Chapter 4-The Empress Negotiates(Finale)

A continental emperor should be imposing.

Tall.

Mature.

A figure who looks like the physical embodiment of the empire itself.

Even if that was not the case, at the very least, an emperor should be vertically blessed.

However, perhaps fate was cruel, or perhaps the universe was simply testing the limits of what people were capable of comprehending.

"Welcome to Tianluo. I trust your journey was satisfactory nano ja."

Simple, direct words.

Yet, as Bruce looked at the Empress, he was still trying to connect the dots.

He remembered the Empress' profile clearly.

Height: 137 cm (4'6")
Hair: Red hair
Eyes: Pink irises

The height was something he had initially assumed to be some twisted joke. Perhaps an Empress would never truly provide her measurements to a foreign state.

And yet, his eyes could not lie to him.

The Empress was indeed short!

"Hm? Why are you all frozen?"

The Empress tilted her head, resting her cheek against her fist as her pink eyes narrowed.

"A-ah, it's nothing, Your Highness!"

Bruce quickly gathered his thoughts and returned to the present.

"Our journey here to the East has been very fruitful. The sights are truly beyond compare."

Bruce bowed, followed by Andrew and the rest of the delegation.

Seeing this, a tiny smile curled up on the Empress' lips.

"That's expected! Tianluo has always been a marvel. It's something most people cannot fathom."

Tiny pink irises stared at the delegation, causing several of them to jolt.

Andrew looked at the Empress, but he did not feel any fear at all.

Only contempt.

Whatever did she mean by "most"? The way she said it was almost condescending.

"Your Highness, we also brought you some gifts."

Hearing the word "gifts," the Empress immediately perked up.

"Ho? Gifts, you say?"

The Empress' eyes seemed to brighten.

Bruce nodded.

"Yes."

Bruce looked toward the other members of the delegation and whispered something to them.

They immediately left, only to return moments later with several chests, cutlery, and wines.

Seeing them being brought in one after another, the more the Empress' expression darkened.

Her earlier joy vanished within seconds.

"...."

The Empress stared at the gifts in front of her.

"I-Is it not to your liking, Your Highness?"

Bruce asked.

And indeed, the Empress furrowed her eyebrows.

"The gold is expected. But wine and cutlery?"

Hearing those words, Bruce and Andrew looked at each other.

Isn't that what she liked?

Andrew stepped forward, placing a hand over his chest.

"Your Majesty, if I may speak."

The Empress nodded, and Andrew continued.

"We heard that you liked those the most."

"..."

The Empress' expression darkened again.

"No, I do not."

Her simple words caused the entire delegation to freeze.

"Whatever rumors you heard are simply false. I never liked wine, nor do I like cutlery. Those are the likes of my subordinates."

Bruce's mouth opened and closed for a moment before he smiled awkwardly.

"I see. We were gravely mistaken, Your Highness."

The Empress merely sighed and waved her hand.

"No matter. A gift is still a gift nonetheless. I'll simply give them to my subordinates nano ja."

Andrew looked at Bruce, who was staring at the Empress.

Then Andrew looked back at the Empress.

Again, with "subordinates." She really likes to emphasize that a lot.

There's clearly something going on here.

But no need to rush. I'll learn who she truly is in due time.

Andrew's eyes narrowed, then softened when he made eye contact with the Empress.

"Ho?..."

The Empress looked at Andrew, narrowed her eyes, then smiled.

"Right, the reason for your visit?"

Bruce nodded.

"We came to interview you, Your Highness."

"I see."

The Empress already knew their purpose, but asking had always been quite the delight for her.

"Okay, come."

The Empress hopped off her throne, glanced at Yumiko beside her, and began walking.

Without another word, Bruce and Andrew looked at each other before following the Empress into a more private room.

Meanwhile, the rest of the envoys left the throne room with the gifts.

The private room, as expected, still held the same minimalist touch.

However, Bruce couldn't help but stare at the desk, which was filled to the brim with papers.

"Ah, don't mind that nano ja."

Bruce looked toward the Empress, who was shaking her head, and nodded.

"Take a seat."

Agreeing not to waste any more time, Bruce and Andrew sat on the available couch while the Empress took her time hopping onto the couch in front of them.

"Let us not waste time. Conduct the interview immediately."

The Empress pointed at Bruce and Andrew.

Truly, an Empress was different.

Her attitude toward other people was that she could simply order them around.

But neither member of the delegation opposed the idea of not wasting time.

Bruce cleared his throat and began speaking.

"Your Majesty, before you become a student, you must first complete the interview. Do you, Empress of the Tianluo Empire, agree to respond honestly to the questions?"

The Empress gave a small smile.

"Naturally."

Bruce looked at Andrew, and Andrew nodded back.

Bruce then took out a folded paper he had brought with him and cleared his throat again.

"Let's begin."

“Your Majesty, before we discuss the conditions of your admission, may we ask whether you intend to personally govern Tianluo during your absence?”

The Empress looked at Bruce and smiled.

