The meaning of that question was clear.
Are you going to be my enemy with that Gabriel guy, or are you going to abandon him here?
It was clear even from the other side that Archbishop Radrel’s lips were parched.
He couldn’t just ‘cut the tail’ without knowing what Carlyle knew and to what extent, and he couldn’t defend Gabriel either.
“N-no matter what, I and the Elahe Order are working for the prosperity and glory of the imperial family. Please believe that we have no blasphemous intentions.”
“Then you are saying that the blasphemous part is the personal act of High Priest Gabriel. I see.”
Carlyle smiled and stood up from his seat.
“I plan to criticize the blasphemous acts of some priests who have infiltrated the imperial family in the future. Those who are not responsible for the criticism need not be afraid.”
At those words, Archbishop Radrel jumped up in shock.
“Y-you mean, you are declaring that you will suppress the Elahe Order?”
“Hmm? No, didn’t you just say that the Elahe Order is working for the prosperity and glory of the imperial family?”
“Of course!”
“But when I came here, I saw that some priests were not only failing to maintain political neutrality, but were also bewitching His Majesty the Emperor. But you are saying that this is not the intention of Archbishop Radrel or the Elahe Order?”
Radrel couldn’t help but be drawn to Carlyle’s calm and matter-of-fact attitude, even though he felt something strange about it.
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“Then wouldn’t it be both the imperial family and the Order that would be cleansed if we were to catch a few bastards who are muddying the waters in the middle? Do you disagree with me?”
“Ah, no, that’s…”
Archbishop Radrel couldn’t answer.
Because no matter what he answered, he would only be in trouble.
“Then I will take it that Archbishop Radrel and the Elahe Order agree with me.”
“I’m not that kind of person…!”
“Looking at how High Priest Gabriel is acting, it seems like he wants to put on a name tag that says ‘youngest pope’…”
Carlyle cut off Radrel’s attempt to evade the issue with a neither-here-nor-there attitude and drove the wedge in.
“Shouldn’t there be a scandal where those who have been archbishops for a much longer time have to serve a young new cardinal as their superior?”
Only then did Archbishop Radrel’s eyes change and his mouth close completely.
Carlyle smiled smoothly at him and returned to the palace.
‘I’ve put the Elahe Order on hold for now.’
Now it was time to shake the emperor up.
Thanks to the fact that he had acted the part of a filial son while holding back his disgust, the emperor was in a more generous state than ever before.
However, his hatred and wariness of me would not be broken down overnight, so I had to stimulate his insecurity.
Carlyle calmly gathered suspicious circumstances and various pieces of evidence, waiting for the time to explode them.
***
Ten days after arriving in the capital, the emperor finally invited Carlyle to dinner.
Perhaps he postponed the dinner invitation while holding the victory banquet first because he needed to confirm whether Carlyle’s changed attitude was genuine.
And at the dinner table where the Emperor finally let his guard down a little, Carlyle still acted like a lively son.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten at the Imperial Palace, so my palate is in an uproar.”
“Hahaha! Did you eat grass roots in Pervaz?”
“Compared to this dinner, I think it can be called grass roots.”
For the first time, perhaps, a cheerful conversation took place between the Emperor and Carlyle.
Beatrice and Matthias, who faced Carlyle at the same dinner table for the first time in a long time, endured their discomfort and smiled their characteristic soft smiles.
“You must have had a hard time, Carlyle. The urgent situation in Pervaz seems to have settled down for now, so why don’t you come back to Zyro now?”
Beatrice suggested, acting as a benevolent mother.
Of course, she had no intention of letting Carlyle stay in Zyro if he returned.
“It seems that you are worried about me a lot, Mother. But it’s okay. Pervaz is not completely safe yet.”
At that, the Emperor interjected.
“Do you think another barbarian will invade?”
“Rather, it’s because we haven’t figured out who’s behind the Igram yet.”
“Behind them? What do you mean, the barbarians of the abandoned land have a backer?”
“Actually, there were more than one or two strange things about this war.”
Carlyle explained the strange points with a serious face, as if he didn’t know what had happened.
He said that the Igram, who had been defeated and fled just a few months ago, had launched a massive attack with a huge amount of supplies, that they had used catapults to break through the border defenses, and that some of the enemy soldiers had shouted something that suggested they had a backer when they fought them.
