"I intend to personally attend tomorrowâs council meeting."
Emperor Keillusa had been in seclusion for a long time, citing his poor health. Everyone believed without question that he was suffering from a fatal illnessâand truthfully, it wasnât far from the mark. Although it wasnât technically a disease, his body had been so broken that he was simply awaiting death.
Because they thought he was a dying man, the noble faction, including Duke Diarca, hadnât paid much attention to what he did. Politically defeated, with no heir, they thought even if he engaged in eccentricities like creating the Cavalry with his brother, it wouldn't last a few years. They kept him in check enough to avoid him getting too strong but otherwise ignored him. Everyone was just waiting for the political landscape to shift after his death, while the Emperor silently watched them.
In a way, being treated as someone unimportant was incredibly convenient. It allowed the Emperor to quietly use himself as bait, gradually empowering those who would succeed him. He did everything he could to ensure that even if he died, Kishiar, the Cavalry, and the Empress would have a fighting chance to survive and push forward.
But then, a miracle occurred.
The Emperor became an Awakener and completely regained his health. Only a few in the world knew this. Even after recovering, he intentionally continued to act as though he were still ill.
He even made himself appear worse offâlike during the small meeting around the time of the second Cavalry recruitment announcement, where he had appeared suddenly and deliberately.
During that meeting, the Emperor had shown up unexpectedly, coughed violently after just a few minutes, and left, supported by the chief attendant and knights. Those who saw it thought he was so close to death that he no longer cared to hide his weakness. Conveniently, this occurred just after he had tasked Crown Prince Kachian with investigating the Solar Palace incident, helping to deflect political attacks that could have derailed the second Cavalry recruitment.
Exactly as he and Kishiar â NĐŸvĐ”lŃĐłht â (Donât copy, read here) had planned. Now, the second recruitment was complete. The Cavalry had solidified its core without any significant opposition and was risking everything to protect the South. Crown Prince Kachian, instead of behaving himself, had caused a massive scandal, and Duke Diarca was scheming to extricate himself from the fallout.
In short, there was no longer any reason for the Emperor to continue pretending to be sick. The Emperor smiled coldly, and the Empress smiled along with him.
"My, just imagining how surprised everyone will be to hear of Your Majesty's recovery excites me."
The Emperor gently squeezed the Empressâs hand and leaned in to whisper mischievously.
"...Why do you speak as if you wonât be joining me? I intended for us to go together."
The Empress widened her eyes slightly in surprise, then cautiously asked,
"But... will it really be alright? Though I attended those meetings before, it was merely in Your Majestyâs stead, and I couldnât do much..."
"Saying you did nothing is far too modest. You need no qualifications. You are the one who endured, holding everything together until I could return."
The Empress had stepped forward time and again on his behalf. She had endured not with aggressive ambition, but with silent determination to hold the line. Even though people mocked her background and doubted her intelligence, even though malice and plots rained down on her, she had endured it allânot because she was invulnerable to hurt, but because she squeezed every ounce of strength she had to protect the ones she loved. Had she not held on, both the Emperor and Kishiar would have been torn apart by the wolves long ago.
Keillusa la Orr had never forgotten that.
"I worry that after so long, I might not even recognize people's faces. I might not even be able to speak properly..."
"Thatâs impossible."
"Truly. What if someone says something cruel and I faint from fear?"
Hearing him whisper such absurdities so seriously made the Empress laugh out loud.
"Very well. If Your Majesty insists, I shall accompany you. If you forget someone's face, signal meâIâll tell you."
"How reassuring. Iâll be relying on you."
The Emperorâs lips curved into a rare, tender smileâso soft it was hard to imagine from the man anyone else knew.
The next day at the council meeting. Those who had been sitting with bored, irritable expressions nearly doubted their ears at the sudden announcement.
"His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress are entering. Pay your respects."
"...What did they say?"
Thinking they had misheard, they looked upâonly to see it was true. The Emperor and Empress, dressed similarly in formal attire, entered the council room together.
The usually lone chair at the head was accompanied by a second chair brought in by solemn attendants.
'Whatâs going on? We werenât told the Emperor would attend...'
'Is this another of his random whims, like last time?'
While most nervously kept silent, a fewâthose few loyal to the Emperorâsmiled with relief and hope. As the Emperor and Empress took their seats, all eyes naturally shifted to the Emperor. Keillusaâs complexion was pale, but not deathly so. His breathing was steady, his eyes behind his glasses sharp and clear.
'But they said last time he looked fine at first too... They said it was an invisible illness.'
"I donât know why you all are staring as if I don't belong here," the Emperor said smoothly, facing their silent stares.
"Maxman, Unchelle, Tagaran. Are you so surprised to see me?"
The men named flinched and turned their heads hastily.
"N-No, Your Majesty."
Though most hadnât seen the Emperor directly for years, they still remembered the young scholar who, when he had first ascended the throne, had verbally dismantled seasoned politicians with a single tongue. Even after his seclusion, they had been repeatedly stung by his sharp words delivered through written decrees. Those gathered here were no foolsâmany were highly educatedâbut against Keillusaâs knowledge and rhetoric, they had never won. Now, behind those cold, sharp eyes, that nightmare seemed to be resurrecting.
"Well. I suppose itâs understandable. Itâs been so long since I last came here."
The Emperor spoke emotionlessly. It seemed almost charitableâbut it was merely prelude to the bombshell he was about to drop.
"But from now on, youâll be seeing me often. It would be unsightly if you froze like this every time. I expect you to regain your composure quickly."
Youâll be seeing me often.
The meaning behind those words plunged the entire council into stunned silence. No one even dared to breathe. And finallyâcries of astonishment erupted.
"Y-Your Majesty! Do you meanâ!"
"Have you recoveredâ?"
"Whenâhowâ!"
While chaos erupted, the Emperor merely smiled thinly, chillingly.
"A miracle has occurred. Thatâs all I can say."
It wasnât a detailed answer. But it was the clearest answer of all.
The noble faction figures who had been languid until now gasped as if they might faint. Meanwhile, the Emperorâs loyalists burst into tears, offering prayers of thanks. Among them, the only one to maintain some semblance of composure was the Chancellor, Hevrena Rayflan. Though clearly shaken, she hadnât lost her dignity. Surveying the chaotic room, she stood and rapped on the table to restore order.
"Compose yourselves. It does not suit the Empire's leaders to behave so disgracefully."
She turned to the Emperor and Empress and bowed deeply.
"I have nothing else to say. We can only offer our thanks to the heavens for the return of the Empireâs sun. Now thenâmay we proceed with the backlog of reports?"
"Thank you, Chancellor. Thatâs exactly what I wanted to hear."
And so the Emperor and Chancellor calmly began the session.
'Is this even real?'
Most wanted to scream with questions, but neither the Emperor nor Empress flinched. Immediately after the meeting ended, the news exploded out of the palaceâspreading like wildfire across the capital, and even to the Diarca estate.