Chapter 97#

Chaise a la ReineChapter 97#

However, upon further reflection, it was unthinkable that Count Laforet, who had served as treasurer for two generations, would have committed such a brazen act without any justification. As expected, he thrust forth his rationale directly into the face of Count Pharamond.

“As I have stated before, it was by imperial command.”

“… imperial command? Surely not.”

“His Majesty, dissatisfied with the Ministry of Finance’s sluggish handling of the matter, personally issued me an order. I merely carried out His Majesty’s will.”

There was not a single official unaware that the record of meritorious services had been delayed due to obstruction by certain nobles, chief among them being Count Pharamond. Count Laforet was one of the few who disapproved of him.

Unlike other noble houses whose power is rooted in provincial estates, the House Laforet is based entirely in court. While they have never distinguished themselves as a loyalist faction, they are nonetheless a family of traditional court aristocracy.

The foundation of the court aristocracy, rooted in the capital, ultimately rested on the Emperor’s authority. They generally maintained neutrality, knowing that their very survival depended on not being swept away by the volatile tides of power. However, when it came to decisive matters, they could not help but side with the Emperor.

The Marquis of La Baille, who was observing the situation from a step back, furrowed his brow, sensing something amiss. …Come to think of it, wasn’t Viscount Pasquier also not of northern origin? The family had moved entirely to the capital generations ago, leading many to assume they were central nobles, but in fact, they still retained a portion of their old estates in the north.

Unlike other regions where the aristocratic faction held sway, the North was the imperial family’s stronghold. House Ardi had risen from the barren northern lands to find this great empire and continued to receive the support of the northern nobles. The roots of the Imperial House lay in the North, and the northern nobility had not forgotten that pride.

Though centuries had passed since the imperial family left the North to establish the empire, to this day, the highest-ranking lord in the region remained a member of the royal bloodline. The Grand Duchy of Léardynis, which held the title of highest northern peer, had originally belonged to a cadet branch of the imperial family. After the line ended with the famed Duke of the Northern Wall, the title reverted to the Imperial House. Since then, it has been customarily granted to the imperial crown prince, maintaining the symbolic link between the Imperial House and the North.

“I heard the Ministry of Finance recently conscripted all the hereditary tax collectors in the outlying towns. It seems now that the duties assigned to them were not what was publicly known.”

What the Marquis of La Baille had noticed, the seasoned Duke of Chirac could hardly have missed. His eyes narrowed in thought as a realization slowly dawned, and after a long silence, he spoke in a bitter tone.

“The monarch issues only the command. How that will is carried out rests entirely with the subjects.”

The Emperor did not boast of his victory. He merely drove a single, simple line like an awl into the Duke of Chirac’s most vulnerable point. And at that moment, the Duke realized he had lost the battle of legitimacy with the Emperor completely.

They had delayed the compilation of the records of meritorious service, believing themselves secure in their domination of the Ministry of Finance. Though their inaction had been deliberate, the Emperor had no means to prove it.

As the conferraj of rewards dragged on, unrest grew among the fiejd officers who had earned recognition in war. Their dissatisfaction became increasingjy outspoken, and the situation within the mijitary deteriorated. But the statesmen quietjy hoped this discontent woujd grow so joud that even the Emperor coujd no jonger ignore it.

Those who fought on the battjefiejd were not the onjy ones who had earned distinction. jn the years the Emperor had been absent from the capitaj, the civij officiajs who governed in his stead had ajso rendered meritorious service. But the standards for reward were stijj dictated by the ancient Lex Ardica, as jofty as they were antiquated.

According to those old military merit codes, which had once applied when lords rode to battle with their retinues, the deeds of civil officials who had focused on domestic governance could scarcely be acknowledged as true merit.

It wasn’t only the Duke of Chirac who harbored resentment over that fact. That such a dangerous charade could continue for so long in the presence of a hardline monarch like Ebroin V only proved how deep the frustration ran among the civil officials.

But now that the record of meritorious service is complete, everything we have done until now has lost its meaning. From this point on, those who delayed the work will have no excuse when accused of incompetence…

What chilled the Duke of Chirac most was the fact that matters had reached this stage without him sensing a thing. Without anyone noticing, the Emperor had gained complete control of the Ministry of Finance.

Count Laforet, long thought to be neutral, and even Viscount Pasquier, whom the Duke believed he had swayed, even just moments ago, were wholly on the Emperor’s side. There was no other way to explain the present situation.

They had executed this massive undertaking in total secrecy. Without exerting full control over not just the senior officials of the ministry but also every attendant and servant coming and going, such airtight security would have been impossible.

…And now, of all things, sensitive information regarding the Emperor’s personal investments had been leaked from that place? Could that really have been a coincidence?

Only then did the Duke of Chirac realize the existence of the intricate web spread beneath his feet. Neither he nor any of his allies had abstained from investing in war bonds. It was a good investment to begin with, and they had later acquired a considerable amount using insider knowledge.

Normally, such a matter would pose little risk. But court politics functioned much like the art of hiding corpses. As with murder, corruption was never punished so long as it remained buried, but once even a part was exposed, everything became a liability.

I have been thoroughly outmaneuvered.

