Chapter 155 – Cabinet Composition *Illustration by Diane, Rachel, and Hiria*
Cabinet composition
When Juno made the bombshell announcement that he would appoint both Eliza and Catherine as empress, the nobles turned upside down.
“Your Majesty! You are hosting two empresses? That is ridiculous!”
“This does not mean that we oppose Your Majesty as the Emperor, but that we oppose it because it is against imperial law!”
“Well, isn’t Master Aragorn your majesty’s teacher? The age difference is quite… Hehe!”
When Catherine heard that there was a big age difference between her and Juno, she glared at the nobleman, and when she sensed that he was trying to kill her, she silenced him.
“Why on earth doesn’t that make sense? There’s no law against marrying your teacher.”
In response to Juno’s defiance, the nobles who made up the judiciary, led by the Count of Redburg, spoke out.
“Under imperial law, you can only have one wife! The empire is a country where monogamy is regulated by law. The system of concubines is not there for nothing.”
“Your Majesty’s words shake the very foundation of this country. Please retract them.”
“As soon as you take the throne as emperor, you try to break the law like this!!”
Yuno frowned at their words but calmly began to persuade them.
“Now, let’s think about it this way, instead of just opposing it unconditionally. Why does the law exist, and what do you think the purpose of the law’s existence is?”
The Count of Redburg tilted his head at Juno’s sudden and unexpected question, but answered the question.
“I don’t know why you’re suddenly asking about law, but God’s idea of law is to maintain social order, realize justice, and protect culture.”
“Yes. Jim’s thoughts are similar. Protecting the weak from the strong, protecting individual rights, and maintaining the country.”
“That’s true… But what does that have to do with the current problem…?”
“The reason I have two empresses is to maintain social order in the empire and for the good of the country.”
“Yes?”
The nobles, including the Count of Redburgh, looked at Juno as if he were dumbfounded, but Juno paid no attention and called Eliza and Catherine to his side. And the two each took out their swords and fists and formed sword and fist energy, and the nobles were once again discouraged and pushed away by their power.
“Eliza and Catherine here both love me as a husband, and I love them both as wives. But as you can see, these two are masters. So which of them should I put down to the concubine?”
The nobles murmured and began discussing among themselves.
“Uh… I guess Princess Eliza is the princess of Leon, and since she had her coming-of-age ceremony, she has been betrothed to His Majesty, so she… Has Master Aragorn as her concubine…”
“What are you talking about? Master Aragorn has been working as a master of his country for the past 15 years, and he is well known among the civilian population because he has worked almost as a mercenary. Taking in Master Aragorn like that as a concubine will lower the national prestige of the empire. I mean!”
“Don’t you know that it makes even more sense to take Princess Eliza in as your concubine? Even if Leon uses this as an excuse to declare war, it’s pointless!”
“You’re afraid of people like Leon! Are you a Balkan noble? Are you a spy?”
“What? How dare you insult me?”
As the discussion quickly escalated, and the nobles were about to engage in fistfights, Yuno clapped his hands to turn their attention back to himself.
Clap!!
“Everyone, be quiet!! Now! Now do you understand why I’m trying to make you two empresses? If I’m not careful, the empire could split into two and cause factional strife! Laws must be applied according to the situation! That’s it! Jim. For the sake of the Silver Empire, I will take both Eliza and Catherine here as empresses.”
“B-but there’s also the possibility of a fight between the two of you… Hehe!”
One nobleman expressed his opposition to Juno until the end, but he was defeated by Eliza and Catherine.
“Does that mean you think we won’t be able to educate our children properly?”
“We only follow the successor chosen by the emperor. We have no intention of giving our opinion to the next emperor, so you don’t have to worry.”
When Eliza and Catherine came out like that, the nobles could no longer argue, and it was decided to allow Emperor Juno to have at least two empresses.
“Okay! Now, I will carry out the second greeting order! Earlier, the nobles seemed to be opposing my enthronement, so I may have reacted a little too much, but I will do so with the nobles who will support my reign in the future. “I have no intention of confrontation, so I will continue to respect the opinions of nobles.”
Several nobles breathed a sigh of relief at Yuno’s compromise. In particular, the prestigious families of Adria, who lobbied heavily for their successors and spent a lot of money, welcomed Juno’s decision and even appeared to praise Juno.
However, the words that came out of Yuno’s mouth next made their bodies freeze.
“Although I respect the nobles, I have no intention of hiring those who only have excellent families and are not capable. In the future, nobles without ability will gradually be demoted in rank, and the empire that I will lead will have only two things: ability and humanity. I will decide your position after seeing this!! I declare that this is the only way to make the empire even greater!”
Yuno continued to name the ministers and vice ministers who would form his government.
“First, I will appoint Count Gilbert von Salier, the Marquis of Alpus von Trier, to the position of head of the administration and vice minister. The Marquis of Trier will request that his eldest son complete the succession to the title as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Your Majesty! I will reward you with loyalty!!”
“Subsequently, Count Doppel-Redburg will be appointed as Minister of the Judiciary, and Viscount Otto von Gürtner will be appointed as Deputy Minister. Count Redburg will also inherit the title to his eldest son!”
“Your Majesty! God’s eldest son is not yet ready to take on such an important responsibility!! Please withdraw the order!!”
The Count of Redburg did not intervene in this personnel matter, and he tried to refuse Juno’s personnel orders because he thought his son’s abilities were still insufficient, but Juno’s orders were firm.
