The Empror's Trap-Chapter 44: Ch - Leave Professional Matters to the Professionals

The signing process was brief.

Kenji sat at the table, watching his old friend seated before him pick up the pen and sign the document laid out. Though the paper was thin, each stroke of the pen seemed to carry the weight of mountains.

This was her first time truly wielding power for her country since birth. Yet this singular experience could hardly be called glorious.

Thinking this, she wearily glanced at Kenji.

Kenji’s face remained expressionless, as if her pain went completely unnoticed in his eyes.

After finishing, she set down the pen. An attendant swiftly gathered up the armistice agreement.

And so, the conflict between the Sal Kingdom and Camelot Empire essentially came to an end.

But Kenji could hardly feel pleased. Although his efforts these past days had pressured the other side into accepting many conditions in the treaty, to him, the money mattered far less than handling internal affairs.

This time, Camelot had dealt a deadly blow to the northern Sal Kingdom, but their true aim wasn’t really to gain material benefits. While Camelot had expenses everywhere and their treasury’s stores of grain and wealth were steadily decreasing, the Sal Kingdom’s reparations and funds were only a modest sum. Moreover, a significant portion would have to go toward repairing Hanyin City’s defenses and compensating the families of fallen soldiers and civilians who died in the conflict.

If anything truly mattered to Kenji, it was the treaty forcing the Sal Kingdom to cede territory. This treaty essentially opened relations with the Sorechin tribe for Camelot. Faced with this sudden territorial acquisition, the Sorechin tribal envoys to Camelot were overjoyed. Almost immediately upon hearing the news, they visited Kenji personally and promised to report this back home and persuade their Great Chief to follow Camelot’s lead from now on.

If this succeeded, it would make further weakening the Sal Kingdom even easier.

Camelot needed stable borders - not necessarily annexing their neighbors, just maintaining stability was enough. And for stability, they couldn’t let the Sal Kingdom grow too powerful.

But even such a leap forward remained lowest priority for Kenji. His greatest concern now was domestic matters.

With the treaty’s signing, some voices opposing Pluvia had quieted down. After all, this was the first war since the new emperor’s ascension - though to Kenji and others it barely qualified as a conflict.

This war had significantly boosted Pluvia’s prestige. And this time, Kenji planned to take advantage of Pluvia’s high standing to properly clean house within Camelot.

...............

The signing ceremony concluded.

A grand banquet would be held in the palace at noon. Her Majesty the Emperor would personally attend to bless the friendship and peace between the two nations. But before that, Kenji had one matter to handle.

He sat formally in his chair, looking at the badly beaten man before him.

Honestly, his subordinates had clearly been too heavy-handed. The new recruits didn’t know restraint, reducing a dignified central official to such a sorry state...

"Didn’t I say to invite Mr. Luin? Who told you to beat him?" Kenji frowned at the subordinate waiting to be praised.

The man froze, then smiled awkwardly. "Ah ha, Lord Marshal, you know how it is - this guy’s stubborn. No matter what we said he wouldn’t come with us. We had no choice but to rough him up a bit to bring him back."

"This beating will make it hard for me to explain to Her Majesty," Kenji said with a headache. "Fine, at least you completed the mission one way or another. Step up training in the future - never disobey orders like this again."

"Yes sir."

The man left, but Kenji was just getting started with his work.

"Mr. Luin, it’s been a while. I remember when I was inspecting the north before, you personally briefed me on the northern border situation," Kenji maintained a normal expression as he offered the battered Luin tea. "You have deep insight into northern border issues. Camelot’s easy victory over the Sal people owes considerably to your contributions."

He fixed his gaze on him: "But I don’t understand - as a central official, how could you do something so foolish?"

Mr. Luin – Shenya Luin - remained silent.

He only glared fiercely at Kenji, as if staring at a mortal enemy. This man was truly a veteran official of the empire, serving as a governor since the previous emperor’s time before being directly transferred to the capital to oversee other officials. Though not especially high-ranking, he qualified as a central figure.

Honestly, when first learning that Shenya had secret contact with Uheya, Kenji even doubted if he had the wrong person. This Mr. Luin had hardly any black marks against him - the possibility that such a person could commit treason made Kenji question reality.

But the facts were clear - this man had gone to meet with Uheya at her residence. Though what they discussed remained unknown, risking such contact at this critical moment was almost certainly suspicious.

After gathering evidence from various sources, Kenji decided to make an example of Shenya first.

The reasoning was simple - the man had almost no partisan backing, making him easier to deal with, plus it would serve as a warning to others.

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If Camelot’s domestic troubles were merely people who opposed Pluvia ascending the throne, Kenji might not have moved so quickly. But these people were betraying their country. Camelot could not tolerate such individuals.

"Pah, you dog! You’ve never loosened your grip on power, and now you dare accuse me?!" Shenya’s expression was hideous. He wasn’t truly seeking death, so his outburst carried a note of bravado.

"We’re discussing your treasonous collusion with foreign powers," Kenji continued.

Goddammit, why does everyone keep saying I’m controlling the government? Laughable - if I really controlled things, would I let you all run your mouths like this?

"Tell me, how did you communicate with the Sal people? Who was your intermediary?"

Silence.

Kenji knew he’d hit a wall. No matter what he asked, this guy maintained his contemptuous attitude. But Kenji couldn’t exactly use some grand memory restoration technique on him.

No choice but to try another approach.

Might as well let Lina interrogate him - she’s more professional at this.