Chapter 9: Imperial Order (4)

~9.4~

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“Now, my dear Drachenheim nobility. I’ll explain to you why your arguments are invalid.”

Wolfgang and many of the nobles scoffed at the idea, which only served to further irritate Adele.

“You are worried that mental disease will overtake me. You are worried that I may need to de-transition. You are worried about a lot of nonsense. These things may be problematic for the masses, but not for royals. We are different from you.”

She sighed and looked at the noble that had spoken up first.

“Let’s go over the first concern. Anxiety and depression. Do you know any royals with either of those? I’m not speaking of minor bouts that no soul is immune to. I’m speaking of cases that hinder or outright disable a person while present. Have you ever heard of a single royal having such a case?”

The noble shook her head.

“You would rather another candidate take my place because of this?” She clicked her tongue out of anger. “Most of you are archnobles, and there are a few nobles. The lowest rank among you is Duke. What territory does a title-holding Duke manage? I’m not asking rhetorically, and I do not care who answers. One of you answer. Now.”

A male Duke spoke up. “A duchy, Your Highness, under the supervision of an Archduke or Grand Duke.”

“What is a title-holding Archduke and what does one manage?”

A female Archduke spoke up next. “We are governors of a single planet, serving as vassals to Grand Dukes.”

“What is a title-holding Grand Duke and what does one manage?”

It was Wolfgang that answered that question. “We are also governors, and we oversee our own planet as well as a handful of planets governed by Archdukes. We are vassals to our respective sovereigns.”

Her eyes grew colder. “And a royal is?”

None of them were willing to answer. Rosalie sighed and spoke up. “A royal is not a governor that oversees a planet or handful of planets. A royal is a sovereign that oversees every planet within a realm. Every Grand Duke reports to a King. Every Archduke reports to a Grand Duke, but may also report directly to a King. Royals oversee thousands of planets. Wolfgang and the rest of you, have you realized why Lady Adele is asking these questions? She wants you to state your place in this empire.” She paused a moment and turned to the young royal. “Correct?”

Adele nodded. “The reason you never hear of royals having debilitating cases of either mental or physical illness is because we never publicize it. What would happen if suddenly the Dragon Queen is stricken with a severe case of depression and we tell you about it? Go on, answer.”

None of them had any clue. Each shook their heads.

“Panic,” said Rosalie. “Wolf, I taught you better than this.”

Adele sighed and continued, “Let’s say that I come down with a case of severe anxiety in the next few years. Transitioning isn’t a walk in the park, after all. What would we do then? I’m a title-holding royal.” Her expression soured. “You need not be concerned. You’ll never know. Your idea of training another royal candidate to take my place isn’t an idea you need to worry about. Every royal candidate is trained to take a throne.”

She glanced at Rosalie.

“Why are you the only noble here that has any clue about anything?”

“I was just thinking that myself. It appears I need to drag our high-ranking nobility to class and re-teach them.”

“I’m willing to entertain that idea,” Atalante said. “We’ll discuss that in a moment after Adele is finished speaking.”

Rosalie nodded and Adele continued. “Nothing would happen. Heirs have no more responsibility than any other candidate. It is simply a title that says, ‘Hey, I’m the next sovereign.’ Nothing more, nothing less. If I was due to ascend to the throne and became sick with something or another, it doesn’t matter if it’s mental illness, physical injury, or bodily disease, I would simply not take the throne until it’s dealt with. Either the current sovereign would continue serving, or another would handle their job for them in the interim.”

“But that would mean the sovereign is sovereign in name only,” said a male Grand Duke.

“What does that matter to you? The job is still being managed by a capable royal. Nothing has ever happened in the past to give nobles cause to think there was anyone other than the sovereign managing their office. Do you not have a group of people assisting you or even handling your duties on occasion when you need to attend a council meeting? Do you not have another handle your duties when you are indisposed? Are you an idiot?”

That Grand Duke was speechless.

“It seems you truly do need remediation.” Adele sighed. “All of your concerns are invalid. You have no business knowing about the health status of a royal. You have no business poking your noses into the idea of having another candidate ready to go to take my place if necessary. And you have no business with a royal’s gender identity. So what if I get depressed? It will have zero impact on you. So what if I need a replacement? It will have zero impact on you. So what if… no, there will be no need for a de-transition, not that you need to know that. It will have zero impact on you. Why not groom any one of our other royal candidates for the job?”

She suddenly stomped the ground with her mana flared, throwing up a light shockwave that did not harm anyone.

“INSULTS.” Her sudden outburst sent chills down their spines. “This empire is ten million years old. We have thousands of planets under our rule in each of the first four realms with an average population of five billion per planet. Our total population is in the several tens of trillions! The royals have kept this empire running flawlessly the entire time.” She pulled in her mana and put on a fake smile. “So all of you, trade your concerns about us for concerns about the people in your territories. Do your jobs, not ours. Good luck with class.” She turned around and walked back over to where her girlfriends were standing.

Atalante stepped forward and gestured at Rosalie to join her. “Class, eh?” She chuckled. “Yes. I think that’ll do just fine. The lot of you and any other that Lady Rosalie decides needs it will attend remediation. I am hereby reviving an old title that has not been used since Ancient Atlantis when my father ruled. I will be altering it slightly, since at the time we had only a single planet. Lady Rosalie, you volunteered to teach them and have voiced willingness to take office again if necessary. I appoint you as Chancellor of Drachenheim. A Chancellor shall carry the rank of Grand Duke with a numerical hierarchy of 3, equivalent to Royal Governors, Founders, and Council members.” She then eyed Wolfgang. “Since you wielded your numerical ranking in conversation this afternoon, you will no longer possess the same numerical ranking as royals. Starting now, Royal Heirs and Royal Candidates will now have a numerical ranking of 3.” She noticed that one of the Grand Dukes was showing concern on his face about that change. “Speak.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,” he said. “I simply worry that with that change, any royal candidate could depose us now, even the younger generation.”

“And?”

“That could be dangerous, no?”

“No. Royals do not make decisions like that lightly. Has that not been made abundantly clear? You only deepen the necessity for remediation speaking nonsense like that.” She turned back to Rosalie. “We’ll discuss the full details of your role as chancellor later.”

“Of course, Lady Atalante.”

The empress then quickly prepared a runic teleportation spell. “All of you, return to your territories and do your jobs. You will be summoned at some point by Lady Rosalie. She will take over from there.” She triggered the spell, and they were all transported to the world gate in the city.

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Revision: 12-25-2023