“I'm bored.”
This is what Cloyce thought as he looked at the ministers chattering in front of him.
After he fought many wars and beheaded his brother to become emperor, seven years passed.
He no longer felt affected by anything.
He did not want to become emperor. Everything he did was just to protect those he loved.
“But...”
A heavy feeling of exhaustion was crushing him. He obtained the emperor's throne by beheading many people, but he did not see this position as having any meaning.
“Because of this trivial thing.”
His wife, whom he loved more than anyone else, and his newly born daughter, whose face he had never even seen, were murdered.
Cloyce's gaze stopped at the tattoo on the back of his hand.
The tattoo, which was only visible to the immediate members of the imperial family, was now something only he owned in the world.
If his daughter were alive, she would have this tattoo too...
Under the weight of exhaustion that overwhelmed him again, he closed his eyes. The Minister of State next to him looked at him anxiously.
For the past seven years, Cloys ruled the empire as a great king whose name would be immortalized in the history books.
But recently, he was no longer able to hide his exhausted appearance.
An empire finally stabilized after a long civil war subsided.
So, the Emperor had to remain more solid than ever…
Meanwhile, the ministers' voices rose in the meeting room.
“What does this kid need to enter the elite academy?”
“Don't you see? His grades are not enough!”
“Right. Moreover, age is also an issue! Seventeen years is already out of range!”
“However, this family made great contributions during the war…!”
The Minister of State wondered to himself as he saw their audacity to shout in front of the Emperor.
“Well, everyone's desperate, of course.”
The Minister of State looked at the papers on the table.
**[Application to join the Elite Academy]**
The papers piled up like mountains were all applications for admission to the Imperial Elite Academy.
The Elite Academy is a private palace institution that brings together exceptionally gifted children from the ages of seven to fifteen.
The academy was forced to close its doors seven years ago when war broke out.
But this year, on the occasion of the declaration of the empire's complete stability, it began receiving students again.
In fact, the empire had been stabilized years ago, but there was a reason why the reopening of the academy had been delayed.
“Because of Evpian.”
The Emperor's daughter, of whom only her name remains, and who left the world the moment she was born.
Cloyce greatly missed his daughter, whose face he had never seen.
Perhaps for this reason, he stared long and silently at any child he saw inside the palace.
Some saw it as pipe dreams.
The Emperor, who loved his late wife deeply, declared that he would never marry another Empress.
Thus, the position of heir remained vacant.
So, the position of the next emperor might go to one of the children of the noble who had the blood of the imperial family, through adoption.
In the past, there was a childless emperor who adopted a child from an elite academy.
“If my child gains the Emperor’s attention...”
If he got the love that was supposed to be given to the Emperor's late daughter, obtaining a high position would not be a problem.
Indeed, if he proves his connection to the imperial family through the family tree, he may become the heir.
This was the greed that drove everyone to try to get their children into the elite academy.
Perhaps realizing this, Cloyce was constantly delaying the reopening of the academy.
Until this year, when they were finally allowed to reopen.
The people thought that the Emperor's heart had finally softened, so they applied to have their children or the children of their faction entered into the academy.
These were the papers piled up before his eyes now.
“Everyone is wrong.”
The Minister of State shook his head.
The shadows of his wife and daughter still hover around him.
Cloyce would have no affection to give to another child.
At that moment, one of the ministers angrily threw a piece of paper on the ground after letting out a sigh of dissatisfaction.
Cloyce looked at the paper on the ground for a long time, then raised his hand.
“Minister of State.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Can you get that paper on the floor?”
"What?"
The Minister of State was surprised by something unexpected and looked at Cloyce with wide eyes.
Then he quickly got up from his place and brought the paper he ordered.
Cloyce took the crumpled paper and carefully unfolded it.
The minister who threw the paper was surprised when the Emperor showed interest in it, and looked at him warily.
“Application for admission, why did you drop it?”
“Well, because it was asked by someone who lacked a lot of conditions...”
At the minister's words, Cloyce looked at the crumpled paper as he unfolded it.
His facial expression froze as he read the application.
“I don't see any deficiency with my eyes?”
“But she is a child from the orphanage, right? How can a child from this place join the elite imperial academy that will choose Your Majesty’s Crown Prince...”
“Crown Prince? Who said I would choose the Crown Prince from the academy?”
The meeting room suddenly fell silent with Clois's cold voice.
The ministers, who had been raising their voices in support of their favorite children until moments ago, closed their mouths and exchanged wary glances.
“The Imperial Elite Academy is a place open to anyone with talent, regardless of field. But you set your own rules and exclude those who are worthy?”
No one dared to open their mouth under his sharp rebuke.
Cloyce let out a sigh of dismay and looked back at the paper.
Unlike the fancy papers piling up on the table, the application was written on the back of a used piece of paper.
From this alone, it can be known that the child who submitted the application is in a very poor situation.
As the minister said, it was written that the child was from an orphanage in the city of Elram, in the farthest corner of the empire.
Cloyce remembered the location of Elram. A small city located in the far east of the empire, bordering the sea.
Seven years ago, during the War of Succession, it was far enough away to avoid major destruction.
“I passed the Elram High School Graduation Examination this year.”
High school is for children between approximately fifteen and eighteen years of age.
However, passing an exam at a top school means that there are a fair number of students, and this in itself qualifies the applicant for admission to the academy.
“But, this alone is not enough...”
The minister who threw the paper spoke with cold sweat and difficulty.
Everyone wanted to join the elite academy this year, whether from high-ranking families or even wealthy commoners.
It was likely that one of the children enrolled this year would be adopted, and even if not, there was a possibility of attracting the Emperor's attention beforehand.
Not only that, but the academy's students would hold important positions in the future of the empire.
In fact, this year the academy was like a mini-community.
The number of students accepted this year was only five hundred.
Before the war, they accepted up to two thousand students, but this year, since it is the first year of reopening, they have reduced the number.
For this reason, the competition was tougher than ever.
“One precious chair, and two children from an orphanage? This doesn’t make sense.”
A kid like that could just be content with graduating from an overseas high school and working to process papers for a noble family, right?
So, because of this arrogance, the minister threw in the application, but he did not expect the emperor to see it.
While the Minister's face darkened, Cloyce continued reading the paper.
It was written that the child had not only graduated from high school, but had passed the exam with perfect marks in all subjects.
Then Cloyce's gaze stopped at a certain point.
**[Hobbies and Skills: Cleaning]**
“…”
Cloyce quickly remembered the hobbies and skills written on other applications he had seen.
Children of noble families, or even from wealthy, non-noble families.
Their hobbies and skills were filled with strange types of arts or fields.
Drawing, strange-named musical instruments, and even ancient, almost extinct languages.
Everyone was writing down proof that they were suitable for the academy...but cleaning?
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
Cloyce placed the paper on the table and ordered:
“Permit this child’s enrollment.”
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