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“...!?” Regis swallowed his breath.
She stared at him with a deadly seriousness. He could feel his own face grow hot.
We need to cool off—both of us. Regis took a deep breath.
“First things first, Altina... The reason I didn’t decline the margrave’s request was to avoid the risk of you being spotted.”
“Ah... You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“And, as I said, the threat to my life was an empty one... I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp on his personality.”
“Even though it’s hardly been a week since you arrived here?”
“He took more time to get down than most. He’s quite the capricious one.”
“Really? What’s my personality?”
“...I don’t have a good grasp on you yet.”
“What’s with that... Are you lying to avoid the subject?”
“I don’t lie.”
“Oh, that’s right. You’re against lying. Then answer me honestly... Will you still help me?”
Her expression was an amalgamation of anxiety and expectation. She was close enough for each breath to be felt. So close he could make out every detail of his own face in her large, crimson eyes.
No one had ever needed him this much before. No one had recognized him like she had.
And so, Regis had no confidence.
“...Let me be honest... What you are attempting to do is treason against the empire. You will make an enemy of a majority of those in power. They will presumably ignore even the empire’s will in order to crush you. You may have the right to succeed the throne, but... the populace aside, the large noble houses would never back you.”
“You refuse to lend a hand to such a dangerous situation?”
“The opposite. Precisely because it’s a difficult dream to reach, I want to lend you my aid.”
“Really!?”
Altina’s expression brightened up immediately, much to Regis’s concern. He attempted to restrain her excitement.
“Please, wait a minute. The thing is... I can’t even imagine myself being of use to you.”
“Why’s that? You’ve proven your worth in advising Marquis Thénezay, in persuading Jerome, and in capturing the bandits. And I’m sure you have many other achievements from before, too.”
“But that was all just surface knowledge I learned from books. If I were to fall into an unfamiliar situation, I’m certain that my expertise wouldn’t be of any use. It’s far too reckless to place this much trust and ambition in such a half-baked excuse for a strategist. I’m aware of my shortcomings, and that’s why I’m so reluctant to take on this position. What if I mess up in a critical situation? What you’re trying to do here is a game of life and death—there are no second chances. That’s why I think you should take more care with your personnel selection—not that I don’t appreciate having met you. What I mean is, you might come across a real tactician someday. I just happened to be the first you encountered, and—”
Altina’s shoulders dropped. As she hung her head, her forehead smacked into Regis’s with a cushioned thump.
The sudden impact forced him to take a breath.
Her lips were so close.
“Regis...” She exhaustedly called his name.
Had she finally gotten sick of him? He couldn’t blame her.
“Altina...?”
“...Do you want to become my tactician or not?”
“The tactician part aside, I do want to help you... I just have no confidence I can do the job well.”
He felt the heat across her forehead. She was just a little warmer than he was.
“Then how about we do this? I’ll put as much trust in you as you refuse to put in yourself. Then you should have enough trust for one person.”
He felt some sophistry at work. But, rather than himself, he might have an easier time believing in Altina.
“...So you’ll believe in me... and I just have to believe in you?”
She lifted her body. The sensation of their touching foreheads lingered for a short while.
But the only part that had separated was their foreheads; she was still sitting on Regis’s stomach.
“Yes, believe in me—is what I’d like to say. But I’m aware that’s impossible as I am now.”
“Why?”
Quite a sudden change of heart. A moment ago, she so strongly declared she would become empress.
But her eyes showed no colors of defeat. There was resolve in her expression.
“Sir Jerome said he wanted to make you his subordinate...”
“Yeah...”
That was the only noteworthy thing that took place between now and her proclamation that she would become empress. She had likely compared herself with Jerome.
It really was a tough gap to bridge.
“A majority of the soldiers believe in Sir Jerome over me. To ask you to be the only one who believes in me—I can’t ask for something so selfish.”
“I think Sir Jerome’s closer to success. He might make a comeback in the empire.”
“You reckon he’ll be emperor?”
“No...”
