Water Magician-Chapter 659 : Attendance at Court
Chapter 0659 Attendance at Court
Translator: Jay_Forestieri
Editor: Tseirp
“Prince Ryun has come to court.”
Those words were received with surprise in the Taiji Hall.
The Taiji Hall inside the Forbidden City of the Darwei Imperial Palace is the center where the morning court is held.
It is there that the Emperor conducts state affairs.
But at present, the master of that hall was absent.
In his stead, governance of the state was being handled by Prince Kouri, the Second Prince.
Repeated requests from Prince Kouri for an audience had been continuously refused by Sixth Prince Ryun on the grounds that he was bedridden with illness.
For someone who had not attended court for over a month to suddenly appear would naturally cause many to be astonished.
“I, Prince Ryun, have recovered from my illness and have come to court.”
“I have been waiting.”
Prince Ryun made his formal address, and Prince Kouri, seated on the throne, replied.
Normally, if the Emperor were seated on the throne, the next person permitted to speak would be the Emperor.
But...
“I have a matter I wish to ask of my elder brother.”
Prince Ryun spoke up.
“Your Highness, that is most discourteous!”
Of course, that voice was not Prince Kouri’s.
It came from a young man standing beside the throne.
“Was that voice raised by Count Barfo?”
Prince Ryun asked quietly, deliberately.
Quiet, yet precisely because of that quietness, it conveyed an indescribable pressure.
“Ohh.”
Prince Kouri murmured very softly, so faintly that no one else heard.
He was likely the only one present to notice.
The change in Prince Ryun.
“At last, the tiger shows its true nature.”
Prince Kouri smiled faintly in his heart.
But regardless of that, the proceedings continued.
“It is true that I raised my voice.”
The man called Count Barfo answered.
“I have currently been appointed Assistant Prime Minister, charged with administrative duties.”
At first glance, he answered boldly.
But if one looked closely, one could see his fingertips trembling.
Count Barfo, too, was being affected by the overwhelming pressure emanating from Prince Ryun, who had appeared after a long absence.
“That is a strange claim. An Assistant Prime Minister is an aide to the Prime Minister who oversees administration. Only the Emperor himself should be able to confer such a position. Now then, Count Barfo, when did you receive that approval from His Majesty the Emperor?”
“T-The authority was granted by Prince Kouri, who holds the regency.”
“Prince Kouri acting as the Emperor’s proxy is not established by law, but by past custom. Naturally, the high appointment powers reserved for the Emperor himself should not have been granted. Are you saying Prince Kouri flouted precedent and appointed Count Barfo as Assistant Prime Minister? Impossible.”
“I-Impossible?”
Count Barfo was taken aback by Prince Ryun’s decisive words.
“Prince Kouri is gifted and well-versed in the law. He would never commit such lawless acts. Naturally, I must declare that what Count Barfo claims is a lie.”
“Wha...”
What cheek.
Of course, Prince Kouri was present at this venue.
He was seated on the throne, after all.
Therefore, everyone understood all the more that Prince Ryun did not believe a word of what he himself had just said.
Indeed, though Ryun’s words struck at Count Barfo verbally, in effect they were an impeachment of Prince Kouri—all present understood that as well.
“Heh...”
Prince Kouri could not help but laugh on the throne.
It was not a loud laugh, but every pair of eyes turned to him.
“I will speak with Ryun alone for a moment. Everyone else, leave the hall.”
At Prince Kouri’s single command, everyone except Prince Kouri and Prince Ryun left the Taiji Hall.
All the doors and windows were closed.
“Elder brother, return the regency to His Majesty the Emperor.”
Once alone, Prince Ryun broached the matter immediately.
But it was a thing that needed no words.
There is only one Darwei Emperor: Tsuin.
That Emperor had declared his return across all Darwei.
Nothing needs to be changed; things would simply revert to how they were—no ceremony required, simply a return to the previous state.
That is how it should be.
Indeed, the Choouchi Empire had announced the death of Darwei’s Emperor throughout the Eastern Countries.
But so what?
Another country proclaiming it does not give that claim legal standing.
If a foreign nation declares “Your ruler is dead!”, would the nation so informed simply respond, “Is that so?”
Whether someone is dead is decided by that country’s laws.
Nothing else.
Within Darwei, no announcement of the Emperor Tsuin’s death had been made.
Such a declaration would be made only just before the accession of a new Emperor.
Otherwise, a power vacuum would result.
Someone announced the Emperor was alive and had returned before any death declaration could be made.
Prince Kouri’s faction could insist that the announcement was fake... and they could argue that strongly.
Perhaps anticipating that, Prince Ryun had come to court.
If they pushed that line, the likelihood of military confrontation would naturally increase.
Prince Ryun understood that such a course would benefit no one.
“Do you know, Ryun, why I was not made Crown Prince after Jun’s death?”
Jun being the late Crown Prince Jun.
Prince Ryun was at a loss for words at Prince Kouri’s sudden question.
Although Kouri’s words seemed gentle on the surface, Ryun felt anger beneath them.
He could not answer the question posed.
