"...Then let's go over everything once more."
The Kingdom of Yustia, central district.
There stood the grandest, most elaborately crafted, oldest, and most important structure in the entire kingdom.
Yes — the Royal Palace.
Inside the palace, two sets of footsteps echoed down a wide corridor.
Yurugen's, and Ermes's.
The two were currently heading to a particular location within the palace, and since the long walk across its sprawling grounds provided ample time, Yurugen was taking the opportunity to review the current situation.
Yurugen spoke again.
"The succession war has entered its full-blown phase. Ever since that incident, with His Highness Aster's disinheritance all but confirmed, various factions have begun throwing their support behind candidates who hold a claim to the throne, and the Royal Palace has been thrown into upheaval."
"Yes."
The power struggles unfolding within the palace while Ermes and the others had been away at the academy.
He had heard about this before, naturally. Ermes nodded and waited for Yurugen to continue.
Yurugen nodded back, trusting Ermes's ability to keep up, and pressed on.
"Then, just the other day, His Highness Aster was formally disinherited. Almost simultaneously, the infighting within the palace began to settle down."
"The factions that remained — there are, broadly speaking, two."
"Two...?"
In other words, two factions supporting two separate claimants to the throne had survived.
The rest had either shrunk to insignificance or been absorbed into one side or the other.
And what mattered most was those two successors.
Ermes listened all the more carefully to Yurugen's words.
Understanding his demeanor, Yurugen deliberately kept his tone as quiet as possible.
"— The first is His Highness the First Prince."
"...I see."
"As expected, in situations like this, the eldest is always strong. Those who value bloodline — many of the old, powerful nobles are on his side. I hear he also has capable strategists supporting him. And His Highness himself was merely hidden in the shadow of Prince Aster — magically speaking, he is by no means unfit for the royal family."
That made sense.
While this country may prioritize magical ability, it still tends to favor the eldest — the one who would naturally hold the superior claim to succession. The First Prince was only to be expected.
And that was precisely why the other force — the one said to rival him — caught his interest. Yurugen went on to reveal what it was.
"The second is Her Highness the Second Princess. Since the First Princess has already married into another kingdom, she is effectively the strongest among the female claimants. Moreover, Her Highness has behind her an organization of tremendous influence in this country."
There, Yurugen paused for a beat — hesitated just slightly, then spoke firmly.
"— The Church."
"..."
Ermes' eyes narrowed. For him, that organization was bound up with all manner of history.
The Church.
As its name implied, it was the largest religious institution in the Kingdom of Yustia — one that held influence even over the royal family, devoted to the worship of the one true God, known in this country as the "Star God."
And above all —
"'Bloodline Magic is a blessing bestowed by God —"
"Heavenly Gift —"
"'...that is what it is.'" This was the very organization that had first proposed and spread that doctrine.
Yes. It proclaimed words that stood in direct opposition to the truth of magic as Ermes knew it. What is more, it had defined Ermes as "one whom God does not love" — which, in a sense, made it one of the causes of his exile.
…Frankly, both in that regard and in the magical sense that Ermes dealt with, they were a faction that didn't seem like they could ever get along.
Yurugen watched Ermes's expression turn somewhat severe and offered a wry smile before proceeding to summarize.
"As things stand, the current power struggle is split between two sides. The First Prince, backed by a great many influential nobles, and the Second Princess, who commands the largest church. Both are formidable factions—"
"……"
"And—both of them,
are enemies
that we
must
bring
down."
What that meant was—
The Trachia family belonged to neither of the two overwhelmingly powerful factions just named. Nor were they neutral.
It was nothing other than a declaration to back a third power—a third claimant to the succession.
He had heard as much beforehand and accepted it. ……Truth be told, just hearing it stated now made it clear enough that what they were planning was irreconcilable with both of those factions.
And so—opening his mouth, Yurugen delivered his conclusion: a name.
"The one we shall back
is the Third Princess.
Princess Liliana—aged eleven."
"……Forgive me if this is indelicate, but may I speak my honest impression?"
"Go ahead. ……More to the point, I've already more or less guessed what it is."
Ermes spoke with a slightly restrained tone, and Yurugen urged him on with a wry smile.
Knowing full well what he was about to say—Ermes spoke without holding back.
"…………
She was here
. The Third Princess, that is. I like to think I at least had a general idea of who belonged to the royal family, but……"
"No, no, it's perfectly understandable. She was someone who truly never appeared in public. And you're probably not the only one—most nobles likely don't even know she exists."
That, in itself, seemed like it could be a problem.
But more importantly, why had Yurugen chosen to put her forward? No—knowing Yurugen, he surely had his reasons.
"Well, of course there's a backstory to all of this. I'll explain the details soon—rather, I'm planning to fill you in starting now. After all──"
Yurugen's smile deepened as he looked at Ermes.
"──that's exactly why we're on our way to the 'meet-and-greet' right now, isn't it?"
That was indeed the case.
Where the two of them were headed was inside the Royal Palace—the chambers of the Third Princess, Liliana.
And today marked the first meeting between Ermes, who was to become her tutor, and the princess herself.
Having confirmed this, Ermes stiffened his expression ever so slightly and murmured:
"……I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous."
"Haha, no need to be so stiff. She's a lovely girl, the Princess. She was looking forward to your arrival, and I'm sure you'll get along splendidly."