Usurping the throne would be difficult. Even if Jerome himself boasted peerless strength, for each soldier working by his side, a thousand from the empire would oppose. Not to mention the First Army defending the capital was a unit gathered from the strongest men of the country with top-class equipment.
But, above all else, just winning battles wasn’t enough to win hearts. To garner enough support, a war needed a just cause.
Regis cut the rails to that train of thought there.
“It’s hopeless. I can’t support him... Even if Sir Jerome becomes ruler, I doubt the war will end. Our territories will expand even further, and little else.”
“Right,” Altina agreed, “I can’t entrust the future to Sir Jerome. If I want to realize my ideals, I need to make the change myself.”
“I see... So you haven’t given up yet...”
His statement made her bare her fangs. She snapped at him.
“That’s a bit rude, don’t you think!? My heart was racing so fast I thought it would stop when I told you my ambition! Did you think my feelings were so light that I’d give up at the slightest inconvenience!?”
Altina stretched, deliberately shifting her body weight. A sudden great deal of force pressed down into his stomach.
“Urp!?”
“A. Po. Lo. Gize.”
She loosely rocked her body back and forth. Each time, a terrible strain washed over his stomach. The bed creaked beneath them.
“It’s coming out, it’s coming out, everything I ate at the banquet, I’m gonna throw— I’m sorry, I’m sorry!!”
“Good.”
Her vicious attacks stopped. She let out a long sigh.
“Believing in others is an inevitable part of my job. I’m just glad I got to confirm how you felt.”
“I feel nauseous...”
“Not those kinds of feelings.”
“...What will you do now?”
“A tactician has no means to display his ability without troops, correct?”
“Normally...”
“I’ll do something about that. Leave it to me.”
“Altina... I’m against you doing anything rash.”
“Is that your advice as a tactician? As a comrade who shares my ideals? As a friend? Oh, or maybe...”
“Um, well... as a fifth-grade administrative officer.”
“Right.”
She slowly reached out a hand and pinched Regis by the nose.
“Nn!?”
And as she released her grip, she simultaneously climbed off of his body.
She jumped off the bed as nimbly as a cat. Before his eyes could even register it, she was already at the door.
“Good night, Regis.”
Just like his previous visitor, she left with a smile convinced of something.
The door shut, and—
Silence.
Regis—who had now slightly raised his torso—felt the strength drain from his body as he powerlessly entrusted himself to the bed.
He felt as heavy as lead. He could hear the small birds chirping outside the window.
So many outrageous events had come in succession to rob him of his sleep.
“What is... all of this...”
Through the bandit incident, Regis had come to grips with the state of the border regiment, and there was one thing he was convinced of.
What he needed next was a unification of the power structure. Normalizing Altina and Jerome’s crooked relationship was the top priority.
The ideal would be if Jerome recognized Altina as commander. If that proved impossible, the second best thing... would be for Altina to accept her position as a decorative figurehead.
However, Regis’s own words, of all things, had set her off on her quest to become empress. She would not accept being a decoration, even if this refusal meant the death of her.
What’s more, such a careless administrative officer was desired by both sides—a preposterous occurrence. Jerome only wanted to use Regis as a slight to Altina, but this was developing into a distinct clash of interest.
“...What’s all this, then? Don’t tell me I’m the one behind the worsening of the situation? How could this be? I just wanted to read my books...” He felt like crying.
Ah, that’s right. Let’s read.
His nerves were so on edge, he was certain he wouldn’t fall asleep in a hundred years.
Regis picked a new book from the bookshelf and began flipping through the pages.
“Books sure are nice... I can forget about everything when I read...”
Or at least, he was supposed to forget. His eyes were merely skimming over the words as his head swam with thoughts of other things.
Mending Altina and Jerome’s relationship was probably his responsibility, as he was likely the one to blame for its current state.
An army with two commanders—one in name, the other in practice—was already, in itself, a disaster waiting to happen. He couldn’t think of the right way to handle it.
“And just look at that... I really am incompetent...” Regis lamented as he drifted off to sleep, almost swooning over his open book.