Malty is driven back to the palace after a pleasing whipping and torturing slave children. Of course when she arrived back to her residence, there is an convoy of cars at the front gate. Of course she wasn't expecting anyone. But it's here now, and Ms. Kaname Chidori was walking quickly to the Empress' auto; and Malty opens her window and grunted angrily.
"What the hell is this convoy doing!" She says angrily. "Get them out of here right now!".
"Your Graciousness, I know you are very busy running the empire" Kaname responds. "But there is an important figure here to see you".
"Who can be so important that it would have to cut into my television time. The National channel is about to air my movie about me. I want to watch the whole thing". Empress Malty steps out of her vehicle and sees a blonde haired man, a man wearing a military uniform, a brown fur coat, and black fur Cossack hat.
"Ah! Good afternoon your Graciousness" the man says to Malty, extending a hand for a handshake. Malty just grunted in disgust.
"Who the hell are you" she says angrily. "I don't have time for commoners like you".
"But your Graciousness" Ms. Chidori butts in. "I sent you a telegram while you were out. The Russian Ambassador we've been expecting for months is here".
"The name is Chadinov Evgeni Dicksonski, Chad Dickson to my friends. I believe that dear Tsarista Rachel told you about my arrival". Malty acted all surprised. It is true that she still has contact with Tsarista Rachel McKenzie and they have been talking about this for months. That must have been that telegram that was sent to her at the cathedral. Empress Malty turns to Kaname.
"How dare you not notify me about the ambassador sooner!" Malty shouts angrily.
"But your Graciousness-"
"Not buts. I shall slap you on the wrists for this!"
"Yes your Graciousness" Kaname sighs. Malty walks up to the Russian ambassador, going from anger to her advisor, to elegance and Graciousness of her Roman Empire, the act she puts on for foreign dignitaries.
"Dear Ambassador Chadinov" Malty says graciously, being the good host she is. Mr. Dicksoski is a little weary, having heard about this notorious empire and their notorious leader.
"Please. Chad is fine".
"Well Chad, allow me to escort you to the dining hall. I will have my staff arrange a fine feast. Fit only for the Empress and her guest" Malty says, referring to herself.
"That sounds good" Chad says not as optimistic as Malty hoped. But the show must go on. She escorted him to the dining hall and the two of them enjoyed a banquet (well, Malty enjoyed it.) fit for royalty. Mountains upon mountains of roasted meats, exotic meats and seafoods from all over the world as a sign of vast lands Rome has acquired. Numerous pies filled with sweets and meats were also lavished on the table, decorated with pastry shapes. Fruits and vegetables from all over the world were on menu of this royal banquet. Wines made in the finest vineyards of Italy and the southern part of the Roman-French territory. For dessert, numerous puddings, sweets, taffy, candies, cakes, and ice cream lavished with a chocolate sauce, made from the finest sugars of the plantations Rome had in the Caribbean colonies and the sweetest chocolates from the conquered Aztec people. The food is highly elegant, but the Empress's manners aren't. Her manners are of a barbarian, scarfing down every bit of food she came across. She ate everything with her hands and loudly too. She ate so much, Ambassador Dickson really wondered how the hell was she not morbidly obese yet. Mr. Dickson just shoved his plate of food around, occasionally taking a few bites. What horrified Chad the most was the slaves that were serving under her. They couldn't be nearly 10 years old, but here they are working, under threat of death and abuse. The institution of slavery has long gone. It has been abolished since the late 1860s. This is something that Chad was not aware happened in this empire, making him most uncomfortable. With that, Ambassador Chad decides to tackle this issue head-on.
"Your Graciousness" Chad says gentifully. "There is something I would like to bring up".
"What?" Malty replies. "The food is not to you're liking? I'm sorry" she says annoyed. "These slaves are not doing a good job are they?" She gets up with a whip in hand. "I shall punish them severely to your liking then" Malty states. Chad gets the living crap scared out of him. He stands up shaking his hands.
