Chapter 20.2

Becoming a god: Cermiane’s point of view (2)

In other words, Ralphine began to reign supreme in the social world. The aristocrats, who had initially looked at her with scepticism, gradually came to revere Ralphine. Ralphine was a woman of principle and was never afraid to do what others asked of her. When she received a request from a noble lady at an evening party or a tea party and was satisfied with it, she would immediately convey the request to me. In this case, she would persuade me with her characteristic vigour and I would be pushed to handle the matter myself or submit it to the relevant ministry. Once the aristocrats understood that a request to Ralphine would immediately result in some kind of action, Ralphine’s popularity grew, no matter what. Ralphine was naturally popular and listened well to everyone, as she did not place importance on rank or status. Soon the ladies of nobility were eager to attend her tea ceremonies, and there were long queues of ladies waiting to see her at the evening parties.

No one would object to Ralphine becoming Crown Princess. Just when I was beginning to feel at ease, the Crown Prince passed away.

I was grieved. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, whom I trusted, respected and had sworn to support, had passed away. I felt a terrible sense of loss. When I heard the news of his death, I felt so weak that I could not stand up. I heard that His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Queen were present at his death, but I heard about it after he had passed away. This was because there was such a rule, but it was also unfortunate.

I was also saddened, but the grief and despair of the bureaucrats in the Crown Prince’s Office, who had known His Highness the Crown Prince for a long time and had been his confidant, ran deep, and one of them fainted when he heard the news. Even so, we could not stop our work.

I allowed the bureaucrats to take turns to go and lay flowers for His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince. The day after His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince passed away, several bureaucrats submitted their resignations. I tried to stop them, but they all said, “I’m happy for His Highness, but I’m His Highness the Crown Prince’s vassal after all,” and left. I felt as if I had been confronted with being inferior to His Highness the Crown Prince.

In any case, the government of the country could not be allowed to stagnate, and I was forced to carry out my duties and prepare for the investiture ceremony with sadness. I was extremely busy, but when Ralphine heard of His Highness’ death, she became extremely concerned about my busy schedule. She became angry when she saw me working even in the detached palace, saying that the Crown Prince’s life might have been shortened because his duties were too demanding. I was glad that Ralphine was worried about me, but for me it was easier to be busy and drown my sorrows.

Then one day, Ralphine got into bed and said, “I can use magic now!” she said excitedly. In fact, she showed me how to use rudimentary spirit-using magic and laughed with pride. The magic was so poor that a child of the nobility could use it immediately after receiving a magical education, but I didn’t dampen her enthusiasm. It turned out that she had learned it from one of the maids during her escapades.

Ralphine was thrilled and expressed her desire to use more powerful magic. Unfortunately, she can no longer afford to waste her magic like that. She was also surprised to learn that as the future Crown Princess, there would be magical dedications. She had no prior knowledge of what is considered common sense in noble society.

The next day, after dinner and before she went to bed, I taught her about magic and talked to her about efficient ways of releasing magic power. I had expected her to have high magic power given her great physical ability, and as expected, I found out that she has high magic power comparable to mine, the Prince. This should be no problem for a magical dedication. However, Ralphcenu constantly expressed her desire to learn advanced magic that involved harnessing the power of high-level spirits or deities. Fortunately, I was not well-versed in such matters, which worked in my favour. Had I known, she would have likely pressured me into teaching her. She aspired to use such magic to combat formidable beasts, particularly dragons. If she were to acquire those abilities, she might even set off on a journey in search of dragons, far away from the Imperial Palace.

The funeral of His Highness the Crown Prince took place and I accompanied him to his coffin. His Highness’ face was peaceful in death, and that alone provided me with some solace. I had felt remorse for having refused the Emperor’s and Crown Prince’s strong wishes for me to become a member of the Imperial Family. I only understand now that I am in the situation. The Crown Prince, the next emperor, those in such a position are surrounded by people who are lower in rank than themselves. They are isolated and lonely. No matter how many trusted subordinates he has, no matter how much support he receives from those around him, there is no one to support him on an equal or near-equal footing.

How powerful it would be to have one’s own trusted relatives at such times. I knew this because I rely on Ralphine very much. If it were not for Ralphine, I would not be able to withstand the position of Acting Crown Prince very well. If I had been recognised as a member of the royal family, and as a prince and a brother, I could have kindly assisted His Highness the Crown Prince, he would have been really helped. It would have been easier for him to entrust his heart to me. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince would have had a longer life span. It was very regrettable.

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