of mist and power

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT,

"THIS IS A very delicate plan," the Emperor commented, glancing over at his wife. Ryan leaned back in a decidedly un-princely way, groaning. They were sitting in the living room of his parents' hall. The two of them sat at the large chairs, while Ryan sat opposite them, in a simpler, yet still ornate wooden one.

The Empress tilted her head. "All good plans need to be delicate."

"I disagree," the Emperor retorted.

"As do I," Ryan said. "Some plans work very well rough. Just because you prefer delicate plans, mother, does not mean they must be delicate at all times."

The Empress scoffed and waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Men. You will never understand the mind of us women."

"I doubt, my dear," the Emperor said patiently, "you can speak for all members of your sex."

Ryan envied his parents' relationship greatly. It was what he aimed for, both the political and the romantic aspect of it. Both his parents had been aristocrats, even before the rebellion. They were distant cousins of the prior Emperor. His father was the son of a duke, and his mother was the daughter of a viscount. Their marriage had been at first political, but the two had quickly fallen in love.

Even under the old dynasty, where concubines and mistresses were legally recognised, his father had never taken one.

His mother had been one of the few women to be well-educated, and his grandfather, who'd passed away some years prior, had allowed her to participate in politics to a certain degree. In a world where women were suppressed and forbidden from flourishing, his mother had been encouraged. Protected, given the safe environment to blossom. And she'd bloomed beautifully indeed.

Sometimes, Ryan rather thought his mother was more vital to the running of Sai than his father. Of course his father put in much work. He dealt with the policies, the laws. But his mother was always the one who came up with the fine plans, who noticed the small details, and made sure they could give their very best.

His mother, along with Irina, were the ones who'd set up the new recruitment system for the army, in place of the old laws, where only men of certain ages were drafted. Instead, every man and woman had to do a year of conscription, and could choose to continue either full-time or part-time, with benefits. They'd rightfully pointed out some years back that in a time of peace, Sai simply didn't need an army that large. They had one of the largest populations in the entirety of the world, many times that of Arecia. They did not need mandatory conscription for every single person to raise an army to defend itself, or its allies.

That also allowed their army to consist of a smaller squad of more elite, well-trained soldiers, rather than a large collection of barely trained fighters who did not want to be there in the first place. It was far more efficient and less costly.

Ryan rather thought that was why he'd been so against most of the women his parents and friends had suggested as potential brides. He could not see himself fighting side by side with any of them. Only a few of them had any political experience, and the ones that did were usually his friends, people he could not imagine marrying.

There were of course clear exceptions.

"We will let it all happen tomorrow," his mother announced. "Let the man escape. Tail him. Swoop in and capture them all together. You've located the boy?"

Ryan nodded. "Found him. He hadn't been moved yet, they must not have had the time. But they'll notice eventually."

"We'll strike before that."

He hadn't told anyone yet, not even Myrina, much less the girl assassin, Pandi. His parents had requested he kept that knowledge a secret until it was useful. Information was a useful bargaining tool.