Renouncing the Emperor's Heart

Challenge

*Author's Note* 

I apologize for the late update! This episode was in draft and rewritten a few times to get it right 🙈 Thank you everyone for waiting and for loving RTEH, I love you all ❤️

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"Your Majesty?"

The Emperor flinched. Turning away from the empty chair beside him, he slid his eyes to Harrison Ballio.

"May I ask your thoughts on the matter?" Lord Harrison continued expectantly.

A heavy sigh puffed out of him as he pinched the bridge of nose. He hadn't heard a word he said. Nor did he give the slightest damn about it. "Do as you wish," Richard muttered with a wave of his hand.

Ballio bowed, a devilish smirk stretching across his thin lips. "Of course, Your Majesty."

Gathered in the Throne Room, Richard looked out at his Imperial Council. They stood in parallel lines with their hands clasped in front, and he didn't miss the way many members from the Western Faction threw him tensed glances from beneath the raised dais. Slumping down in his high-backed, golden throne, Richard massaged his sore temples with a scowl on his face.

"The following point of order is an announcement from the Minister of Finance," Lord Maximus announced, placing a new scroll on the large, ornamental desk placed before the Emperor.

Lord Jameson, a heavy-set man with a full copper beard, stepped forward with a grunt. Richard's eyes were on the verge of rolling to the back of his head before he found himself glancing at the seat beside him again.

All morning, his eyes had wandered to the empty throne.

The Empress' presence was never a requirement at these aggravating meetings, but just the sight of the barren seat reminded him that days had passed with her silence.

The mere emptiness of it irritated him.

Richard shook his head in abhorrence and looked ahead with his jaw clenched tight.

"Your Majesty," Jameson bowed.

"Go on," he sighed.

Tipping his bulbous nose up in the air, he glanced around the room with a spark of haughty arrogance. "After much deliberation, I have decided to resign from my position."

Immediately, members of the Eastern Faction called out in outraged confusion. Apparently, the news was unknown to them as well. Richard raised a brow. Finally, something of interest had spurred.

"Ridiculous," Lord Frintle, a small, nasally man with balding blonde curls, bellowed out from the left. "You would dare declare your resignation without consult or approval?"

Jameson barely spared the man a glance. "It has truly been an honor to serve on your Council, Your Majesty," he began with a flourished bow of his head and a hand on his soft chest. "But in my old age, I've been feeling less and less worthy of such an active position. Surely, you can understand the need for someone who can bring justice to the role."

Taking in the raged expressions from his left and the pleased silence from his right, Richard couldn't help but scoff in amusement. Jameson, a man still young enough to dally with unassuming voracious ladies, was claiming humility before him now. A better excuse could have been his desire to spend more time with his neglected family in the countryside, but instead, he urged for integrity.

A brief recollection of his Royal Secretary's concerns surged to the surface. If the speculative rumors held truth, the Minister of Finance was a naturally unethical man. One who was easy to bribe and manipulate. For nobles who enjoyed such dishonesty, a few bags of heavy coins would have been enough to sate his immoral agenda.