The taste of it was not merely bitter, but ascerbic. So that was why His Majesty had deliberately allowed the officials’ misdeeds related to the bonds to come to light. The Duke of Chirac barely managed to conceal his pallor as he bowed low.

“The blame lies entirely with my own incompetence.”

Caught in a trap from which there was no escape, he had no choice but to concede defeat. The Emperor’s audience chamber sank into heavy silence. The Duke’s faction, who formed the majority, said nothing, sweat beading on their brows. Even Marshal Basin and the Marquis of La Baille, who watched from the sidelines, could not remain entirely at ease.

The only ones untroubled were the two treasurers who had orchestrated the affair at the Emperor’s behest. The Emperor rested his cheek against one hand, elbow propped on the armrest, and gazed down silently at the bowing Duke of Chirac.

“Read it.”

After a long moment spent looking down at the old minister’s bowed head, the Emperor suddenly handed him the record of meritorious service. Was he now intent on trampling a servant who had already knelt? Surely His Majesty was not so merciless…. While the Duke’s thoughts churned, Count Laforet retrieved the book and stepped forward to present it.

It was a direct order, given in full view. The Duke of Chirac could not refuse. Slowly, he opened the book and began to read.

Before long, his reluctant gaze began to waver. As he continued, confirming the contents with a visibly changing expression, his fingers flipped through the pages faster and faster until at last, he let out a low, pained groan.

“Your Majesty, this-this is not merely a record of meritorious service. It is that, yes, but more precisely, this is…”

The Duke of Chirac, who had been speaking with a flustered expression, suddenly fell silent, as if he had just come to his senses. The Emperor smiled gently and, as if nothing were amiss, finished the words the duke had left unsaid.

“It is a revision of the record of meritorious service under Despotes.”

A reform of Lex Ardica by imperial decree!

Everyone in the chamber froze. A revision of Lex Ardica? And by unilateral imperial decree? Was His Majesty truly, seriously intending to lay hands on that colossal institution?

“That is impossible, Your Majesty!”

The objection sprang forth before he could even think. The Duke of Chirac blurted it out reflexively, unable to conceal his dismay. The Emperor looked at him without the slightest change in expression.

“There is precedent.”

“You cannot be unaware of the ruinous consequences that precedent brought.”

The last revision of Lex Ardica had occurred over two hundred years ago. As the provinces’ finances deteriorated, many domains could no longer afford to maintain private troops. Burdened by this obligation, some lords petitioned the Emperor to relieve them of it. Bern VII, a monarch devoted to strengthening imperial authority, promptly accepted their request and, to expedite the process, attempted to amend the law by imperial decree.

But just as the Duke of Chirac had said, that attempt ended in disaster. While the obligation may have been onerous for minor lords, private armies were considered an inalienable right by the great nobles.

The unilateral decision by the Emperor incited resistance from the leading aristocracy and sparked the Empire’s last civil war. The Estina Empire was then plunged into a bitter internal conflict that lasted several years. The war only ended after the powerful House Rosciarre, foremost among the central principalities and ringleaders of the revolt, and several other great houses were utterly destroyed for treason.

“So you would leave the reward statutes as they are? Laws written for an age when vassals rode out at their lord’s command, standard-bearers at the fore?”

Though the war ended in victory for the Imperial Army, the aftermath was severe. In return for that victory, the private army system was restructured into a central army. A few margrave lords were allowed to retain private forces to defend the borders, but aside from those exceptions, no further legal reform was possible.

Just as a child once burned recoils even at the sight of a fire iron, the Imperial House, once zealous in pursuing reforms to strengthen the imperial authority, had since shifted its policy to avoid meddling in the amendment of the Lex Ardica whenever possible.

Two centuries had passed. Over time, a timid practice had become the norm: revising only supplementary provisions to suit the age while leaving the original text untouched. But it seemed even that restraint would end today.

“Your Majesty.”

“If we follow Lex Ardica to the letter, there is no way to reward the meritorious service of the artillery, nor to commend a supply officer who succeeds in a critical provision effort. When the law was enacted, soldiers equipped themselves at their own expense, and provisioning was the responsibility of their liege lords. As a result, We are permitted to reward only the nobility, and the only prize We may bestow is land. This means that there will be no new territory and no rewards. But land does not spring forth from the earth at our bidding. Divide and divide again what little we have, and in a few centuries, there will be nothing left to give.”

“Lex Ardica is the very foundation of the empire.”

“Quite right. The supreme law is the cornerstone of the empire, and our institutions are its framework. But can an empire stand firm while the law is unsound? The empire does not exist for the sake of Lex Ardica, Duke Chirac. Lex Ardica exists for the sake of the empire.”

Why had he not realized it sooner? The Duke of Chirac let out a quiet sigh, understanding at last that the Emperor had been contemplating this reform for a very long time. A rational monarch like Ebroin V could never have truly accepted the current, misshapen legal structure. Given his reformist nature, what had happened today had always been inevitable.

But the conservative nobility would never accept such a radical approach. A new system of rewards based on pensions instead of land? But land is the very foundation of noble standing.

A man as financially astute as the Duke of Chirac recognized at once that the Emperor’s proposal was both rational and practical. From the perspective of long-term fiscal policy, it was undoubtedly the right course. And politically, it was immensely beneficial as it included clear provisions for recognizing the contributions of civil officials, just as they had hoped.