Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

[Empire]

[Worry-Free Palace]

People all say that the corridor leading to the Emperor's private office is the Empire's most "difficult" path to walk.

Only those who have truly walked this path know that "difficult" is not only a metaphor but also the most objective and accurate description.

To emphasize the Emperor's authority and power, Mad Emperor Richard's architect purposefully set up a magnificent corridor in the Worry-Free Palace's office area.

Visitors must walk cautiously on the mirror-like smooth marble floor tiles. Looking up, there's a temple-like lofty dome; looking forward, a solemn passage with no one in sight.

The enormous glass windows, although excellently lit, enhance the corridor's deep tranquility; the stone walls, though seemingly airtight, inexplicably invoke a chill.

Rather than saying this corridor, known as the "ice river," ends at the Emperor's private office, it might be more accurate to call it a path leading to a dragon's lair.

Considering that, regardless of status, the Empire's nobility tend to use some mythical creature capable of spitting fire, covered in scales, with sharp teeth and claws, extremely dangerous yet possessing supreme wealth as a metaphor for [Henry III], the saying "the ice river ends at a dragon's lair" is not entirely baseless and often brings a knowing smile at parties.

However, even in the "difficult" ice river, some can create unusual disturbances.

Inside the Emperor's private office, the [Earl of Narsia], who was helping the Emperor open letters, couldn't help but smile upon hearing the muffled "thud" coming from the corridor.

"Your Majesty." The Earl of Narsia put down the letter opener in his hand, smiling, "General Alexei Araktcheev is here."

The Emperor, sitting in the only chair in the room, nodded slightly and gently placed his quill back in the inkwell.

The Earl of Narsia understood, adeptly helped the Emperor tidy up the desk, and then stepped aside, waiting for the most sought-after figure in the Empire's current political scene, the War Minister Alexei Araktcheev, to arrive.

...

In every sense, Alexei Araktcheev was someone who shouldn't be found at the top of the Empire's political architecture.

He was merely the son of a poor minor noble from a Far Eastern province, whose ancestral wealth had long been squandered through generations, leaving him only with a ridiculed noble title.

Yet, leveraging his "noble" status, Araktcheev gained entry to the Royal Juvenile Military School, and then through his abilities, worked his way into the Empire's highest military institution located in the Eternal City.

Normally, such a foundationless provincial noble officer's best path would be to be assigned to the Northern or Eastern army, starting as a small officer and gradually accumulating achievements amidst snow and sand, striving to be transferred back to the internal provinces before the age of forty to enjoy the latter half of life in a somewhat lucrative provincial position — or be sent home in a coffin before then.

But the Emperor pulled Alexei Araktcheev out of such a fate, appointing him as his attendant officer and at an opportune moment assigning him elsewhere, and after he acquired enough military merit, promptly bringing him back to the center of power.

In the Eternal City, anyone receiving such imperial favor would attract numerous criticisms and jealousy. Not to mention, Araktcheev was a foundationless, unpopular provincial noble.

In the extravagant and hedonistic celebrations of the Eternal City and the Empire's court, his image was strange and out of place.

It was well known that Alexei Araktcheev wakes up at four every day without fail, reaches his workplace by six, and demands all his subordinates arrive before he does. Violators face a first-time warning, second-time fine, third-time dismissal, even a prince is not exempt.

In his personal life, Alexei Araktcheev was notoriously frugal in the Eternal City.

He never visited theaters or attended balls, was extremely cautious and stingy with food and drink, merely occasionally playing the lowest stakes cards at home with a few friends and comrades. Victorious, he would offer drinks to the others, but when losing, he would grim-facedly send them home.

Most encountering him would always see a cold, gloomy, and sharp persona. If he were to smile or joke frequently, the situation might improve, yet he seldom did so.

Many nobles in the Eternal City saw him as an enemy, and when the Emperor appointed him as the new War Minister, opposition came from, but was not limited to, Duke Lothar, Earl Finley, all the Emperor's aides, and the Empress — essentially, every influential figure in the court.

Yet Alexei Araktcheev still took office and initiated a large-scale bloody purge of the Southern army.

The Earl of Narsia stood with hands hanging and listened to the increasingly close "thud" sounds.

On the ice river corridor, where others struggled not to fall, Alexei Araktcheev was the only one who could make the echo of his boots resonate heavily each step.

While other court nobles were trying ways to exert influence, fiercely opposing Alexei Araktcheev's new appointment, the Earl of Narsia also publicly expressed unease about the appointment.

But that was merely to avoid being ostracized by others. From the start, the Earl of Narsia was well aware that Alexei Araktcheev's appointment was impossible to overturn.