Chapter 20: Stature
The moment those words left Emperor Takeshin’s lips, a strange silence spread through the hall.
Then slowly, very slowly, Prime Minister Jingan’s already flushed face began to darken.
It was like watching a tomato turn into a plum.
His gleaming bald head now reflected the torchlight with a reddish sheen, like polished anger. His jaw tensed so tightly it looked as if his teeth were locked in mortal combat. The corners of his lips curled into a strange, eerie shape.
It was a horrible thing. More a grimace than a smile. The kind of smile people wore when trying not to scream.
"Ah... Your Majesty jests with such eloquence." Prime Minister Jingan said at last, his voice painfully stretched into civility. "But I speak only with deep concern for the standards of the Royal Academy. We must preserve its dignity. Its prestige. Its... exclusivity."
He bowed again, slightly shallower this time, the movement stiff like his spine was resisting.
"I must insist." he continued, his tone firm but measured, "That this boy be re-evaluated through the proper channels. Thoroughly. Painstakingly. Publicly, if need be."
A bead of sweat trickled behind his ear as he forced the smile wider. His medallion clinked with a faint metallic sound, betraying the slight tremble in his frame.
Akira watched with great interest.
So it wasn’t just the Emperor that had to walk on tiptoes.