What has Changed and What has Stayed the Same
A room in the royal castle of the Luine Kingdom. The room is quite large, with a bed that looks like it could comfortably accommodate four people sleeping together, but there is still plenty of room to spare. A mirror stands with intricate carvings around it. A sofa large enough to serve as a bed. A shiny black table.
The room is one of the most special rooms in the castle, furnished with furniture that is instantly recognizable as being of a very high value.
However, although this may be unfortunate for the person who furnished the room, the person who was given this room does not feel much gratitude for it. It may be that they are accustomed to a luxurious life, but they do not have the luxury of feeling happy about it now.
What will happen to her now? The former Empress Milianea of the Lemberg Empire continues to hold such thoughts in her mind.
It was only yesterday that she was brought to this place after being protected, though Milianea doesn't want to admit it, by the Royal Army of Luine Kingdom. She had been prepared a sumptuous meal, a bath accompanied by a maid, and this splendid bedroom, so that she could recover from the fatigue of her journey.
Milianea had no desire to refuse. She knew that if she refused, she should not have come here in the first place. To protect herself and her subjects who continue to follow her, she had no choice but to accept it now. No matter how she will be used, she has to endure it for now.
"...I wonder if I will ever meet my companions?"
There was no point in brooding alone. She asked the maid who was waiting in the doorway of the room if she could see the subjects who had accompanied her.
"I am not at liberty to make a judgment, so could you give me a moment to check?"
"Yes, please."
Milianea doesn't expect to get permission anytime soon either. Not only because the other party is a maid, but also because she still doesn't know exactly what the Luine Kingdom intends to do, but she would not want to meet with them under normal circumstances. Even if Milianea has no intention of doing so, it is obvious that she suspects a devious scheme.
The maid opens the door and walks out into the hallway. But the maid soon returns to her room. All she had to do was to tell it to someone waiting outside.
Milianea thinks this is also natural. The maid also serves as a lookout.
Another moment of silence passes through the room. It's not boring. Various thoughts, which cannot be called thoughts, float in and out of her head. Just by doing this, she feels as if the day is about to end.
The silence and Milianea's thoughts are broken by a knock on the door. Someone has come to the room.
Milianea braces herself to welcome the visitors. Her mind is disturbed by the voice of the maid.
"Your Majesty!?"
The maid gave a surprised voice. She didn't expect it either.
"...Your Majesty?"
There is only one person who is called [Your Majesty] by the maid. King Albert. The king is the other person, even though they are not strangers. Milianea kneeled down on one knee on the spot and hung her head.
"A-ah. Look up. No, not that. Stand up."
Albert is bewildered by Milianea, who greets him respectfully. The woman Albert knew was a woman who treated him as an equal.
"As His Majesty the King wishes."
"There is no need for such courtesy. Let us stand up and talk."
"I am not in a position to tolerate such impoliteness."
"...Then I'll make it an order. It's hard to talk like this. Get up and move to the sofa."
"...If it's His Majesty's order."
Although she did not change her attitude toward the king, Milianea still stood up. She moves to the front of the sofa, as Albert had instructed her to do.
In the meantime, Albert himself carried a chair, placed it in front of Milianea, and sat down. Seeing this, Milianea also sat down on the sofa.
"...Is there any inconvenience?"
"Yes. Thank you for your concern."
"Can you talk to me like you used to?"
"…Is that when you were visiting the church capital for the Hero Selection Ceremony?"
"That's right."
"That's impossible. Your Majesty has become a king. And I'm... just a woman who ran away from the country."
She is neither the former princess of the Izrim Magic Kingdom nor the Empress of the Lemberg Empire. Even with the title of former, it doesn't mean anything.
"I don't care what your status is. I want you to treat me as a man."
"That's... to me..."
Millianea's face turns red. She is not ashamed, she is humiliated.
"...Ah! No! I don't mean that, um, that's right... I want you to treat me normally as an old friend."
Albert's face is also bright red. This is because he is embarrassed.
"...I beg your pardon...... I made a premature...... mistake."
Millianea's face also turned red for a different reason than before.
"I became king. But because of that, I have no one I can call a friend. This is not a matter of feeling, but of determination, but I still feel lonely."
"...Are you asking me to replace that friend?"
"I have no intention of replacing that. You are my friend from the beginning. I want you to treat me with that in mind."
"...I understand. I can't do it in official situations, but only in times like this, I'll do it."
"Yeah, that's fine."
If she showed that attitude even in official situations, Millianea's reputation would be damaged. In reality, it won't be so, and his retainers will be curious and will be watching the fate of the two, but Albert doesn't know.