Reassuring him, Yurugen continued in a gentle tone.
"Besides, I am confident that you are the one best suited to guide her. Trust my judgment, and I would appreciate it if you simply approach her as your genuine self."
"……If Your Grace says so, then."
Hearing those words, Ermes felt somewhat reassured as well.
At the same time, Yurugen came to a stop. — They had arrived.
The upper floor of the Royal Palace. Before them stood an ornate door, clearly leading to a room a full size larger than the others.
Inside this very room was the person who would become his student starting today.
"Well then, shall we go in? I've had Leila go ahead of us. — If she's managed to keep them occupied properly, they should be in there."
Taking that in, he took another deep breath... — No, wait.
Hadn't Yurugen just said something rather ominous?
But before he had time to dwell on it, Yurugen knocked on the door, and a response came from within. The moment they heard it, the door swung open —
"I— t's— a— trap—!!!"
— An incredibly high-pitched voice came bursting out from inside.
"You wretches, you tricked me! I had a bad feeling about this from the start — from the moment you lot, who are normally nothing but stingy with your words, suddenly showed up with fancy sweets and didn't say a word! And yet I was foolish enough to believe you!"
"Lady Lili, please, you must calm down!"
His gaze naturally turned toward the voice — and there, flailing in Leila's rear bear hug, was a terribly small creature.
Even smaller than her comparatively petite mistress Katia by a full head's height. Because of that, her struggles to escape looked less like resistance and more like a playful animal wriggling its limbs about.
That tiny body was clad in a dress befitting a young girl, adorned with lavish decorations, and combined with an impeccably cute, doll-like face, she looked for all the world like a living doll.
Her voice was high-pitched and childlike as well, but a sweet, bell-like beauty that carried not the slightest hint of unpleasantness.
Her hairstyle, too... he believed it was called a twin side-up. The glossy locks gathered on both sides of her head bounced as she thrashed about, and the ribbons of her hair ornaments bobbed along, enhancing that small-animal quality and stirring an irresistible urge to protect.
She was an extraordinarily adorable girl — and yet the words coming from her mouth stood in stark contrast, dripping with outright refusal.
Managing to wriggle free of Leila's hold, the girl let out ragged breaths, then glared at Yurugen — who had just walked in — with a not particularly intimidating glare.
"Yurugen! How dare you —"
Scheme
—what do you mean by scheming like this! I told you there was no need for any introduction, and yet you lure me here with sweets and try to force the meeting anyway — that underhandedness! The rumors about you being an old fox were true after all! I will never trust you again!"
She huffed — to put it metaphorically, she puffed up and lunged like a kitten trying to look intimidating.
Yurugen, who was being confronted — however, kept a mild smile plastered on his face and didn't say a word.
Finding his unresponsive demeanor unsatisfying, the girl shot him one last glare, then pointed sharply toward Ermes.
"So! Over there — the rather handsome silver-haired gentleman who, while not quite up to Brother Aster's level, is still quite dashing!"
"Huh? Ah, yes... me?"
It was a peculiar way of being addressed, but Ermes was the only silver-haired person present, so he responded.
"That's right! You are my new tutor, aren't you!"
"Uh, yes. Presumably so."
"Then — under normal circumstances I would have avoided even this meeting, but since we've already met, there's no help for it. Let me make this perfectly clear!"
Having confirmed that, the girl — straight to the point, without beating around the bush — declared:
"I have absolutely no intention of learning anything from you!"
.........
...Well, for the time being.
There were plenty of things Ermes wanted to say, things he wanted to press Yurugen about, things he wanted to grab Yurugen by the collar and force out of him — but for now, he let them be.
Ermes was certain of just one thing.
This girl was rumored to become his student — though storm clouds were already gathering over whether that would actually happen — the Third Princess, in other words.
No, her words and demeanor made that obvious enough — but more than that, Ermes was certain on an even more direct level.
Because of the appearance of the girl standing before him.
Hair a vivid red that dazzled the eye, and intelligent azure eyes that drew you in as if by a spell.
The exact same hair color and eye color as someone Ermes knew well.
And then there were... all those wildly unconventional tendencies, that rich emotional depth, those very pronounced likes and dislikes.
All of those traits and that presence—combined, they gave rise to a single intuition in Ermes.
Namely—
Ah, this person—
is the Master's blood relative.
—such was his thought.
And regarding this inexplicable wave of emotion within Ermes, the small girl before him—
took a step back, surveyed her surroundings in a wide circle—then once again thrust a finger in his direction.
"To begin with! Everyone seems to have the wrong idea, so let me make this perfectly clear once and for all!"
She puffed out her chest, trying her utmost to project dignity—yet her adorable appearance only overwrote everything with sheer cuteness.
Even so... she declared it outright.
"I have absolutely no intention of becoming queen!!"
And so, the young girl who shared this fateful first meeting—
was the Third Princess, Liliana Yosef von Yustia.
The tiny princess who would soon become Ermes's student, bearing an identical appearance to Ermes's master Rose, and who happened to be Rose's niece.
—It was a meeting with this kingdom's future sovereign.
Chapter Three: The Story of How She Became Queen. The curtain rises.
First up, the new heroine—the princess who resembles her teacher. She starts off with a seriously prickly attitude, but—
I'd be happy if you'd continue watching over things for a while longer...!