In the Name of Empress-Chapter 397 - 281: Being Empress Is Truly Exhausting

Chapter 397: Chapter 281: Being Empress Is Truly Exhausting

All the ministers were at the dock to welcome her.

At least to outsiders, the relationship between the rulers and ministers of the Empire appeared harmonious and respectful.

Everyone was an individual of status; even if they wanted to tear each other apart, they still had to maintain appearances.

Empress Sif greeted each minister with a smile, but the closeness varied noticeably.

When facing Teacher Wald, her voice trembled slightly, with tears in the corners of her eyes, yet her words were filled with pride.

It was very much like a child coming home to proudly report good grades to their parents.

Wald couldn’t help but have his eyes go red, repeatedly saying "good".

They had many things to say, which could only be reserved for the family banquet.

When facing William, Sif quickly withdrew her emotions, her expression kind, yet she only spoke a few brief words.

It was clear that her attitude towards William was purely businesslike.

Besides, when facing other Cabinet ministers, her attitude was even colder.

When facing Count Andy, who led the ministers to welcome and was responsible for holding down the fort in the Imperial Capital, Sif’s attitude was different again.

Both enthusiastic and courteous, slightly less than towards Wald, but much more than towards the others.

Andy smiled, making a gesture of invitation toward Sif, teasing half-jokingly:

"Welcome home, Your Majesty. It’s time for this old man to go home and enjoy his old days."

The surrounding officials laughed along.

Where there was laughter, there were those who couldn’t laugh.

Sim, trying to blend into the crowd inconspicuously, twitched his eye.

Retirement?

He had originally considered this a punishment, but now realized it was a luxury.

He exchanged glances with Winston and Minister of the Army Steven, seeing each other’s determination.

Minister of the Army Steven had initially imagined landing safely and was hesitant to associate with Sim and the others, but earlier, Empress Sif had only cast him an indifferent glance, not even bothering to speak, making him realize he had no way back.

Reaching such a position, none were truly clean, and he had to find a way to protect himself.

The ministers exchanged glances as quickly as lightning, almost unnoticed by others, yet in front of Sif, they were like transparent people.

Just a cold glance, and the traitorous ministers would expose themselves.

Sif squinted, activating her Insight.

Everyone had selfish intentions, which was normal, something she completely accepted.

She rarely went to the extreme of "absolute loyalty or none at all".

She also didn’t like to use her Insight.

Insight was a miraculous ability, but the price of touching souls was significant; the backlash of negative emotions made her very uncomfortable.

She would avoid using it if she could, but today she had to.

Another treasonous minister emerged.

Sim was one, Winston was another, and added to the list was the traitorous Minister of the Army Steven, ranked third on the blood-red list.

Steven didn’t know that the murderous intent that flashed through his mind earlier had cost him his last chance of survival.

Being in the whirlpool of fate was like this; you never knew when you would die.

The dock’s welcome ceremony ended with a twenty-one-gun salute as Sif boarded a white carriage.

As she lowered the curtains, she finally locked eyes with Roland.

No matter how many negative emotions she held inside, seeing Roland’s eyes always brought her an extraordinary calm.

The curtain fell, and sitting alone in the carriage, Sif inexplicably felt lonely, the smile on her lips gradually fading.

Roland, in a beautiful knight’s formal attire, escorted beside the carriage.

Their distance was so close, yet the moment the curtain fell, she felt as if Roland was separated by tens of thousands of miles.

At that moment, she felt exceptionally alone.

Being Empress was exhausting.

If she weren’t the Empress, she would have brandished a Long Spear and dealt with those traitorous ministers one by one.

If she weren’t the Empress, she could ride side by side with Roland, smiling as they returned home.

Unfortunately, she was.

These treasonous ministers were all Cabinet ministers, representing the face of the nation; they could be killed, but there had to be sufficient reason and evidence.

She didn’t care what these people thought, but she had to provide the Imperial Citizens with a satisfactory answer.

She even hoped Roland would agree to be Prime Minister.

William and Alben were old bureaucrats, veterans of the officialdom, undoubtedly loyal but also with their calculations. If the Emperor were inadequate, they might even seize power.

They were suitable Prime Minister candidates but not perfect ones.

Even with the division of power and checks and balances, Sif was somewhat annoyed.

The one who achieved great merits was Roland, while Ados and Tony worked diligently. Why should those who stayed in the Imperial Capital reap the benefits?

Sif bit her lip, holding in a breath she couldn’t release.

Perhaps she should secretly visit Teacher Wald and listen to the wisdom of the elder.

She had prepared a gift for the teacher, so she would visit tonight!

...

After the grand entrance ceremony, Sif returned to the Imperial Palace.

According to tradition, the welcome banquet is held three days later, giving the new Emperor time to familiarize themselves with the situation.

After returning to the Imperial Palace, Sif completed the routine task of meeting officials and eagerly released a Magic Mirror stand-in, disguising herself as Count Tyrone to sneak away.

For some reason, the moment she left the Imperial Palace, she felt a sense of liberation akin to a Sea Demon diving into the ocean.

Looking back, the palace behind her resembled not a palace but a prison.

When Sif entered the Imperial Palace, Roland also went home.

Standing at the door of the residence on Baker Street, he felt a sense of bewilderment, as if in a different lifetime.

