Chapter 7

Lirika was surprised and let out a blank voice.

"Huh?"

"I'll go."

"But..."

"Is there any problem?"

Lirika looked at the civil servant standing with a sullen face at the door of the office. Tan, following Lirika's gaze, turned his eyes and said sternly.

"You know that the affairs of the royal family come first."

The civil servant sighed deeply and bowed his head.

"Please go, Director."

"Hmm."

Nodding solemnly, Tan gently held Lirika with one arm and left the guard room.

Lirika said softly,

"I thought you wouldn't let me."

"Hehe."

Laughing out loud, Tan said to Lirika,

"Princess, how many people have you learned to bow to?"

"Three."

Lirika showed three fingers. Tan nodded seriously.

"That's right. Princess. The Emperor's command is called the Dragon's Word. The Dragon's Word is absolute within this empire. Even if the Emperor sets up a straw man and calls it Takar, all the nobles of the empire must bow before it."

Lirika's eyes widened. Of course, she had been diligently chanting 'I am a princess, I am a princess' in her heart, but she had never thought it was that significant.

Of course, the Emperor is great, and so is her mother.

But she couldn't think of herself that way. Lirika suddenly felt enlightened.

"The Emperor has officially registered you as his daughter. That means you are the only princess of the Tarca Empire."

Bryne nodded behind her.

All kinds of negative thoughts were about to come out of Lirika.

Tan, who didn't know, but I'm a contract princess, and it's only temporary, and I'm an adopted daughter...

Tan gently lifted her gaze, which had fallen to the ground, and winked playfully.

"You are the princess who can command the Imperial Guard with a nod."

"Eh?"

Though she made a strange sound out of surprise, Tan just laughed out loud. The distance that seemed so long when they walked in was quickly shortened as Tan walked.

He said in a light voice as if it were nothing,

"There are only four Takars in existence now: the Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, and the Princess. In short, you are currently second in line to the throne."

This was beyond Lirika's comprehension, and she didn't really feel it.

Lirika said,

"Yeah, well, but since His Majesty will succeed, it doesn't matter, right?"

Tan nodded.

"That's right. What I mean is that you are that high a person."

Arriving at the entrance of the Sun Palace, Tan asked,

"So, where did you get stuck?"

"Can I guide you?"

Bryne smiled and Tan nodded. Bryne said,

"How about we catch the scene?"

Tan hesitated at this but then grinned. He put Lirika down and said,

"Shall we catch it?"

He gestured with both hands, saying, "I'll hide over here, so go ahead quickly," and Lirika understood the situation.

She cleared her throat and started walking confidently, though her steps seemed a bit stiff to others.

A soldier blocked her way again.

"Can't I go here?"

She could hear her voice wavering. The soldier frowned and said,

"You can't pass."

She flinched but couldn't back down, thinking of Bryne and Tan behind her.

It took a lot of courage to raise her voice to a large man with a weapon.

"Why can't I go?"

"It's the Emperor's order."

"Ah..."

If the Emperor ordered it, there's nothing she could do, right?

Lirika looked back at Bryne with such an expression, and Bryne's smile deepened.

She opened her mouth.

"Is the Emperor's order specifically to prevent the Princess from passing here?"

The soldier struck the ground with the tip of his spear.

"Absolutely not!"

"What's not allowed?"

A low, intimidating voice came from behind. Lirika was startled and turned around. Bryne was still looking straight ahead.

The playful expression on Tan's face disappeared, and a carnivorous animal's blank expression took its place.

The soldier swallowed in surprise.

"Tell me, what's not allowed?"

Even as Tan approached slowly, the pressure was felt. The soldier's face turned pale.

Tan, who had already reached right in front of him, took the spear from the soldier's hand.

"Full name and rank."

Tan, who was examining the spear, easily grabbed the shaft and started to bend it.

The soldier answered quickly.

"First Guard Regiment, First-Class Soldier John Enders."

