The Empress' Descent

Chapter 22 - Schemes

Perhaps I had misjudged him. The present condition of the empire had led me to believe that Kazriel had no care for it whatsoever. It could be possible that for the last two years, he'd been trying to fulfill his duties as Emperor. But with Ethan pulling the strings, his efforts were all left in vain.

For some time now, I'd known what Ethan had been doing. He didn't want Kazriel to handle the economy and he also hadn't done anything to protect the borders from the northern raids.

He'd been coddling the court officials, hogging Solaria's funds for their personal gains. Pocketing the people's taxes, stomping on the nobles who did not abide by their rules and in turn granting favor to those who did, and some of them were even rumored supporting illegal trades and businesses—these were few among many others.

Ethan was pampering those big-bellied bastards. And he wanted Kazriel to steer out of his way. This was a play of power and dominance.

And for what? Something kept bugging me. Something that continuously stirred the deepest pits of my stomach. There could be a side of this that I was failing to grasp, a part of Ethan's schemes that was definitely amiss. It was what my instincts had been telling me, but I could never know what exactly. I needed to see the bigger picture to fully understand.

"Clary?" Kazriel was gaping at me.

I blinked. "Ah, yes. I apologize. I got too caught up with my thoughts."

"It's fine." Kazriel shifted his attention to his teacup. "I know this is somewhat strange. Asking advice from my brother's fiancée no less. I am ashamed, Clary. But I have run out of options."

'No one seems to be on my side,' seemed to be the words he wanted to add.

I could sense Kazriel's desperation from where I was sitting. With how he was gripping the teacup's handle tightly and with how his head was bent low. He didn't look like the Emperor he ought to be. He was just a helpless puppet, wanting to break away from the puppeteer.

"Lift your head, Your Majesty. Yielding does not look good on you. You are the sovereign of Solaria, the nation who conquered the lands in this continent. You carry the hopes of your people on your shoulders. Think of it as a promise, not a burden nor a duty. This is not the time to put on a faint heart. Besides, I told you there may be a way to salvage this, didn't I?"

At that, Kazriel's eyes cleared. He straightened his posture and appeared as if someone had lit a match within him.

Thank the gods he was simpleminded and easy to encourage.

"What do you suggest I do? I cannot talk to the other nobles without Ethan knowing. Every movement I make is guarded by his watchful eyes."

Just like today.

"I am aware," I said silently. Since earlier we've been talking softly so Ethan's spies couldn't hear. "But if we do this right, they will never find out."

All it would take was for the right people to be involved.

One thing I had realized with my marriage with Elian though was that they needed a balance of power within the royal family. If Elian were to marry a lady of high pedigree and authority, this balance would be disrupted.

In order to be the perfect puppet, Ethan and his cronies required Kazriel to be kept in check. But they had to maintain his hold over the empire as well. So that meant Kazriel still had more leverage than he'd thought.

Kazriel's expression became attentive. "Mmm, go on."

I explained to Kazriel the problems that were accumulating in the empire. Those that went on a larger scale down to the tiniest issue in the palace. Those that he had seen and those that Ethan had been hiding from him. These I had picked up from conversations in the hallway, discussions during tea parties and merely outright observing my surroundings. In a few weeks, I'd learned a lot in the palace. And indeed, things had gotten much worse than I expected.