"……."
Alice stared at . She had the kind of look that said, Keep talking. So I did, slowly continuing.
"If I still had my ability, then the argunt that I should be Emperor would make sense. Not because of my personal talent or capability, but because no matter what mistakes I made, I could simply rewind and undo them. If every mistake ceased to exist, then I could remain a perfect ruler."
But that was no longer the case.
"But now that my ability is gone, things are different."
"Why?"
"Because your ability is far greater than mine."
I simply stated the truth.
"You can accomplish in a single attempt what I had to try countless tis to achieve. You have the talent, and on top of that, you work tirelessly. You also have the rightful claim. It hasn’t been publicly announced yet, but I have no imperial blood in whatsoever."
"……."
Alice’s eyes narrowed.
But she remained silent, pressing her lips together tightly. I started feeling a little anxious, so I quickly continued.
"So… really, the only thing I have over you is that a Gryphon decided to follow . And while that may captivate people, you and I both know that it takes far more than that to sit on the imperial throne."
That was why she had worked so hard to surpass all this ti.
After all, it wasn’t until much later that the truth about the Emperor’s children carrying his actual bloodline had co to light. Back when Alice had been striving to beat as a child, she had genuinely believed that the throne could be taken from her.
She had known, even back then, that being Emperor wasn’t just about bloodline or legitimacy—it was about having the ability to rule.
Of course, as a child, she must have also wanted to defeat simply because I was taking away the attention that should have been hers. But Alice was soone who genuinely loved her country and was interested in politics. It wasn’t just about personal rivalry—it never had been.
"……."
Alice narrowed her eyes even further as I finished speaking.
Then, she took a deep breath—deliberately exaggerated, lowering her head and letting out an audible sigh long enough that I could feel it.
After that long, drawn-out sigh, she lifted her head and looked at .
"Let ask you one thing."
Alice’s eyes were sharper than usual as she spoke.
"You just don’t want to be Emperor, do you?"
Ah.
She figured it out.
I opened my mouth, then closed it again. Repeatedly.
It wasn’t like I wanted to sit around doing nothing for the rest of my life. Well, okay, if I could, I wouldn’t mind. But if I had to do sothing, I figured I’d prefer a lifestyle that was just as busy as my ti at the academy—manageable.
I an, wasn’t it traditionally considered a virtue for royalty and nobility not to have a job? European aristocrats lived off generational wealth from inherited estates, spending their lives attending charity events.
If the Emperor had remained in power, I would have spent my life worrying about whether my head was about to be chopped off. But if Alice took the throne, things would be different. At the very least, I was fairly sure Alice wasn’t going to have executed.
I did my best to keep my expression neutral, but Alice was already looking at like she had read like an open book.
"When you said all that on the train, I really did think you ant it for my sake. But after watching how you’ve been acting ever since, I started feeling like that wasn’t the only reason."
I thought I had been working pretty hard.
Then again, my ultimate goal was to keep all the major characters alive and then settle down into a peaceful, uneventful life. So, in a way, Alice wasn’t entirely wrong.
"Regardless of how I feel about becoming Emperor, you are the one who should take the throne."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
But despite Alice's response, her expression didn’t match her words at all.
…She wasn’t seriously thinking about passing the throne to , was she?
A cold sweat ran down my back at the thought. But then, Alice, who had been glaring at , suddenly let a small smile slip onto her lips.
"Well, forcing soone who doesn’t want to be Emperor into the role would only cause problems. The imperial throne isn’t just for show. At the sa ti, neither of us trust anyone else to take the position. It’s not like there’s anyone in the palace we can trust completely either, is there?"
I nodded. Trying to dig up so fallen imperial relative and place them on the throne would be a disaster waiting to happen. Any noble who suggested such an idea would be the first person I’d recomnd getting rid of.
"Then, I guess I have to be the next Emperor, don’t I?"
"…"
Alice shrugged as she said it, but sothing about the mont felt strange.
Is this really okay?
I an… the topic of this conversation was nothing less than the Emperor of the Empire—the ruler of an entire continent. Should we really be talking about it so casually? And the only ones involved in this discussion were two girls in their mid-teens. Well, I was sothing beyond a thirty-year-old man in a teenage body, but Alice was actually a teenager.
…Granted, the long stretch of ti in between was technically erased, so I supposed it didn’t count.
"Alright."
Alice spoke with confidence.
"Then, do you intend to beco the next Emperor?"
"I’ll finish the academy first. I’ll have my na registered, but I won’t imdiately take up full governance. You built up quite a bit, but I do still have a lot to learn."
Coming from a teenager, that sounded strangely self-aware.
"And the Parliant—what little remains of it—needs to be restored. Our father handled everything himself because he could, but I am not that kind of person. I don’t overestimate my abilities."
"I know."
Still, the conversation was progressing as it should. I nodded, agreeing with her.
The road ahead wouldn’t be easy. But it wasn’t an impossible path either. As long as we continued forward with people we could trust, we would get through it—just as we always had.
"However, I have a condition."
"A condition?"
What condition? It’s not like she had any other options for who would take the throne.
"You need to take a position too."
"…"
I said nothing.
"There’s only you and left in the imperial family. Claire may be my half-sister, but I doubt she’d be too eager to call big sister. She’s got too much pride for that."
Yeah. Looking at the way Alice was smiling playfully, I could already picture Claire scowling in protest.
Alice had, in her own way, co to accept Claire as family. She had lived as Claire’s sister in that illusion. Even after returning here, she hadn’t erased those feelings. Seeing that expression on Alice’s face—so relaxed, so genuinely comfortable—put my mind at ease.
"Of course, aside from that, I’ll be giving Claire a position as well. Actually, all of my closest allies are people I t at the academy. I’ll be assigning positions to every one of them. That’s the only way I’ll feel secure."
Hmm.
Sothing told Alice wouldn’t just be handing out positions. She’d definitely be rewarding them properly, but that aside… she was absolutely planning to work them to the bone.
At least the foreign-born ones—Charlotte, Lena, and Sophia—might escape her grasp.
"And you. Why do you look like you’re thinking about sothing else?"
Alice narrowed her eyes at , unimpressed.
"You made the biggest contribution in this battle. Obviously, you need to remain as my closest aide. Even after I assign all those positions, there will be plenty of room left in the imperial household. And based on your achievents, I should at least grant you a noble title or two. Honestly, the fact that you still don’t have one is absurd. Most mbers of the imperial family hold multiple noble titles by default."
And Alice looked absolutely delighted as she spoke.
There were plenty of things I could argue about. But seeing that expression, I suddenly found that I didn’t really care.
"This is my condition. If you refuse, then I won’t take the throne. So? What will it be?"
She had already backed into a corner—there was nowhere left to retreat.
I simply shrugged.
Well… if things ever got too difficult, I could just hop on my Gryphon and fly far, far away.
That is, assuming the fickle thing was still hanging around by then.
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