"Your Graciousness". A woman's voice is heard as Empress Malty sat on her throne, bored as hell. Malty's clothes were of the upper echelon of the Great generals of the day. They still used metal armor to protect themselves from bullets. Her crown was simple, yet had the presence of glamour and decadence of the Roman Empire. Gems, every single gem available on earth, decorated her simple crown, and gems adorned her armor too, which was made entirely out of silver. Her crimson hair shown when the light reaches the palace. She was the Empress after all.
"Your Graciousness!" The voice shouts again. Oh. Blue haired woman enters her presence. Her clothes were more simpler than the Empress, but she wasn't a peasant or anything. She was dressed up in a white clean blouse with a light blue necktie and was wearing a light blue long skirt. She is the loyal advisor to the Empress. The former delegate to the International Senate in the seventies. Her name is Kaname Chidori.
"What the hell do you want Ms. Chidori" Malty asked rudely. "I'm in the middle of doing something".
"No you weren't your Graciousness".
"Fine. Even if I wasn't, I wish to be left alone".
"But your Graciousness. We must discuss some important issues that have cone to my attention".
"Will this increase my wealth?"
"Not by much your Graciousness".
"Then I don't want nothing to do with it".
"But your Graciousness, if you can just tell me what you want to do with these issues. They are important issues that must be addressed. I simply can't put it in any other words of how important they are". Malty can't help it, she sighs in disdain.
"Very well" She replies aggressively. "What are these 'important' issues you speak of".
"Well. There are massive food shortages in the following cities. Bonoia, Pompeii, Placentia, Marsonia, and Corduba. I presume that the overproduction of food for our armies are the reasons that this happened. Now, I think we can combat this if we-".
"Continue the production. I don't care".
"But your Graciousness. Many of the citizens are starving, and the harvest keeps getting worst in those cities. Are you sure you don't want to decrease food production?"
"I don't care if those citizens starve. What are they going to do? Revolt?" Malty replies, laughing at the idea of a revolt. Who can revolt under her "benevolence". Besides, what are they going to revolt with? They banned the citizen's right to own weapons.
"We cannot lose food production for the military" Malty responds, going back to a more serious tone. "Continue food production, no matter the cost".
"Very well your Graciousness" Kaname responds, scribbling what Empress Malty wants while scribbling out the first issue.
"Now, I must ask you about the slum fire over in Salernum. The Lord Mayor is waiting for your response on what to do. Now I suggested that we help those poor people who were affected by the fires and build them new, stable homes for them to-". Once again, she is interrupted by Empress Malty.
"Isn't that city near the seaside?"
"Uh... yes, but I don't see what-".
"I want to build a palace. A grand summer palace for me to stay in when I vacation over there. Oh! And build a large statue if me in the center".
"But what about the slum dwellers?"
"Who cares? They can start another slum area. Those filthy people know what they did and they can do it again". Kaname sighs in disbelief. Secretly, she has been pushing for more reform from the Empress, but she is seriously uptight, spoiled, and stubborn with her actions.
"Very well, your Graciousness" Kaname responds. Again, writing down what she wants and scribbling out the issue.
"There is one more thing I should mention to you your Graciousness. That being the slave issue".
"Go on" Malty says angrily. Angry at the fact that someone is questioning the empire's policy of slavery. She loved slavery, and her entire empire has been built on slave labor. Even when other nations abandoned the idea, Rome stuck to its guts and continued on with this barbaric act.
"Well. Maybe we should reconsider our national policy on this iss-"
"NO! DON'T YOU DARE CHALLENGE MY POLICY ON SLAVERY!" Empress Malty shouts angrily. "PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE FILTHY DEMI-HUMANS DESERVE TO BE ENSLAVED. THEY ARE GROSS, DISGUSTING, AND FILTHY AND IF I DON'T HAVE THEM OPPRESSED. MY FATHER WOULD BE OUTRAGED. AND OUR EMPIRE IS BUILT ON SLAVE LABOR. YOU CAN NOT TAKE SLAVERY AWAY FROM ROME!" Malty continues ranting.
"Okay, okay. Reform for emancipation is out of the question" Kaname says nervously, obviously striking a nerve with the Empress. She scribbles out the slave issue. "That's it from me anyway your Graciousness".
"I presume YOU don't want to be a slave don't you".
"And have my rights taken away from me? No way".
"Then don't EVER, bring up slave emancipation EVER AGAIN!".
"Very well". Kaname proceeds to leave her presence, defeated in pushing for a more democratic aganeda. It is true that Rome had a representative senate, but it was merely a ruse for the nobility to gather and tax the poor harder. It was no true democracy as her Graciousness, Empress Malty, held ultimate, unlimited, unchecked power given to her, and a spoiled brat with unlimited power is a recipe for disaster. A disaster that will be triggered sometime in the future.
"Oh by the way your Graciousness" Kaname adds before leaving. "The construction of the Norte Dame Cathedral is almost complete". Ah! Now that was something Empress Malty was looking forward to. This world wonder will be the envy of the many religious nations in the world. Followers of Speilbergism, Yaoism, Groeningism, Fairy Tail, and The Church of Warburton will bow down before the Church of the Three Heros, the state religion of Rome. This cathedral took twelve years to build, granted with slave labor, but it was worth it.
"Excellent! I'm so glad that at least something good came out from this conversation". Kaname exits the throne room as a new figure shows up.
