“Cedar!” Camille's voice sounded, and when Cedar turned, he saw her walking toward him. It seemed like she hadn't even managed to wait for longer than five minutes before sticking to him again. She had taken his request for a ‘short’ break too seriously. As soon as she reached him, she pulled him into a hug. It somehow felt like she was restricting his lungs as she reached up to cup his cheek and pinch him. Despite announcing that he should be mindful of his rank before, she surely treated him like a child now. Maybe that was because she was so excited about all of this. “We finally did it. We won, Cedar. We finally have what we always wished for. Now we are the victors. You are the emperor and will rule Artias. We have the undeniable right to the throne and limitless power, so no one will undermine you. We are both unhurt, and no pest will bother us anymore. After all that happened, we finally had revenge on the murderer of your father. We have everything we ever wanted.” She proudly announced all of that as if it was true.

In reality, it wasn't.

Cedar didn't care for this situation at all. He would trade all of this within a second to give a person he cared for another chance at life. And despite knowing that he would ruin his mother's mood like this, he said it. “For the most part. Blanche is still dead.”

Camille's smile faded away, and annoyance or even fury replaced her satisfaction. “Don't mention her.” She said that with far too much venom in her voice before she began massaging her forehead for a moment. “I'm getting sick of hearing her name. It's like she infiltrated the palace and burned herself into everyone's memories. I still can't rid of the constant reminder of that woman. Now that I mention it, that whore's pictures have to be removed. It revolts me to see how obsessed your disgusting brother was with her. Those portraits need to be burned.” She waved around to gesture to the foyer.

She wasn't fully wrong. There were paintings of Blanche everywhere. There had to be dozens. Theodore had truly wished to see her every day as his life had fallen apart while he had begun to talk to her like she had been right next to him. Cedar was sure that she had truly been there too as some shadowy figure that couldn't speak. At least that would be nicer than to believe that he had started hallucinating along with his brother.

But the fact that Cedar didn't want to see Blanche's pictures to avoid being reminded of his grief didn't mean that he wanted them burned. He also didn't want his mother to insult Blanche carelessly. Just hearing that offensive word alone made him talk back, which was something he would never have done a short while ago. “I agree with removing them, but I would appreciate it if you corrected your attitude toward her.”

Camille took note of his sharp tone. Her gaze snapped up to her son, and her voice was an octave higher than normal. “What?” She really couldn't believe that he would call her out on what she said. Even now, she hadn't understood it.

Cedar's smile grew so much that it became painful as his anger rose inside him. “The one you call ‘whore’ was the woman I cared about deeply.” He wasn't sure how else to say it. After all, this summarized it the most. Blanche had been his precious friend as she had somehow wormed her way into his heart upon visiting him again and again while just carelessly talking about all the things people would usually hide from the twisted prince. Cedar was even sure that he had held deeper feelings for her, even when she had only ever wished to be friends with him. But since Cedar was too broken to feel true love anyway, he felt like this didn't mean much. He didn't dare utter the magical words and just said the part that no one could deny.

As expected, the reaction wasn't nice.

Up until Blanche's death, Camille had liked her because she had seen that woman being abandoned by her lover as a mirror of her relationship with her husband, who had ignored her in favor of being with his concubine. But as soon as she noticed that Cedar actually cared for that woman instead of using her for his sake, she had grown to resent Blanche. If things had been different, Camille might even have tried to kill Blanche herself, just because she had hated Cedar liking a person other than her so much. Luckily, that hadn't happened. But the situation now wasn't much more pleasant.

Camille's eyes held far too much hatred for a moment as she seemed to think about Blanche, probably being ready to insult her again while telling her son to forget that woman. But then she sighed and put on a little smile again. “It's such a joyous day. Let's not fight about this.” She was jealous. That was painfully obvious. If this came up again, she would probably accuse Cedar of being confused again because Blanche had allegedly tried to seduce him. Cedar didn't remember that happening, but to Camille, all women that talked to her son were the same. Though, she seemed to know what he would say about that claim, so she changed the topic. “We have better things to talk about. For example, the fact that you are the emperor now. It's only been a few minutes, and you're already so busy. You need to tell your mother what you were planning before running off, you know? Otherwise, I will worry about my sweet little boy. Where did you want to go after this exhausting ball anyway?”

