Even though the Imperial Capital wasn’t as vast as some of the mega-cities back on Earth, like Seoul, New York, or Tokyo, traversing from one end to the other still required quite some time by carriage or train.

Of course, this city wasn’t a true "megalopolis" like those modern capitals. With technology and living standards still at early 20th-century levels, population growth had surged compared to medieval times, but that didn’t mean everyone here was living to the age of seventy.

The official census estimated the Empire’s population at just over 110 million. Considering the countless illegitimate children and orphans …