Chapter 267: 1st Princess Charlia (4)
‘What is this suddenly?’
Anyone could see that it was an embarrassing request.
I kind of knew that our lovely returner was thinking about something, but I couldn’t imagine it would be this.
‘Why?’
When my expression shifted into doubt, Hyunsung continued talking. I didn’t ask why, but he had noticed my skepticism by himself.
Of course, he couldn’t seem to be able to explain in detail. I couldn’t blame him – he couldn’t just straight up confess that he’d come from the first timeline.
“I’m sorry… I hope you don’t ask why. I will return this favor…”
“No. You don’t even have to think of it as a favor. You must have a reason. If it’s something that helps the guild or our party…”
“No. It’s nothing like that. It’s personal…”
He could’ve just said it was for the guild, but when I saw him drawing a line with this personal thing, I thought that this was so like him.
‘Tsk tsk.’
Of course, it was personal.
Charlotte was wary of me, but considering the Holy Empire as a whole, her becoming Empress was the only way to go for this Empire.
The current Emperor was a shameful figure to even be called an Emperor, and the First Princess, Charlia, was crazy.
Of course, it was easier for me to handle the Emperor or the First Princess, but if I considered the Empire’s development to be more important, I would unconditionally exercise a vote for Charlotte.
‘I don’t even need to exercise it.’
Charlotte was practically next in line for Empress.
The First Princess was a troublemaker of this insane imperial family, and the succession structure was limited. The Emperor also seemed to think of Charlotte as his successor, so unless a twist happened, she would safely rise to the throne.
‘And she may already have…’
Charlotte was likely the Empress even in the first round. No, it was not just a probability.
The fact that Kim Hyunsung said he wanted to prevent her from becoming Empress was in line with the saying that the First Empress had been her.
I didn’t know why Kim Hyunsung didn’t want her to become Empress, but I had two guesses.
‘Will she go crazy?’
The first was if Charlotte would become the worst tyrant ever in the future. It was not impossible.
Considering that she tried to ostracize Charlia, she was not a nice person, either.
Although her characteristic and disposition were closer to goodness, she didn’t hesitate to swing her sword against those who she judged to be her enemy.
It was not unusual for her to become a blood-crazy Empress, given her cold appearance.
For Kim Hyunsung, who must lead the second round successfully, it was natural that he did not want to entrust the country to the tyrant of the first round.
However, looking at his face, I thought that this speculation had to be put aside.
There was no hatred toward her in his face.
‘He may be hiding it, but…’
I had a strong feeling that he was feeling sorry for her.
The second one that can be guessed was the miserable life of Empress Charlotte.
If she couldn’t bear the crown’s weight, whether she felt ashamed of herself or her becoming an Empress, it would have been miserable.
Charlotte herself may have regretted she ascended to the throne, and Kim Hyunsung may have watched it.
I didn’t know their story, but I thought that the second guess might fit when I saw him asking me without malice.
If not…
‘What if the First Princess becomes an all-time high Empress?’
No matter how I think, it was not the third guess.
The First Princess I saw was a crazy bitch full of ego and poison and was a hopeless fool.
If this was the case, Kim Hyunsung should have said that he wanted to make the First Princess Empress before saying he wanted to prevent the Second Princess from becoming Empress.
No matter how I would think about it, the third was out of the question. The probability lied in either my first or second guess.
It seemed like it wouldn’t be a bad idea to talk about this first.
“Is there anything I don’t know about?”
“Ah… a little…”
“I see. Actually, I’m talking about it for the first time, but the Second Princess Charlotte was hostile to me as well. It would certainly be difficult if such a person became the Empress.”
“Yes. You’re right. That’s why.”
“I’ll do it perfectly so she can’t come back again…”
“Oh, you don’t have to. As moderate as possible… I’ll be satisfied if she doesn’t become the Empress.”
‘It’s the second.’
The second was indeed correct. Kim Hyunsung favored Charlotte.
Even though he could be favorable because she was a bloody Empress in the first round, these speculations were now meaningless.
The important thing was that Kim Hyunsung did not want to make the Second Princess Empress.
“I understand what you want. I also understand you can’t answer the questions.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“Not at all. There are many things that I have received so far, so I have to pay back… and we are colleagues after all.”
“That means…”
He looked very touched.
‘That’s right.’
The more requests like this, the better.
Just in time, I should have set a course. I was thinking about her, too.
It wasn’t bad that I felt like Kim Hyunsung opened the way, but it was true that my head hurt when I were to think about quarreling with the Second Princess.
Naturally, it would be almost impossible to end it well.
There would be friction in any way, and even if I assume I’ll win this dogfight, Charlotte was likely to get hurt.
