07. Who will seize the king?

Seorae listened to Yuri’s words while getting dressed.

 

 

“First of all, Srodia doesn’t have a Crown Princess, but if they were to designate an heir, Princess Ekaterina would be the most likely candidate.”

“Yeah. I know that.”

“But the truth is, Queen Yerina and the Princess don’t have a good relationship.”

“Even if she’s a queen, how could a mother oppress her daughter so much? No wonder their relationship soured. Tsk tsk tsk. What a deficient human being.”

 

She had disliked the King of Srodia for a long time.

She was a decent person when she first became king 20 years ago, but the position of king turned her into someone strange.

 

 

“Anyway, thanks to that, the Princess hates the Queen. So, she proposed selling out Queen Yerina.”

“What? Sell out her own mother?”

“Yes.”

“Ahahahahaha!!”

 

 

She burst into loud laughter.

 

 

“Euh-heuk heuk heuk…! This is a total masterpiece?!”

 

A situation that would only appear in low-grade literature circulating among commoners is blatantly unfolding in a kingdom.

She laughed, snickering for a while.

 

 

“So, what did that brat say?”

“First, she asked that our nation intervene between the two countries to create a negotiation table, then use the responsibility for the war as a reason to depose Queen Yerina and install herself as queen.”

“Keuk keuk keuk keuk.”

 

It’s getting more and more absurd.

 

 

“Also, for the sake of the peace agreement, Vasa should also get something, so it would be good to send Queen Yerina as a concubine to Prince Aran, who was active in this war.”

 

 

Now it’s completely turned upside down.

Seorae, forgetting the dignity of the emperor, laughs her head off.

That’s how absurd the situation in Srodia was.

 

 

After laughing like that for a while, she wiped the tears from her eyes.

 

 

“Okay, okay. Let’s just say that’s how it is. But Vasa won’t back down with just that, right? They’ll definitely demand land.”

“She said to take care of that. She asked to leave only half.”

“She’s completely insane.”

“It seems her resentment is that strong.”

 

 

Seorae, still giggling, nodded her head.

 

 

“Yeah. I can understand. Considering what she’s been through, it’s actually weak.”

 

She pondered, mulling over the proposal.

 

 

Negotiating with the island nation of Vasa is humiliating in itself, but Vasa has grown too big to be considered barbarians anymore.

Sending a whopping 600,000 troops on an expedition for three years of war, and having two Tier 6 knights, means they can no longer be ignored.

 

 

‘I didn’t know playing around all this time would be so painful.’

 

 

If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have spent 20 years playing around.

She regretted it belatedly, but it had already happened.

 

 

“If we install that brat as the Queen of Srodia, she’ll listen to us, right?”

“Of course. Who do you think made her queen?”

“Well, those bitches exist thanks to us from the start. Otherwise, they would have gone bust a long time ago.”

“That’s absolutely right.”

“Half… half is no good. It’s too much. We can’t let those Vasa bitches develop any further.”

“But they already occupy more than half of the territory.”

“We have no choice but to take the practical benefits and give them the honor.”

“Yes?”

 

She made a difficult decision.

 

 

“What the hell, if we give up some territory, we can just recognize them as an Empire.”

“Your Majesty! That’s…..”

“Then they’ll be satisfied with just the Lower Three Provinces.”

“The nobles’ backlash will be considerable.”

“We don’t need idiots who can’t grasp the situation. Let’s sweep them all away this time.”

“….”

“The fact that Vasa is not the same as before has been clearly revealed over the past three years. As the national power has changed, we cannot treat them the same as before. That will trigger another war.”

 

She pursued practical benefits.

If Vasa is recognized as an Empire, it may seem like the Mei Empire is surrendering right now, and many vassal states may be shaken, but that doesn’t mean the power of the Mei Empire is going anywhere.

 

On the other hand, if Persia is recognized as an Empire, they will no longer be officially ignored, and Cornelia will remain a hero, but they will have to give up a lot unexpectedly.

 

 

That’s the same as putting shackles on Persia, which could grow more as a result.

 

 

“And, either way, being recognized by me means they’re under me, right? It’s not that different.”

“….”

