Published: January 4, 2026
Imperial Capital, inside the palace.
After Father passed away, I took over his office and was now facing the First Prime Minister Don.
Don held a stack of documents, reading them aloud as he reported to me.
“These are the final members for this year’s knight selection.”
“Hm, what does Jessica say about this?”
“The concubine said, ‘I will do my utmost and dedicate myself to selecting talents for Your Majesty.’”
“That sounds like her. Tell her to relax and do as she pleases—no, I’ll tell her that myself when I summon her.”
I smiled faintly.
Concubine Jessica.
She is my consort but also involved in military affairs, which is why she’s been appointed as a judge for this year’s knight selection.
I had intended to tell her to ease up and do as she likes, but decided it would be better to say it directly when I called her.
“That concubine has also left a proposal on a different matter.”
“A proposal?”
“Yes, first let me summarize. She proposed something akin to a ‘consort selection’ similar to the knight selection.”
“Consort selection?”
“Here are her words. Thanks to Your Majesty’s generosity, women can now be evaluated for their abilities even in the knight selection. Therefore, she wishes to provide a similar evaluation opportunity for women with talents other than knighthood.”
“I understand the idea. The ideal is acceptable; it depends on the system. Tell her to present a well-developed plan.”
“As you wish… As expected of Your Majesty.”
“Hm?”
I looked at Don, puzzled by his sudden expression.
“Even though she is a concubine, all her orders on political affairs go through me… It’s truly remarkable.”
“That’s proper protocol.”
“That’s the kind of strictness expected from Your Majesty. Impressive—”
“More importantly—”
Just as I was about to move on to the next topic, both Don and I noticed something strange and our words stopped.
Don glanced nervously around while I looked up at the ceiling.
After a brief pause, we said together—
“‘Is it shaking?’”
It was an earthquake.
The shelves in the office started to rattle noisily.
The initial tremor was slow but lasted unusually long, then suddenly—
Don!
The shaking intensified explosively.
“Your Majesty!”
“Don’t panic! Protect yourself!”
I ordered him.
Don curled into a ball like a turtle while I braced myself on the desk and stood up.
I kept looking up at the ceiling.
Normally, as this was the emperor’s office, no one spoke casually nearby and the surroundings were quiet; but now, loud screams could be clearly heard.
As the shaking continued, tiles began falling from the ceiling, heading straight toward me—but—
Before they could reach me, they were consumed by intense flames and melted away without a trace.
The earthquake lasted almost a full minute, then gradually subsided.
“Your Majesty! Are you unharmed!?”
Don stood hurriedly and asked.
“More importantly, we need to assess the situation quickly.”
“Yes, sir!”
Don rushed outside, grabbing eunuchs at random and issuing orders rapidly.
☆
Two hours later, in the same office.
Don and Evelyn, the two prime ministers currently residing in the palace, were both before me.
Don held a bundle of reports and reported.
“We’ve compiled reports from all regions. Currently, Enlil Province’s capital has suffered the most damage, with nearly a thousand buildings collapsed in the capital alone.”
“This is a map with the initial damage reports marked.”
Evelyn presented a medium-sized map on the desk.
True to her words, various numbers indicating damage were marked in a circular pattern around Enlil.
Looking at it—
“The damage is radiating out in a circle centered on Enlil.”
“Yes, so the epicenter was almost certainly in Enlil Province.”
“Hmm.”
“This is amazing, Your Majesty.”
“Yes! To have a grasp of the situation across the lands in less than half a day since the earthquake—that’s the benefit of wired telegraphy Your Majesty implemented!”
Both said this, and I agreed.