‘I don’t care, but…’
The question was whether Kim Hyunsung would tolerate it. It was natural to check with him before starting work, and when I opened my mouth quietly, there was a moment of silence.
“You must have expected it, but it won’t end well.”
But it looked like he has already made up his mind.
“Okay. Please, do so.”
He looked a little bit bitter, but I was able to set my mind right.
‘Charlotte is an enemy.’
There were absolutely no personal bad feelings left. If it wasn’t for Kim Hyunsung’s words, there was a high possibility that I would have taken the Charlotte route without difficulty.
That was the reasonable decision with the biggest gain.
The reason I came to think this way, however, was because of Kim Hyunsung. I couldn’t help but smile.
* * *
Thanks to that, my daily life, which was already busy, became a little busier.
It was obvious why.
I had to organize yesterday’s work.
I already told Lee Jihye the route I would move, and she nodded without saying anything as if she had expected it.
I heard, ‘I knew you would. That’s how Lee Kiyoung works,’ but it was not because of personal bad feelings.
Although it seemed she misunderstood, it would be better if Lee Jihye moved with a strong will.
Of course, Lee Jihye wasn’t the only one who moved quickly.
For some reason, even Cha Hee-ra said, ‘As expected, honey. If you need anything, tell me,” and with that, she said she would help; and Yuno Kasugano obviously decided to cooperate with me.
Even the rest of Blue wasn’t still.
Kim Hyunsung was a little more motivated than usual, and he was able to entrust a few things to Jung Hayan.
In the meantime, I was also running around and promoting meetings with influential nobles.
It was the usual schedule, but, naturally, the inside story was different.
If the meetings until now were to maintain a close relationship, this time, I had to use the close ties I had gained.
It meant that, since I’d tapped the anvil and hammer, it was time to pull out the finished knife and swing it.
Of course, the finished weapons were waiting for me to judge who the enemy was, and once I did, I thought there might be repercussions.
Anyone could see that the Second Princess’s position was solid, and turning my back on her was like turning away from power.
‘Duchess Catherine… and the Count Castle Rock.’
They might be reluctant.
No matter how close we maintained our friendly relationship, throwing a dice saying that they were hostile to Charlotte would still be hard.
Of course, the Pope’s side would support me, but considering that the Imperial Family and the Pope’s side were not very involved in each other, there was a high possibility that my position as Honorary Bishop would not be utilized.
‘It’s hard…’
Charlotte might not know that I was hostile to her. But sooner or later, she would.
‘I have to choose the route well.’
To be honest, I’ve already thought of a way.
No, the options were limited, anyway. It was either I go right into Charlotte’s camp and troll it to divide the camp completely…
‘Or I make Charlia the Empress…’
Honestly, I was reluctant about them both, but there was no other option.
‘The other way is treason.’
I didn’t want my neck to be cut off by the guillotine, so I couldn’t help it.
In the meantime, since Charlotte was wary of me, doing this was out of the question.
In the end, I had no choice but to choose the latter, but this was, in a sense, a disaster for the Empire.
Perhaps Kim Hyunsung took this into account and had asked me the favor.
In fact, to stop the Second Princess from becoming Empress was the same as telling me to make the First Princess the Empress.
‘So, he means that it doesn’t matter if the Empire collapses?’
Or, he must have believed that I could control the First Princess.
Of course, even if I set up Charlia’s camp, the problem would lie after that.
The First Princess was still an imperial nuisance, and many nobles had turned their backs to her.
She had no support base, and she was not capable.
‘It will be tougher than I thought.’
It was not just tough. However, I had to choose the most obvious option.
While I was about to meet Charlia, who wanted to thank me for the last party, I saw the maids’ faces at the place where the First Princess stayed, leaving me to think about her characteristic more and more.
‘Cra—zy.’
All of the maids I encountered looked terrified, and they were extremely nervous that something would happen. It was obvious as to how she usually treated her subordinates.
I bet that there would be no good days for the maids who lived here.
‘Real trash.’
It was also true that I was slightly nervous.
Originally, I wanted to avoid being associated with Charlia as much as possible, but what could I do in this situation?
‘I have to face it once.’
“E-er… Your Majesty. L-L… Lee Kiyoung-nim has come.”
After the voice of the maid, who was shivering, a voice brighter than I thought came out from the inside.
“Really? Tell him to come in.”
“Okay, Your Majesty.”
It was a very different voice from yesterday.
It sounded a bit sharp, but I would not be mistaken that it sounded more careful than I thought.
After the door opened, what I saw was Charlia waiting for me in the parlor with her hair and make-up done.
I don’t know if it was because of my characteristic, but her eyes, looking at me, were full of favor.
It was a spectacle to see her smiling with a shy face.
It was enough to doubt my eyes if she was the same person as the woman I saw yesterday.
“I am Charlia.”