Cedar's mood was ruined anyway, so he might as well be honest. His mother couldn't make it worse. “I wanted to visit Blanche's grave.” Putting some flowers there while he promised to do his best for Artias and to punish those that had harmed her seemed appropriate for this day. Maybe as some sort of final goodbye.

His mother saw that differently. She tightened her hold on his cheek without noticing that this hurt, and her expression revealed that she was furious as she snapped at him. “By the gods. Don't become like your brother! You know how he spent hours and hours there until he forgot to eat and sleep and-”

Cedar interrupted her, which he rarely did. It seemed like his patience had been strained too many times today. “I had no intention of doing that. I wished to bring a bouquet of flowers there, which would have taken five minutes at most. Do not exaggerate, Mother. I will not insist on doing that today though. As you said, we have to take care of the most important matters first. I will begin to look around the office to sort the documents in a way I understand. I will also invite the ministers to confirm what we need to take care of first.” He said that just to pacify his mother.

Once again, Camille seemed like she had a split personality. In an instant, her sour mood was restored. “Oh, my.” She smiled at her son and moved her hand up to rustle over the hair she could reach without touching the crown. “You truly are ambitious. I can already guarantee you that you will become the greatest emperor Artias has ever seen. I will leave politics to you and deal with organizing the celebrations and the palace. We will clean up the mess Theodore left behind and create a new beginning for Artias.” What she was referring to was that Cedar would need to do all of that while she was being lazy and acted like she was the most amazing ruler that had ever existed when she took care of one task because she had done it of her own free will. “Oh, there is so much to do. I know that you will do well, but we shouldn't begin already. We need to celebrate properly first.”

Cedar beamed back at her without feeling a single hint of joy in any fiber of his being. “I agree with that. Let us go upstairs to celebrate in private. I had the chefs prepare your favorite meal.” He offered Camille his arm and didn't even push her away when she came much too close to him and nuzzled against his side. He just wanted to go to bed early to stop thinking for the day. This was all too much.

Camille seemed to be overjoyed to have Cedar pay attention to only her despite this being the day of his coronation. “I look forward to that. Maybe you shouldn't begin working tomorrow though. We will stay awake a bit longer after all. Everything you need to do can wait for a few more days, right?” So, she wanted him to spend time with her instead of ruling. That was typical for her. “There is only one thing we should do first.” Oh, no. If she said it like that, it was probably bad.

Cedar would like to refuse to ask, but Camille would say it anyway. “What would that be?” He began leading his mother toward the staircase in the entrance hall while glancing at the new chandelier that now decorated the room. After Prince Linden had been crushed below the old one, Cedar hadn't trusted chandeliers. He made sure to take a big bow around the center of the room.

Camille was completely unaware of that. She already replied to her son while giving him an innocent look. “Lady Peril. We should give her family a dukedom, shouldn't we? She supported us so much during the past few weeks. She was the one that used her influence to change the public opinion in your favor. So, it would only be fair if we give her something in return. But I'm actually unsure whether having more than three dukedoms is a good idea. So, we could either take away the duke title of Duke Duremont for his daughter's crimes, or we could...” She paused and lowered her voice a little. “Pay back Lady Peril in a different way.” That sounded more like a threat than anything else. Of course. She saw Jenna as a rival and wanted to get rid of her, even when she knew that her son hated that woman.

Cedar's mood just deteriorated as he heard that name, so his smile became even brighter. “I believe it would be best for the political stability to keep all three dukedoms upright. And granting Lady Peril's family a title won't help us at all, so we should refrain from doing that. She is too strong due to her monopolies already. I need to weaken her instead of strengthening her.” Which was why he had invited her to the palace. Hadn't his mother understood that?

Camille talked back immediately. “But she adores you. Shouldn't you use her power in your favor? You don't actually need to get closer to that whore. You can just lie to her. She is stupid enough to believe that you might pay attention to her at some point if you act a little. Just let her come close enough to have her think that she can have you and endure it. You can do that, right? A single one of your charming smiles will be enough to make her help us. Throwing away such a valuable and naive playing piece would be a shame.” She was as kind to other women as always. It seemed like she cared as little about Cedar's feelings as before too. And she seemed to be unable to accept that her son could guess what she was thinking as well.

She would definitely kill Jenna if that woman got close to Cedar too often, and yet, she pretended to be so nice.

