“What are you doing here so late at night? Or, uh, so early in the morning?”
“It’s already light outside. If you’re sleepy, I’ll come back later... But, it is a very important matter to discuss...”
“It’s all right. Drowsiness may have been in attendance a moment ago, but the shock of seeing you at my door sent him packing.”
“Yep, there’s the usual Regis. Pedantic and always beating around the bush.”
“You’ve barely gotten to know me, and you’ve already come to whip me into shape?”
“That’s not what I meant... If we’re going to talk about this, the last thing I’d want is for you to be drunk or half-asleep.”
“I didn’t drink that much, I’m fine. So what’s this important discussion?”
“...Regis, do you remember what we talked about in the carriage when we first met?”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t charge me for treason.”
“This isn’t a joke.”
Scant rays of morning light streamed in through the window. The girl’s crimson eyes, revealed by the faint light, gave off a true sense of urgency.
Regis placed the room’s only chair beside his bed. He offered it to her, taking a seat on the edge of his covers.
“...Does this work?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Considering their status as princess and commoner, perhaps he should have sat on the floor. But that wasn’t the relationship Altina wanted to build. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dropped by his room without her maid.
For a woman to sneak into a man’s room—if this were one of the works of fiction gaining popularity in the capital, the next scene would require him to make sure there were no prying eyes.
He inadvertently found himself fixedly inspecting her.
Altina stroked her cheek.
“Mn? What’s wrong, Regis? Is there something on my face?”
“...No, I simply had an absurd thought that I had to immediately discard.”
“Oh, but what if you aren’t wrong?”
“Wh-What!?”
“Speak your mind.”
“No, but... that’s... definitely not going to end well... You’re a minor, and...”
“Age has nothing to do with it. I’m being serious.”
“Hah!?”
“I’ve already made my decision. Whatever obstacles I face... even if I am still lacking, I want to do this.”
“Do— Do what?”
He was more confused than ever before. He could feel his heart speed up. Altina hesitated before she continued on.
“W-When the wagon wouldn’t move, you told me the nobles continue waging their pointless wars, expending the commoners’ lives and assets.”
“That was close! I knew I had things all wrong. I-I mean, yes, you’re right! Politics, of course. I remember the whole exchange.”
“Do you still stand by those words?”
“I do.”
He was finally seeing where this was going. Regis calmed his heart and returned a nod.
“And are you still frustrated with the aristocracy?”
“Of course... This fort has the hero, Jerome, so the barbarians won’t launch any thoughtless attacks, but there are lands that have it far worse. Losing land from a battle, invading to take it back; the process leads to an ever-increasing number of casualties. In just three years, half of my academy classmates who had been dispatched to the front lines died in the line of duty. They were all... good guys...”
It was no lie that he felt a problem with the empire’s current policies.
“...I also don’t think the current empire is a just one. The royal line and the nobles who should be thinking about the people do naught but embroil themselves in an unsightly struggle for power.”
“Right. I feel a bit better hearing those words from a royal like yourself...”
“Why so?”
“Under the current system, it’s difficult for the opinions of the masses to be reflected in the empire’s laws. I hear there’s a certain country where policy is decided by the vote of each and every citizen, but...”
“That sounds interesting... Would you prefer it if this became such a country?”
“No, it is too early. As the populace is largely uneducated on matters of law, military and finance, there is a high chance their word would steer the country in the wrong direction. You cannot hold politics in a bar.”
“That certainly is worrisome.”
“That is precisely why those in high places, like the emperor, need to think about leading us in the right direction. That’s all I ask for as a citizen.”
“Do you think there really is a right direction?”
“For the majority of people, at least. I find it strange that a royal like yourself shares that opinion.”
Altina’s sense of values seemed normal from the point of view of a commoner, but was quite a curiosity considering her status. Those of the upper echelon were generally prideful, discriminatory, and saw themselves as the chosen people.
“My mother would often tell me stories of what it was like to live as a commoner.”
“Oh, right, Imperial Concubine Claudette was a commoner by birth. Is she also working to reform the empire?”
“No. Mother doesn’t think about that sort of thing. She takes in all the pain, the sorrow and the hardships, enduring them and remaining complacent. She doesn’t have nor act toward a greater goal; she’s a normal person.”
“That definitely is normal...”
The empire still existed precisely because a large majority did not voice their objections toward the increasingly unequal system of aristocracy.
Altina’s expression clouded over. She firmly clenched the hand rested on her lap.
“I want to change the empire... but, at this rate... it’ll end without me having accomplished anything...”
She painstakingly squeezed out the name of a certain man. Second Prince Latrielle.
“His backing is great... it won’t be long before he corners First Prince Auguste into abdicating his right to succession.”
“At this rate, you’re probably correct.”
“He’ll become emperor. When that happens, he will be the one deciding my future... A man as cunning as he would never grant freedom to any of imperial blood. I will undoubtedly be married to some high aristocrat of the empress’s faction.”
“...That also sounds likely.”
The girl could see her own end. Unfortunately, she would likely never be granted the opportunity to voice these opinions about the empire.
“It will be no different from a prison.”
Altina grit her teeth. She wished, she prayed, to change the empire. However, her freedom would be stolen away the moment Prince Latrielle became emperor.