Chapter 28

　　One year later, the new Emperor had seemingly aged quickly. The empty palace was the venue where civil and military officials met, but now it was also the main subject of their meetings.

As Emperor, Arthur Mu ranked higher than the ten thousand people who made up the huge bureaucracy of his empire. However, there were certain duties that he needed to cater to, and the civil and military officials were getting anxious that he was shirking his responsibility.

This was one of the disadvantages of imperial power. It encroached on his domestic and personal affairs. Even as he sought to soothe his heartache by torturing Jessica Mo, all the effort he had put into it amounted to nothing. Elizabeth could not be found. It was all in vain.

At last, he could not evade a meeting with his officials. It was an open secret what he had done to his queen, and though nobody dared to ask him why he had done it, everyone was pressing him to recruit more beautiful women into the