Alexei looked at me, seemingly deep in thought. Then, he laughed. “Oh, Ekaterina, my wise and benevolent goddess. Your plan is perfect.”
I’m no goddess, brother. Just a former office worker made of flesh and blood. I was reincarnated as the lady of a ducal house with crazy connections by complete coincidence, and I’m letting these connections carry me and fix my problems.
Seriously, being from a ducal house is such a cheat code. Or is the true cheat code having a duke who adores me for a brother?
“Will you accept my request and allow me to meet with the former emperor, brother?”
“Of course. There is one thing, though...” Alexei’s expression clouded. “Under normal circumstances, I should introduce you to him. However, as I told you last time, I have to avoid seeing him because of my position.”
I nodded. “I’m aware, brother.”
When Mikhail had first suggested that I meet the former emperor, I’d gone to Alexei for advice. I’d reported to him exactly what Mikhail had said, and he’d told me that prominent nobles usually avoided meeting with retired emperors to avoid implying that they were more influential than the current emperor. The emperor who sat on the throne had to be the greatest authority in the nation at all times.
This made total sense to me as a history buff. There had been such cases in Japanese history, notably the days of cloistered rule at the end of the Heian period, when retired emperors had wielded more influence than current emperors. Cloistered emperors Go-Shirakawa and Go-Toba had been good examples.
There seemed to have been such a period in the empire too. The retired emperors had held more power than the sitting emperors and had tended to be tyrannical. That’d led to insurrections and thrown the empire into disarray. The one who’d righted the situation at the time and restored the prestige of the imperial family had been Viktor, the famous Thunder Emperor.
The throne had passed to Viktor when he’d still been a young boy, and he’d become emperor in name only while his father had retained the real power. However, Viktor had then awakened his lightning mana, declared himself the second coming of Pyotr the Great, and removed his father from the picture before setting the empire straight.
To me, a self-proclaimed history nerd, the Thunder Emperor was the most interesting historical figure in the empire, right after the four founding brothers. Despite being born with water mana, he’d awakened his lightning mana later in life, becoming a rare multi-attribute mana user. As per his own words, Pyotr the Great had appeared to him in a dream and granted him the power he needed to restore the empire to its former glory.
This was a fantasy world, so that wasn’t entirely impossible, but I loved the idea of it being clever propaganda even more. As always, the tidbits of history got my imagination running wild!
Anyway, Viktor had later instated laws to make sure that former emperors would be respected but not allowed any power. They could give advice to current emperors, so they could have some level of influence, but that was it. They were forbidden from giving direct orders to their former vassals, and said vassals weren’t supposed to petition them or request their help to sway the emperor in place. Thus, the heads of prominent houses avoided contact with retired emperors altogether, as had been deemed appropriate.
Therefore, Alexei, who was already Duke of Yulnova, couldn’t just go visit the previous emperor.
“The last time we spoke, you told me we’d wait for a ceremony or another such occasion when seeing the previous emperor would be acceptable. However, given the circumstances...would you please permit me to see him with Prince Mikhail instead of you?”
For once, Alexei didn’t immediately agree to my request.
“Are you sure that’s what you want?” he asked.
“I’d much rather go with you,” I admitted. “But I must do this for my friend.” Spending more time than necessary with Mikhail was risky as far as the doom flags went, but Olga was in trouble now. I had to prioritize that. “Please, brother.”
I joined my hands in front of my chest and looked at him with big puppy eyes.
“If that’s what you want...” He’d hesitated a tad longer than usual, but he gave me his okay in the end.
My eyes sparkled. Yay, he said yes! I’m so glad he loves me this much!
“Thank you, brother! I love you!”
Alexei stumbled back as though he’d just been smacked by something heavy.
“Well then, I’m off to ask Prince Mikhail for his opinion! I promise to be on my best behavior when I meet the former emperor, brother.”
“Yes, yes, you do that,” Alexei said absentmindedly. He had a dreamy, soft smile on his face.
Phew. I avoided a catastrophe. Had I failed to get Alexei’s approval, he would have had to fit the destruction of the House of Selesnoa in his already busy schedule!
Now, I had to get the prince to help me out with the former empress so she would openly praise Olga. If I failed, Alexei would definitely get involved to undo my blunders, and I couldn’t have that.
Time to call the prince to the gazebo so I can talk to him, I thought, jumping to my feet.
Alexei watched Ekaterina happily stroll out of his office with Flora by her side. His attendant was about to follow them to protect Ekaterina, but Alexei called him back.
“Ivan.”
“Yes, Your Grace? What can I do for you?” he asked, an affable smile on his lips.
Alexei lowered his voice so it wouldn’t reach his sister’s ears. “I must send the Marquess of Selesnoa a present of my own. Discreetly leave a bottle of Crimson Dragon Bloodstone in his residence in the capital—in his bedroom.”
Crimson Dragon Bloodstone was a Yulnova-made red wine so incredibly rare and precious that it was practically legendary. How would Lydia’s father, the Marquess of Selesnoa, feel when he found a Yulnova wine—one with a name that evoked blood, straight from those he was trying to attack—in his bedroom? It should be the safest place in the world for him, and yet...
“I don’t want Ekaterina’s delicate heart to ache. We’ll target the main family and leave the rest out of it. We’ll back them into a corner until they align themselves with Their Majesties’ will.”
Ivan’s amber eyes gleamed. “What if there are guards at his residence? Can I deal with them?”
“Do with them as you like. Make them understand the difference between us and them. Make them tremble with fear.”
“With your leave, I shall do as you command, Your Grace.”
Ivan bowed with a smile before he followed Ekaterina and Flora.
Back in Alexei’s office, his advisors were left slightly disappointed that they wouldn’t get to go on a rampage themselves.
“I always end up reaching this conclusion, but for better or worse, Lydia truly is an aristocrat among aristocrats,” Mikhail said with a sigh after I recounted the situation to him. “This is very like her. Since this is an internal matter of the marquessate, I doubt she expected you or me to catch wind of it before the law took effect. I suppose she never thought the boy from her branch family to whom she gave her favor would take your side.”
She spends time with him every day, and she still hasn’t realized he’s a huge music nerd?!
While that was my first thought, Renato’s father seemed to be a close advisor of the marquess, so it was clear the Selesars were very much favored by the Selesnoas. The son of such a family picking my side just because he liked music was very unexpected.
“Besides, I don’t think she considered you’d actually make a move for Lady Florus even if you were to learn of it. She thinks highborn nobles have the right to discard lesser nobles if they become liabilities. Lydia is a hard worker with boundless ambitions. She only ever looks up and does everything in her power to reach her goals. The thought of looking down would never occur to her.” Mikhail paused. “Well, I suppose that is one of the ways highborn nobles can choose to live.”