"No."

Andrew looked at Bruce. When he received Bruce's nod, Andrew also asked,

"Then, who would rule during your absence?"

The Empress merely tilted her head.

"My subordinates nano ja."

Andrew's eyebrows furrowed.

“Should an unforeseen crisis arise within Tianluo during your stay, will you return immediately?”

"No."

The Empress simply shook her head and rested her cheek on her fist.

Bruce placed a hand on Andrew's shoulder, looked at him, and eyed him as if saying,

Let me take it from here.

“Your Majesty, you kept saying 'subordinates' earlier in the throne room. May I ask? Does your council, or your "subordinates," possess the authority to make decisions without your direct approval?”

Hearing those words, the Empress gave another smile.

"Without my direct approval?"

A cute giggle escaped the Empress' mouth.

"Everything my subordinates do is my direct approval."

Bruce narrowed his eyes.

This Empress is too mysterious.

He couldn't quite tell whether what stood before him was a competent ruler or simply a leader who knew how to pick good men.

Even with his experience dealing with people, it was people like this Empress who gave him more of a headache.

Meanwhile, Andrew's suspicions kept growing.

Her confidence in her subordinates was heavily suspicious.

Is she truly feared for her governing prowess?

OR simply because of the council backing her?

In any case,

Andrew smiled.

“Your Majesty, if I may be direct: how involved are you personally in matters of state?”

The Empress looked at Andrew, her pink eyes shimmering with his reflection, before finally answering.

"I am very much involved in every matter that has been, and will be. That is expected of an Empress, is it not?"

Andrew paused for a moment before nodding.

"Then, how much authority does your Prime Minister possess compared to yourself?”

The Empress once again tilted her head at the question.

"Ho.... Well."

The Empress looked at Yumiko beside her, who stood patiently, then looked back at the two interviewers.

"They only have as much as I allow them to."

"And how much is 'allowed,' Your Majesty?"

Bruce asked in turn.

"Simply put: a dog is asked to guard, a cat is asked to purr, and a knife is asked to stab."

The Empress gave the two a very warm smile.

While the two remained confused.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty? Are you saying that your—"

"Subordinates are no more than tools? Of course."

The Empress paused.

"I picked them because they have a clear purpose. I picked them because they fit my own standards, a fraction of what I can do."

Bruce's mouth opened and closed.

He wanted to say something, but what was there to say?

This Empress... her way of thinking was truly unfathomable.

But Andrew—Andrew was unquenchable in his pursuit to discover this Empress' true colors.

So he nodded and continued on.

"Your Majesty, I heard good things about your Prime Minister. May I ask: if your Prime Minister disagreed with one of your decisions, would you permit her to oppose you?”

Those words echoed through the room.

Andrew looked at Yumiko, and her previously closed eyes finally opened, revealing her beautiful black irises.

As if the question had finally become interesting.

The Empress, meanwhile, didn't seem the least bit shaken. Instead, she continued giving them a warm smile.

"If my Prime Minister disagrees with me, then it's simply that I also disagree with the current plan."

Andrew simply nodded and continued on.

“If I may ask plainly, Your Majesty, how much of Tianluo's administration is actually your own work?”

The Empress tilted her head, as if examining the question, before opening her mouth.

"Before the subordinates, there is only the Empress."

She paused and looked at Bruce.

"Naturally, everything that has come to be had been my doing."

Bruce looked at the Empress, not knowing what her gaze meant.

But Andrew—Andrew didn't feel anything from her answer.

It was expected of an Empress.

Andrew smiled confidently, looked at his paper, then looked back at the Empress.

“Would your ministers be permitted to overrule you should they determine that your decision is harmful to the empire?”

"No."

Andrew and Bruce looked surprised.

"No, Your Majesty?"

Bruce asked.

“They are permitted to advise me.”

The Empress looked both of them in the eye.

“They are not permitted to rule me.”

"But enough about these questions. Be frank. What is it you really want to ask? Hm? You keep poking at my internal affairs."

Andrew looked at Bruce, and Bruce coughed.

"I apologize, Your Majesty. Let's get back on track.

What does Tianluo expect from the Western Continent in exchange for allowing Your Majesty to attend the academy?”

The Empress finally nodded and leaned back into the sofa.

"Expectations? Simple. Don't get in the way nano ja."

Bruce nodded.

There was nothing left to say about that answer.

“What conditions would Your Majesty consider unacceptable?”

The Empress looked up, scratching her chin before looking at them.

"Unacceptable? Hmm... Depends on what I find troublesome."

"And those are?"

"Sorry, won't tell."

The Empress simply smiled.

Bruce coughed, and Andrew now asked the next question.

“Would Your Majesty accept restrictions on the number of imperial guards permitted within academy grounds?”

The Empress' mouth opened, then closed.

Her finger tapped against the armrest.

"I'll bring 20."

"That isn't allowed, Your Majesty."

Bruce, wide-eyed, tried to negotiate.

"15."

"Your Majesty—"

"13."

"..."

