Chapter 68

“I’ll finally get to see his face properly.”

The Emperor murmured as he gently stroked the Empress’s belly while she lay in bed.

“He certainly was strong.”

The Empress, knowing exactly who the Emperor was talking about, recalled Theo’s entrance exam and responded.

“Yes. If we can just make him stand by our child’s side, it won’t be difficult for our child to become Emperor.”

“But Your Majesty, will that be all right? The current Crown Princess is still here.”

“I want to pass this throne to the child born between you and me. The Crown Princess…. she is not fit to be Emperor.”

Iris had been more naturally gifted as a ruler than anyone else, but that was precisely what the Emperor disliked about her.

The mere thought that she would be praised as a greater ruler than he had ever been was enough to make him scoff.

Though she was his daughter, their relationship had never been particularly close.

Of course, that was because the Emperor had deliberately kept his distance, yet he never once considered that to be his own fault.

To him, every negative aspect of his relationship with Iris was entirely her doing.

“Our baby, be born healthy and bring joy to your mother and father.”

The Emperor had been doting on the Empress more and more, and ever since she became pregnant, he had visited her even more frequently, hummed lullabies, and whispered words of love.

Because of this, the Empress had no hesitation.

As long as the child was born, taking the Crown Princess’s place would be an easy feat.

She smiled happily as she thought of that.

I wonder what kind of expression the Crown Princess will make at that time.

To finally cast out Iris who had always been a thorn in her side.

That was truly an exhilarating feeling.

Ah, I can’t wait for that day to come. Our child will make everything fall into place, right?

And with such foolish thoughts, the Empress’s day drew to a close.

***

“Saying ‘it’s been a while’ doesn’t feel quite right, considering we just saw each other not long ago. You’ve been showing up quite often these days, Estelle.”

The Holy Emperor spoke as he looked at Estelle standing before him.

“Well, it’s always good for members of the same Holy Empire to see each other often, isn’t it?”

“That’s rich, coming from someone who barely showed her face before.”

In the past, Estelle and the Holy Emperor had only seen each other when he summoned her for a specific need.

Thinking about that, it was true that they had been seeing each other much more frequently these days.

“I came to ask for help.”

Ignoring the Holy Emperor’s remark entirely, Estelle got straight to the point.

If the nobles of the Ermunt Empire had heard her, they would have been utterly appalled by her blunt way of speaking.

“What kind of help?”

However, the Holy Emperor didn’t seem to find this exchange unusual as he casually inquired about the purpose of her visit.

“Before I say anything, I need to ask you one thing. Do you support the current Emperor of Ermunt?”

At first glance, it might have seemed like a sudden question, but the Holy Emperor had a rough idea of what Estelle was implying.

As the highest authority in the Holy Empire, and given that Ermunt was now an allied nation, there was no way he hadn’t been informed of the situation there.

“If I didn’t support the Emperor of an allied nation, I doubt forming an alliance would have been possible in the first place.”

The way the Holy Emperor tried to sidestep the question irritated Estelle.

“I’m not asking about Ermunt. I’m asking if you support the Emperor himself.”

“Well… It’s not exactly easy to give a clear answer to that.”

“Ugh, seriously! Stop dodging and just say it properly! You already know what I’m talking about!”

Only after Estelle lost her patience did the Holy Emperor finally let out a laugh.

“This is the first time I’ve seen the Saintess so flustered. You must be quite fond of your friends.”

When he mentioned Theo and Iris with a smirk, Estelle’s expression twisted in frustration.

“Don’t even think about touching them.”

“Touch them? Why would I? You don’t need to worry. If I had to choose between a Saintess who gets things done for me and the Emperor of Ermunt, I would, of course, choose you.”

The relationship between the two was not simply that of a Holy Emperor and a Saintess.

Estelle was the one who handled what the Holy Emperor wanted, and because of that, their bond was stronger than it seemed.

Of course, the fact that Estelle coveted the Holy Emperor’s position was something he was completely unaware of.

“In that case, please grant me a favor.”

“But what does the Holy Empire gain from this? Isn’t it just about helping the next Emperor? You, of all people, should know that every action needs justification.”

Justification.

