldn’t you be thinking about taking an empress soon?”

Leonia waved at Flomus as she disembarked and asked the question casually.

“Even the young lady’s nagging me now?”

The emperor made a sour face, clearly displeased.

He had just returned from a morning royal council where the ministers had loudly insisted he hasten to take an empress.

“Well, your position demands it.”

Leonia spoke with a calm tone, but there was a hint of sympathy in her eyes.

“Yes, and that’s why I must be even more cautious.”

“Exactly what I was saying.”

The one who would sit beside him as empress had to be chosen carefully.

Even if the ministers shouted about bringing in an empress immediately, it wasn’t something that could be done on a whim.

“...Still, with Your Majesty’s face—”

Leonia peered at him and said slyly,

“You’re rather good-looking.”

“Because I resemble the late emperor?”

“These days, I can even see a bit of the marquis in you.”

It wasn’t flattery—Leonia really could see the Marquis of Hesperi in him.

Especially the shape of his eyes and the curl of his lips.

“Is that so?”

The emperor smiled and traced his face with his fingers.

“I’ve always told you, Your Majesty, you have excellent features.”

“Right. That old bastard, the late emperor, the only thing he had going for him was his face.”

It was as if all the good fortune meant for his character had gone into his looks instead.

“The only thing he did well was passing down that handsome face to me.”

“Lady Leonia.”

At that moment, Flomus approached.

The emperor straightened up immediately, covering his earlier casual attitude with a composed smile and slightly lowered voice.

“Lady Kerata, thank you for coming.”

“Before the mighty emperor of this empire, I give my respects.”

Flomus greeted him with proper decorum.

Putting on airs...

Leonia smirked.

It was a bit annoying how he only spoke casually with her.

But I could’ve sworn...

Leonia frowned slightly, wondering. Didn’t he use informal speech with other nobles too?

“Lady Voreoti.”

The emperor suddenly seemed to remember something.

“You’ll be receiving a guest.”

“A guest?”

Why are you telling me about my guest?

She looked at him with growing confusion, her eyes widening.

“Don’t tell me...”

Leonia whipped around toward Scandia.

“There was a message yesterday,” Scandia nodded.

“The South is coming.”

“Meridio?”

“No.”

The true master of the South.

The House of Duke Aust was coming to the capital.

***

“Now that you mention it, the Aust residence has been bustling lately.”

Tra commented as he picked up Leonia’s coat from where it had been thrown across the sofa.

“I’ve seen workers coming and going more often.”

“Hmm...”

Leonia, sprawled on the sofa, replied while flipping through a report in her hands. It was last month’s sales report from the watch brand.

Maybe it’s time to think of a new release.

Sales had dipped slightly—just enough to suggest it was time to unveil a new collection.

“And, young lady.”

At his voice, Leonia put the report aside. Tra was now looking down at her from above.

“You should sit properly.”

“But I’m at home. What’s wrong with lying down?”

Leonia giggled and sprawled even more lazily on the sofa.

“If you are to become the future duke, you must always maintain a dignified posture, even in unseen moments.”

“I am already a prepared duke, even without all that.”

Despite her flippant tone, Leonia quietly sat up and straightened her posture.

“By the way, how’s the tea party preparation?”

Before each new semester, Leonia would invite a small number of guests and host a private tea gathering.

“We only need your signature, miss.”

Everything else was already prepared, Tra said—all that was left was final confirmation.

“Uncle Tra, you’ll come up to the North later, right?”

Leonia hoped that once she became duke, Tra would run the Northern mansion the way her mother once had.

“I hope the kids I have with Skan someday will call you Grandpa.”

“I think your father won’t take that lightly.”

“You mean he’ll be mad at you?”

“No, at the knight.”

Tra gave a bitter laugh.

He remembered Ferio’s drunken vow that for every child Leonia gave birth to, he’d break one of Scandia’s bones.

