The Empror's Trap

"Your subject believes that Your Majesty should appoint an heir now," Kenji said.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding ministers were shocked. They were surprised that Kenji actually agreed to the Emperor appointing an heir...

Knowing that if an heir were appointed now, Pluvia had no children, so the position would have to go to a relative or a child of the same generation. This wasn't a good thing for Kenji.

"Duke Anos, do you truly agree with appointing an heir?" Pluvia's face darkened as she asked.

"Your subject agrees with appointing an heir," Kenji said firmly, "However, I do not agree with Your Majesty appointing anyone else as the heir. In my opinion, if we are to appoint an heir, we must choose a wise ruler. Currently, there is no suitable candidate in our Camelot Empire. Therefore, I suggest Your Majesty gather potential candidates for the position of heir, test their ability to govern, and give the most capable one time to gain experience. Only after they have proven themselves should they be appointed as heir."

Kenji gave his answer.

"Grand Marshal, how can there be candidates for the position of heir? The heir itself is already a candidate. Wouldn't this make them candidates for a candidate? It's of no benefit," the Minister of Justice finally stood up and objected.

"The Minister of Justice is overthinking. I'm not suggesting we appoint multiple 'candidate heirs', but rather help Your Majesty select the most suitable heir from among them. The Camelot Empire has a thousand-year history, and while the closeness of blood ties plays a role in selecting an heir to some degree, it's ultimately not the deciding factor. Your Majesty is not the previous emperor's eldest daughter, yet was still entrusted with great responsibility. Why? Precisely because the previous emperor did not prioritize blood ties," Kenji said, bowing to Pluvia.

"Therefore, I believe Your Majesty can choose heir candidates, but whether they become the heir should mainly depend on their ability. If they achieve success after gaining experience outside the palace, what's wrong with that? Such talent, when appointed as heir, would put everyone at ease."

"Good idea," Pluvia nodded slightly, agreeing with his view.

With Kenji present, anything he said could be considered correct, as he could completely suppress the ministers and princes in court at this moment. All Pluvia wanted was for Kenji to postpone the matter of appointing an heir.

Now she needed to ensure that those below her had no sufficient reason to appoint an heir. Because once an heir was appointed, these people would gather around the heir.

"What do you all think?" Of course, as she was still a wise ruler who welcomed advice, this matter certainly couldn't be decided arbitrarily. She had to ask for the ministers' opinions.

"Your subject supports this. Several of our ancestors have used similar methods, and the heirs they selected were all reliable individuals. Your subject believes this method will also be convincing," General Balinos was the first to speak in support of this approach.

From the moment he entered the hall, General Balinos hadn't said a word. Now, his support made many ministers in the court feel compelled to take a stand.

Damn it, the two biggest military leaders in the Camelot Empire have spoken. If they don't express their stance now, they won't have good days ahead.

"Your subject believes this method is feasible."

"Your subject agrees."

"Your subject agrees."

Everyone was rushing to express their stance, leaving some people awkwardly silent.

This naturally included Prince Liam and other princes and princesses.

Especially Prince Wuze, whose earlier speech had thoroughly angered Pluvia. She had never done such a disrespectful thing as personally slapping someone.

Prince Wuze's confrontation this time was originally intended to promote faction division within the court, using momentum and reason to occupy the orthodox position.

But the premise of occupying the orthodox position is that you must have enough pieces to play chess with the opponent.

Before this, Prince Wuze wasn't afraid of Pluvia because he had the support of many ministers behind him, as well as the pressure from the troops outside the city.

These were all difficult cards to resist, and it would be hard for Pluvia to control the situation under such pressure. In fact, many ministers in the court were fence-sitters. Once they found that Wuze and other princes had gained the upper hand, they would naturally stand on Wuze's side.

But they were also cunning and didn't want to take things to the extreme. So when Wuze angrily confronted Pluvia, most of them didn't step in to manage him—who would want to risk their lives with this self-destructive tank? What if Wuze couldn't overpower Pluvia?

Facts proved that old ginger is spicier. These old ministers understood that the momentum gathered by the princes had largely lost its initiative the moment Kenji appeared. Faced with this situation, they unhesitatingly chose to return to the Emperor's side.

So now, only Wuze was the most embarrassed one. As for Liam, he wasn't as stubborn, so he wasn't in such an awkward position.

"If that's the case, then let's do it this way. The Camelot Imperial Family Affairs Office will handle the relevant matters later," Pluvia said, rubbing her temples and sighing deeply.

"You all were unaware of the military movements, and it was for the sake of the Camelot Empire. Since you didn't know, I won't punish you. I just hope that in the future, you will put this matter of appointing an heir on hold for a while. Also, except for the matter of appointing an heir, I can pretend that you didn't say those other things."

As she said this, she secretly observed Kenji's reaction. Kenji didn't show any dissatisfaction with her decision.

This indicated that Kenji probably hadn't heard much about what the ministers had told her about wanting to weaken him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the ministers said.

With Pluvia making such a promise, the ministers present felt somewhat relieved.

"The generals and officers who privately moved troops this time will be sent to the Military Law Camp for the Grand Marshal to deal with according to military law."

"Your subject will certainly handle this matter properly," Kenji said.

"Wuze has shown disrespect to me, openly challenging me in court, and upon investigation, there are suspicions of collusion with foreign enemies. Now, prince Wuze's title is revoked, and he is to be confined at home, awaiting further punishment."

This time, she didn't intend to show any mercy. Not just Wuze, but the Minister of the Imperial Guard would likely be replaced as well.

Others could be let off, but Wuze, who had confronted her face to face, had to be dealt with, or she would truly have no authority left.

Although this time, the authority wasn't really her own.