Chapter 25

The next day.

I was summoned to the royal study, and as I stood at the entrance, I heard the voice of His Majesty inside.

"Is that you, Noah? You're injured, so there's no need to bow."

"As you wish."

Still, I bowed slightly and entered the study. His Majesty was, as always, surrounded by a vast number of books, handling state affairs as if he were in a library.

"You came, Noah. How is your injury?"

"I am ashamed to admit it."

"Very well. However, for a man as strong as you to be injured, the assassin must have been quite formidable, right?"

His Majesty looked straight at me and asked.

Sure enough, that's how it came.

Yesterday, I silenced the assassin who tried to silence me, but I didn't think I could fool His Majesty. From my experience, I knew His Majesty's intelligence was formidable.

Even the fact that I had slit my own stomach was undoubtedly reported.

So I said the script I had prepared overnight.

"Strength is not just about swordsmanship."

"Hmm?"

"I believe it's not just about physical prowess. Even the most skilled can be mentally exhausted and confused."

His Majesty stared at me for a while before nodding.

"I see."

He had been looking at me with a probing gaze, but now he looked impressed.

"I have a fine son, one I can be proud of anywhere."

He said.

His Majesty seemed to understand that I had injured myself after careful consideration.

"If everyone were like you, Noah, it would be a great help to me. Do you know, Noah?"

"What is it?"

"Of the emperors called wise rulers, nine out of ten have tarnished their later years."

"..."

I could feel my eyebrows twitch.

Tarnished later years—this must be about the crown prince's rebellion.

Setting aside flattery, His Majesty had governed the empire well. He had led it into an unprecedented golden age, and he would undoubtedly be recorded as a wise ruler in history.

But if the rebellion had succeeded, if the crown prince had forced him to abdicate and become a retired emperor,

His later years would be written as being unable to control even his own son, who led a righteous uprising. That would indeed tarnish his later years.

By saying this so "straightforwardly," I realized something else: His Majesty no longer trusts the crown prince.

He hasn't taken immediate action because deposing the crown prince would also tarnish his later years.

But there was still no solid evidence, so I continued with the script I had prepared last night.

"Your Majesty, I have a humble request."

"Hmm? What is it, speak up."

"Sir Henry and Sir Oscar, along with myself, have been appointed as prince ministers by Your Majesty, but we are all new to this role and may make mistakes."

"Hmm?"

"That's why I believe we need someone to coordinate us."

"Coordinate you? Are you asking for a First Minister?"

"No, I suggest establishing a Prime Prince Minister, similar to my position as Minister of Justice."

"Prime... Prince Minister."

His Majesty rolled the words around on his tongue.

"Yes, Prime, meaning 'overall management.' The role would be to coordinate us prince ministers. I would like to propose that the Crown Prince take on this role."

"..."

His Majesty looked at me with a suspicious eye, as if wondering what I was up to.

At this stage, it was a natural reaction. I continued.

The plan for the Prime Prince Minister is as follows:

By making the Crown Prince the coordinator of the various departments, we would let him play the role of the emperor, thereby suppressing his thoughts of rebellion. After forty-five years as the Crown Prince, he must be eagerly waiting for his turn to become emperor, so this would serve as a pressure release.

The final decision would still be with the Emperor. We would report after deliberating, so it would only add a small step to our process without burdening the Emperor.

"But what if the Prime Minister rejects and doesn't bring the matter to me?"

His Majesty raised a valid concern, and I had prepared an answer for it in my script.

"To prevent that, I request that each prince minister have the right to directly appeal to the Emperor if they feel it is absolutely necessary."

"..."

After looking at me for a while, His Majesty said, "That's impressive."

He seemed to understand my intentions.

The essence of this proposal is to elevate the Crown Prince to a position that looks important but gives him no real power.

While he would be our nominal superior, the final decision would still be with the Emperor, and if we disagree, we can bypass the Prime Minister and speak directly to the Emperor.

In other words, the Prime Prince Minister would be a purely nominal position, one that could be there or not.

"Yes... if this works, it would be the best outcome..."

He murmured softly.

His Majesty knew everything and understood my proposal. He was indeed a wise ruler.

I was convinced that the best way to ensure the people's peace was to prevent His Majesty's later years from being tarnished.

"Very well. I appreciate your advice. I will consider your proposal."

"I am honored."

"The details will be worked out with the ministers later."

His Majesty said this and slowly walked over from behind his desk.

When he was in front of me, he placed his hand on my head.

"Truly... if you had been born earlier..."

I didn't respond. I didn't even nod.

I thought it was best to pretend I hadn't heard.

His Majesty must have realized he had said too much, as he removed his hand from my head, cleared his throat, and took a step back.

"Well, Noah deserves a reward for such a proposal. Money would be boring—Cruise."

"Understood."

As usual, the trusted eunuch appeared silently.

"We are going to the treasure vault."

"As you wish."

Cruise left the study, and His Majesty turned back to me.

"I believe that ring was found by Noah's discerning eye."

"Yes."

The ring His Majesty was referring to was the one on my thumb. It was usually a ring, but when activated, it became armor. It was linked to Leviathan, automatically extending or retracting to protect me.

"Let's go to the treasure vault. I want to see your discerning eye."

"The treasure vault, Your Majesty?"

"Yes. You can choose one thing, anything you like."

"Understood."

I was excited about what I would choose. His Majesty's eyes showed that he was excited too.

I followed His Majesty into the palace's treasure vault.

The vault was larger than my entire house. As expected, it was filled with an enormous number of treasures.

"Go ahead, choose."

His Majesty said, still excited.

I thought for a moment and commanded Leviathan.

The range was the entire treasure vault, but I instructed it to avoid His Majesty and the eunuch Cruise. It emitted a warning signal.

In the vast treasure vault, there was only one reaction.

I walked straight toward the direction of the reaction.

I stopped in front of a certain shelf and took a jewel box from it. When I opened it, there was a ring with a gemstone that looked like fire.

"I'll take this."

"Ah! To choose this without hesitation, you truly have a discerning eye, Noah."

His Majesty was even more excited and praised me with a delighted face.

I had Leviathan emit the warning signal to find another entity with a personality or soul, like Leviathan. The ring was the one that reacted.

"To choose 'Lutiera,' you truly have a discerning eye. Impressive, Noah."

"Thank you."

With His Majesty's permission, I put the ring—Lutiera—on my thumb on the opposite hand from the armor ring. Immediately, I noticed a change in my status, which was usually visible in my field of view.

――――――――――――

Name: Noah Ararat

Minister of Justice

Gender: Male

Level: 1/∞

HP F+F Fire F+C

MP F+F Water E+S

Strength F+E Wind F

Stamina F+F Earth F

Intelligence F+E Light F

Spirit F+F Dark F

Speed F+F

Dexterity F+F

Luck F+F

―――――――――――

Perhaps because it was low to begin with,

My Fire attribute, which was initially low, suddenly increased to C.

"Indeed, you have a discerning eye."

His Majesty praised the ring, which seemed to be quite impressive.