William walked through the halls of the imperial palace with a long, exhausted sigh escaping his lips every few moments.

His hand kept drifting toward the back of his neck, rubbing the sore muscles there as he tried to shake away the fatigue settling into his body.

The ceremony had dragged on for hours, drowning him beneath endless declarations, oaths, applause, and formalities that seemed designed solely to test the patience of everyone involved. Even now, after it had finally ended, the murmur of voices and the blaring sound of horns and drums still rang in his ears.

After his mother had officially granted him the title of Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military, three entire ministries had been placed directly under his authority.

The army, the intelligence, and public home affairs, meaning internal conflicts of the empire, were now to be overseen and dealt with by him.

It sounded impressive when announced before the court, but William understood better than anyone what it truly meant.

None of those institutions properly existed in the empire, where the church had been the sole source of everything. The old systems had collapsed alongside the Solaris Empire 16 years ago, leaving behind remnants of corrupt traditions and a scattered chain of command. He would have to rebuild everything from the ground up.

The burden of it settled heavily on his mind as he continued walking through the palace corridors.

Once his own bestowment ceremony had concluded, the empress had proceeded to assign responsibilities to the others one by one. Among them, the appointment that surprised William the most was Theodore’s.

The former cardinal had officially been declared Prime Minister of the Eternal Sun Empire.

William still found it difficult to process how much trust his mother seemed willing to place in that old hag who had betrayed Winston.

Theodore had spent years serving beneath the pope. A man in such a position could not possibly have remained untouched by the Church’s darkness. Whether willingly or unwillingly, he must have participated in countless atrocities during his lifetime. That reality made William uneasy.

Perhaps he was being paranoid.

Still, the decision carried risks.

Not that William intended to openly question his mother now, especially after he himself had shamelessly declared her as Empress before the entire continent.

Theodore’s responsibilities were enormous. He would oversee the functioning of every department within the empire, manage administrative operations, establish the bureaucratic structure, and report directly to the Empress regarding all major developments across the imperial territory.

There had been several additional duties listed during the oath ceremony as well, though William had stopped paying attention halfway through the speech. The endless formal wording had made him want to fall asleep.

Even so, he had no intention of blindly trusting Theodore.

If the old man ever showed signs of betrayal, William would not hesitate to place a slave mark on him.

For now, however, his observations through the omniscient eyes had revealed nothing overtly suspicious. Theodore’s emotions had been chaotic, but not malicious. William had sensed grief, pain, relief, and overwhelming exhilaration all tangled together inside his heart.

Orion had casually suggested that perhaps Theodore was simply getting emotional and nostalgic after witnessing the rebirth of the Solaris Empire.

William could not entirely dismiss that explanation.

After Theodore, his son Helios had been appointed minister of public development and healthcare.

Much like William himself, Helios had been assigned authority over several interconnected departments rather than a single isolated ministry. His responsibilities covered public health and infrastructural development of various kinds throughout the empire.

William had examined Helios with the Omniscient Eyes as well and reached a similar conclusion. The man appeared clean. The emotions William sensed from him were primarily happiness, relief, and cautious optimism.

Helios’ role would involve organizing the construction of public infirmaries, roads, supply routes, sanitation systems, and other essential infrastructure necessary for rebuilding the empire. Maintenance and long-term development would also fall under his authority.

From the little interaction William had shared with him so far, Helios seemed practical and level-headed. Still, William knew better than to judge someone’s entire character after only a few conversations.

One thing that had genuinely surprised him, however, was the complete absence of a centralized education department in this world.

The entire educational structure of the Riverdale Empire had been absurdly decentralized.

Children learned basic reading and writing either at home or through whatever faction their families belonged to. The military operated its own clubs where the children of soldiers received basic education.

Merchant organizations had separate systems for educating the offspring of their employees. Other factions followed similar patterns, each creating isolated ecosystems with their own standards and opportunities.

The situation in rural villages was even worse.

There, the village head carried responsibility for educating the younger generation. There were no fixed standards or unified curriculum for providing consistent quality of education, and no oversight over corruption in these activities whatsoever.

The disparity in educational quality between regions was enormous. Some villages produced competent administrators and scholars, while others barely taught children how to read properly.

Social mobility was equally restrictive.

Anyone hoping to rise through the bureaucratic ranks usually needed some form of connection to nobility.

Either they were related to aristocratic families, or they served noble households long enough to earn recommendations for bureaucratic positions. Even the imperial palace staff consisted largely of individuals who had previously worked under nobles.

Klaus had explained all of this to William after the ceremony when William casually approached him to talk. The more William learned about the system, the more flawed it appeared. By the time the conversation ended, he had already made up his mind.

He intended to centralize education across the empire.

Talent could not remain locked away inside forgotten villages and isolated corners of the continent simply because people lacked status or noble blood.

Emily was proof that extraordinary individuals could emerge from anywhere. If someone like her existed, then countless others probably did as well.

The empire merely lacked a system capable of finding them.

After Helios, William’s elder cousin, had been assigned to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Unlike Theodore’s appointment, William did not object to this one at all.

Dereck had worked tirelessly to prove himself useful during the conflict. More importantly, he had succeeded where many others would have failed. He managed to convince numerous fallen Solaris nobles to return and support the new regime.

Many of those noble families had spent years hiding in obscurity after the empire’s collapse. Others had fled toward the Solmere Province, surviving near the borders where the endless forests stretched across dangerous, untamed lands. Life there had been harsh and unforgiving, yet they had endured it for years while waiting for an opportunity to reclaim their place after defeating the Church.

Now, they had finally returned to kneel before the new Empress.

Because they had chosen to side with Anastasia so quickly, they had been promised several years of tax concessions to help them rebuild their territories and restore stability after the empire’s re-establishment.

Although Dereck had failed to convince many of the smaller independent factions scattered across the five provinces, like the tribes of Veridian Province.

His accomplishments were still significant. Simply restoring confidence in the new Empress among the surviving city lords and noble houses was an achievement worthy of recognition.

As for the remaining factions that still hesitated, William had already taken action.

He had sent several of his servants to carry a summons throughout the empire. Every remaining faction was ordered to appear in the capital within one week and formally swear loyalty to Empress Anastasia.

The message had not merely been an invitation. It had also been a warning.

Now all William could do was wait and see which path those factions would choose for their future; naturally, he would claim everything nonetheless, regardless of their own independent opinions and attitudes.

After all, he was the supreme commander of the Eternal Sun Empire.