Cedar didn't like that idea at all. He neither wanted to murder Lady Peril indirectly by giving her attention nor did he want to let her get close and protect her. He would have to reject his mother's request here. Though, he would never do that without finding an excuse as to why he had to ignore his mother's wishes. “Doing that will be difficult. I am supposed to be as different from Theodore as possible, right? That means making it seem like I have a concubine is a bad idea. I will need to take in an empress at some point, and it would be better to refrain from getting too close to any other women in the meantime.”

This wasn't anything special at all. A young emperor needed to have an empress later.

But to Camille, this seemed like the worst thing that could happen. She averted her eyes as pure anger appeared on her face. “Right. You need an empress.” She hated that. It truly seemed like she didn't want him to marry someone. She took a few seconds to think about that before a little smile formed on her lips. She looked back at him and said the most awful thing with an innocent smile. “But Lady Peril would be a fitting candidate, wouldn't she? She is the only lady in the capital that has enough power to benefit you.”

It was easy to guess why his mother had chosen Jenna. Because she knew that Cedar hated that woman. Either he would refuse to marry Lady Peril outright, and Camille could avoid his marriage like that, or Cedar would force himself. In that case, Camille wouldn't need to worry about her son liking his wife in the slightest. So, she wouldn't have a rival for his affection and certainly wouldn't be challenged in regard to her position either since she was the one the emperor supported. In an emergency, she could just assassinate Jenna without Cedar caring too. This was the only way Camille would even accept her son marrying someone.

It was far too obvious to Cedar, but he didn't remind his mother of this. He just showed her a bright smile. “Well, I disagree in that regard. But we don't have to think about that for now. It will take a while anyway. I have to build up Artias again before I worry about anything else.”

Camille seemed to be glad to have him delay the matter, which made her beam back at him. “Of course. You always know what the best for us is. You have become grown to be such a respectable young man. Every time I look at you, I can't help but wonder how quickly the years passed by. I still remember when you were my baby and needed me to carry you around. Now you are carrying the burden of the nation on your shoulders and will lead Artias to a better future. I trust you fully and know that you will make the best decisions for our citizens.” She lifted her hand to his cheek and gently stroked over the side of his face. “Cedar, there is just one thing you can't forget.”

If he was honest, Cedar knew what would happen. Now that he was in a higher-ranking position than his mother, she might feel like she needed to control him more. That was why she was so overly clingy now. And yet, Cedar knew that it was his only chance to receive at least a little affection from her, so he went along with her obvious manipulation. He leaned into her touch. “Yes, Mother?”

Camille grinned at him. She knew that he was in her grasp, so she had been sure that he would listen from the very beginning. She immediately used that to her advantage. “I love you. I'm so proud of you. There is nothing we can't reach.” She had usually never said that unless she had needed to convince Cedar to help her, but now she was trying to bind him to her. She needed him to follow her even when she did horrible things, so she would have to pull out all of her manipulation tactics to make sure that he wouldn't get upset with her.

Even after they had won and Theodore was dead, Camille wouldn't let her second son escape from the cage she had locked him in ever since his birth. And Cedar was stuck inside without a way to free himself.

His lips still formed that smile he had shown ever since he had been a child, even when he felt nothing but hollowness on the inside. Cedar couldn't even feel a tinge of satisfaction while standing here. But in the end, it was clear that he couldn't change that. He could just make the best out of this while trying to at least do what he had been born for.

Ruling Artias better than Theodore had done it. That was Cedar's only task, and he would put it above everything.

Being the emperor required a huge amount of patience. Cedar would say that he had been blessed with a lot of self-control, at least after his youth. Upon reigning a nation, Cedar might have come to the limit of his patience though.

At this point, his bright smile didn't quite hide his anger anymore. All of his ministers knew that he looked like this when he was furious, and he didn't mind it anymore at all. After all, he currently had to deal with the most insolent duke this nation still had. “Would you mind repeating that, Your Grace?”

Claude was much too full of himself. He fully acted like nothing could touch him while comfortably sitting on his chair as if this room belonged to him. “I am aware that it might be audacious to ask so openly, but it is a fact that you should have an heir as soon as possible.” He gave Cedar that dirty grin he had despised for a long time. “Your Majesty still needs a wife. How long will you wait before you choose a lucky lady?”

Cedar almost wanted to ask Claude why he should do any of that when the other man would probably try to murder his wife as soon as Cedar took her in. He just kept smiling though. “It will happen when the time is right. Until then, allow me to deal with my duties on my own. Before focusing on my family matters, it might be best to explain why all the tax documents from your stores have more mistakes than my advisor could count.”

