episode_0084

The next day, I received a call from the princess in the morning.

He said he would visit our family sometime in the afternoon.

If it were normal, I would have thought, ‘Ah, our employees are going to have a hard time again.’

But because of the conversation with the Emperor that I had just had.

The moment I heard that story, I felt something inexplicably subtle.

‘What is the princess like as a person of the opposite sex?’

My answer to the Emperor was, ‘He is a good man.’

There is no lie in that. The princess is literally a really good person.

As a princess of the empire. And as a human being.

Honestly, after going through all that she has done, I don’t think anyone could possibly dislike her.

First of all, he is of noble status. And yet, he never shows any rudeness.

Rather, he made every effort to set an example as a member of the royal family.

It’s secretly cute that he’s a bit silly without even knowing it.

“Good person. Good person… .”

“What did you say?”

It was a surprise. I thought my heart was going to drop. I turned my head and saw the person in question standing there.

I thought you’d come late in the afternoon since you said it was afternoon, but you came right after lunch.

“Your Highness, Princess. Are you here?”

“Why are you so surprised? Didn’t you hear from the servant a little while ago that I came in?”

“That’s right. I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”

After standing there blankly for a moment, he immediately offered the princess a seat.

Of course, I pointed to the upper seat, but the princess chose a different seat instead.

“There was a small party for Prince Kael yesterday.”

None other than the one opposite me. The place where I can look straight into their eyes.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“That’s too bad. I wanted to go too. I’ve had some work to do since I came back to the island.”

“It’s okay, Your Majesty. I don’t mind at all.”

They say something happened, but strictly speaking, nothing happened to the princess.

She’s just being careful, lest the other nobles have strange thoughts.

I am wary that there may now be those who think that the succession structure could be distorted.

It’s a wise move. I think it’s the right thing to do.

Not only me, but the princess was also active in the entire eastern region, starting from Novogord.

Next, he turned the hearts of the southern kingdoms towards the empire.

Although I am the one who came up with the plan, the princess clearly has a stake in it as well.

And others will see that stake and think of it as validation for themselves.

It will be seen as a cry for the Emperor to reconsider his succession.

‘That’s stupid. Our princess never had any such intentions in the first place.’

2nd Princess. Isabel. She belongs to the main faction, but she doesn’t like conflict.

He is full of love for the empire. He would never do anything that would harm the empire.

Above all, know yourself well. And don’t underestimate others.

In no way. For no reason. The princess is not the kind of person to do that.

Yes. Just as I saw it. And just as I told the Emperor.

This person in front of you. The second princess. Isabelle. Yes, she is a really good person.

“Honestly, I should have just stayed quiet today. Is it because I came back after wandering around here and there? My body feels a bit heavy, and after hearing the news about Kael, I felt like I couldn’t do this anymore, so I came out.”

“Is that so?”

“Do you think I misjudged?”

I immediately shook my head at the princess’s worried expression.

“Not at all. Rather, I think there is no need to do that anymore.”

“Really? People around me say it’s better to be a little careful.”

“Haven’t I already met His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Princess? Neither of them seemed to be worried about that.”

To be honest, even if the current princess were to die and come back to life, she would not be able to surpass the crown princess.

The perspective itself is different. You could say that he is the next emperor who has already been prepared.

It is not that the princess is lacking, but it is right to say that the crown princess is on a different level.

From the moment they first met, she was several steps higher than the princess.

There were parts where I felt like I was given too much authority, but I understood it right away.

The Emperor also knows the difference between the two people. And he knows their personalities. So he is not worried.

‘There is a possibility that the princess is hiding her true feelings…’

If that was really the case, it should have been revealed to me at least once.

No. From the beginning, he would have avoided revealing himself above the water like this.

But the princess acted solely out of love for the empire and the royal family.

So the worries of those around her are for nothing.

Why? Because I will do whatever it takes to guarantee the princess’s sincerity with all my might.

“I feel relieved when Kael says that. Is that also a prophecy?”

“… Yes?”

Prophecy? What kind of nonsense is this?

“Don’t even think about saying no. Don’t you remember what you said to me a while ago?”

“If that’s what I said.”

“I said that something would happen in the East.”

… Wait a minute, Your Highness. Me? When did I ever say something like that?

“But there needs to be something that can be the trigger.”

Yeah. That’s all I said. Even after that, I don’t know!

In other words, it is nothing more than a kind of rambling, let alone a prophecy.

But why do you immediately remember that as a prophecy?

“At that time, I thought it was just nonsense.”

You’re right, Princess. This isn’t modesty, or a concept, or a delusion, or a weak nose. It’s none of those things.

Are you really saying that what I said back then was just something I blurted out without thinking?

“But then, the trigger actually happened. The torrential downpour in the east. No, it would be hard to express it with those words. They say that a great flood occurred and we were on the verge of being submerged in water.”

