The teenage Emperor. It is established theory that he is intelligent, though those who spread this theory are invariably those who kept their positions thanks to his approval. While he is said to personally approve all matters, he is not the one who selects which matters to approve. There is a story that during his first personal presiding, he stamped the imperial seal upside down, but no one spoke up, so it was implemented as is. [Source Unknown] Some even say that decree is still valid today. The court knows by the next day who he spoke with at length, and jokes made during meals are interpreted as precursors to policy. They say the Emperor himself is the only one who doesn't know this. Those by his side all speak of protection, but they never say from whom they are protecting him.

A eunuch. His official duty is managing the Emperor's daily life and audience procedures, but he involves himself in personnel, intelligence, finance, and general administration. Cases where title and actual power diverge this much are rare, and there is no written record of how that authority was gathered. Nothing is explained except the fact that he has been by the Emperor's side for a long time. The gates of the palace open toward Leon, not the Emperor. It is said that ministers coming to request an audience stroke their beards particularly often in front of him, a gesture rumored to remind him that the chin of the man standing before them is smooth. They say he is aware of this habit, and the petitions of those who stroke their beards are returned about a season later. [Source Unknown] That a man without a beard holds the appointments of those with beards is an old court joke, and the joke is usually told only far from his room. Petitions he answers are "under review" are forgotten before the review ends. It is said he personally changed the collection method for local taxes, causing the frontiers to seethe. His relatives now sit in key positions, and the fact that they are all competent makes it even harder to explain. They say there are more reports that arrived but were not presented than reports that never arrived. Whether being loyal to the Emperor and cooperating with Leon are the same thing is a long-standing debate, and it is said this debate only happens in rooms where he is absent.

Andronikos Dalassenos.

Chief Minister from the prestigious Dalassenos family. It is unknown what else besides his family was needed for him to reach this position. He has been married for a long time but has no heir, leading to jokes that the future of his family is "under review" like the documents on his desk. He is known to be at odds with the elder noble Theodoros Melissenos. His caution is famous. There is a joke that once a document reaches his desk, review begins; when it ends, additional data is requested; and when the data arrives, he looks at it again from the beginning. In court, they say this habit isn't limited to paperwork, and there is no disagreement that his inability to make decisions and his heirless inner quarters share the same root. There are rumors his wife waits for a conclusion every night until dawn, and when family elders asked about the situation, she reportedly replied, "He requested additional data." [Source Unknown] They say when a crisis hits, a plan he already prepared emerges from his drawer, but someone who looked inside said there were three copies of the same plan with different dates. When he sits with Theodoros, a lecture worrying about the Empire's future begins; while one side pours out family pride and precedents, the other makes an excuse of paperwork, saying, "I will reply after further review," and leaves. The court calls this a feud, but some say it's just a dynamic where one side pours it on and the other avoids it.

Marcellus. City Prefect and Senate President. He rose to power through an unusual appointment by the late Emperor. He is said to have achieved results in city administration and advocates for reforms that attach responsibility to privilege. Few bother to check whether those results came before or after his appointment. There are three theories regarding his appointment. One says it began when he caught the reins of the late Emperor's bolting horse during a hunt; another says the late Emperor mistook him for someone else and granted him office, and no one dared correct him; a third says he entered the bedchamber every night claiming the late Emperor called for him, and the late Emperor kicked him out every time saying he never called. [Source Unknown] Yet every following morning, his rank had risen by one, as his man was sitting in the position to transcribe the imperial decrees. It is recorded that the dates of the decrees are invariably the morning after he was kicked out. Everyone speaks of the first two, but people lower their voices for the third. Since then, the bedchamber guard has tripled, and the person who submitted the budget increase for it was himself. He has never clarified any of the three. The President only has the authority to allow speech, not to block it, so meetings often do not go as intended, which his supporters call balance. His method is to keep the losing side at the negotiating table rather than driving them out, a method not welcomed by the winners.

Theodoros Melissenos.

An elder noble who has long endured in Imperial politics. He is called by his seniority rather than his title, and there is no area he doesn't involve himself in, from the work methods of young bureaucrats to the private lives of other nobles. Aside from his own recollections, few records remain of what achievements he made in which positions. There is a joke that when he opens his mouth, the meeting is over, and when he stops talking, the meeting finally begins. This joke mostly comes from the scribes. There are stories of young officials who, upon encountering him in the hallway, suddenly stare at their documents or remember urgent business; this route is called the "Melissenos Bypass" in court. No one points out that the bypass is longer than the original path. An official who went to seek advice and returned after standing for half a day listening reportedly never heard the answer to his original question. His precedents always begin with "When I was young," but no one has ever pointed out that the years don't add up. This is because to verify it, one would have to listen to the end. He is known to be at odds with Chief Minister Andronikos Dalassenos, and they say when the two sit together, onlookers bet on the time Andronikos will leave using paperwork as an excuse.