"Quickly, can you tell me what this is about?"
"What?"
"Why did you decide to bring me to the Luine Kingdom?"
"That's because we can't let the hero's outrage go unchecked."
"What does that have to do with my being here?"
"...It gives a great cause."
Albert says things that don't need to be said. Milianea also suspects this is the reason, but that doesn't mean he has to affirm it.
"Do you think you can get it?"
"You are the former princess of the Izrim Magic Kingdom, and the Empress of the Lemberg Empire...... Would you prefer not to wear the original?"
"...What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know what happened to Emperor Lemberg after that. If he's still alive, you're still the Empress."
At this point, the execution of Emperor Lemberg has not been reported to the Luine Kingdom. Of course, the empire fell.
"Yes, I suppose so. In that sense, yes, but...... I am not qualified to call myself Empress."
"Why is it so?"
"I abandoned the emperor, abandoned my country, and ran away. No one will recognize me as an empress."
"You had no choice but to do it."
"Even so... I couldn't do anything for the country. My country didn't need me either."
Even if she is an anti-hero, few people would follow her. No one wanted to leave the country to her. Millianea was reminded of that.
"It's not over yet. There is still more that can be done."
"Under the protection of the Luine Kingdom?"
"That's... that's how it is."
"I’m sorry. I don't mean to criticize you. I'm just feeling sorry for my own helplessness."
"There is no need to think like that. People are not omnipotent. We can't do everything the way we want. I think we have to make things the way we want them to be to the extent that we can.
"...It's surprising to hear such words come out of your mouth."
Milianea was actually surprised. He deserves to be the conqueror of the continent. She thought Albert was a confident person who would profess that.
"Surprising is terrible. But yeah. When I met you, I didn't know defeat. I believed that everything would go my way."
"Is it different now?"
"Because I lost. To the opponent I thought I couldn't lose. If I don't reflect on this, I'm just a fool."
"...Ren Takashiro. No, it's the Nord Emperor Kaiser."
"Yes, that's right. I thought I had him completely cornered on the battlefield, and then all at once it was reversed. Since then, the Luine Kingdom has been dancing in his palm. Recently, things have finally calmed down."
The domestic rebellion has finally calmed down, and the movement toward reconstruction and domestic reconciliation has begun. In the meantime, they are in the situation they are in now. The Luine Kingdom is lagging behind.
"What does he want?"
"That is?"
"I was saved twice by his retainers. It's him, so I doubt if he really helped me. But if it's a plan, what is he planning? I don't know."
"The most conceivable thing is to put you in this country so that our country and the heroes will fight. As I said earlier, you can be a just cause to recapture the Izrim Magic Kingdom and the Lemberg Empire. From the hero's point of view, it's an eyesore."
"That's right. That's what it is."
If the Luine Kingdom and the Izrim Magic Kingdom, ruled by the Hero and Mei, were to fight, it would be a battle between great powers. Whoever wins is likely to be pretty exhausted.
The Nord Empire should just stand by and watch. So they can crush each other arbitrarily.
"But there is a way to make the Izrim Magic Kingdom turn its attention to the Nord Empire. The Nord emperor is an enemy of the heroes. I don't think the heroes will leave him alone."
First of all, Ren, who is hostile to them, will be killed. It is very likely that they think so. Mei and the others should also understand that the situation of fighting with the Luine Kingdom is in Ren's plans.
"Even if that happens, is he confident that he can win?"
"I'm sure he does. He's going to fight every country that exists on this continent."
In fact, it is not. There are countries that wanted to be annexed to the Nord Empire and were accepted. However, Ren is not actively working on it. It is just that there were such countries.
"Lang went to the Nord Emperor."
"I wonder if he's going to be a formidable enemy again?"
"I don't know. I don't know how much Lang can do when she's at her full potential."
"...Let's rate it higher. That looks better."
Under Ren, Lang will surely demonstrate her abilities to the fullest. They decided to keep that in mind.
"It's tough."
"I also have vassals I can trust. I don't think I'm inferior to the Nord Emperor."
"Finally, I'm hearing such words."
"Is that so?"
"That's right... As the Luine Kingdom, which one are you going to fight?"
"I'd like to stay on the sidelines for a while if possible. Our country wants them to crush each other, too."
The Luine Kingdom would be more than grateful if the Nord Empire and the Izrim Magic Kingdom would fight each other. And it is the same for the Izrim Magic Kingdom.
"Which of the three forces will fight first? After all, it's still a three-way fight, isn't it?"