"Right, Enders, so what's not allowed?"

"W-well, it's that..."

"Do you know that even nobles can enter the inner part of the Sun Palace depending on their clearance level? But, do the royal family need that clearance?"

"No."

"Can't you recognize the mark of a close attendant?"

"No."

"Do you not know that having a close attendant is a basic right of the royal family?"

"No."

The soldier, sweating profusely, answered quickly. Tan, in the meantime, twisted the bent spear shaft into a pretzel.

"Then go and bring a superior."

Tan handed the bent spear shaft back to him.

The soldier, trembling, grabbed the pretzel spear shaft and started to walk. His steps were so wobbly that he might fall over. Tan looked at him askance.

Blocking the Princess's path is already shocking, and he doesn't even frown or threaten with the spear.

This is something that wouldn't happen in the Wolf, where they cherish the young.

Tan felt disillusioned.

Moreover, even if Lirika is an adopted daughter, she is a legitimate princess. A mere soldier has no right to block her path.

'I expected resistance, but from a mere 1st-class soldier?'

Tan smiled and said to Lirika,

"Then, Princess, you can go ahead. I'll take care of it from here."

There's no need to show her the process.

Lirika was secretly worried about his words. Wouldn't it be more reassuring to have more people around in a fight?

"Are you okay alone? I can stay with you."

Tan blinked at her words. It had been a long time since he heard such a considerate remark, and he found it quite enjoyable.

Just in case, Lirika added,

"Of course, I know Tan can handle it alone, but still..."

"I'll go to the Emperor if I'm scared, so don't worry."

Tan winked.

"There's no need to go."

Lirika was surprised and turned around. The Emperor was standing there, and behind him, Lat was giving Lirika a slight nod.

"I see the Emperor."

Lirika quickly bowed, and Tan half-heartedly did the same before sighing.

"I was going to scold the soldier, not pray for his well-being."

"Isn't it interesting? What kind of nerve does a mere soldier have to do this? He must have some powerful backing."

Altears said this while looking at Lirika, then pressed his forehead with his hand.

"!!"

She wobbled a bit this time but didn't fall. Standing resolutely, Lirika made Altears chuckle.

"You are Takar. It has nothing to do with who you are, what you have, what you lack, or whether you are valuable. I have made you my daughter. Then everyone should bow before you. If not, they are defying me."

Lat asked Tan,

"Who was it?"

"First Guard Regiment, 1st-class soldier. John Enders."

Lat chuckled at Tan's answer.

"It's quite amusing to be within expectations, Your Majesty. Then, Princess, please enjoy the Sun Palace. Leave the rest to us."

Lirika looked at Lat silently. It seemed that a good chancellor wasn't made just by being kind.

"Okay, I understand. Then I'll take my leave."

Lirika bowed and entered with Bryne. There were no more obstacles after that.

When she and Bryne went to where the soldiers had blocked her, a different soldier was standing there, treating Lirika with great respect.

'I received a salute.'

After passing the soldier, Lirika said to Bryne in a low voice,

"The news spread really quickly, didn't it?"

Bryne chuckled.

"Of course. It's the Princess's matter, after all. No one is insensitive to the affairs of the royal family."

Bryne added playfully,

"So, how does the taste of power feel, Princess?"

The taste of power.

Lirika's eyes widened at the word she had never thought of. The word echoed in her mind as she toured the Sun Palace with Bryne.

'The taste of power.'

Lirika stared at the apple pie while eating a snack. If she hadn't become a princess, she wouldn't have been able to eat this, right?

'The taste of power.'

Even as she fell asleep on a soft bed at night, the thought came to her. If she hadn't been a princess, she wouldn't have been able to sleep on such a soft bed, right?

'Is this the taste of power!'

Later, when Lirika expressed her opinion to Lat in the office, Lat, who was happily reading documents, smiled.

"Princess, that sounds more like the taste of money than power."