Though, strictly speaking, Ferio didn’t get drunk easily.

So that probably wasn’t drunken talk—it was a sober promise.

“Well, that’s unfortunate.”

Leonia clicked her tongue.

“I was planning to have enough to form an entire knight order.”

“How am I supposed to respond to that, young lady?”

Tra was not shameless enough to respond to Leonia’s long-standing plan for many children with a straight face.

And honestly, he was a little afraid she’d actually follow through.

“Why do you think the South is coming?”

Thankfully, Leonia quickly changed the subject.

“I’m not sure myself, but...”

Tra offered a guess.

“After the Olor rebellion four years ago, the Austs have been reasserting influence in the South.”

And since then, the region had visibly stabilized.

“Which means the next step must be...”

“Requesting approval to form a knight order?”

Leonia snorted through her nose.

“It was bound to happen.”

The jade whale that had hidden beneath the sea for so long was finally surfacing.

She was curious to see how much the empire would quake beneath its massive movement.

A knight order in the South...

Leonia began weighing the possibilities—and what impact they might have on the North if ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) realized.

Tra, watching her, smiled fondly.

She’s just like her father.

Right now, Leonia was exactly as Ferio had been at her age.

“Shall I bring you some tea?”

Tra asked.

“No sugar.”

Leonia listed the tea she wanted and a few snacks to accompany it.

“Do you think the South will succeed in creating their knight order?”

“Hm...”

Leonia twisted her lips.

“I doubt it’ll happen this time either.”

***

“It’s obviously about founding a knight order.”

That night.

Emperor Chrisetos was enjoying a drinking table in his chambers.

Yet, the glass of liquor in front of him hadn’t gone down even a single drop.

“Will Your Majesty approve it?”

Scandia, sitting across from him, hadn’t touched his drink either.

“No.”

The emperor poked absentmindedly at the appetizer with his fork.

“Those guys are unbelievable.”

The North and West had knight orders. The East had the Mage Tower.

Naturally, Aust wanted to create a knight order in the South as well.

To protect the region autonomously, they said.

It sounded like a valid reason. Compared to other regions, it even seemed unfair.

“To hear them, you’d think the South’s being discriminated against.”

But there had been a reason the emperor put the decision on hold last year.

“What about the navy stationed in the South?”

While the South had recently been overtaken by Rinne territory in prestige, it remained the hub for countless trading ships.

Pirates frequently attacked from the seas.

That’s why the empire had deployed a naval force in the South—and assigned its oversight to the Aust family.

“The navy’s still a military force.”

Though they were not authorized for land deployment, it was still a significant force.

“Technically, the South has naval command in case of emergency. Even if we’re not at war...”

Besides, Aust and Meridio were top experts in naval warfare.

If the emperor seized direct command, the empire would be left without capable sea commanders.

Having both land and sea forces in one region was a nightmare scenario from the emperor’s perspective.

And other regions would react too.

“If I approve the knight order, what do you think the West will do?”

The emperor shuddered just imagining it.

“Still, surely your mother wouldn’t push it...”

Scandia stopped mid-sentence.

The Marquis of Hesperi wasn’t one to show leniency—even to her own son, the emperor.

“I have no confidence in winning a fight against Mother...”

Among all his teachers, the most formidable had been the Marquis of Hesperi.

“And I hate the South.”

“Leo hates it too.”

Scandia nodded, thinking of his beloved.

“...Do you have to bring up your girlfriend here too?”

The emperor clicked his tongue in exasperation.

“They tried to kill me last time, remember?”

He hadn’t forgotten.

During the rebellion, Aust and Meridio had tried to assassinate him, then still a prince.

He couldn’t possibly look kindly on them.

“Your Majesty...”

Scandia said cautiously.

“You’ve been strangely cute lately.”

Even his sulky expression was starting to resemble Leonia.

“If you weren’t my little brother, I’d have thrown you in prison.”

The emperor said with deep regret.