"What, missing someone?" A gentle, slightly teasing voice sounded in his ear.

Lisa, who had remained silent during the entrance ceremony, felt relieved upon seeing the house.

She retrieved the key to open the door, skillfully grabbing Roland’s hand to lead him inside.

Roland was slightly stunned, obediently holding Lisa’s warm little hand.

Lisa glanced back at Roland with a strange feeling.

There was clearly no resistance, yet there was an inexplicable sense of unfamiliarity.

Lisa chuckled self-deprecatingly, dispelling her worries.

Indeed, people shouldn’t overthink.

This house hadn’t been lived in for more than a year. Although servants from the Earl’s Mansion frequently came to clean, an unoccupied house always felt somewhat chilly.

Even though it’s early autumn now, with today’s bright sunshine, it still felt a bit eerie.

Lisa released Roland’s hand, put on white gloves, and wiped the table, her fingertips turning slightly black.

"If we want the room clean, we’d better do it ourselves. The big cleaning starts, do you want to help?"

Roland shrugged, "Can I refuse?"

"Of course, you can, I’ll handle your share." Lisa’s eyes danced with flames, like a volcano about to erupt.

"We better call a housekeeping service, leave the professional work to professionals."

Roland really didn’t want to do the chores.

"This is our home, I want to clean it myself. Just let me satisfy my small obsession with ritual, okay?"

Lisa’s voice was exceptionally gentle, the flames in her eyes gradually dimmed.

At home, she once again became that simple and transparent gentle sister from three years ago.

Roland snapped his fingers.

"As you wish."

The atmosphere had reached this point, he couldn’t find a reason to refuse.

Indeed, as Lisa said, life must have some sense of ceremony, people must be realistic, but not too realistic.

Before cleaning the room, Lisa suddenly stopped, catching a whiff of an unsettling scent in the air.

She pulled a magic scroll from her chest, gave a soft command, and the scroll turned into a pale blue light, illuminating the entire room.

In the corner, a small black magical creature was trembling.

Lisa reached into the void and grasped, pulling the small creature into her palm.

Her teacher had once warned her, only learning fire magic was not comprehensive, and not beneficial for future development.

At the very least, she should learn some basic spells from other schools.

If only she knew the dispelling spell, she could easily remove the dirty things.

The teacher’s earnest words did not change Lisa, she had her own solutions.

When magic was not enough, scrolls came to make up.

Human energy is limited, her affinity for fire magic was the highest, devoting herself entirely to studying fire magic had the greatest rewards.

The lack of comprehensiveness could be left to the magic scrolls.

As long as you are willing to spend money, magic scrolls are endless.

Infuse magic power, unseal the scroll, and you can wield magic.

Learn other schools? Absolutely not.

The black magical creature looked three parts like a kitten, but seven parts like a mouse. It looked pitiably at Lisa, its tiny paws continually making pleading gestures.

A young girl couldn’t resist the cuteness of a little animal.

Even if the other party was a magical creature.

Lisa’s eyes gradually softened, and just as the black magical creature’s gaze relaxed, its neck was casually snapped by Lisa.

"Little one, I trust the intelligence parsed from fresh brain matter more than a confession. According to our country’s laws, intruding into private residences is a capital offense, no matter where you come from, you must abide by our laws."

Watching Lisa swiftly deal with the small magical creature, Roland didn’t feel surprised.

Finding a magical creature cute does not conflict with killing an intruder.

In two years, Sister Lisa too has grown.

She was no longer just a simple girl who cooked and did housework.

After walking out of the volcano mouth, her life trajectory changed dramatically.

Only when she is by his side does she remain the gentle big sister.

Quickly disposing of the small magical creature’s body, Lisa turned to look at Roland, her expression serious.

"It was sent by the Minister of the Army, the little thing called Mog, originally hid in the turbulent space flow above the Netherworld and below the Nether River, coincidentally drifting to Theia Plane."

"The Minister of the Army?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Roland squinted his eyes.

Steven, the Minister of the Army, a waste, looking like a warrior’s waste.

Or rather, he was once a meritorious officer of the Empire, bravely leading the army, having single-handedly broken through the enemy’s lines multiple times, turning the tide of battles.

He had saved His Majesty Edward through his bravery and was titled the Empire’s Number One Warrior by the old emperor.

As a Barbarian Demon Warrior, he did not walk the path of the Extraordinary Star Path, but a different cultivation route.

To be fair, he lived up to the title of Number One Warrior, but he was not made to be the Minister of the Army.

His muscles were too developed, occupying the nutrients his brain should have received.

Even appointing him as the Commander of the Imperial Guard would be better than the Minister of the Army.

This was Steven’s problem, but also the old emperor’s problem.

Appointing people who couldn’t fulfill their roles as Cabinet Ministers was the beginning of chaos in the country.

This is also one of the reasons Roland resolutely refused to become Prime Minister.

He’s fine with strategizing, his mind is always agile.

But having him bear the responsibility of thirty-five provinces and a hundred million people of the Empire was really a no-go.

He’s not a weightlifting champion, nor does he want premature baldness.

With a shrug, Roland smiles and says, "Very good, another person has been added to the hunting list."

Steven must be taken down, although Roland’s initial plan for him was retirement to a secondary line.

Unfortunately, he chose death himself.

Roland only respects that.