880 – The Burden of the Empire – 2

One minister who was having dinner at our house was able to quickly evacuate using his vacation days, but unfortunately, most of the civil servants who heard the news late were left screaming.

A scream so desperate that even I, who was stuck in the mansion, could hear it. A scream so heartbreaking that anyone with even the slightest connection to the administration could tell, ‘Oh, there’s chaos over there.’

– The entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been put on emergency alert. Even the departments close to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building are holding their breath.

– Officials above the level of team leader have returned to work even if they were on vacation. I hear that the shouting in the minister’s office never stops.

– My eyes are really rolling back. Why else would His Majesty the Emperor delay reporting to you in person for a moment?

Moreover, reports from the Secretary to the Minister, the Director of the Intelligence Service, and the Deputy Director of Intelligence also highlighted the red flags that were flashing throughout the administration.

In terms of information, the three most reliable people all gave similar testimony. It is correct to assume that the Foreign Ministry was already in the center of the nuclear bombing, and that the departments nearby were dying from radioactive fallout.

‘Even the emperor is watching.’

When I recalled the information director’s report, I couldn’t help but laugh.

The noble emperor is watching the face of a mere minister. In today’s world, where imperial power is firmly established due to the great activity of the situation, this is something that can never happen. Rather, the ministers should watch the face of the emperor, and the opposite cannot happen.

But the Minister of Foreign Affairs did it. As the Minister went into a state of rage, the Emperor held his breath and waited for the storm to subside─

‘You shouldn’t do that.’

When I think about it, this guy is crazy. The only person who can be called the clear superior of the Minister of Foreign Affairs is the Emperor, but what can you do if that only superior is silent? This isn’t a problem that can be solved by the Minister of the Imperial Household.

‘It’s not that I don’t understand, though.’

Jang-saeng, who was being teased by children again today, let out a small sigh as he watched the Minister of Finance striding around the garden while giving Pedi a ride on his horse.

You can’t understand it with your head, but you can understand it with your heart. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is someone who has worked as a Foreign Ministry official since the beginning of the reign. Perhaps the number of cups of coffee the Minister of Foreign Affairs has consumed in the Foreign Ministry building is overwhelmingly more than the number of breads the Emperor has eaten in his life.

A nobleman with great talent, great accomplishments, and a well-rounded personality? There couldn’t be a more reliable subject for the emperor.

But why did the trustworthy and gentleman suddenly turn his back on him? The emperor must have destroyed dozens of countries that ignored the foreign ministry’s mediation and started wars.

‘Actually, it would be difficult to appease him even if I came forward myself.’

Diplomacy is an art that is directly connected to the authority and national interest of a country. Even the diplomacy of an empire that is unique on the continent cannot help but be a high-level task that encompasses the entire continent.

In other words, the Minister of Foreign Affairs who has been in charge of the Imperial Foreign Affairs for a long time is a ‘valuable person who is hard to find a replacement for’. In a way, the Emperor inherited the Minister of Foreign Affairs who was discovered by the situation for free, so it is difficult to criticize him.

‘Hmm.’

I pondered, caressing the cooling teacup.

To be honest, I’m scared of the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ anger. He’s older than me, has a long career as a civil servant, is high in the hierarchy, and is usually not angry, but he’s on the verge of swinging a knife like a rascal. Even for a country like me, it’s a bit much to shove your head into him.

However, it is even more frightening to let it go like this. Even a rational person cannot know what he will do when he is blinded by anger. This is especially true for someone who does not normally get angry. This is even more true for someone who is in charge of the empire’s diplomacy.

‘If you evolve into a dark hawk with harsh words, there is no answer.’

Just imagining it sends a shiver down my spine. The Imperial Foreign Minister becomes a hard-line hawk who cries out for war. I can hear the tensions on the continent rising from here. The only empire on the continent is going down the imperialist path.

Crucially, among the reports submitted by the Minister’s Secretary was this report:

– The head of the Armenian Department said that it was fortunate that the war broke out late. He said that if it had broken out a little earlier, it would not have been possible to respond appropriately to His Excellency’s visit to Armenia.

“Yes, I guess so. It’s certainly a relief.”

The head of the Department for Armenian Affairs, a department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that handles diplomacy with Armenia. It is obvious why such a person would bother to talk to the minister’s secretary, why he would bother to mention the war period, and why he would bother to mention my visit to Armenia.

It was a desperate SOS asking for help, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been giving me trouble every time I went on my honeymoon. Even a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, who is particularly good at indirect speech among civil servants, spoke directly.

‘I owe you a lot…’

Just thinking about it, isn’t there something like cutting the sky in another country? I know that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had a hard time seeking understanding for that.