Bruce looked at the Empress, her eyes resolute and unwavering.

"Fine."

Bruce sighed.

He was powerless.

Moreover, who was he?

He was just the Director of Internal Affairs.

The final say was still up to the King.

In front of an Empress, what could he do?

And Andrew... he still had something in mind.

“Would Tianluo consider military intervention should Your Majesty be injured while attending the academy?”

The Empress merely blinked before opening her mouth.

“I would advise you not to discover the answer.”

That left the room silent for a while.

Before Andrew, as testing as ever, asked another question.

“Your Majesty, if your ministers are the ones who administer the empire while you are absent, and they are permitted to advise you on matters you may not understand yourself... what, exactly, distinguishes your rule from that of a figurehead?”

The room went utterly silent.

The Empress' smile disappeared.

Her tapping finger against the armrest stopped.

Her pink eyes, which had held nothing but curiosity until now, darkened and dulled, sharpening as they locked onto Andrew.

“...A figurehead?”

The Empress asked calmly.

Too calmly.

Her pitch lowered.

“Explain that statement.”

“I mean no insult, Your Majesty.”

He placed the paper down on his lap.

“I am asking because, from what you've told us, your ministers administer the empire in your absence. They possess authority to act on your behalf. You permit them to advise you, and you trust their judgment enough to alter your decisions when they present a better course of action.”

He paused.

“Yet you retain the final authority over every matter.”

Andrew leaned forward slightly.

“So I must ask: what distinguishes an Empress who rules through her ministers from an Empress who merely possesses the title while her ministers truly govern?”

His eyes remained fixed on hers.

“If the distinction is simply that they act according to the authority you grant them, then what proves that authority originates from you?”

The room remained silent.

“That is what I mean by a figurehead, Your Majesty.”

Andrew's expression hardened.

“Not whether you wear the crown.”

“But whether the crown actually answers to you.”

The Empress' mouth opened and closed.

Andrew smiled deep inside.

So she was a puppet after all!

Unable to answer such a simple thing—

"You misunderstand."

Andrew immediately came crashing back down to reality as he saw the Empress looking at him with a sharp glare.

But he paid no heed to such a stare.

He was still confident.

"Then enlighten me, Your Majesty.”

“You speak as though authority is something my ministers possess independently.”

She paused as she looked at her nails.

"It is not."

“They govern because I permit them to govern.”

The Empress leaned against the sofa.

But Andrew was not amused.

He had already heard that answer.

“But that is precisely what I am questioning.”

"No."

For the first time, the Empress' expression changed.

Becoming cool and unfeeling.

Yumiko could be seen looking at the Empress and the two interviewers as if something was about to go wrong.

Only Bruce managed to notice it.

"No?"

Andrew blinked.

“You are questioning whether my authority is real.”

"That I am."

The Empress gave a small smile before opening her mouth again.

"Tell me then, Andrew."

The Empress stood up and began pacing back and forth.

“If a general commands an army, does that make him an Emperor?”

Andrew furrowed his eyebrows.

"No."

"If a treasurer controls the treasury, does that make him the Emperor?"

"...No."

"If my Prime Minister administers the empire, does that make her an Empress?"

"...."

The Empress' smile grew wider as she leaned toward Andrew.

“Then why does their ability to perform the duties I assigned them somehow diminish the authority of the person who assigned those duties?”

However, Andrew still had some fuel!

He couldn't be defeated now.

He would prove it once and for all!

“Because a title can grant authority without proving that the person holding it actually exercises it.”

“Then do you wish to know whether I exercise authority?”

Andrew nodded.

The Empress' eyes narrowed.

"Very well."

The Empress straightened her posture and pointed at the table filled to the brim with paperwork.

Bruce and Andrew glanced toward where she was pointing.

"Those are the decisions awaiting my decision."

The Empress smiled as she placed her hands behind her back.

“Taxation.”

“Military deployment.”

“Trade agreements.”

“Provincial appointments.”

“Infrastructure.”

“Foreign policy.”

“My ministers bring me their recommendations. I read them. I question them. I reject them. I alter them and sometimes…”

The Empress gave the two a warm smile.

“…I discover that they were correct.”

The Empress slowly sat back down on her sofa.

“That is what an adviser is.”

“If I cannot be told that I am wrong, then I have surrounded myself with fools.”

The room went silent.

Andrew couldn't help but be at a loss for words.

Realizing the foolish mistake Andrew had made, Bruce calmly, yet nervously, waved his hand at the Empress, catching her attention.

"Hm?"

"I'm very sorry, Your Highness. We went astray. I have but one question for you, and I promise it's not as invasive as my foolish partner here."

The Empress laughed.

"I don't mind nano ja."

"I deal with this daily."

Understand her Majesty.

Somehow, those words made more sense now.

“If you are truly as capable an Empress as your reputation suggests... why do you need to attend an academy at all?”

Hearing such a question, the Empress finally nodded her head in approval.

“Because an Empress who believes she has nothing left to learn has already become incompetent.”