 

 

Yuri had a difficult expression.

No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t seem like it would be easily accomplished.

 

 

“But,”

“Yes?”

“What justification are you planning to use to pin the blame on that bitch Yerina? If she has to take responsibility simply because she’s the queen, there will be a lot of backlash. Especially since it’s other countries telling them what to do.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Princess Ekaterina started the war.”

“What are you talking about? Vasa attacked first, right? While picking petty fights.”

 

Yuri began to explain what she had heard.

 

 

“It was all the Princess’s plan. She took advantage of the fact that Cornelia, the King of Vasa at the time, was on vacation with his fiancée and murdered them in a heinous way: rape and murder. Cornelia, upon learning of this, attacked.”

“…Why?”

“She said it was to drive out the current queen and become queen herself.”

“Geez….”

 

 

An expression of disbelief.

 

Yuri fully understood.

She had a similar expression when she first heard it.

 

 

Srodia was completely collapsing due to this war, and even its territory was about to be cut in half, but it turns out that all of that was the Princess’s doing.

Could there be anything more absurd than this?

 

 

“So, the fact that our nation is intervening to make a peace agreement was also planned a long time ago?”

“I doubt that’s the case. However, the fact that she becomes queen herself will be similar.”

“What a nasty bitch.”

“She said she’s already finished fabricating evidence so that Queen Yerina can’t escape.”

“Hmm.”

 

If there’s plausible evidence, there’s no problem.

But the Princess’s actions were too absurd.

 

 

“She’s a remarkable bitch in many ways. Well, fine. Let’s sort out the details when we get there. Proceed with it like that.”

“Yes. Your Majesty.”

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“The time has come.”

“Does that mean….?”

“Please petition for the designation of an heir.”

 

 

The nobles made sounds of suppressed emotion.

 

They had opposed it so much before, but now they’re encouraging it, saying the time has come.

 

 

“His Highness will surely not welcome you all. But I have a way to become queen. I will never forget you, so please grant my request.”

“If it’s not rude, may I ask?”

“You’ll all find out later, so for now, just do as I ask. It’s something that must not leak out.”

“Hmm…in that case….”

 

 

After all, they were the heir designation faction.

They were prevented from petitioning because Ekaterina stopped them, but if that hadn’t happened, they would have insisted on it even if it cost them their lives.

 

 

Soon, the women nodded with joyful faces.

 

 

“Leave it to us. No matter what, we will make Your Highness the Crown Princess.”

“Thank you. Everyone.”

 

 

The nobles left with firm resolutions.

 

 

Their destination was Duke Iliana, the Prime Minister of this country.

She was a centrist, but she was a woman who supported the heir designation faction when it came to designating an heir.

 

 

 

“Designating an heir?”

“Yes. We persuaded Her Highness. So now, let’s go together and petition.”

“Someone who was so stubborn…….”

 

 

She mulled it over suspiciously, but the Crown Princess had to be established for the sake of the country, so she nodded.

 

 

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

 

 

The nobles’ faces brightened.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

“What did you say just now?”

“I said you must designate an heir.”

“Designate an heir?”

 

 

She made a bewildered expression.

 

 

“I’m still perfectly alive, so what’s with this talk of designating an heir?”

 

Duke Iliana stepped forward.

 

 

“Your Majesty, we are in the midst of a war. Originally, this was something you should have done immediately after the invasion of Vasa.”

“Didn’t we talk about that before?”

“You dismissed it back then, saying there was no particular danger. But now, danger is approaching every moment. For the sake of the nation’s future, you must urgently establish a Crown Princess.”

“You must establish one!”

“…..”

 

 

Yerina looked at the nobles disapprovingly.

 

“Do you have to bring up such things at a time like this? I heard that Artma has even fallen to the enemy! We should be discussing preparations for that, so why are you bringing up unnecessary topics?”

“It’s not an unnecessary topic, Your Majesty! It’s precisely because of times like these that you must establish a Crown Princess!”

“Enough. We’ve already discussed this before, so go back.”

“Your Majesty!”

“I said go back!”

 

 

“Do you hate me that much?”

 

 

Defying her roar, Ekaterina appeared.