It was an issue Ryun himself had long wondered about and still could not resolve.
“No.”
So that was all he could say.
“Father suspected that I had Jun killed.”
“No way...”
Prince Ryun’s surprise was genuine.
If Crown Prince Jun died, Prince Kouri would naturally become the next Crown Prince.
Being named Crown Prince leads to the throne.
So the reasoning—that someone had murdered the Crown Prince to open the path... made sense.
But only on that level of reasoning.
In the first place, with the palace so tightly guarded by both personnel and alchemical measures, it was impossible to kill the sleeping Crown Prince.
At least, no one has ever discovered how that crime was committed.
“I don’t think Father could steer Darwei.”
“Elder brother, that is...”
Prince Ryun began, but Kouri stopped him with a raised hand.
“Ryun, you know as well. Father is not foolish, but he does neglect martial matters and is absorbed in the arts.”
“That is...”
“That’s why ten years ago, when Jun was made Crown Prince and took part in the administration, I felt reassured. With Jun as Emperor, the country would be fine.”
Prince Kouri spoke those words plainly, with no anger or doubt at all.
Only a little sadness could be felt by Prince Ryun.
“But five years ago, Jun died.”
Prince Kouri shook his head softly.
Then he spoke the shocking words.
“At that time, we had already obtained information suggesting danger from the north.”
“What?”
“The matter now called the Choouchi Empire. Back then, we did not even know their name.”
“You told others of that...?”
“Of course. I told Father and Jun.”
Prince Kouri frowned as he continued.
“Father dismissed it. He may have said it was because he had entrusted all governance to Crown Prince Jun. But Jun moved immediately, as was to be expected.”
After shaking his head again, he continued.
“It was soon after that that Jun was assassinated in his bedchamber within the Eastern Palace.”
“Could it have been the Choouchi Empire?”
“That I do not know. Even if it was them, penetrating the Starry Veil is no easy matter. The report from the Censorate mentioned that, did it not?”
Prince Kouri referred to the magic circle used to extract the Starry Veil formula from General Yun’s body.
If the Starry Veil could be easily breached, they would not have needed such measures to gather intelligence.
“Therefore, I do not know who assassinated Jun, nor which faction.”
“...”
“But Father suspected I had done it.”
Again, anger bled through his words.
“Suspicion was inevitable. I was the closest to the Crown Prince’s position. But if so, a proper investigation should have cleared my name.”
“...”
“But no investigation was done... and in these five years, even Bin has been made an imperial prince.”
Prince Ryun remained silent.
Honestly, he did not immediately know what to say.
He had not expected Prince Kouri—who had appeared to be comfortably leading the pack toward the next throne—to be in such torment.
After a while, a question came to mind.
“Recently, I too was made an imperial prince.”
Ryun wanted to know how Kouri felt about that.
“I expected it would happen someday.”
Prince Kouri said in a voice almost gentle.
“Ryun is fit to be an imperial prince. I think so. More so than Churei or Bin.
“...Is that so?”
“Ryun resembles Jun.”
Prince Kouri said with a faint smile.
“But that is also troublesome for me becoming Emperor.”
“Elder brother...”
“You got married, and it set things in motion.”
Prince Kouri laughed plainly.
“If anything happens to me, Ryun should be the next Emperor.”
“...What?”
“That is for the sake of Darwei and its people.”
“Th-that is not for you or I to decide!”
“No, it is for us to decide.”
Prince Kouri declared.
“Father cannot protect this country.”
“That is not true! If elder brother and I support him...”
“Why support him? It would be better if Ryun or I became Emperor. That would be better for the country, would it not?”
The terror of a correct argument.
The violence of logic.
“Because Father is still Emperor. If an imperial prince sought to remove him, order would be disrupted, and that would lead to chaos in the country.”
“So if Father were to abdicate, there would be no problem?”
“Th-that is...”
Caught by Prince Kouri’s direct question, Prince Ryun struggled for an answer.
“Father’s army is marching north.”
“An army?”
Only the Emperor Tsuin’s return had been announced.
Information that the Emperor led an army should not yet have arrived.
That Kouri knew it meant...
“Did you know of this movement beforehand, elder brother?”
“Of course. With something that large moving... forces are coming even from the archipelago regions. It would be strange not to notice.”
“You knew and yet did not act? Were you waiting to see how things would move?”
“No. I knew they would gather forces and march north. I arranged forces so that the Darwei main army would not be willing to fight.”
Prince Kouri stated that plainly.
“I will also lead an army south.”
“...”
“Ryun, you should come along, too.”
“... I am welcome to accompany you?”
“Of course. Churei is the Great General of the Northern Campaign so he cannot; Bin’s presence would be pointless. But Ryun would be most welcome.”
“...I understand.”
Ryun agreed.
“As I said earlier, if Father abdicates, there will be no problem. We are agreed on that, yes?”
“That may be, but... I cannot imagine Father agreeing to that.”
And so Prince Ryun left the Taiji Hall.
What Prince Kouri murmured afterward could of course not be heard.
“If he dies, it will be forced abdication.”
