Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 5 You said you wanted to compete with the Empress for the Emperor's favor?
"What the hell is all this nonsense?"

Caesar was speechless.

Why would you use such a large newspaper page to publish this kind of news?
Yumilia was still engrossed in reading the article when Caesar interrupted her with two shouts, then clapped his small hand on another news item.

"Want to see this? My little Casey is so diligent and eager to learn." Yumilia was happy to see how interested he was in the newspaper, and continued reading to him.

"The Ministry of Magic announced today that all 23 sorcerers of the fifth cohort of the Highland Project have graduated. According to the Magic Research Institute, three of them have reached the level of fourth-tier sorcerers and seven have reached the level of third-tier sorcerers."

"All of this year's mage graduates will be involved in the Red Forest Ruins development project, which means that the Kingdom of Fane will continue to be a leader in the field of magic power."

After Yumilia finished reading, a look of longing appeared on her face.

"A sorcerer, oh, that's wonderful. I wish my Caesar could become a sorcerer someday."

She picked up Caesar and nuzzled his little face: "But the most important thing is that you're happy."

Caesar pried her hands away and went back to look at the report.

There's quite a lot of information in this for him.

"Sorcerer" is the common term for superpowered individuals who can control magical elements, and it has remained unchanged for hundreds of years.

But now there's a Ministry of Magic and a Magic Research Institute, so it seems there's now more advanced management and deeper research on sorcerers.

But then he couldn't understand it anymore.

Three fourth-tier mages and seven third-tier mages graduated successfully. Is this considered graduation? And only a few of them graduated?

Long ago, they divided the strength of sorcerers' abilities into ranks. Ranks one through five were the basic ranks, and after rank five, there were titles: Elite, Brave, Hero, Great Hero, and Mythical.

Before his resurrection, Rean was already a top-tier hero, but he perished after failing to reach the Mythic level.

However, in theory, third- and fourth-tier mages would have been at the bottom of his team in the past. A typical vanguard regiment of about 200 people would have been equipped with 50 third- to fifth-tier mages, and at least 10 elite mages.

Does having just a few low-level mages mean they're in the lead?
Perhaps the current grading system has changed, and fourth rank might be considered a very high rank.

But if this is based on the old grading system, what caused it?

It's impossible that technological advancements led to the abandonment of magic, this supernatural power. Caesar knew very well that, on certain levels, magic could achieve a level that even modern weaponry couldn't match.
That's what happened that led to the weakening of the Sorcerer tier.

And this Kingdom of Fein, he had never heard of it before. Judging from these few sentences, it should be a very powerful country. If this newspaper is a domestic newspaper, and it has this kind of tone, then it is highly likely that the country he is currently in is the Kingdom of Fein.

I really want to know how my empire is doing now.

Sigh, given my current physical condition, there's just too little information to get from newspapers alone.

Ideally, he would have a history book so he would know what has happened over the years.

“Oh? There’s some interesting news here, about Emperor Rean Tempest.” Yumilia said.
"about me?"

Caesar immediately perked up and looked at the news on that page.

Yumilia pointed to a news article in the corner and read it aloud:

"The Alexis Grand Theatre will be preparing to stage a magical historical drama, The Love Story of the Holy Eldaria Empire. This play is adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by author Mary Cho. It tells the story of a young girl named Sophia who travels to the past, uses her modern knowledge to compete for the emperor's favor with Queen Grace, and finally conquers the Holy Emperor with her charm, eventually being crowned queen."

Caesar: “?”

What is this thing that's being kneaded?

Time travel, vying for favor, conquering me, and making her queen?

Is he really going to sacrifice his entire clan for a fantasy? That's interesting.

Caesar found it somewhat amusing. In the past, he would have devised a magnificent method of ascension for every member of this writer's clan. Alas, times had changed.

The first piece of news I learned about the empire after being resurrected was this kind of thing.
However, this also gave him a piece of information: if such an outrageous story could exist so brazenly, then the dignity of the royal court was probably no longer valued, which also meant that the empire had become a thing of the past.

It seems that I have now become a part of history. If it goes back a few hundred years, I will probably be gender-swapped into a beautiful girl and stuffed into a poorly made electronic gacha game.

Caesar looked at the next black-and-white photograph on the page, which showed a handsome young man wearing a crown embracing a woman dressed in fine clothes.

He had thought it was some kind of advertisement when he first saw it. Turns out, this handsome young man with a cool and energetic look was actually himself.
This image is terrible.

"A stage play? I really want to see it," Yumilia said longingly, stroking Caesar's head, as if she were talking to him or to herself.

"I heard that it involves many people performing interesting storylines on a stage, and some even invite audience members to interact with the performance. But it's a pity that this is only available in big cities."

She tilted her head as she looked at the newspaper: "But, isn't this plot a bit off? I read in the history book that Emperor Shengyuan was a very devoted man, and he only married Empress Grace in his entire life."

Caesar, held in her arms, let out a soft hum.

"That's because they're constantly fighting on the front lines. They don't have time for romance. Even if they have women around them, they treat them the same as their comrades and subordinates."

There were indeed women who showed him affection, but beneath their sweet tongues lay hidden daggers.

Except for that silly, speechless girl,

At first, he just saw her starving on the roadside and felt sorry for her, so he gave her a bite to eat. He never expected that she would become so attached to him, saying that as long as he gave her a bite to eat every day, she would recognize him as her master and become his slave, and he would never be able to get rid of her.

At that time, Rean was just a mercenary leader. She was a weak girl who didn't know magic, but she accompanied him all over the continent, serving him like a servant along the way.

Because he said he didn't like being taken care of, Greta learned to feed his horses, maintain his armor and swords, wash his dirty clothes, and in cold weather, she would sneak into his bed every night before he went to sleep and warm his bed with her body heat.
During the most difficult period, his army was reduced to less than fifty men, besieged in the forest, starving to the point of digging for insects to eat, and his men sent out to find food had all disappeared without a trace.

In his final moments, Rean, who had already made arrangements for his affairs, told his subordinates that anyone who wanted to escape could take a bag of gold coins. To his surprise, Grace came up, took the money, and left without saying a word.

But two weeks later, she returned carrying a full bag of dry food.

When he put down the bag of dry rations, the seriously injured Grace also fainted in his arms.

She was shot three times in the back that time, leaving a scar that could never be erased.

In half a month, he crossed the encirclement twice, hiking more than 100 kilometers to bring him back the life-saving dry food.

This 1.6-meter-tall, thin, and somewhat introverted slave girl, who had almost starved to death on the roadside, was crowned with the noble crown of an empress after the establishment of the empire.

Rean did not marry another wife.

Sometimes when he was furious, all the ministers trembled with fear, and only a few words from Grace could calm him down.

So, what he said earlier about competing with her for favor was indeed because he was tired of living and wanted to increase the strength of his own people.

"Gracesa."

His eyes became melancholy.

Before entering the Cocoon of Return, the thing he was most worried about, besides the Empire, was her. He had told her that he would return in ten years, but now more than five hundred years had passed.
"Okay, time to do the housework,"

While Caesar was still grieving, Yumilia picked him up and kissed his chubby cheek.

"Get away from me, you little devil! Once a day is my limit, don't push your luck!"

Caesar angrily reached out his little hand and shoved Yumilia away, yelling in frustration.

(End of this chapter)