So, from a moral standpoint, we cannot ignore the SOS of the head of the Greater Armenia Department. Although the civil service society is a ruthless society in the face of profit, if you do not even keep basic trust, you are not worthy of living. Before being disqualified as a civil servant, you are disqualified as a human being.

…

‘Should I just pass the beast test?’

This is not right, but the desire to pass the beast exam is rising up.

Damn it. Why would you go to war while ignoring the Empire’s mediation? If things go this way, whoever wins the war, whether the victor or the defeated, will be subject to the Empire’s economic sanctions and diplomatic pressure.

‘Anyway, only crazy people fight in war.’

I’ve been in the military many times for that crazy thing, but that’s not something I can say.

As soon as I finished lunch, I headed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. I thought it would be better to get hit quickly than to avoid the inevitable.

And this is Schrödinger’s hawk, which cannot be guaranteed to evolve the longer it is left to rot. Unless you want to gamble with your mental health, it is right to deal with it quickly.

“Some people run away to someone else’s house to avoid the typhoon, but the owner of the house ends up walking into the typhoon. This is why you shouldn’t run into debts everywhere.”

“I’m already upset, so please be quiet.”

Meanwhile, the minister was busy laughing at his former subordinate who was going to die on his own, as if he found it funny.

“Pedya. You shouldn’t live like your father. It’s easy when you’re in debt, but when it’s time to pay it back, it’s hard like that.”

“Beeeet?”

“Yes, debt. It may be hard to understand now, but you will understand it someday.”

Even our pure Pedi was given strange early education. I can’t tell if he is Pedi’s godfather or Satan.

Anyway, I arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, or to be exact, the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, after receiving a strange send-off from the Minister and Pedi.

“Welcome, Your Majesty! Thank you very much for coming!”

The haggard-looking chief of the Armenian army came running almost on all fours to greet us.

The momentum was so strong that I flinched. I had contacted him in advance before visiting, so Chief Dae-Armain should have had time to get himself together, but even so, it turned out like this.

‘Are you doing this on purpose?’

Is that appearance really a symbol of excessive work, or is it an act to arouse sympathy?

Unfortunately, the possibility of both was so high that I looked at the Chief of the Armenian Department with pity. How unfair it must be for him to be suffering so much because of an incident that broke out in a foreign country.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’s hardships are not someone else’s problem. How could I ignore the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is a beautiful department that silently upholds the Empire’s lofty dignity? I am just glad that I can repay the consideration I have received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, even if only a little.”

“Thank you very much for your kind words! Oh, first of all, please take a seat. Would you like coffee or tea?”

“Coffee, please.”

I just came back from the mansion after drinking a lot of tea.

Besides, looking at the appearance of the Great Armenian Chief, it seems like the conversation will be quite long. In that case, it would be better to drink cold coffee rather than cold tea…

“But, Chief. The office is quite quiet. Where are the other officials?”

“All officials above the level of section chief were summoned to the minister’s office. Fortunately, the Armenian Ministry was able to avoid being summoned because it had one more task to handle.”

It was such a terrible statement that I closed my eyes in silence. Summoning someone not just at the level of a deputy chief or deputy chief, but also at the level of a section chief? This is the level of a division commander summoning all of his battalion commanders and cracking down on them, beyond the level of his brigade commanders.

“What on earth happened?”

That is why I asked with sincerity. What on earth happened to cause the war to break out, and why did the Empire intervene in the first place to make the Minister of Foreign Affairs so angry?

“That’s what I mean.”

At my question, the expression on the face of the Great Armenian Chief darkened even more.

It’s amazing. It’s possible for a person’s complexion to darken there.

“First of all, Your Majesty, how much do you know?”

“I know that Ryuton and Bazen clashed.”

Two nations that walk the path of swords and magic, like Armen and Juven. Nations that are so opposed to each other that when I went on a tour of Northern Hausenz with Eri, I saw the Ryutonians and Bazenians fighting fiercely in the Hausenz Circle.

So when I heard that there was a war between Ryuton and Bazen, I also thought that it had finally come. At least Armen and Juven were far apart, but Ryuton and Bazen were close together.

And the Rutton-Bazen War is a tradition on the continent. The two do not fight often, but they do not fight rarely either. The two countries are known as ‘warlords who fight when they forget’.

“On the surface, that’s true. It’s just something that happens between Ryuton and Bazen, and it’s something that happens normally.”

‘mediocrity…’

Still, I never thought that the Minister of Foreign Affairs would say, “It’s normal for those two to fight.”

“However, this war involves as many as six countries.”

“What.”

“To be exact, it’s the three kingdoms of Ryuton, Bazen, Quaronos, and Winter. In fact, it involves the entire northeastern part of the continent, and even the central part.”

I glanced at the window without realizing it.

Should I pretend not to hear and jump out the window right now?