"NO, NO, NO, It's not that!" He exclaims. Malty sits back down, upset that she is not whipping slaves silly right now. This concerned Chad. Was she actually okay... no, ENJOYING the punishment of slaves? What the hell is this woman on?
"Then what is the problem? The dinner boring? I can put on music!" Malty says.
"No, I just wanted to talk about-"
"Oh Maestro!" Malty shouts. "Play Mr. Ravel's String Quartet". And wouldn't you know, her palace musicians played the tune composed by the Great Roman musician Maurice Ravel. This was a 20-piece orchestra that plays a wide variety of the music produced by the many great musicians of Rome. This all came out of the peasant's wallet.
"How the hell are you able to afford all of this?"
"Isn't obvious that I am the ruler. I get whatever I want".
"But coming to the palace, I have seen immense poverty in the cities".
"Oh" Malty replies, who then whispers to herself to demolish the slums. "I just tax the poor heavily. I don't care about their lifestyle, I want their money". Chad shows concern, given the fact that he too knows these shady policies that the empress has dealt upon her citizens. Of course Tsarista Rachel assigned Chad to the Roman post to deter Rome from such policies. His service back in the 1970s as Russian ambassador to the Empire of Japan that helped avoid a small incident in the Manchuria region between the two empires. His charismatic diplomatic skills made him the perfect candidate to liberate the citizens of Rome of the tyranny of the empress. Seeing the empress at work though, he has more than he can chew with this beast. And it looks like the beast has gotten herself drunk silly. During his thought moment, the Empress drunk way too much wine for her to handle and began to sway around.
"Hiya bud" she says more drunk than that Mexican ambassador a couple of years back at a meeting of the International Senate. "I think yur purdy *HIC*. How abouts you kiss me".
"Excuse me ma'am?" Chad responds with a discerning look on his face. He clearly has no time for such frivolities like this.
"You and me do it here right now, I command you as your empress" She says swaying harder than that Mexican ambassador.
"Y-you mean...? Ma'am, I-I don't think that would be very appropriate" Chad explains frustrated. At this point Malty just laughs wildly, it was also at this point that Ms. Chidori enters the banquet room and sees her empress hitting on the ambassador. She is clearly shocked and embarrassed about this whole ordeal.
"Dammit, not again" She exclaims embarrassingly.
"You mean this happened before?" Chad asks.
"Yes, I am terribly sorry for the empress's behavior" Kaname explains, "she usually throws a big banquet for any foreign dignitaries and she ends up getting terribly drunk and goes after the nearest man in the room. Again, I am terribly sorry for this incident". She then lifted Empress who passed out from all of the alcohol and she brings her to her bedroom. Kaname tells Chad that she will continue to talk diplomacy with him later. This gives him the time to lay out the framework of what his nation wants from this tyrant. The other ambassador has previously tried numerous times to instill change among the royal cabinet and the empress herself, but time and time again has proven with failure. Taking extreme measures, Tsarista Rachel decided to replace the current Ambassador with him. The goal is to turn Rome from an autocratic regime to a free, democratic society, for this empire is one of the last black spots on the European Continent. Kaname returns from the empress's bedroom exhausted.
"I'm sure that you're tired Mr. Dicksonski. Please allow me to escort you to the embassy where you will be taking up lodging for the remainder of your diplomatic career here" Kaname offers.
"I... guess it can't be helped" Chad replies disappointed that he would have to talk further with the empress at another date, but at least he can talk to her advisor about the goals of this diplomatic mission. "Lead the way Ms... Ms... forgive me, I don't know your name".
"Ms. Kaname Chidori, royal advisor to Empress Malty". After the debacle, Ms. Chidori escorts the ambassador to her car, not a grand limousine used for state officials, but just an average van used by the middle class. Kaname revs up the engines and began to drive the ambassador to the embassy/housing compound, where he will be staying for the coming years that he will be serving as such. Chad just sits there awkwardly, that was until he breaks the ice.
"So..." Chad starts. "I thought I would be getting more of a warmer welcome to start relations. Maybe some quick deals, does this usually happen Ms. Chidori?".
