บท 26: The Azburgian Protective Sphere and a a date
With the Letu being assimilated on Reclaimia, the fleet returned to its former duties of protecting the Emperor's lands, which the Hive seemed very keen to get.
Now that the Retorians were pretty much completely helpless, contributing barely anything aside from one capable captain and general, the Azburgians demanded payments, effectively turning the Retorians into a protectorate tributary mix.
The Rotarians were not dissatisfied with this in the slightest, as they saw the potential of trading within the Empire, so many branch offices appeared across the Empire in many stations, which the AIB or the Azburgian Investigation Berou kept a close eye on.
They ensured the megacorps wouldn't get carried away with their profits, and that they obeyed the laws and did no direct harm to the populace, which they, for their own good, didn't.
They learned very quickly how protective the Empire is of its residents, and the megacorp which stepped on the tiger's tail now no longer exists.
Now that the Empire has successfully forced the Retorians into becoming their subjects, the economy boomed, as resources flowed into the royal coffers at a very promising speed.
It still left much to be desired, but considering the situation, it couldn't be helped.
Adam would occasionally join his soldiers on the front, boosting morale and personally overseeing the execution of his plans, needless to say, he was very satisfied with his generals and their performance.
Days turned to weeks turned to months, and the Azburgian war machine only grew stronger, now equipped with the strongest weapon mankind has ever held, knowledge.
Thanks to the Tulans, which are the ratfolk, they managed to create a jamming device that severely limited the Hive's capabilities by feeding them nonsensical instructions disguised as Hive orders, prompting them to kill themselves or other such things.
This rarely worked since the Hive canceled out those orders with its own, but it was certainly a major inconvenience for the Hive since it now had to constantly double-check all its soldier's orders.
This translated to less capable Hive ships, which made expansion significantly easier.
The Tulans seemed exceptionally skilled in science, and while the Diats were more skilled in physics, the Tulans prided themselves on their advanced biological knowledge.
This knowledge could be proved useful not only in warfare, but terraforming has become significantly more viable thanks to them, still, that's a long way off.
And war always takes priority over everything else.
Hence new weapons were invented, viruses perfected, and even human DNA itself analyzed, with the first serious thoughts about altering the human genome appearing within human society.
Those people were still a small minority, with the human fear of aliens and anything related to them being the only thing stopping any hope of such a thing happening for now.
That and the fear of irreparable damage being done, which was still a very real possibility, so the idea was shelved once again, ready for use once the sufficient technological level was achieved.
Additionally, now with a whole different civilization licking their boots, the human ego showed itself in full force, with the idea that humans are "the destined masters of the universe" appearing more and more often, which Adam quickly moved to suppress.
One look at history and he knew all too well how this would end if his civilization adopted such an arrogant mindset.
Still, Adam couldn't lie that he was also very proud of how far they have come, from mere cavemen to an interstellar empire that fought off many aliens, he understood why his people grew arrogant but did not allow it to fester.
Still, the Emperor had more things to do now than just overwork himself, which wasn't even a problem thanks to Serena's help, as she provided a fresh new perspective on many problems.
Though it quickly became clear government policies and the often manipulative aspect of them wasnt to her liking, as she had very strong morals, still she swallowed all her complaints, knowing this was for the greater good, her trust in her husband the only reason she could allow it.
Adam allowed her to skip these meetings if she wished, since the Empress wasn't required in them, still, she attended either way, keeping an eye on the Empire and ensuring Adam doesn't ever cross a line that shouldn't be crossed.
Adam knew why his wife stayed, but saw no problems, even if she didn't like something she held no authority to stop him, as the Emperor held all authority, leaving the Emperess as a mere figure for the public to adore.
Still, Adam saw Serena as no mere tool, she is still at the end of the day his wife, and he specifically told himself he won't marry out of necessity.
Hence, Serena was allowed to play a bit with the Empire's systems, learning the often disturbing things that kept the Empire moving forward.
Her pure heart was shocked, but most of these things were open secrets anyways, like how propaganda worked, and other subtle tricks, leaving Serena a bit saddened but more knowledgeable than before.
