Chapter 3: Declining Empire

Chapter 3: Declining Empire

I turned two. I can move around and talk to people now. To be precise, Im old enough to talk without having people be suspicious of me. Ive been trying to avoid conversations with more than two words, so that I dont get found out.

Now then, a lot of things have changed lately. Firstly, a middle-aged man and an old man started to come to my room where there were only women.

The middle-aged man is the Chancellor and the old man is the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies. Both of them came in saying they wanted to greet His Majesty, while talking themselves up as the other one put them down. I believe its normally useless to tell things like this to a child of this age. I guess theyre trying to imprint on me.

Well, anyway, these two are the powers that are keeping me alive, and their two factions are always fighting against each other.

The maids are no exception to this. I have a total of twenty maids. Too many? I think so too. But I only see about ten of them a day. In other words, the two factions are taking care of me on different days.

And lately, theyve started chatting without a care when I play with blocks by myself.

Thats rude in front of the Emperor. Please continue. Youre my valuable source of information!

As a result of listening to all these conversations they had while standing, I was able to hear a lot of information, so I thought Id summarise what Ive gathered so far.

Lets start with the large man who isnt old enough to be called an old man.

He is said to hold the most power in this nation right now and stands at the top of the empires politics as the chancellor. Huh? The Emperor should be at the top? Its just for show.

This man known as Lord Raul, Karl de van Raul, actually controls most of the nations politics. From the perspective of the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies, it seems that he is abusing his position, lining his own pockets and controlling the empire. He is the eldest son of my great-grandfathers younger brother, and he is also my late grandmothers brother.

This means that my grandfather, who was the emperor before me, and my grandmother, who was his wife, were cousins. Incidentally, marriage between cousins was considered incestuous and was prohibited in this nation until my grandparents got married.

The reason why it became legal? I think its because the Chancellor Karls younger brother has a top position in this nations religion.

I told you, didnt I? That he controls the empire. From what I heard, theyre pretty much doing whatever they want. Well, whatever.

I heard that many of my nannies were wives of neutral aristocrats, so it was honestly tough to see them go.

The neutral faction consists of those who neither side with the chancellors faction nor the regent faction. There arent many of them but most of the people who actually run the government tend to be neutral.

Theyre so-called bureaucrats. Many of them dont have fiefs in the first place. In contrast, Lord Raul and Lord Aquicurl are aristocrats, who as their names suggest, have fiefs. Many of the aristocrats under them also have fiefs in the surrounding areas.

The only force that might be on my side if I were to become involved in politics is the neutral faction. For those who dont have fiefs, the collapse of the empire is directly linked to the loss of their authority. Their livelihood is at stake.

On the other hand, the aristocrats who have fiefs can change sides or even become independent.

Its probably best not to get involved in politics if I cant get the help of the neutral faction. The risk is too high.

Oh, and the reason why the nannies were from the neutral faction is because this world has a high infant mortality rate.

The chancellor and regent factions would both be held accountable by the opposing factions if the emperor were to die because someone from their faction had messed up.

Theyll have to choose the next emperor if I die, and its unlikely that the puppet of the side that is held responsible will be enthroned.

Anyway, my nannies are gone from now on, and only the maids from the chancellor and regent factions will take care of my personal needs. Its as if Im constantly surrounded by enemies.

But I dont think they will take the initiative to monitor or educate me. Ultimately, the people in power do as they please and most people have no choice but to obey them. So, I do sympathise with them a little. Therefore, I havent felt anything that I cant forgive them for right now.

The Chancellor and the Chief of the Ministry of Ceremonies? How can I ever forgive them? Using a baby emperor, or whatever theyre thinking of, is just not decent. Also, I dont like people in power as a low-middle class person in my previous life.

And yet, I was in a position to be obeyed. Honestly, it doesnt suit me. I would have preferred to rise to power or be a free adventurer or something like that.

I should just get out of here and live as an ordinary citizen when I get to a certain age. If Im going to have to live in fear of being assassinated anyway, then I think its better to live freely.

I need to work a little harder at learning magic for that reason.