Chap 5-A New Start with the Princess

 

The Second Empress, Marina Franz

Marina Franz was the Empress who had been connected to the current Emperor through a political marriage.

Originally, the Empire was a polygamous country, and the Emperor could have multiple Empresses.

Empress Marina was the daughter of the Franz Marquis family, but after becoming Empress, the Franz Marquis family, her own family, fell into ruin due to the control of the First Empress, and Marina herself only maintained her position as the Second Empress thanks to the Paleob imperial family name, guarding the inner chambers.

All that remained for her was her fourth princess, Arietta, who was caught up in the succession war because she was royalty.

A child she wouldn’t trade for the world, yet she was caught up in the succession war.

The Empire’s succession war always brought a storm of bloodshed.

She was already the Second Empress, who was in the First Empress’s bad graces.

The reason for ruining the Marquis family was also to prevent Arietta from looking over the throne, so that her own children could obtain the throne, and she ruined Marina’s family.

Marina, who still vividly remembered that day, had to save her daughter at least.

That method was Schperen.

“Go to Schperen?”

As always, Arietta, who was often ignored even by the maids as a neglected princess, heard such words from the Second Empress one day.

Of course, going to Schperen was an obligation for royalty and nobles.

No matter how you looked at it, the shadow of death seemed to be lurking around Arietta in Schperen.

Learning was important, but shouldn’t you be alive to learn?

“Then are you going to stay like this?”

“Do you want to kill your daughter?”

“That’s why you should go to Schperen even more. The safest place for you is Schperen. Since there are foreign exchange students there, other princes or princesses won’t be able to kill you.”

“I’d rather just give up everything and go out and live as a commoner.”

She had no desire for the throne anyway.

It had been so long since she had been ignored in the Imperial Palace that she even wondered if she was really royalty.

Then wouldn’t it be better to go out and live this time?

Even if she was a princess without any backing, she still had expensive gold and jewelry that she could sell to buy a house and live on for a while.

Since she had never been treated like a princess, she didn’t really covet the royal position.

“Those children won’t let you go. The moment you live as a commoner, you’ll disappear without a trace.”

“Then just the Imperial Palace is.”

“You’ll disappear in a slightly more complicated way. That’s the reality that a woman born into the Imperial family has to face.”

“Why did you marry His Majesty the Emperor in the first place?”

He was someone she couldn’t even call her father anyway.

The Emperor’s children were in such a position.

To truly call the Emperor father as a child, one had to become the successor.

That was how the Empire had been maintained.

“I didn’t know it would turn out like this back then.”

“It’s not safe just to go to Schperen, is it? I heard that if you take practical classes, there are performance evaluations where you act independently outdoors. I might die. Moreover, there are already older siblings in Schperen.”

“That’s right.”

“I don’t have a family to support me, and I don’t have any guards.”

The once great Franz Marquis family had been ruined by the First Empress.

The Franz knights, who had existed when the Franz Marquis family was still intact, disappeared after the family fell.

There were no soldiers in the Imperial Palace to protect her separately.

It would be a relief if they didn’t come to kill her.

“That’s why I asked my friend to find a capable friend. He will protect you.”

A capable friend.

No matter how capable, there was no force that could help her mother in her current situation. Who could it be?

Anyway, Schperen might be safe, as her mother said.

‘If the succession is in full swing, one of the maids might try to assassinate me.’

They were palace people who had ignored her before, so if they were instigated, it would be obvious.

Or there might already be someone in a faction.

Maybe poison in her tea would become a daily occurrence.

“What about after graduation?”

“Until then, this mother will try to reach an agreement with His Majesty the Emperor.”

The Empress aimed for the aftermath.

In a few years, at least the successor would be narrowed down to one person.

Even if there was bloodshed, the records showed that they didn’t kill everyone.

Even to maintain public sentiment, the successor would leave the remaining royalty alive.

No matter how little interest he had in his children, the successor would be decided by then. At that time, she would be able to negotiate with the great Emperor.

So she asked her friend to find a capable person.

-He’s a guy who laundered his criminal record, is that okay?

-To what extent?

-Everything you imagine. Oh, he has bad hands, so warn the princess.

-Uh, um. What about his skills?

-I guarantee it. Instead, tell the Emperor that I want to meet him.

She was going to meet the Emperor.

She didn’t know what she was thinking, but if it could protect her daughter, she didn’t care.

The bad hands thing was a bit concerning.

But would it be as bad as those who were wielding invisible knives?

Schperen Academy

As the Empire’s premier educational institution, nobles and a small number of commoners within the Empire were the main student body, and it was the best academy where even other countries came to study abroad.

Even the kingdom called the Land of the Brave sent exchange students, so what more could be said?

However, as a famous academy, there were certain conditions for commoners.

Being recognized for their talent, or receiving a letter of recommendation from a noble.

The former was possible if you got an overwhelming score on the entrance exam, and the latter was possible if you had the backing of a noble, as the name suggests.

Mainly commoners who caught the eye of nobles. That meant it was a difficult environment for commoners to enter.

Of course, most people came in with noble connections rather than grades.

Even if their grades were good, they would eventually be pushed out by noble students in some way due to their position as commoners, making it difficult to attend the academy.

