Hey, sorry to call you out.
　The night they arrived, I was at Cliff's office.
　He had something he wanted to tell me.
　The Tripartite Conference starts tomorrow, so is there something you want to confirm about that?

No. It finally starts tomorrow, you know.

I know. But once it starts, though, it's only my dad who's in trouble.

I don't think so. I know that you have a lot of work to do, Cliff.

Thank you. So, to cut to the chase, ......, Leo, do you have any interest in being the master of a country?

"Lord of the land?　I don't know what the question is about.
　No, I understand. I think mr. Cliff asked me if I wanted to be emperor.
　If I marry Shelley, then cliff says I'm standing in the way of you becoming emperor.
　I'm probably the most powerful and popular person in the country right now.
　So it's only natural that Cliff would think it's dangerous for me to become the emperor.

"No, I'm not going to do anything with or without it. I just wanted to ask.
　Yeah ....... Well, I guess it's best to answer honestly .

Okay. Okay, so now I'll answer your question. I'm not interested in that at all.

Yeah. We've come so far, haven't we?

It's just a by-product of how far we've come. All of this is just a byproduct of the work I've done to protect something important.

Ha, ha. Really, you deserve to be king.

No, you don't. I'm basically a person who wants to be free.
　being a lord is hard enough work... but who can be emperor?
　I like to live life for fun.

Aren't you a free king?　Ha, if you can say that, I think you're well qualified.

......
　Could it be that Mr. Cliff is trying to force me to be the emperor?
　Mr. Cliff didn't originally want to be that much of an emperor, and it's possible: .......

'Oh, don't be so alarmed. Before you become my brother-in-law, I just wanted to say something.

Yes, sir.

Your marriage to Shelley will give you the right to the throne.

...... Yes.

In short, I'll let you take over the throne any day now.

Yes?
　Mr. Cliff, I knew you were going to push the emperor on me .
　He's going to say he's going to give it to me, but he's not afraid to disappear the moment I marry Shelly or something. .......
　Later, I'll have to ask my brother to keep a close eye on Cliff.

"My mother, a queen, betrayed the Empire. And I had no small part in it. And I was even more unworthy of the emperor that he was going to abandon his sister. ......

That story is over, My Lord. You work for the Empire. Isn't that better?

Well, I'm going to, but I just wanted to make sure you were aware of that. You could always be emperor, but what would you do?　That's what I mean.

Of course. Please keep it up and let Mr. Cliff be the emperor.

"All right. I swear to you that I will work for the empire to the death. Only I'm not as strong or smart or popular as you are. I may need your help again and again in the future.

Yes. I'll be happy to help you with that.
　I've managed to avoid being pushed around.
　But you're going to have to be careful now. From now on, someone might think about making me emperor.

Good. And I'm going to make your eldest son take my place.
　Yes?

'What?　No, I would still understand if Mr. Cliff hadn't had a baby boy, but ...... what about that statement before you were married?

I'm not going to marry her, no matter what you say.

Yes?
　What is this man talking about?

Wow. To see such a surprised look on your face is going to be a treasure of a lifetime.


　No, I don't need my surprised face to be a treasure.
　More importantly, does Mr. Cliff know what he's talking about?

'What are you talking about: ....... I can't believe we don't have a queen: ......

'Huh?　Maybe you didn't really realize that?　Because I haven't been married past twenty, you know?
　Come to think of it, it's strange that the man who would become emperor hasn't married by the age of twenty-four .

I thought it was too late. I just haven't found a suitable partner. ......

Right, because I'd declared to my father that I wasn't going to marry him.

Did the emperor allow you to do this?
　No, if that's the case, what's the emperor thinking?

Yeah. I told him what I thought about it, and he agreed. He said yes.

What's the translation?

'It's strange that I'm a great sinner, but I'm a normal emperor, isn't it?

No. ......

And as punishment, I've decided to live as an emperor for life. How's that?　Doesn't that make sense?
　No, I don't agree with that: .......
　If the emperor was okay with it, how could he say no?