Lirika tilted her head. Listening to Lat, it did seem plausible.

"Power is about how much you can act on a whim."

Altears said this while casually throwing the documents on the floor. When Lirika ran over to pick them up, Altears threw another document from the desk.

Lirika ran to pick it up. Altears tossed the documents like a squirrel gathering acorns, and Lirika diligently picked them up.

"Your Majesty."

Lat frowned and called out to Altears, who rested his chin and subtly dropped the last document.

Lirika caught the document with a "Tsk" and neatly arranged it on Lat's desk with a satisfied look.

Lat, while picking up the fallen documents and sorting them by type, was impressed by the Princess's diligence.

"Then I feel like I have enough power."

It was the first time she felt so free and easy. Not having work made her feel uneasy. It was fortunate that there was work in the office.

Lirika smiled and curtsied.

"Then I'll take my leave. Bryne said he would introduce the maids to me today."

"Very well. Have a pleasant time."

Lat stood up to see Lirika off. Closing the office door, he took off his monocle, a symbol of the chancellor, and lightly wiped it with his sleeve.

"Thanks to the Princess, the Guard has been refreshed, and the Sun Palace's interior has been completely taken over by the Imperial Guard. We will still use the Guard for external appearances, but we will absorb them into the Imperial Guard. And I heard that the Empress recently changed the head of the nursery and her close attendants."

"I told Rudia that she could change the head of the nursery, as it was under the Empress's jurisdiction."

After that, Rudia, after gathering evidence of embezzlement, completely replaced the head of the nursery and the maids. She eliminated the noble faction's lackeys who had infiltrated the inner palace.

Lat had a satisfied look. The new appointments were so appropriate that it seemed he had seen the data from somewhere.

Altears hadn't expected such bold moves. It didn't seem like the actions of an Empress without a powerful maternal clan.

It was the movement of someone playing chess, not a piece on the board.

Altears was quite impressed by her, surpassing his expectations.

Lat said,

"Changes are causing the fish to jump. It's easy to catch them now."

The chancellor looked at the Emperor and asked,

"Is it necessary to assign a bodyguard?"

"Not necessarily yet?"

"Understood."

Lat bowed. If Tan had heard this, he would have called them cold-blooded animals, but the snake smiled faintly.

* * *

Lirika had recently become interested in the library. One of the pleasures was finding difficult words from the office documents in books.

The encyclopedia in the Takar library was famous for having only one set in the empire. All the volumes were chained, but Lirika could freely take out and read the encyclopedias without any procedure.

"Water wheel, water wheel... So this is a water wheel."

Lirika marveled at the picture. She was a child from the slums, and the life of the slums was her entire life.

She had never thought about how people in rural or fishing villages lived. Of course, the same went for how nobles lived.

So, just learning that there was a new world and a completely different life was enjoyable.

"Princess, it's time to stop reading. It's time to go to the kitchen."

"Right."

Lirika jumped up from her seat. Bryne put the heavy encyclopedia back in its place.

The palace was so large that the food would get cold by the time it was brought. Bryne suggested going to the kitchen to eat freshly baked, warm bread.

Lirika had no reason to refuse.

The kitchen, built to avoid the heat, was enormous. Despite its size, it seemed quiet, as it had only been preparing meals for the Emperor and the Crown Prince since Altears became Emperor, and no balls had been held in the Sun Palace.

However, with the new Empress, new chefs were hired, and the kitchen became lively.

There were rumors that the Empress would soon host a small party. Amidst this, the appearance of the Empress's beloved Princess.

No one found it bothersome. Rather, they were delighted to think that a high-ranking person had come down personally.

If the Emperor or Empress came, it might seem excessive to go all the way to the kitchen, but for a young Princess, it was different.

Thanks to this, Lirika could enjoy freshly baked, soft white bread amidst warm hospitality and kindness.

Of course, to subtly appeal to the Empress, new cookies and buttercream were also subtly offered to the Princess.