Yes, securing a legitimate reason for the Holy Empire to support Iris as the next Emperor was of great importance.

“If the Holy Empire backs Iris as the next emperor, then once she ascends the throne, we can use that as leverage.”

“Isn’t that looking too far into the future?”

“Isn’t it only natural to plan ahead? Besides, I don’t think it’s that far off.”

Estelle’s words were more than just speculation; they were a subtle hint that the Emperor of Ermunt would soon be replaced.

“Is that so? So that’s what you think.”

The Holy Emperor fell into thought.

Up until now, Estelle had lived a much quieter life than one might expect.

She had run away from home a few times and occasionally disobeyed the Holy Emperor, but for the most part, she preferred to let things flow naturally.

Yet now, she was declaring that the Emperor would soon change.

That didn’t mean everything would necessarily go her way, but at the very least, Estelle wasn’t the type to place bets on a losing hand.

“Alright then. Go ahead and do as you wish. I’ll give you my full support.”

Having watched Estelle since childhood, the Holy Emperor found her proposition amusing and decided to accept it.

“You’re not even going to hear me out properly?”

“I have a rough idea of what you’re asking.”

The Holy Emperor’s bright smile would have seemed kind to anyone else, but to Estelle, it was nothing short of unsettling.

“Well, whatever. You said you’d help, so I’ll gladly accept.”

“I’ll be keeping a record of every debt, so next time I call for you, don’t even think about ignoring me.”

“Ugh, fine, I got it!”

Bang!

What am I even doing?

She was doing something she never would have considered in the past.

After all, being indebted to the Holy Emperor was one of the things she despised most in her life.

But if this makes Sir Theo happy, then it’s fine. Iris will probably feel a little relieved too.

While Theo’s happiness was her main concern, Estelle had already begun thinking of Iris without even realizing it.

Well, if I owe a favor like this, I might be able to get some help from Iris later.

If she ever decided to become the Holy Emperor herself, she would inevitably need both Iris and Theo’s help.

“I should hurry back and get some healing from Sir Theo.”

***

What finally eased the lingering unease that had plagued me all day was Estelle’s affirmative response.

“So, since His Holiness agreed to help, we should be able to use the Holy Empire’s funds.”

I still couldn’t quite grasp what the Holy Emperor was thinking when he decided to lend his aid.

But in a way, it almost felt like the disrupted original story was trying to correct itself.

“You did well, Estelle.”

“Ugh, talking to that man was exhausting.”

I had already known from their last meeting that the Holy Emperor was a difficult person, so I could fully sympathize with Estelle’s struggle.

Though I was a little concerned about whether the Emperor would make her do something strange again…

Rustle—

For now, I simply acknowledged that at least one problem had been resolved and lightly patted her head.

“Ah! You’re patting my head…! More, please….keep going…!”

“Ah, well. I can do that anytime, really.”

Seeing Estelle’s eyes light up as she eagerly asked for more just from a simple pat on the head, I suddenly realized. Despite how close we had become, we had never really shared much physical affection before.

Well, not that there was much point in her being affectionate with me.

In the end, it was always going to be Iris and Estelle.

As for me, I’d find my own love and enjoy some affection after all this was over.

“U-Um… could you pat my head too?”

Iris, having watched me pat Estelle’s head, hesitantly approached and asked.

Hmm. Was it really okay to pat her head for no particular reason?

Just as I was about to brush it off and do it anyway—

“Iris, you can get your head pats after we successfully implement the relief plan! You haven’t even done anything worthy of praise yet.”

Estelle’s teasing voice rang out as she took the chance to pick a fight with Iris, leaving my hand awkwardly suspended in midair.

“I will absolutely make this plan a success.”

“Then you can have your head pats after you succeed! You sound so confident, after all.”

Iris had been feeling down about the relief effort lately, and watching the two of them bicker after so long didn’t seem so bad.

If life continued like this with just the two of them arguing while I stepped in to break things up….it might be a little dull, but wouldn’t that be better?

I could only hope that we wouldn’t keep running into situations where everyone had to suffer like this…

But with the original story already thrown off course once, I couldn’t shake the feeling that things wouldn’t be so simple.