"But ...... what if the child between me and Shelly doesn't want to be the emperor?
　I want my kids to be free to live their lives.

Yeah. It's not just Shelley's kid. Any of your children. Name the boy you think is fit to be king.

'What?　Isn't that strange: ......?
　You don't really think that someone who isn't of royal blood is going to be emperor.
　There'll definitely be some concern about that from the nobility.

That won't be a problem. If I'm the Emperor and I say so, no one will stand in my way.

Sure it is, but ......

''Well, you have the blood of an emperor many generations ago, so I don't think you have to worry about it.

What do you mean?

''It's true that you're the grandson of a brave man, and it seems that a large portion of your blood is foreign, but your grandmother's mage is a duke. You definitely have some royal blood in you.

I see. ......
　Just in case you can't manage the bloodline problem, too .
　Yeah ...... I don't think I'm going to be able to say no, no matter how hard I try .

''Well, I don't think there's anyone to complain about. I'm sure all the dukes will be on your side when the next head of the family comes around.
　The Baudrells are Frank, the Lefebvre's are Bert, who married his sister, and the Forsters are brother Alex. ...... Surely, no one seems to be complaining about that...

...... Okay, I get it. But please let Mr. Cliff choose the next emperor.

'No, I think you'd be better off, Leo, than I would be, wouldn't you?

No. Only the emperor has the right to nominate himself. I think this is a good rule to follow. And I haven't forgotten, have I?　Mr. Cliff's signature magic.
　It's a forensic spell that specializes in seeing right through people. With that, you'd never pick the wrong person to be emperor.

Ha-ha. You're right... the ability to judge a person is the only power I'm proud of. Yes. Yes, that's true. You mind if I do some of that?

Yes,

''I managed to say it before the Trilateral Council. I managed to say it before the Trilateral Conference: ......

Is there any connection between the Trilateral Council and this story?

'No. . I just wanted to make sure I was on the right path for the fight tomorrow . Just self-satisfaction, I was actually thinking of talking to you over drinks on the day you came of age, but ...... you've been busier than I thought you would be.
　I've certainly been busy dealing with Fontaine.

'I see. ....... Well then, when all is said and done, we'll have a drink together.
　Booze or ....... I haven't had a drink since I came to this world.
　I don't know what kind of liquor I drink, so I'll ask the liquor expert Colt for his recommendation.

That's a good idea. Well then, I'll have to work on that tomorrow to make it a fun drink.

Yes. Let's go for it.


Hey, what's the story?
　Shortly after Mr. Cliff left the room, Shelly came in.



'Yeah ...... we're going to start working hard tomorrow . Also, when everything is settled, we can have a drink together.
　You can't talk about our son being emperor, so I just had to tell you.
　I didn't lie.

Yeah. If you're talking about tomorrow, it won't matter what I hear.

I'm not talking about that much.

Hmm.

Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've been alone with Shelly like this.

'You'll always have Belle by your side!　Also, Leena hasn't been as reserved with me lately!
　I think I stepped on the tiger's tail when I said the first thing that came to mind in an attempt to divert the conversation.

I'm sorry. You'll have to forgive me, but I'll find a way to spend some time with Shelly next time.

'No, that's okay. I'll have Leo all to myself for a week or so when he's free.

Ha ha ha. A week is a long time.
　It's a very Shelley-like solution, though.

Yeah?　I could give Elsie a couple of days, though.
　You're right, you haven't been making time for Elsie either .
　I'm sure Lou would be more than happy to treat you to a good meal than to spend time with me at .......

Well, you'll have to be nice to me.

You don't have to worry about that.

Yeah. I wouldn't be too worried about it. Whew. I've got an early start tomorrow, so I should get to bed.

Okay. Okay, I'll sleep with you today.

Oh, that's great.


Well, good night.

Good night.
　I changed into my nightgown and kissed Shelly, who had crawled into bed first, goodnight before I closed my eyes.