"…Izrim Magic Kingdom and Lemberg Empire have formed an alliance."
"Not an alliance, annexation"
"No, it was before."
What Albert is talking about is not now, but just before the start of this great war. In order to oppose the Luine Kingdom, the Izrim Magic Kingdom and the Lemberg Empire formed an alliance.
"That's right. With that alliance, I ended up marrying into the Lemberg Empire. Can't you think of an alliance this time?"
"Do you think you can?"
"...I want to ask you that. Can you do it?"
"I don’t think the Nord Empire will accept an alliance. It is the same if not our country. I think we still have a better chance."
Ren, the emperor of the Nord Empire, would never form an alliance with a country ruled by a hero. Of course, since it's about Ren, he can't say for sure. However, even if they did, the alliance would be a kind of conspiracy, and it would certainly not be a true alliance.
"As for the Izrim Magic Kingdom and our country, I think this too will be difficult."
"Why is that? Both countries know the dangers of the Nord Empire. Isn't that why a united front has been realized?"
"The first thing to consider when it comes to an alliance is the treatment of Yuya, our hero. Naturally, the other side would want him released."
"Can't we do that?"
"If it is possible to destroy the Nord Empire with certainty, then I will consider accepting it. But that's not all. The rebel force within the Izrim Magic Kingdom, or even the Lemberg Empire, is fine. It is possible that they will demand your extradition, which could serve as a banner for that rebel force."
"That's……"
"I can't do that. I'm not going to hand you over."
"…………"
Words that she was somewhat at a loss to respond to. It would be embarrassing if she said that she has a husband here. First of all, it was definitely a mistake.
"I can't let you die"
"...That means"
Milianea's feelings sink down at once. Albert's words are not the time for strange misunderstandings. If Milianea is to die, that is, to be executed, there must be someone who has done so before her.
"...Emperor Lemberg will eventually be executed."
There is no way he would be kept alive.
"...I know."
"Alliance with the Izrim Magic Kingdom will not be easy. If that happens, the three nations will look to each other to see what the other will do, and they may not be able to move."
"That is what the Nord Emperor wants. Is that why I came to this country?"
Create an issue that cannot be compromised between the Luine Kingdom and the Izrim Magic Kingdom. Milianea thought that was Ren's plan. It makes more sense for her to think this way.
"If so, what's next? I know the Nord Empire needs time. But is he not afraid to give us time?"
Even if the united front was driven away, the damage to the Nord Empire is still considerable. They should need time to recover from that and stabilize the rule of the Saint Miriam Kingdom.
However, at the same time, the Izrim Magic Kingdom will also proceed to govern the occupied area, and the Luine Kingdom will be able to recover from the damage of the domestic rebellion. They don't think it's good for the Nord Empire.
"…Izrim Magic Kingdom, no, what do the heroes think of the Nord Empire? Do they really see them as the ones to be destroyed first?"
"Is it wrong?"
"If they don't see the Nord Empire as a threat, they will probably put it off. I don't think they would dare to show any openings in the Luine Kingdom."
"...If they consider it a threat?"
"Even so, they might postpone it. They'll try to fight after they're confident that they can definitely win."
This is a decision from a lack of courage. Regardless of the outcome, Milianea believes that the heroes, Mei, does not have courage.
"The Nord Empire won't invade... it's easy to assume that. No, you think that even without a plan. That the Nord Empire would be watching the grinding between the great powers."
If they see an opening in the Izrim Magic Kingdom and attack, the Luine Kingdom will just be happy. The Nord Empire would want to see the loss of two nations. It would not occur to the Izrim Magic kingdom that this idea is exactly what the Nord Empire wants.
"It is likely that the first to fight will be between your country and the Izrim Magic Kingdom, isn't it?"
"That possibility is high... it's a precious time, but I'm going to excuse myself."
"Yes. It's not the time to chat."
"It wasn't small talk. It was a meaningful conversation. So I'm going back to work."
"Yes. I'm glad I could help."
"Yeah, thank you"
Albert tries to leave Milianea's room to hold a meeting. His feet stopped at the door.
"...Thank you for coming to this country."
"Eh……?"
"I welcome you from the bottom of my heart. I know you have been through a lot. And there may be more to come. So, for now, just rest your mind. I'll do whatever I can to help you do that."
"...Ah, thank you."
Unexpected words. She never thought that she would be thanked for visiting this country. The Albert she had not seen in a long time was the same as before. He confuses himself with words that she cannot read his intentions.
The position of each other has changed considerably, but Milianea thought that he did not seem to have changed about this.
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