Something has clearly gone wrong. I realized that things had drastically deviated from what I had initially anticipated about three months after the coronation.
“The draft of the revised penal code is complete. Your Majesty’s ratification—”
“Duke Racello has sent a letter of appreciation for the food aid—”
“Duke Bertika has—”
This isn’t right.
I trembled as if someone had doused me with cold water, overwhelmed by the endless flow of work.
Had I ever taken more than two hours off in a day over the past three months? Probably not.
If I told someone this, they might question, “Two hours of rest? Isn’t that manageable?” But that includes my meal and sleep time, too.
So, I’ve been sitting at my desk for twenty-two hours a day. I’ve never been this resentful of a body that doesn’t need sleep before.
‘……I want to sleep.’
I wouldn’t die if I didn’t sleep for about a month, but I do indeed have a sleep function built into this body. It would have been nice if my body actually needed sleep.
Though I won’t die from lack of it, fatigue builds up—especially mentally.
No one threatened to kill me with a knife if I didn’t work, but I couldn’t focus on anything with piles of books and documents cluttering my space; tackling them just seemed endless.
…No, it feels like instead of decreasing, the pile is actually growing. Is my reading causing these books to multiply? My desk is getting busier every day, and it surely isn’t just my imagination.
Honestly, it might be easier to dig the back mountain with a shovel and move it aside. I was confident I could do that faster than a bulldozer.
And then came a ten-minute break, like rain in a drought. As soon as I was alone, I plopped my head onto my desk.
“Seriously, this isn’t it!”
How did I end up like this?
I was clearly intending to delegate the hands-on work to the dukes. My plan was to only get involved with shared policies and major issues while allowing autonomy wherever possible.
But actually doing it turned out to be problematic right from that common policy.
Upon review, I found that the laws on the Terra continent are quite arbitrary. I expected some disorder, but this went far beyond that.
It’s not that laws didn’t exist.
They mostly just vaguely informed common people about what actions would get them arrested. Moreover, even that could easily change with a single word from the king or noble.
Modern folks would likely agree it’s hard to consider as “proper punishment” a legal standard where more than half the population is exempt. Luckily, it doesn’t have nicknames like “pseudo-law” or “legal assistant.”
And besides, it’s only humans who even have a semblance of an academic system that can be called law. To establish a “common norm” binding various races with different cultures and rules, we essentially had to start from scratch.
Of course, this isn’t Earth, but the Terra continent, and I wasn’t here to preach democracy. However, leading multiple races without a unified legal code would indeed be quite troublesome.
For example, what if a vampire from the Sahelrn Duchy went to visit the Greysia Duchy and ended up getting killed, only for the local lord to declare the perpetrator innocent? Or what if a human stepped into the Sahelrn Duchy and got drained of blood, with no one raising a fuss?
The deep-rooted history of inter-racial conflict wouldn’t simply dissolve, but letting it continue as is would mean we’re just another empire that’s no different than before.
What was needed were consistent rules. Accordingly, I immediately demanded five priorities from the dukes.
First, establish unified punitive standards based on titles granted by the Empire rather than race.
Second, impose strict punishments for crimes arising solely from racial differences contrary to the first clause.
Third, minor regulations outside my directives can be made independently by each duchy, but they must be formally documented to ensure legal stability with consistent treatments for the same issues.
Fourth, such regulations only take effect once publicly announced, and must receive my approval beforehand.
Fifth, for all races except vampires, more than a certain percentage of taxes must be replaced with blood collection.
Moreover, should the blood supplement improve to be usable by the general populace in the future, additional blood draw obligations would be imposed on criminals sentenced to imprisonment.
In short, I was saying I had no intention to reject the class system nor grant privileges to nobles, so don’t confuse things.
At the very least, the folks living here shouldn’t have to risk their lives day by day.
I suspect that this mindset may have been the starting point of my tragic plight.
“I’ve dug my own grave….”
It’s only natural that in order to permit the legislation, I must know about the laws. Of course, while Martini and the experts would assist, a bare minimum of common knowledge was necessary, right?
But who am I? A terminally ill patient from my past life who never finished compulsory education, and in this life, an emperor with lower-than-average educational attainment.
Thus, the desperate cram session began. Half of my day is now spent studying, not handling work.
Though it’s not my fault that my educational background is lacking, who would have guessed I’d pay the price for my pathetic academic foundation like this?