"Unfortunately so" Kaname answers. "She always holds a large luncheon banquet to any visiting dignitaries. But somehow she always gets drunk and I have to deal with sending dignitaries back to their hotels, or residence".
"I mean, I just can't believe someone like her could just throw away the people's hard earned money on such a unnecessary lavish lifestyle".
"You heard her" Kaname responds. "She takes no care of her citizens. Only the wallets of these poorer citizens".
"It's just an upsetting thing to see, especially with this empire's current policy on slavery".
"Well... If you are trying to change her policies, don't even try. When her mind is on something, she is not going back on her word. She's just that uptight".
"How would you know that?".
"As her loyal advisor, I tried to keep the best interest of the people in mind, as well as the international community. I figured that maybe if we changed some of our more aggressive policies, we would be more respected and more... you know, top of the world".
"I assume she turned you down?" Chad asks.
"Violently. She even threatened to take my position away for supporting the patriarchal and Pro Demi-Human society. Which brings me to a point" Kaname adds. "You know the most important thing here is that you don't sexually harass women here in this Empire".
"I would never dream of it" Chad replies, "I am a married man. And besides, my religion forbids it".
"That's the thing" Kaname says expanding on her explanation. "If you go against her words and policies, you will be accused of these things and eventually be executed".
"That is just horrible" Chad exclaims. "Why would she do that? That is no way to treat anyone at all. A ruler is only just and fair if the people says one is".
"That's the thing, we are a technically an autocratic society" Kaname explains. "She inherited her father's traditional values which were ruthless as well, not to mention she grew up as a spoiled brat".
"I'm sure that time will pass and the people will rise up in rebellion, after all, if a government doesn't protect the rights of the citizens, it the citizens' right to rebel".
"You know how strong our military is, she'd use it to squash any rebellion. And don't try to do it yourself either, I hope you know Prince Edward Elric of Germany". The ambassador knows of the plight of Prince Elric, he was at the global treaty of Vienna durning the end of the Third International Catastrophe where the allies of Germany got most of their war goals, except the release of Prince Elric from the Romans. The reason was of the false accusations laid upon the empress, which in turned left relations sour, especially between Rome and Germany. What Germany gained was the Roman territories of Austria, colonies in East Asia, and 250,000 gold, which could be the reason for the increase of Roman taxes among the poor.
"I am well aware of the situation" Chad replies. "I certainly hope that it doesn't happen, but what I heard between talks with the Empress and the Tsarista is that they want to start to rebuild relations. I'm sure that if relations are to be made better, then compromises will be made to ensure that, including the release of Prince Edward".
"I'm sorry, but with her, she either gets what whatever she wants, or there is no deal". The conversation was about over, but Chad notices Kaname's scars.
"Ms. Chidori, is your wrists. Are you okay?" Chad asks, Kaname realizes what he is talking about and makes a best effort to hide her scars.
"It's n-nothing" She responds.
"Really?"
"W-well... It's just a slap on the wrist, it's because failed in my duties as the advisor to the empress".
"It's because of the telegram yes?" He asks, remembering how upset Malty was.
"The truth is I did send the telegram, I assume she ignored it because of her visit to Notre Dame, possibly torturing slaves" She remarks, with that last sentence whispered. But Chad caught her words and is shocked.
"This is what I'm talking about" Chad exclaims as he exits the vehicle. "The empress is abusing her powers, I cannot just stand by and watch her cause so much suffering".
"I'd be careful if I were you" Kaname says. "Your words could have you end up in prison for a false crime".
"Oh! I am being careful" Chad says expressing anger. "If I wasn't, I would've called her much worse things".
"Just don't do anything that would give reason for the empress to persecute you for harassment and rape". With that, Kaname leaves the ambassador at the Russian embassy, where he will stay for the duration of his ambassadorship. In the mean time, he would come to grips that this red-haired lady won't be changing her mind anytime soon, so he's got to find a way to change things for the better here. After all, that is his secret mission here.
-End of Chapter Three-