“Yeah, that’s what happened.”

“I also heard the story of what happened after that. They tried to help out as a humanitarian aid and to show the superiority of the empire, but Prince Kael stopped them.”

Stop it. If you say that, doesn’t it sound like I’m blocking both the emperor and the prince?

I was just trying to voice my opinion a little bit!

Besides, it seems like not only the Crown Princess but also His Majesty the Emperor have their own thoughts!

“Until the eastern kingdoms reach out directly, there will be no mercy. There will be no help. It’s cold-hearted, almost ruthless, but I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

“… .”

“How can our imperial citizens’ taxes be used so carelessly? If you want to receive it, you should bow your head to our empire and ask for mercy. I think the first thing we gave was that we didn’t destroy a single country in the previous war.”

As expected of our princess. She has a secretly fiery side to her.

He may be a good person, but that only applies to the empire and those within its walls.

As befitting a princess of the empire. As befitting a subject of the empire. Anything else is clearly defined as an enemy.

“They haven’t bowed their heads to the Empire yet.”

“I heard that too.”

“It looks like it’s worth living for. The people of the kingdom are dying even at this moment.”

“Once the authority and pride of a ruler collapses, it is difficult to rebuild.”

“If it was that important, you shouldn’t have shown your fangs to the Empire in the first place. What fools say.”

The princess who was talking like that looked at me and asked, ‘How long will it take?’

Probably the three kingdoms in the east, especially Burkhay, when will they kneel?

There was something I had in mind while talking about Charlois and Dedorant.

“It won’t be easy right away. It’ll probably take more than a month.”

“A month. Who knows how much more suffering their kingdom’s people will suffer and how many will die during that one month?”

“Would you believe me if I said this positively and briefly?”

“… Oh my god.”

As I said, the authority and pride of those in power are important issues.

If they give it up so easily, would they be considered rulers?

Of course, it’s a bit much to say that they’re just crazy people obsessed with power.

It’s not just a matter of power. It’s directly related to their lives.

So, I understand why you hesitate and break it down like this.

“Sometimes, when you look at it, the world is full of things that are hard to understand.”

“Isn’t that how it is? The world is more irrational than we think, emotional, unwise, and foolish.”

“… Why is that so?”

“Because most people in the world are driven by desire.”

The desire to be recognized. The desire to love and be loved.

The desire to become stronger than anyone else. The desire to become greater than anyone else.

From relationships between people to countries and their parts.

From simple arguments to massive wars that cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

There too, in the end, it is desire that moves and determines everything.

And I took advantage of that desire in a timely manner.

From the north. From the east. And from the south.

People call me a genius or a bookworm, but honestly, when I see myself… um. Yeah.

A lucky conman who can manipulate people’s hearts? Is that a bit too condescending?

‘Maybe the bookworm is really right.’

He shrugged his shoulders and turned his gaze back to the princess.

“After the East completely surrenders, Her Highness the Crown Princess will go there.”

“Is this your sister?”

“Yes. That would probably be better for turning their fallen public sentiment toward the empire. The current goal is to keep the royal family intact but take away some of their influence.”

“Will Burkhay tolerate it?”

“If you don’t acquiesce, you will drown, so you must do so.”

It is always the wealthy who use threats.

And it is only natural that those who have nothing will suffer.

“Next will be the south. At least to tame the kingdoms of the Kyo-guk and its surrounding areas, someone from the royal family will have to go again. In my opinion, Her Highness the Princess would be the right choice… .”

“No. My brother is better than me. The first prince is better.”

“… Is there anything that concerns you?”

I already told the princess that she has earned merit and that she has nothing to worry about.

No matter how much the nobles flutter, the emperor and the crown princess will not be shaken.

And yet, that’s the reaction. How worried are you?

“No, Kael. That’s not it. If I go south, I don’t think I’ll be able to move with Kael.”

“… Yes?”

“My feeling is that if we continue south, we’ll be extremely busy for at least a few months. I think it’d be better to stay next to Kael.”

“You might be busier if you stay with me.”

Actually, I’ve been running around so much that my feet are sweating over the past year.

North, east, and south. Just shooting all over the place.

I’m going to be heading west again soon so it can’t be easy.

“Hmm. Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. But wouldn’t it be better for two people to be busy than for one person to be busy?”

As she said that, the princess smiled brightly and I couldn’t help but smile along with her.

*

“Tell me, Kael.”

“No.”

“You really can’t predict?”

“Not at all.”

“Just read the weather and make it rain and wind.”

“Absolutely not.”

A month later, Burkhay really had the dogeza planted in the empire.

They say that they were trying to hold out, but then the heavy rain started pouring down again.

Even those in power gave in to the Great Flood plus Great Flood combo.