After leaving the door to the warehouse behind me, upon reaching the carriage, I heaved a long sigh, as if exhausted. Seemingly enduring it, I gave the surrounding men a sweet smile. I did my best~!

Praise your princess!

“That certainly ended up as expected, I am relieved no one had to die.”

It would surely break my fragile heart to see someone die, despite being threatened to do treason against Wisteria.

“Was it really necessary to intimidate them like that, niece?”

I turned towards my uncle behind me. Yeah he was there. I wanted to leave him back in the palace, but nooo, he was just so stubborn and had to follow me. But he was not the only one. There was one unexpected party that came along, who was strangely quiet from behind the group.

“I thought it was a good way of convincing them of the better option?”

“Given the punishment, I think going straight to the point would have been fine.”

What? But where’s the fun in that? In all seriousness, I think scaring them was definitely a must, not just for my own satisfaction, of course, just so they would be more scared of the crown than the Empire. Make them realize we hold more power to them than some foreigners.

The closer the object of terror, the better. Now for the subject of fear, however…

“Well, whatever, as long as all things end up well. You have to admit, I did a pretty good job, right?”

My eyes were bright with anticipation of praise, I must have been adorable. So innocent. As if a child finally made her first biggest achievement ever.

Uncle winced slightly, as if disturbed by something, before looking away with a small smirk. “I suppose. Yes, good job.”

“That was pretty cool, definitely!” Rogan praised me. “I never thought you would become that scary.”

“Well… I didn’t have a choice, so I had to be.” I smiled awkwardly.

Although, I liked that he praised me. Unlike my uncle! He may have praised me, but I didn’t feel pleased at all. In fact, I was not looking for his praise. Fuck him.

Rogan then continued. “Yeah, remind me not to piss you off next time. Anyways, amazing acting, princess.” He gave me a thumbs up.

Yeaaaah, acting…

I smiled back at him. However, the other person who I wanted even just a little praise from just stood at the back, looking down at the soil. Namely, it was my eldest brother, Eleden.

Why’s he getting gloomy all of a sudden?

I noticed this strange air around him whenever he was in my presence. He might try to act like a proper brother, but there’s just something else. Like some sort of conflict. I didn’t know exactly what it was.

I didn’t even know why he was so adamant about coming with me. There was no need for his presence. And I was quite surprised to hear him requesting to join me. He mentioned he just wanted to watch me work, and I just had to agree in the end. He might learn a thing or two.

Got to help Father with education here and there, you know.

I’m a good daughter.

“What do you wish to do with the merchants?” my uncle asked. “Are you seriously letting them relax today?”

“Of course. And I will give you my directives pretty soon. Make sure the plans for the nobles are ready for us to act all at once.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Alright, then I will see you at the palace, uncle.”

“I will not be coming back to the palace. I need to be somewhere else.”

“I see. Alright, then. I will go ahead.” I faced the two servants that came with me. “Vernon, Rogan, let’s go.”

The two servants sat in the driver’s seat, to… well, for one of them to drive. I glanced at my uncle, watching him go to his carriage after giving me a brief farewell.

“Brother? We can go.” I called out to my brother, who was spacing out.

“...Oh, yes. Let’s go.”

After I entered the carriage first, he followed — still wearing that conflicted face. Honestly, what was wrong with him?

The carriage rattled as it moved.

A minute passed.

I was casually looking out through the windows, trying to enjoy the scenery of the outside. However, this strange atmosphere in this small room was spoiling my enjoyment.

When I shifted my eyes towards him, I caught him staring into my face.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

I resisted the urge to sigh and asked him a question. “Is something the matter, brother?”

“Nothing…”

“I know this can’t be nothing. Please speak to me.”

He lowered his gaze for a moment. “You have been behaving so strangely.”

“...”

“You are so different that it… scares me.”

I quietly took a deep breath. I never thought he would feel that way. I wasn’t even trying to scare anyone in my family.

“Brother… There is nothing to be afraid of.”

“... I know… I know. You’re my sister. But, I can’t say I am comfortable with your change.”

I closed my eyes. You know, in the past, it may have been irritating to keep acting like a pure princess. But, as time passed, it felt like I would rather be that, than the other. My family liked me that way, and it was for the best, even for me. It was more peaceful. Tiring it may be, I didn’t want my family to keep their distance from me.

But… this situation just kept pushing me.

I had nothing to say to my brother of course, so I stayed silent.

He continued. “You spared them, the merchants.”

“They may have committed crimes, but they can be helpful in some other parts.”

His brow knitted a little. “Perhaps you mean useful?”

“...”

“You spared them because they can be useful.”

“... It would be a waste to cast them away. Might as well have them help Wisteria as much as possible.”

“So Allie was discarded because she wasn’t useful anymore?”

Oh, so this is about that.

Dammit, brother. Still carry some compassion for her? So that’s why he had been acting strange around me ever since Allie was executed. I tried to keep a straight face, but I was resisting the urge to place a hand on my forehead.

Thinking back on the request of Allie being treated better in the dungeon, indeed he might have been carrying some pity to that girl. But it would seem that having that poor girl executed put him in quite a shock, or conflict of feelings — perhaps about me.

