the Villainess they took for granted

Chapter 304: v4: Chapter 5: The imperial council I

Part One

The Emperor’s morning had already begun long before Marian left the palace.

By the time Adrian entered the council chamber, the ministers were already waiting.

They rose as he approached.

”Your Majesty.”

Adrian gave a brief nod.

”Good morning.”

He took his place at the head of the table.

The ministers followed, settling into their seats once he had done so.

The room fell quiet.

There had been a time when Adrian’s presence at the head of the Imperial Council had seemed unusual.

He had been twenty-three when he inherited the throne.

Young, by the standards of most rulers.

Some had doubted whether someone so young could govern an empire that had already been established for generations.

Six years had been more than enough to answer them.

Adrian was twenty-nine now.

He had learned the Empire’s machinery quickly.

He knew which ministers could be trusted with difficult decisions and which required closer supervision.

He expected reports to be accurate.

He disliked wasted time.

And he rarely needed to raise his voice.

His authority had become something the ministers simply understood.

The morning proceeded through the ordinary matters of state.

Reports from the eastern provinces.

A discussion regarding grain reserves.

A dispute between two noble houses over agricultural land.

Several petitions requiring the Crown’s approval.

Adrian listened to each matter with measured attention.

He asked questions when something required clarification.

He rejected two proposals.

Approved another.

Moved on.

Nothing about his manner suggested impatience, but no one in the room mistook his silence for inattention.

Adrian noticed everything.

By the time they reached the final matters, the atmosphere had settled into its usual rhythm.

Then one of the senior ministers cleared his throat.

”There is one matter concerning the succession, Your Majesty.”

Adrian looked up from the document before him.

The minister hesitated before continuing.

”The council has begun to express some concern regarding the absence of an heir.”

”I am aware.”

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

Another minister spoke carefully.

”It has now been several years since Your Majesty’s marriage.”

Adrian’s gaze shifted toward him.

The man straightened.

”We only mean that certain members of the council believe it may be prudent to consider—”

He stopped.

Adrian waited.

”Consider what?”

The minister swallowed.

”Other possibilities, Your Majesty.”

Silence.

Adrian’s expression remained unchanged.

”The Empress is not a matter for speculation.”

”No, Your Majesty.”

”She is my wife.”

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

”And she will remain my Empress.”

The minister lowered his head.

”Understood.”

Adrian returned his attention to the papers before him.

The subject was closed.

No one attempted to reopen it.

After a moment, another minister spoke.

”There is another matter, Your Majesty.”

Adrian looked up.

”The Milician Kingdom’s peace delegation is expected in three days.”

Adrian nodded once.

The minister consulted the report before him.

”They remain on schedule. Their party has already reached the western provinces and is expected to arrive in the capital within three days.”

Adrian listened without interruption.

He had been aware of their progress.

The Empire had accepted Milicia’s proposal weeks earlier, and preparations had been underway ever since.

The arrival itself was not unexpected.

What made it important was the kingdom behind it.

Milicia bordered the Empire along its southern frontier.

It was not a minor neighboring state that could be dealt with through a provincial governor or a junior diplomat.

Milicia possessed comparable territory, resources, and military strength.

For generations, the two kingdoms had regarded one another with suspicion.

There had been conflicts along the border.

Periods of hostility.

Long stretches in which neither side trusted the other enough to believe that peace would last.

More recently, however, Milicia had been consumed by its own troubles.

The kingdom had endured a succession crisis that had left its internal politics unstable.

That instability had kept the southern border relatively quiet.

There had been no war with the Empire.

There had been little opportunity for one.

Milicia had been too busy dealing with itself.

Then, a little over a year ago, the succession had finally been settled.

A new king had taken the throne.

Lorenz.

Twenty-seven years old.

Milicia’s rightful crown prince had inherited his birthright, but not without a struggle.

The succession crisis had left the kingdom divided, its court unsettled and several powerful factions vying for influence.

Yet Lorenz had managed to secure the throne.

More importantly, he had managed to keep it.

In the months that followed his coronation, he had begun restoring order to a kingdom that had spent too long consumed by its own internal disputes.

Trade had begun to recover.

The worst of the political unrest had subsided.

The southern provinces had become more stable.

It was not a small achievement for a young king only beginning his reign.

Adrian respected competence wherever he found it.

And from what he had been told, Lorenz possessed it.

Now, instead of continuing the old hostility, he had opened the door to peace.

Adrian’s fingers rested lightly against the table.

”The delegation is being led by King Lorenz himself.”

It was not a question.

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

Adrian’s gaze remained on the minister.

He had already received the initial intelligence on the Milician king. With only three days remaining before the delegation’s arrival, there was little room for surprises.

”The updated report.”

The minister beside him immediately reached for the document prepared for that purpose.

”It has been compiled, Your Majesty.”

He placed it before Adrian.

Adrian opened the report.

His eyes moved steadily across the first page.

King Lorenz of Milicia.

Twenty-seven years of age.

Eldest son and rightful heir of the previous king.

Crowned approximately fifteen months earlier following the succession crisis.

Adrian continued reading.

The report contained the latest assessment of Lorenz’s position within Milicia, including the factions that had supported him, those that had opposed him, and the measures he had taken since his coronation to restore stability.

It also contained the more personal details relevant to receiving another sovereign.

Lorenz had been married for several years.

His wife, Queen Elara, remained in Milicia with their two children—a young son and daughter.

Neither the Queen nor the children would be accompanying him.

The king would instead travel with several senior ministers, diplomatic advisers, members of his household, and a personal guard befitting his station.

Adrian turned another page.

There were further details regarding Milicia’s military strength, its principal trade routes, its current political factions, and the members of Lorenz’s court who would be accompanying him.

The final section concerned the purpose of the visit.

Preliminary peace negotiations.

The delegation had been sent to determine whether the two kingdoms could begin establishing the foundations for a formal peace agreement.

Adrian closed the report.

He had what he needed.

Now came the more immediate question.

How the Empire would receive them.

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Tbc