How could Sien, who was a rootless bandit, enter such an elite educational institution without even taking the entrance exam?

Ciel von Adelheid Bathory

It was simple.

She entered as a noble.

And with a completely new identity that was different from anything before.

This is my current name.

Thinking that it was a very elaborate and long name considering her previous name, Sien, she shook her head.

It’s pointless to say more.

I was adopted into my teacher’s family.

Bathory. In the Bathory succession war, if it’s Bathory, it’s just Bathory, why add Adelheid or anything else?

Even the Imperial family name is Paleob, isn’t it longer than the Imperial family?

While grumbling, she properly dressed herself.

It was a dress that her teacher, Katarina, had chosen for her, but as expected, women’s clothing didn’t suit her at all.

“Hoo.”

She looks at the woman in the mirror.

It’s an appearance that she’s been seeing for the past few days, but she’s not used to it.

Her shiny, untainted silver hair, which could be said to be pure white, was long enough to reach her lower back.

Her shimmering plum-colored eyes were somewhat seductive, unlike when she was a man.

What about her figure?

‘I wish my breasts were a little smaller.’

Ciel sighed, repeating inwardly a statement that would make any woman quite angry.

When she raised her right arm, the woman in the mirror raised her right arm.

When she raised her left arm, the woman in the mirror raised her left arm.

As if telling her not to deny it.

As if the woman in the mirror was herself.

This was not an unpleasant dream, but reality.

How fortunate it was that she didn’t have to wear the academy uniform.

Thanks to that, she didn’t even have to wear a skirt.

“Is there still time?”

It seems like there’s still time to lament her situation.

Should she think positively?

Even if it’s those guys, now that they’ve been robbed of the Holy Sword and other things.

They might put me on the wanted list.

Even if it’s not the hero party, the king might put a bounty on my head because his pride has been hurt.

Thinking about that-

‘Oh? This doesn’t seem so bad?’

A woman’s body wasn’t bad either.

Except for the breasts, it was okay.

Rather, with this kind of appearance, she looked weak, so it wasn’t bad for deceiving the other person.

It was an appearance that could be used in many unexpected ways.

She wasn’t the type to be passionately obsessed with gender anyway.

If she had a lover, maybe.

Rather, if you look at it coldly, being a woman has more advantages.

It’s not like she’s gotten weaker.

In the fight with the bandits, it was because she wasn’t used to her smaller body.

She could still wield her sword, which she inherited from her teacher, freely.

Thanks to the fact that women are better at using Mana Thread, she was able to use it more delicately than before.

“So, who is this Princess Arietta?”

Judging by the fact that she has to protect her, she must be a hothouse flower who can’t even protect herself.

It would be a relief if she wasn’t arrogant.

The royals and nobles she had met so far were all proud and arrogance was a virtue they had to have.

It would be extremes.

From what she heard, she didn’t have a support base to the point where she had to ask the Thieves’ Guild.

Since she had nothing, she would either be more stubborn to build up her pride, or she would give up on everything and just try to stay alive.

The latter was more likely.

If she was the former in the succession war, she would have already lost her life.

What is a guard?

As a result, a guard must protect the person they are guarding.

If she stayed in the Imperial Palace, she would spend her days idly, but she would be full, warm, and safe.

Seeing that she came all the way to Schperen.

That meant the Imperial Palace was more dangerous.

Who knows.

On the first day of the entrance ceremony, the person she was guarding might become a guest who would never return.

Now that her body has become like this, there’s no point in finding out more information.

If she’s going to start a new life anyway, she has to be faithful to her assigned task.

She’s been given the status of a noble, so she has to protect the person she’s guarding.

The Fourth Princess Arietta resides in the Princess’s Palace in the west of the Imperial Castle.

Ciel, who was once infamous among the kingdom’s nobles for her bandit-like deeds, entered the Fourth Princess’s Palace in the Imperial Castle.

A quiet corridor.

As she walked through the corridor where only silence lingered, she wondered.

‘How come there isn’t a single guard?’

Isn’t she a princess?

There should at least be soldiers guarding the palace, but there aren’t any.

It’s a miracle that she hasn’t been assassinated so far.

Is that why?

She had an ominous feeling.

On the way, she could smell a unique scent.

Ciel could smell a scent that ordinary people wouldn’t be able to smell.

Just because she’s a woman now doesn’t mean her sense of smell has deteriorated.

“Tea? The tea smells unique.”

Yes, it’s like pouring in more Mana Potion than the daily allowance.

When Ciel was young, her teacher, Katarina, had her eat various poisonous herbs to build up her poison resistance.

When others only had weeds as side dishes, she chewed on poisonous herbs alone.

So she can recognize most things right away.

It’s like going on a trip to the East and it’s the market day.

Yes. For example, right now, this smell is.

Bang!

Ciel kicked down the door and entered the princess’s room in one go.

There were two people in the room.

One was a blonde woman who looked like a princess, and the other was a maid serving her.

Was it tea time?

“W-Who are you?”

“The person who will guard you.”

After answering the bewildered princess’s expression simply, Ciel turned her eyes to the teacup.

That was the problem.