“At that time, those bastards were babbling things like ‘This wasn’t supposed to happen’, and ‘Those bastards tricked us’. It seems to mean that there was a backer who instigated this war, what do you think, Father?”
The sight of Carlyle, who had always ignored his father, asking for his opinion, was not only strange but also eerie.
However, the emperor didn’t want to admit that he was trying to figure out his son’s intentions, so he pretended to be even more stern.
“Ahem, that’s right. Someone must have financed them.”
The Emperor’s gaze glanced over at Beatrice.
“It was a foolish decision to win over the barbarians.”
At that, Carlyle let out a hmm and nodded his head. At first glance, it seemed like he was trying to find a deeper meaning in his father’s words.
Carlyle did not stop there and continued his ‘strange behavior’.
“Previously, I thought that enemies could only be defeated with force. But over the past year, my thoughts have changed a lot. Can you lend me your wisdom, Father?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes. If you’re okay with it, I’ll come to your room after dinner. Oh! If you still find me unpleasant and uncomfortable…….”
“Oh, no! My son is in a difficult situation and asking for my wisdom. As a father, it’s my duty to help him.”
The emperor allowed Carlyle’s visit, feeling flustered but also wanting to know what Carlyle was up to.
Beatrice, who had been listening to the conversation from the side, gritted her teeth as she watched the emperor being led away by Carlyle.
‘I don’t need to consider that woman’s feelings.’
Carlyle smiled brightly and immersed himself in acting the part of the ‘repentant’ son.
After finishing dinner in a cheerful atmosphere, Carlyle returned to his room and meticulously adjusted his appearance under Giles’ supervision. It was for the sake of having a one-on-one conversation with the emperor.
“Unbutton only one button of your shirt.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to unbutton two if we’re going to unbutton it anyway? One button seems a bit stuffy.”
“One is just right. If you fill it up to the neck, it looks like you have a lot to hide, and if you unbutton two, you look too confident.”
“Are there separate standards for clothing etiquette?”
“No. That’s what Your Highness Carlyle said.”
Carlyle was dumbfounded, but Giles was sincere.
Through the prohibition of red clothes or ornaments, the prohibition of shirts with sleeves that are too long or too tight, the prohibition of disheveled hair, and the prohibition of jewelry, he created the image of Carlyle as ‘exemplary and perfect, but also noticeably gentle and reflective on the past.’
After practicing his expression for a long time, Carlyle headed to the emperor’s office before late at night.
“Good evening, Father.”
“Oh, yes, sit down.”
As planned by Giles, the emperor greeted Carlyle much more warmly.
“I’d like a cup of tea, please. I only drank bad tea in Pervaz, so I’ve forgotten the taste of real tea.”
“Oh my! I’ll let you try the Dumare Island red tea that I received this year.”
“Is this year’s any different?”
“It’s the best quality tea produced in the last 10 years. You’ll probably miss this the most when you go back to Pervaz.”
The emperor laughed and brewed tea that was much more expensive than gold per gram.
The tea sommelier, who specialized in brewing Dumare Island red tea, skillfully poured two cups of tea with a modest attitude and placed them in front of the emperor and Carlyle.
“Hmm! You’re right, Father. I don’t think I’ll ever forget this.”
“Hahaha! I told you so.”
The two men had their tea time for the first time since they lived as father and son, with smiles that never disappeared.
Carlyle thought that if his father had been this affectionate since he was a child, he might have tried to protect his incompetent father to the end.
‘I should be glad that he is a heartless father.’
He sipped the fragrant tea and chewed on meaningless thoughts. And by the time he put down the teacup, he was back to the cold-blooded Carlyle Evaristo.
“But, Father.”
“Yes, Carlyle.”
“A lot has changed while I was away… Are you okay?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Carlyle put on a worried expression and paused for a moment before continuing.
“Isn’t the Temple interfering too much in the Imperial family? I thought I was wrong.”
“The Temple is interfering?”
“Aren’t all the important positions in the Imperial family filled with priests? Even your bedside attendant is a priest.”
“Ah, that’s because I pray every time I go to bed and wake up…”
Carlyle made a face as if he couldn’t believe it anymore.
Thanks a lot 🤩