“…His Majesty has—”

I received news of the king’s passing.

When a servant went to his chamber that morning, she discovered that the king had passed in his sleep.

The doctor who performed the autopsy pronounced that the cause of death was a heart attack. Reportedly, the king had heart problems due to his age and was taking medication.

“—I had no clue…”

Immediately, I brought the news to the princess, including his cause of death. Only the king’s close aide, Ignaz, knew of his predicament. Not even the princess was aware of his most recent health condition.

Many were targeting the king’s life. In this kingdom, there were those who harbored resentment because of the king’s actions, and those who simply wanted to profit off his death. If people from other countries were to be included, there wouldn’t be an end to them.

Therefore, most likely, the king was trying to keep from appearing weak.

“…Father, why?”

Most likely, he never said a word so as not to worry his daughter.

“Father…”

As I stared at the weeping princess, I thought about my own future.

The princess was the only legitimate heir to the throne. Concerned about his worsening health issues, the king had been preparing documents pertaining the succession of the throne.

Written on those documents was the princess’ name.

Based on the princess’ past words and actions, I found it difficult to believe she’d implement sensible policies. At the same time, she’d be an easy money tree for greedy aristocrats. After all, making her bend to your will was a simple matter of buttering her up.

—Such was the princess.

Such was the person who’d become our queen.

“…Should I nip it in the bud?”

Or, should I wait and see?

“Ren.”

I summoned Ren. Recently, I had him come to my office to be given civilian education.

Ren, who was very perceptive, immediately realized that I wanted to talk in private. He drew closer to me, offering me his ear. I gave him simple instructions and dismissed him.

“Your Highness, due to the recent happenings, I’m sure you need some space. I have prepared a room for you. Please rest there. I shall arrange for a carriage so that you can return home at any time.”

“Thank you for your consideration. However, I shall make a hasty return to the royal capital. As the queen, I have to hold my father’s funeral, and I’m sure there are other things to attend to as well. The initial plan was for me to run the orphanage for six months, but I don’t think I’m up to the task anymore. Forgive me, Iris.”

“No, in these trying times, there’s no need to worry about us.”

Not like I intended to make it last half a year anyway.

“Thank you, Iris.”

Amidst her overflowing tears, the princess smiled at me. Then, she returned to the royal palace with the messenger who had come to inform me of the king’s passing.

The king’s funeral would be held soon, so I had to prepare to go to the capital as well.

—and to prepare for the future.

“Eric, keep an eye on the movements of the merchants within Lowenberg and the prices of the items on display in the stores.”

“…Okay, but what seems to be the problem?”

More like an omen.

Tension was palpable in Eric’s face. My aunt, who was standing behind me, was anxiously staring at us.

“Well, this is just a possibility. It doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen, but…”

“Are you suspecting that the naïve and ignorant princess will wage a war against Elda again? She’s definitely hostile towards Elda, but to me, she seems like the type who hates conflict… But I could be wrong.”

Eric’s assumption wasn’t baseless.

She was certainly the type of person who hated conflict. To her, conflict in and on itself was probably evil. At the same time, she was also the type who didn’t mind taking up arms in the name of justice, wholly ignorant to the repercussions.

“There’s a fine line between goodwill and hypocrisy, and it often changes depending on how people perceive it.”

On one side, the princess might be a compassionate soul who cared about others. On the other side, she denounced Elda, seeing it as an absolute evil. If anything, for the sake of justice, she wouldn’t hesitate to order the killing of someone from a safe abode.

Naturally, as a princess, she had to be protected. She grew up to be that way due to having never experienced any hardship from the moment she was born. In that regard, she wasn’t the only one at fault.

However, if she acted solely based on her misguided sense of justice, then we’d have no choice but to respond accordingly.

As long as I still had something left to protect, I wouldn’t hesitate to do so.

I decided to write a letter to a fellow mercenary I had met on the battlefield and invited him to Lowenberg. I’d also tighten our security.

…Despite her amicable treatments towards me, the princess didn’t seem to like Lowenberg—

—or to be precise, me.

My enemies were the princess, the aristocrats who’d be flocking around her, and her surroundings.

“There’s no end to this[1].”

I couldn’t help but smile bitterly at Eric’s words.

---

[1] An idiom, ‘There’s nowhere to put my hands and feet’, which expresses a state of being continuously overwhelmed or occupied without a moment of respite.

***T/N: //Look at the screen// she BECAME WHAT?!?!?!1!?!! //faints// //regain consciousness// //reads the screen again// THAT NINCOMPOOP BECOMES A QUEEN?! THIS AINT A FEVER DREAM??!! //faints again//

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