Chapter 96

#096 The Royal Counterattack (1)

No matter what, I'm the main character, right?

Decisions are made among themselves, and I'm just a supporting actor who gets notified afterward.

Even the next day, my heart couldn't settle. I tossed and turned until dawn.

"Prince, are you alright?"

"Huh? Yes, I'm fine."

At the sound of Sir Elizabeth's voice, I lifted my head.

She was sitting across the table, looking at me with concern.

More precisely, she seemed startled by the blackened notebook I was holding, which had been stained by the quill I was gripping.

I laughed it off and flipped through the pages.

At some point, the picnic area set up in the palace's outdoor training ground had become a place used for me and my guests.

Even after Sir Haines' lesson ended, the training ground remained noisy.

*rumble*

"Demia, wait! Are you trying to strangle your sister? Ow!"

*screech*

The reason for the noise was that our main characters, Princess Cristel and Prince Sedric, had been acting as 'babysitters' for the Lesser Pandas for two hours.

Vines as thick as utility poles, grown from the ground, were tightly wrapped around the two.

Cristel, being of the water element, was weak against earth, and the Prince was helpless against Rea and Perry's affectionate attacks.

You two need to reflect on your actions.

"Are you very angry?"

"I'm not angry. It's just... "

In response to the Viscount's question, I trailed off.

If he was asking if I was in a difficult situation because of them, the answer was no.

The clever and shrewd Cristel hadn't mentioned my name even once during yesterday's annual prayer meeting.

'I will be paired with someone other than the bishops here, someone else.'

That's right. She only said 'someone else' without specifying me.

She announced that she and the Prince had been assigned a cleric partner and that they would no longer be interfered with on this topic.

As a result, the bishops, though confused, couldn't gossip about me.

I thought it was a bit much to play blind man's bluff to this extent.

However, what Cardinal Boutier said this morning was different.

'The counterattack was quite effective. The bishops who attended yesterday's dinner meeting were at a loss.'

'...At a loss?'

'Yes, Cristel didn't mention the name or position of her partner. While some think it must be the Prince, many believe it's an unknown priest.'

My mouth opened in surprise. I hadn't expected the opinions to be so divided.

I had imagined a hush-hush atmosphere, knowing it was me.

'The Holy Knights instinctively protect the clerics, so they speculate that the anonymity is used to protect a partner of a lower rank. It was amusing.'

Protection, yes. The two were causing a commotion to protect me.

They were trying to prevent me from being talked about by others and were even planning to take legal steps behind the scenes.

What frustrated me was that I could understand their psychology even in this situation.

If they were completely incomprehensible, it would be one thing, but since I could grasp their motives, it was hard to scold them.

I stared at the map David, the Prince's attendant, had given me.

It was a version of the empire's vast territory with a part highlighted in red.

"The Prince suggested you consider naturalization. Choose one of these places."

"Wh-what, really?"

At my words, Sir Elizabeth, who was drinking kiwi juice, covered her mouth with a napkin.

Shock and understanding appeared on her face as she scanned the map. See, I told you.

"Indeed... It is the most perfect way to protect the Prince."

"Right."

"If you give up your citizenship of the Penetian Theocracy and become a noble of Liester, both Your Highnesses and His Majesty will actively protect you."

Sir Elizabeth said. I nodded.

If I only considered survival, it wasn't a bad choice.

No, it might even be the best option.

Receiving a rural fief far from the border would be peaceful and quiet even during war.

But I had many things to consider.

After taking a sip of cool chamomile tea, I flipped back to the first page of the notebook.

∙ Avoid vs. Get Involved

- Advantages of getting involved: Easy to obtain information

- Advantages of avoiding: Can survive until the war

This was a note I made during the summer retreat. The second line was particularly important.

I had believed that if I avoided the two and didn't get involved in the main plot, the war would break out as planned.

But now, seeing the situation, all sorts of thoughts came to mind.

Could the war be happening because of me?