“Allie had lived a life of suffering, perhaps what happened to her might have been salvation.”

“What’s wrong with living through suffering?”

“What happened to her may have been mercy.”

“That’s not mercy, my sister…”

“You think so? Well, in any case, Allie’s allegiance was never to us. The crown decided what it did because she may be a crack in our foundations.”

“Having her killed… even that is too much.”

“... Brother… let me tell you this. That kind of sentiment can sometimes be our undoing.”

“So you’re saying we must harden our hearts?”

“No. I’m saying having a good heart is wonderful, and a lot of people must have it. But our positions are full of peril. We must have heart, we must not lose our hearts, but we must choose a side as well.” As what father had said. “The side that is more important to us, and we do what we must and what is the safest.”

He closed his eyes. “You really are something else… What you did to the merchants… truly amazing.” He sighed. “And here I am, like this… Even Father is troubled. But you… you are more fitting for the throne.”

What? No, no, no. Don’t give me that inferiority complex thing! I don’t want the throne! Keep it!

“Brother,” I reached out for his hand. “I am not fit for the throne. There’s a reason why you are proclaimed to inherit it, not me.”

“But… I am… weak.”

“No, you have a strong and kind heart. And that is a fine thing to have as a king. You need only learn more.”

“And you do not have what it takes to rule?”

“Brother, I don’t like people. They scare me. I am not good at anything diplomatic, nor do I have any actual work experience. And ultimately, being at the center of attention is very strenuous.”

“...”

“I have more flaws that distances me from the throne. And you, my brother, need only take a few steps to get there.”

I placed a hand on his cheek. “Do not lose hope. You will improve. I have faith in you... I know you will become a brilliant king.” I smiled fondly. “Do you understand, my dear brother?”

He sighed, and then gently placed his hand over mine. “I understand. Thank you, Estelia.”

A loss of confidence. What a terrible thing. I have always felt like that, don’t we all? You see someone shine more brightly, and you put yourself in the shadows.

But people often forget, we have our own light to cast.

Eventually we arrived at the palace. Through the window, my eyes narrowed when I saw some unfamiliar knights in white armor.

“Um, are those knights what I think they are?” I asked my brother.

“Paladins. Were they supposed to come at this hour?”

Well shit, I was supposed to avoid them and not show myself to any of them. As the purest of all existence, they might do something that would be too much — kidding. I must avoid them to keep me off their radar.

But paladins, huh… Can they bless me to have more good luck than bad? Can they do a miracle that would make my troubles disappear? Please…?

Okay, aside from wallowing in my troubles, now that we have stopped here, someone had to get out of the carriage. So there was only one.

“Brother, I apologize, but I think you alone should leave the carriage. I will enter on the other side of the palace.”

“Very well.”

“Please tell the plan to the drivers.”

With that, he exited the carriage. After speaking with the drivers, he went on to the palace entrance and greeted the paladins. Meanwhile, our carriage moved away. The carriage parked at the special spot for the royals, and I promptly exited.

I looked towards Rogan and Vernon as a servant came to take care of the horses. “What an unfortunate timing.”

Vernon nodded. “Indeed.”

“Let’s go.”

We made our way to the other entrance. There was no problem at all, and we reached the door guarded by a pair of knights. They were surprised at first when they saw me, but we continued onward.

I couldn’t risk going up and accidentally encountering anyone, and thus, I went straight ahead to the guest room I usually use. Father wouldn’t just let anyone else use it, knowing I always hang out there.

Once we reached the guest room, all was clear, and I stayed here. I sent Vernon to check things out and tell me when all was safe. It took some time before he returned. He then told me that Father would be coming here shortly.

He must be excited to hear the news of my outing!

And thus, after a few minutes, father did arrive.

Father sat down on the seat next to my couch. “The envoy will be leaving tomorrow.”

“That’s great! What did he find?”

“Holy magic had no special effects on the flesh, so it was assured they were not demons.”

“What are they planning with that discovery, then?”

“They decided to trust the matter to us, thankfully. That will keep them off our backs for a while. But he did say that he’ll be investigating a little bit within his nation.”

“At least things calmed down.”

“And you arrived just when they were here. Too close for comfort.”

“Indeed.” I smiled in relief.

“So, what resulted in your talks with the merchants?”

My smile grew wider, sweeter than before. “They agreed to help the crown to their full capabilities. Forever.”

“What do you mean forever?”

“They will serve the rulers of Wisteria from here on out, and not just them, their descendants as well. The crown owns them now.”

His eyes widened. “I… I didn’t think it would go that far…”

“It just ended that way.” I giggled adorably. I noticed a bit of a puzzled reaction from my two servants, but I ignored them. I continued. “But if their family line, their company, goes against the kingdom again, all will be stripped from them. And when I say all, I mean everything they own.”

“And they agreed to that?”

“Uh-huh.”

“... I see. This surpassed my expectations. So they will not be prisoners?”

“No, they will be required to act.”

“And what would you have them do?”

“Help us prepare for war.”