"Excuse me your Graciousness" says a new voice. A woman with mid-back length dark-blonde hair, tied up with a pink bow and dark-brown eyes. Wearing a light yellow long dress uniform with pink bow tie. She is Renge Houshakuji, the foreign advisor to Empress Malty. She was responsible for the whole foreign affairs mess Rome has gotten itself entangled in. Not since the Third International Catastrophe has the relationship between Rome and the rest of the world have been so tenuous. France in particular have been at the center of Roman tension. Besides the fact that the nation practices Yaoism, Renee swears that one of their diplomats have been raped by the president himself. Things are getting tense in the international community, and all because some liars claim assault from the president, but more on that later. Ms. Houshakuji has some notes for dear Empress Malty. ,
"Your Graciousness" Renge says. "I have some notes that our delegate from the International Senate in Brighton".
"Oh. The senate" Malty replied in a snarky tone. She hates the International Senate. Result of the Third International Catastrophe and the World Assembly of Vienna, this organization preached the freedoms of the democratic governments, which goes against the ultimate power of Empress Malty. Oh! How she despises the International Senate. They are meddling in the domestic affairs of Rome, as well as military affairs. This standing army tax is killing the treasury, even though they make more than what the tax is worth.
"Queen Charity Bazaar of England has proposed a world project to build an international space station".
"Why would we need that? We have no need to share our technological secrets with the rest of this damned world. Vote nay".
"Very well" Renge responds. "Also, President Ned Flanders of the Americas, he proposed that Groeningism be the world's religion".
"Ugh!" Malty exclaims angrily. "As if it's not enough he tries to convert the whole world to that religion, he's proposing that... that abomination of a religion to be the official religion of the world. We don't need that blasphemy here. We are pious followers of the Three Hero's Church". Now it goes without saying that there are three major religions in the world. Out of the religions listed, Fairy Tail, Groeningism, and the Three Hero's Church are the top three. The Three Hero's Church however is controversial. They stem from the religious idol pantheon, so as much as the three Heros are worshipped, corruption occurs inside. With church property, the state is allowed to collect more gold from the cities which comes from the pockets of the poor. Depending where in the empire, the church will collect as much as 54% of the working class income. True that the monasteries have brought many worshippers closer to the three Heros, providing culture and faith, they take the places of other necessary services, like welfare and education to its citizens. And it doesn't help that these monasteries becomes a breeding ground for corruption and discrimination.
"So... veto your Graciousness?".
"Absolutely. And tell that stupid Flanders that if he even thinks about sending Groening missionaries here again. They will be met with the wrath of the three Heros" Malty responds viciously.
"Very well" Renge says. "We got word from our spies that Emperor Conan Edogawa of the Japanese Empire that warships are being sent to 'patrol' their territories, the Philippine Islands. I'm pretty sure that their true plans are to dismantle our colonies in China".
"Send our fleet from the Australian colony then. Admiral Nelson is probably still there. If they think those Japanese can think of trying to dismantle us, they will have another thing coming". It is true that Rome has the one of largest navies in the world, besides America, Britain, and Japan. They are at the top level of naval technology, as well as leftover models of the other eras gone by.
"Very well your Graciousness" Renge says writing a letter to Admiral Nelson. "There is also the problem of your ex-husband. The prince of Germany, Prince Edward Elric". Ugh! That bastard. It was an agreement with the German Empire signed by her father, Emperor Aultcray and Kaiser Von Hoenhiem, it was for the eldest prince of Germany, Edward Elric, to marry Malty to secure a steady alliance between the two kingdoms. Malty and Edward were completely polar opposites of each other. As Malty was religious and a brat, Edward was atheist and more mild, and politer too. For every action Malty did, Edward counteracted. He cared for Rome and its citizens, while Malty wanted to oppress them with an iron fist. When Malty became Empress, she got into a tiff with Edward and then one day, she couldn't take it anymore, so she divorced him, and threw him in prison. This broke the alliance between Rome and Germany whom eventually went to war with each other which brought about the Third International Catastrophe in 1978.
"What about him? That devil of Hohenheim".
"Well your Graciousness, the Kingdom of Germany has become very impatient for the return of their eldest prince. Perhaps a compromise can be made?".
"NO!" Malty shouts. "I don't negotiate rapists or sexual harassers back to their home countries. I refuse to hand him over". That was a lie. Prince Edward never raped nor sexually harassed her. She made that story up just to get that divorce and imprisonment justified. They take harassment very seriously which usually is punishable by death, but she can't execute Prince Edward, that would cause outrage in the international community, and no one wants a fourth war.
"Send a telegram to the Hohenheim that if Ed is not severely punished when he returns home, I will personally execute him, no exceptions. And then transfer Ed from the Imperial prison to our the work camps, the coal mines".
"Yes your Graciousness" Renge says writing up that telegram. As she was finishing up, another gentleman appears in Empress Malty's presence. A tall muscular man with short dark blue hair. Wearing a business suit and square glasses. He is Tenya Iida, the head supervisor of construction of multiple wonders across Rome. He make sires that the slaves build these world wonders quickly or severe punishments will be handed.
"Your Graciousness!" Tenya said in a strong, confident voice.
"Ah! Mr. Iida" Malty says, "What brings you in the presence of the Empress".
"I am sure that you are aware that Norte Dame is almost complete".
"Ah! Yes. My advisor told me about this a couple of minutes ago" Malty replies proudly, as Renge leaves the throne room.
"Well, I would like to escort you to this wonder. I want you to see all of the hard work we put into this great cathedral. This will be the new face of the Three Hero's Church, and we require your blessing". Malty was the head of the church after all.
"Very well. I'll have my limousine ready to go. You will escort me to the construction site".
"Oh, it will be a pleasure to escort you your Graciousness" Tenya said.
-End of Chapter One-