A Patriarch from a monastic background. Even his opponents admit the election process was flawless. He has never wavered from the position that the Church's authority is a duty entrusted by Theos, not a privilege granted by the Emperor. No one can deny he has never wavered, and no one dares ask if he has ever distinguished between matters where he should waver and those where he shouldn't. The explanation follows that because he rose straight from the monastery to the Patriarchal throne, he rarely had to sit with court scholars. It is said that when a theological debate occurs, he nods as if listening intently, but he once nodded equally to two opposing arguments. [Source Unknown] There is an anecdote that when a scholar presented a theory labeled as heresy alongside an orthodox theory and asked, he replied, "Neither seems to have any errors, but the longer one is better." To questions mixed with citations, he passes with "The Church does not ask such things," an answer praised for its convenience in fitting any question. There is a story that at a ceremonial event, he insisted his chair be the same height as the Emperor's and had the chair legs measured personally, delaying the coronation anniversary service by an hour. There is also an anecdote that he said "It cannot be" before the Emperor could even explain a matter, and what that matter was remained unknown to the end. The fact that he has never apologized is praised as a virtue, though it remains unclear whether he had nothing to apologize for or simply doesn't know how to apologize. Some evaluate him as a man who protected the Church's independence, while others evaluate that the first object of defense for that independence was his own opinion. Few speak the latter aloud.

Niketas Kalergis. A rising bureaucrat from a new noble family. His skill with documents and judgment are excellent, earning him strong support among young nobles and working-level bureaucrats. He is known as the figure who most prominently proposed reforms to hold privilege accountable and determine appointments by merit rather than lineage. It is said that anyone who speaks with him briefly feels specially recognized. There is a story that he pointed out an error in a financial report that had been dragging on for days in just half a day, and he gave the credit to the clerk in charge. There is an anecdote that when elders said of an old practice, "There is no precedent," he replied, "The person who created the precedent also had no precedent at first," and that saying is being transcribed and circulated among young officials. [Source Unknown] It is said that when he enters a banquet hall, the conversation naturally leans toward him. The sight of people from hostile factions seeking his opinion in one place is a rare occurrence in court. He appears so selfless that rumors say he has never accepted a solicitation, and it is frequently mentioned that no one has seen him raise his voice. Even those of the old system do not disagree that he is the person who most accurately understands its problems. Those who have worked by his side are said to want to serve under him again.

Romanos Skleros. A Great General in charge of border defense. He cares about rations, pay, supplies, and morale. He is famous for strict military discipline and is said to have never desired the throne. There are rumors that in camp, the general eats the same food as the soldiers and sleeps under the same tent.

It is said he executed a supply officer who embezzled rations in front of the soldiers, carrying it out before the ledger audit was finished. [Source Unknown] They say he was far harsher to the barbarians on the frontier, and what he loaded into catapults to send into besieged fortresses varies by the storyteller. There is a story that among the barbarians, they do not speak his name and call him only "The Pale One." The court welcomes his victory reports but does not ask at banquets how those victories were won. A bureaucrat who prattled on about oaths of loyalty in the face of a report that pay was delayed has been quiet in meetings since. His demands are always the same—food for soldiers and horses, equipment, and promised pay—and it is said to be custom for these requests to receive a request for additional data from the Chief Minister's desk. Word of mouth says that every time the same demand is ignored, his way of speaking about loyalty changes slightly. The fact that he has never smiled at anyone seems to be something even those favorable to him do not deny.

Alexios Branas. A young lord who rose through provincial armies and regional networks. He recently obtained a seat in the Senate. He has a handsome face and is quick-witted, with a consistent reputation for having achieved much for his age. It is said that when he enters a banquet hall, the conversation pauses for a beat. There is a story that a noblewoman who came with a petition forgot what she had requested only after finishing her business. [Source Unknown] His banquets have no seating charts; yesterday's enemies and today's allies sit at one table, and those who arrive late receive the seats of honor. There is an anecdote that he called a low-ranking military officer standing in a corner by name during his first greeting, and that officer became loyal to him thereafter. People let down their guard in the face of his friendly attitude and do not feel offended even after revealing their inner thoughts. It is said that when a vacancy arises, he is the first to think of a person suited for it. He seeks to solidify his status through the approval of the Emperor and the Senate, and he does not easily give up his own troops. The evaluation is that his knowing this at a young age is why he stands out.

Kosmas Mavros. A merchant prince who holds trade, credit, and military supply networks. He has said that what saved him through difficult times was money, not faith. There is an anecdote that while he didn't even blink at talk of faith, he went on a long sermon-like lecture when the topic of money came up.

There is a story that he requested a receipt for a donation made to the Church. [Source Unknown] Whether the receipt was issued has not been passed down. There is a joke that news of Kosmas approving a loan is more welcome than a report that the national treasury is full. To the borrower, he is a savior; to the repayer, he is the most troublesome creditor. He smiles generously during transactions but never forgets a single line of a contract's conditions. Many have put out urgent fires with his money. How much that fire cost is usually known much later through an invoice.