It's too late to back out now, and if the war breaks out because I naturalize, what then?

"...Evan."

"Huh? Did you say Lady Eva?"

"No, no."

I waved my hand and smiled.

Sir Elizabeth, who smiled back, resumed watching Cristel and the Prince's struggles.

The excited cries of Demia and the sounds of people on the verge of death could be heard.

*screech*

"Sis, I'm so tired, Demia... Let's take a 5-minute break and then play."

*groan, screech*

"Yay, Colonel Sprinkler!"

*whoosh*

The idea that the war could break out because of me.

This was an excessive sense of self-importance and contradicted what I had heard from Jeon Eunseo.

As far as I knew, the Prince and Prince Yeseo were in a typical rival relationship.

'Even if good-looking kids get along, it's still pleasant to see them fight. So I have no complaints.'

My brother's voice echoed in my head.

I didn't understand what it meant to be pleasant to see them fight, but it probably meant something similar to how I felt proud watching Cristel and the Prince.

Anyway, the two men in the story weren't close enough to suggest or consider naturalization.

So, the cause of the war in the original story couldn't be this. There must have been some political issue.

∙ Naturalization

- Is it the cause of the war?: Probably not, at least not in the original

- Is it okay to naturalize then?

This... I tapped the paper with the quill.

Prince Yeseo's family couldn't be described as harmonious, even in words.

It was a family where the mad queen sent assassins to other countries to kill her adopted son.

Princess Elizabeth, who had a bodyguard for her brother and secretly wrote letters, seemed like a good person.

However, as long as the queen existed, the entire theocracy was a danger zone for me.

I was safe in the palace now, but if I naturalized, I would surely enjoy a different level of security.

Even if I returned home in the future, the Prince would be at peace here.

"Hmm."

Still, changing citizenship is a big change.

I was worried that the Prince would never see his sister again.

And the young princess... Did we get along?

It's difficult. After possessing the body, I've faced many challenges, but this was really tough.

"Demia, Rea, Perry."

I called the children.

The Lesser Pandas, who had been playing with the two like dolls, hopped over without releasing the vines.

Cristel, pale and the Prince with disheveled hair, were dragged to the table.

"Is it fun to play like this? Do you like it?"

*rumble*

I wiped the children's feet with a wet towel.

The divine beasts were very intelligent and knew that my body couldn't handle their power.

So, they only showed affection by making flowers bloom or hanging from thin vines.

It had been a long time since they had played so freely, releasing their full power.

I looked at the panting Cristel. She flinched.

"Prince, I was wrong. Please forgive me."

It's automatic, automatic.

"What did you do wrong?"

"Prince, you said you liked us and that we were qualified as partners, so I was so happy that I announced we had a partner without prior consultation. Moreover, I've done this before. When we set fire to the 'Le Cypher' inn, the Prince was upset because he only found out later. I'm sorry for making you feel disrespected again."

Wow...

Her clear apology left me speechless.

I didn't know why I was upset, but her words made my heart as clear as a mountain stream.

At such times, the conversation flowed smoothly.

I rubbed my face and suppressed a hollow laugh.

"Did you know this and still act like that?"

I was a bit irritated.

"I won't do it again. Really."

Cristel said urgently. She lightly kicked the vine that Rea had wrapped around the Prince.

It was a gesture telling him to apologize quickly. The Prince frowned.

"...I lack aether."

"Ah!"

Cristel looked up at the sky in anger. I bit my lip.

This time, I really wanted to laugh.

So, I quickly bowed and hugged each of the Lesser Pandas.

I didn't forget to gratefully accept the branch that Tuk-sim brought from somewhere.

I must be lacking aether. After two hours of dealing with the energy of three divine beasts.

"There's no aether today. The partnership is temporary."

"Huh? But—"

"I never made a definite promise. If you respect me, please follow my decision."

Speaking firmly, Cristel closed her mouth.

The Prince's orange eyes narrowed in dissatisfaction.

"I'll think more about the naturalization issue and let