Surely, this insane schedule won’t last forever. Right now, everything’s hectic since it’s the beginning of my reign, but in a few years, I should be able to lead a leisurely life as I wished.
…Right? If not, I might just cry.
Anyway, that’s a future concern. What matters is that no matter what happens later, my present struggles won’t lessen.
Thinking about it made me slightly gloomy. To distract myself, I started observing the wall patterns deeply when I heard someone walking down the hallway outside.
“Come in.”
The footsteps stopped just before the knocking sound at the door, as I had preemptively granted permission.
I already knew who it was, so there was no need to delay. Just as expected, the door opened slightly, and Plona peeked in.
“Sister, I just got some news… Are you feeling okay?”
Seeing me slumped over, Plona’s eyes widened in worry.
Her genuine concern made me chuckle without noticing.
“Come now.”
There’s nothing more unproductive than worrying about the health of a high-ranking vampire. This body doesn’t fall apart from mere fatigue, let alone catch a disease.
But Plona stubbornly shook her head, adorably furrowing her brows and putting her hands on her hips while scolding me.
“Oh my, look at your eyes! You didn’t rest again, did you? I keep telling you to take your rest and get some sleep, but every time I leave my post—”
“Sorry. I just meant to finish what I was working on. By the way, what’s the matter?”
Having realized from experience that leaving it as is could turn me into the daughter and her mother, I quickly apologized and redirected the conversation.
Though it felt a bit shameful saying that after whining alone just moments ago, I’m not actually that weak.
Plona likely knew that too. But for some reason, Plona and Eleonora have a tendency to fixate on my health.
Recognizing my obvious attempt to change the subject, Plona sighed but seemed to give in and brought up what she had meant to say earlier.
“There have been movements around the Dragon’s Canyon. It seems they want to descend slowly.”
“Didn’t that happen last month, and nothing came of it?”
“This time feels more serious. Last time, they likely just wanted to test the waters.”
So, they’re really planning to descend? Not a chance.
The Dragon’s Canyon, which refers to the remaining three factions besides the ex-Drake faction that came down to join the battle against Luminous along with Eleonora.
They hadn’t made a move in a while after the war with Luminous ended, but only when I was energetically tidying up the continent did they suddenly start sending letters.
Their messages were nothing but clichéd suggestions about wanting to maintain good relations and exploring trade opportunities together.
‘How audacious.’
Clearly, they still don’t get it, having lived stuck on that pile of rocks for centuries.
Even if they crawled out, I’d consider whether to spare them first, and here they are talking about trade.
According to Levi, the former leader of the ex-Drake faction and the chief of the Dragonkin who followed Eleonora down to the surface, they’ve been surviving in the canyon and feeling a bit envious seeing our races unite on the ground since they’re just merely scraping by.
Moreover, my meeting with Yustelein seemed to have worked well for me.
For the Dragonkin, who claim to be descendants of dragons, Yustelein is essentially their progenitor, bordering on a deity.
In other words, I, who climbed up to the sanctuary that they could never reach and returned with great power, was likely seen by them as a similar entity to an apostle recognized by the first life, which probably gave them a compelling excuse to swallow their pride and seek out relations with a nation founded by vampires.
Naturally, I declined the Dragonkin‘s proposal without hesitation.
Those three factions were the very ones responsible for pushing Eleonora’s father toward death, wasn’t it? I might forgive the Empire that tried to kill me, but I can’t forgive those who endangered Eleonora.
Trade can’t even be established in the first place. They have nothing to offer the Empire.
Even after uniting the Terra continent, it seems they’re mistaking the situation for some sort of opportunity just because I left them be. They’ve survived only because I haven’t had the time to take their useless land, like Dragon’s Canyon, yet.
Maybe it’s about time to take a more serious look at that.
I also need a change of pace, feeling like I might develop a reading allergy soon. I strongly pushed my chair back and stood up.
“I’ll go.”
“……Are you sure that’s wise?”
“That’s exactly why I’m going—to get some fresh air.”
Had it been during the war with Luminous, I might have missed one person. But with everything settled, there’s no reason to let those who want to piggyback off my victory just wander around.
Should I take Eleonora with me? She might want to seek revenge herself, or she might say she doesn’t even want to see them again.
If I ask her before going—
“Then I’ll go with you.”
Sure, three of us can go together.
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