Morning Scepticism: Emperor

The role of the aides to the emperor is to serve the emperor. That the emperor is naked is a trivial observation, for what is an empire without an emperor? That there are voices willing to call the emperor naked and thus undermine the emperor's authority means that the hecklers must be silenced. An aide might attempt to throw a robe over the emperor, or hide his nakedness behind a curtain. But if the emperor is unwilling to be clothed, what else can an aide do but try to quell confirming rumours? It also helps if the aide is convinced that the emperor is, in fact, clothed.