Adam obviously hid the darkest things away, the ones the public had no clue about, the ones only he and his most elite personnel knew, only feeding her surface-level knowledge.
Still, Adam didn't appreciate Serena poking her nose where it had no business being, state management is his duty and his duty alone, with Serena being the face of the Royal family, a living example that all women should strive to be more like, just like how men were expected to be fit like the Emperor.
Those were the problems of the past now, and Serena couldn't help but hum a song, thinking about how perfectly things went yesterday.
.
.
.
Yesterday night in the royal chambers, stood the Empress in her pajamas next to the window in the room, the pajamas looked incredibly comfy and expensive, while the Emperor still wore his more regal outfit, befitting that of an Emperor, it is likely he just returned from his last meeting of the day.
The Empress looked at her husband with concern in her eyes, as he seemed to return later every single day, filling her with concern for his health.
Such concerns were unnecessary, as a long power nap during the Emperor's break was enough to get him eight hours of sleep, but the Empress didn't know this.
But what couldn't be ignored is the fact that she felt abandoned by her husband, who was constantly working for the Empire, a trait she hated and admired at the same time.
All she knew was that when she woke up, her husband often wasnt there, and he came back late.
And that's not even talking about how she felt when he went off to fight alien monsters! the anxiety was killing her.
The moon illuminated the room, its position in the sky signifying midnight.
The Empress turned to look outside after analyzing her husband's condition and spoke.
"How was the meeting today?"
"It was nothing exceptional, just the normal waste of time they tend to be."
"...*haah* Just quickly go to bed, I don't want you to collapse out of exhaustion."
"...You seem upset."
"No way! I wonder why."
"... I get why you are angry, but you know I have no choice but to be in those meetings, I would be with you if I could."
"I know, but I still feel so frustrated and angry at everything, I fear I might lash out at the servants at this rate..." She held her forehead with her hand, "Not to mention that I did a bit of digging, which I'm sure you're aware of, and I hate all of these manipulative power games."
"I don't like them either, but there isn't anything I c-"
"Stop! Just stop, I do not want to hear excuses, I know how reality works, doesn't change the fact I hate it." She raised her voice a little, which caused her to hang her head low and apologize. "...Sorry..."
"It's okay..." An awkward silence appeared for a minute while Adam brainstormed any ways to comfort his wife, and it couldn't be anything nsfw, since he felt way too tired for that now.
The Emperor moved to the left of his wife and spoke to her
"How about I take a break tomorrow? We can go out and eat something together." Adam eventually came up with this idea, honestly the timing for this conversation was impeccable, the front and economy were both stable, and there were no pressing issues at the moment.
In other words, Adam had time, which was rare during wartime.
"Realy!? Can we!?" Serena seemed absolutely ecstatic about this, and Adam couldn't help but chuckle seeing her get excited like a puppy.
"Yes, yes we can."
"Yes! Finally some time for the two of us!" Serena ran up and hugged Adam, and while he could have not bugged an inch, he went with her momentum so she wouldn't hurt herself, what he forgot was that the bed was right behind them, causing them to fall on it.
Adam thanked his forgetfulness, as the situation before him was truly divine.
A beautiful woman laid on top of him, her ample chest pressuring his chest, her hands wrapped around him.
Truly, every man's dream.
"Sorry! I forgot about the bed..."
"It's fine, I don't mind at all."
"Of course you don't mind." A naughty smile spread across her face, Adam reached a bit lower, but was promptly stopped, "Nuh-uh! It's late, we won't get any sleep at this rate."
Adam felt a bit disappointed but he still retracted his hand.
Serena moved to his ear and whispered into it seductively, "Don't worry, we have the whole day tomorrow remember? Now sleep, or else I won't touch a hair on you tomorrow!"
"Yes, mam!" Adam said like a soldier, earning a laugh out of Serena.
"You don't mind sleeping in your current clothes right? I have no plans to get off of you."
"I wouldn't dream of it." After kissing Serenas forehead and wishing her goodnight and Serena doing the same to Adam, the royal couple fell asleep.
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