It was obvious that Leonard wanted to agree here, but Claude had the nerve to cut him off, still with that wide smile on his face. “I can explain all of that, but this almost sounds like you wish to change the topic. Is talking about marriage so-”

Cedar interrupted him right there as he let his smile fade in an instant. “Do not forget this, Duke Vasquez. I am the emperor. I make all decisions in this nation. You will not talk back to me. When I marry will be my responsibility too. Do not address this again. I asked you about your obvious attempts to betray Artias by hiding your funds.” He let the stack of papers he was carrying drop onto the table to force everyone to focus on him due to the loud sound. “You will reply when I ask, Your Grace. Give me your excuse now.”

Claude didn't like this at all. He hated being told what to do, so it was no surprise that he gritted his teeth for a moment. He tried to hide that behind a wide grin though and found excuses as expected. “This is not an excuse, Your Majesty, but I fear that I can simply not earn enough to keep paying such high taxes while also taking care of my workers.” His words were so foolish that the people at the table began whispering.

Leonard seemed to be at his limit with this man too since he spoke up without even being prompted to. “You cannot be serious, Your Grace. You own many more stores than anyone else here, and you still pretend to know nothing of business? The taxes only require you to pay a specific percentage of your profit, so this will not take away your ability to pay your workers. Since you mostly own luxury stores that make millions of gold coins each month, such lies are quite brazen.”

It seemed like Claude was as arrogant as always. He looked at Leonard like he was just facing a useless person that stood in his way, someone he could easily be rid of with some simple words. He was so damned content with himself as a grin formed on his lips and he replied with even more confidence. “You seem so serious for no reason, Lord Astame. Did you fail to understand the issue? I have issues with this new tax rule because I own luxury stores. Suddenly paying twenty percent more taxes is simply impossible for me unless I want to throw out my workers and close my shops.” What a liar. Those taxes only applied to his stores because his earnings were greater than a specific number each month. There was no way that he was in trouble with his money.

Leonard, who clearly thought the same, looked like he considered lifting Claude and just throwing him out of the window. At this point, Cedar would have pardoned him for this. But that might not be the best way to approach this right after Theodore had been defeated as a tyrant emperor. The new ruler had to be firm but not too much.

Though, that didn't mean that Cedar had to stay quiet. Claude had just insulted Leonard quite openly, and this couldn't do. Cedar's voice became colder as he forced his expression to become stiff without showing the smile he had put on without thinking about it. “You do not take my advisor seriously, Your Grace. Is that what you wish to tell me?”

Duke Vasquez's attention wandered over to the other man. His eyes widened as he realized that the emperor targeted him now. “No, Your Majesty. I-”

Cedar didn't let him find excuses. “I see that you do not take me seriously either. Tell me what this is supposed to show me, Your Grace. Are you looking down on me for asking you to follow the laws of this nation?”

Claude really understood that he was in trouble. He hurried to deny everything again. “Of course not! I merely said that I believe that the luxury tax is unacceptable.”

And this was where Cedar shut him down fully without giving him a single second to talk back. “This is not of interest to me, Your Grace. I have the numbers right here, so I can determine that the amount of money you earn is more than enough for me to tax it again. Since you already fooled us when Theodore ruled and I hadn't even set the luxury tax in place, this cannot be the reason. You should at least admit that you only lied in the documents to keep more wealth to yourself. This is something I will not overlook, Your Grace. Especially not in this current difficult situation after the war you were so eager to propose almost destroyed our territories in the northeast fully. Should you not tax your stores properly from now on, I will have to seize some of your private funds. You should rethink whether your greed is bigger than your desire to follow the laws of our nation. After all, that would be unfitting for a minister that works for the best of our people.”

Claude's face scrunched up as he heard the underlying meaning. “Is that supposed-”

Cedar cut him off again as his smile returned while being so bright that it should seem intimidating in this situation. “Do you not agree?” This wasn't a question. This was a threat.

Naturally, Duke Vasquez had no real choice but to change his reply here. Even when he clearly hated it, Claude gritted his teeth and pressed out what he needed to tell the emperor. “I agree, Your Majesty.”

“Good. Then you will pay your taxes from now on. Then we can move on to the next topic.” Cedar swiftly did that while making sure to keep an eye on Claude's expression. Oh, the other man was angry now. This could get ugly. Cedar should prepare for quite the rough revenge for this. Maybe he should find allies quickly.