“No. I know that Doppeledburg has worked faithfully under the Count for the past 20 years. As such, I think he is fully qualified to succeed the Count.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for saying that, but…”
Although the Count of Redburg still looked at his eldest son with disapproval, Doppel Redburg went to his throne, prostrated himself to Juno and thanked him for entrusting him with his duties, and several nobles looked at him warmly.
Juno then appointed Count Goul von Pavels as Minister of Culture and Propaganda, Count Rheinstein as Deputy Minister, Marquis Joachim von Neutora as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Konstantin von Rittenfrott as Deputy Minister, and Lombard as Minister of Land Construction. Count von Milione appointed Viscount Arnold von Eastmoor as deputy minister, gradually reducing the nobles’ concerns.
‘I was very concerned at first because he took the throne in such an unconventional way and made uneasy comments before the appointment process, but I think I was overly worried.’
‘That’s right. Wouldn’t it be difficult to run the empire if we ignored our nobles? Of course, the appointment of Minister of Justice was different from our wishes… But if it is Count Redburg, we will have to acknowledge it.’
‘The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Construction has also changed positions… But if it were Count Milione, the story would make sense.’
The nobles were completely relaxed and listening to Yuno’s personnel announcement. However, Juno once again turned the nobles upside down.
“Next, the Ministry of Defense. I appoint Vladimir Mayer as Minister of Defense and Baron Albus Derian as Deputy Minister.”
“Your Majesty! That is nonsense! How can you entrust such high-ranking positions as the Minister of National Defense and Vice Minister to commoners and commoner-born Danseung nobles!!”
“It is something that shakes the very foundation of the empire!! It must be withdrawn!!”
“Moreover, Baron Derian is a former commander-in-chief who served under the traitor Henry!! I tell you that this is absolutely impossible!”
Kwaang!! Bang!!
“It’s noisy!! If I were to be punished for working under Heinrich, more than half of the nobles here would have lost their heads!! And didn’t I already declare that positions are not determined based on status? The Counts did it because they judged that he had the ability and personality, but they tore up your letters of recommendation as soon as they saw them, so you should know that!!”
The nobles bowed their heads to Yuno’s temper, but their dissatisfaction seemed to remain. Moreover, this time it was slightly different in that not only the nobles but also the appointees were overturned.
“What, what can I say? I’m the Minister of National Defense?”
“Oh, no, I’m just a corps commander from Baron Danseungwi. How can I do that…”
At the coronation party, Mayer was packing food to take to his wife, who had just moved to the capital, without paying any attention to the cabinet appointments, and Derian, who was joking with the other corps commanders about wanting to finish quickly and smoke a cigarette, was so surprised that he waved his hand. I hit it.
“Mayer, you have proven your abilities brilliantly under me, and Lord Derian served as commander-in-chief under Heinrich with excellent defensive tactics, even engaging in guerilla warfare with the remaining troops after defending Streve against Tesseito’s large army and ultimately being defeated. And as the commander-in-chief, he made the bold decision to surrender rather than waste the lives of his soldiers.
In response to Yuno’s explanation, Derian prostrated himself and once again pledged his loyalty, saying he would live up to his expectations, but Mayer ran up to the throne and criticized Yuno.
“Ah, no, Your Majesty the Trident. Ah, no, Your Majesty the Emperor!! Isn’t this different!! I heard you will accept my resignation!!”
‘Hey, such a baseless guy!! What place is this!!’
‘This is why commoners are not allowed. Your majesty!! Please withdraw the order immediately!!’
Naturally, the nobles behind her kept calling for Mayer to resign, but Yuno ignored those nobles and smiled at Mayer.
“Hmm? What are you talking about? Jim definitely accepted your resignation letter as promised.”
“I am free now because they accepted my resignation letter. But suddenly the Minister of National Defense said, ‘What!! I won’t do something like that. I’m going to get severance pay and run a fruit business in Adriatic with my wife, so please give me severance pay as soon as possible.'”
“I can give you severance pay for resigning from the position of garrison commander, but… You are not free. It has always been that way, and it will continue to be this way. You have struck down the position of garrison commander of the Teshidanikana territory, but you are my subject. It’s still valid. Besides, you’re a subject of Balkan, and I’m the emperor, so aren’t you obligated to follow my orders?”
“Oh, no, just because he’s the emperor, he treats people like this…”
“Vladimir Mayer!! This is your command! Obey the Emperor’s orders!!”
When Yuno suddenly radiated energy and spoke in a voice full of dignity, Mayer instinctively bowed down, and Yuno pulled out her sword and tapped his shoulder.
“Vladimir Mayer. In consideration of your merits in the last war, I ennoble you as a count! This is an order from the emperor, so you have no right to veto. Do you understand? Count Mayer?”
“… Yes… I will accept it gratefully.”
In the end, Mayer cried and accepted the position of Minister of Defense given by Juno, and all the nobles were left speechless by Juno’s shocking personnel move of immediately awarding the title of earldom to a commoner.
However, as if Yuno’s so far was nothing, Yuno continued to give enormous shocks to the nobles.
“We then appoint Hiria von Dierwood as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Diane Erika Maywood von Balkan as Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy, and Rachel Sinclair de Leonhardt as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance!!”
*Diane celebrating Juno’s accession to the throne
*Rachel congratulating Yuno on his accession to the throne
*Hyria celebrating Juno’s accession to the throne
