Then again, Severian =was= an Ascian slave for a year, early on in his reign, and the Commonwealth ran fine without his body on the throne itself, so there is some model or structure they have for dealing with such =short= periods of time as 365 days.
So if they thought the trip to Yesod would only take a month or a year, then Severian could just say, "Fine, just keep it moving, steady as she goes, just like the Year of the Ascian Slave. I'll be back in two shakes of a little lamb's tail."
Severian does talk of "reclaiming the Phoenix Throne" (end of URTH ch. 23, as they are being fished out of space by the Ship) but there is no hint as to whether it is a cold vacant throne or a throne warmed by the bottom of a regent (designated or otherwise).
But still, is the main argument Valeria's =regency= rather than
=autarchy=? I'm more interested in piecing together the events. And Valeria certainly doesn't seem like she would fight Severian to maintain the throne for herself--that is, presented with Severian, she seems ready to step down, rather regent-like, if only after the fact. "The state of emergency has been lifted," sort of thing.
Fine, fine, "Valeria's Reign." A little bit autarchy, a dash of regency, a whiff of Victoria's Secret, a hint of esprit d'escalier, and a certain je ne sais quoi.
=mantis=