In the far northeastern corner of the Bardimian Empire was a rural domain under the rule of the imperial princess 11th in the line of succession, Yuliana von Bardimial, a girl who had turned 16 only recently.
Although she was indeed in the line of succession, 11th was far from being high. To make matters worse, she was the daughter of a concubine. Due to certain circumstances, she was out of favor with her father, the emperor, and as a result was effectively being confined in the frontiers.
The kingdom where Shouzou lived was still in autumn, but winter was already encroaching on the northern territories.
Due to the dropping temperature, the fireplace in Yuliana’s personal quarters was crackling with flames as she passed her eyes over some documents.
Her luscious black hair barely brushed the top of her shoulders. In addition, she was almost always wearing pants. As a result, she was often mistaken for a pretty boy at first glance.
As the firewood burned and crackled, Yuliana picked up a portrait in an extravagant frame and gazed at it. Depicted within was a very well-rounded young man. This was apparently the first prince of the Kingdom of Alsbeit. His body looked unhealthy and his face looked sullen. It was hard to believe that this portrait was sent for the purpose of setting up marriage talks.
Yuliana’s short sigh happened to coincide with the sound of someone gently knocking on her door.
“Princess Yuliana, Hanna at your service. I am here in response to your summons.”
“You may enter.”
After several seconds of pause, a young, slightly plump maid excused herself, then silently came into the room.
Within this mansion that was riddled with those in her father’s pocket, this maid was one of Yuliana’s most trusted confidants, someone who she had known for many years. In terms of age, she was two years Yuliana’s elder, but her short stature and baby face gave her the impression of being much younger.
“What can I do for Your Imperial Highness at this late hour?”
“This is a marriage proposal sent over by my father.”
“From His Imperial Majesty?! Wait, marriage proposal?!” Hanna looked extremely surprised. In addition, her face had the expression of someone for whom the world had ended.
“The man is the prince of Alsbeit Kingdom across the sea.” She held out the framed portrait, and Hanna accepted it with shaking hands after excusing herself. Hanna looked at it. Then she became dumbstruck.
“What is with this fa—very chubby man?! This is coming from me, a rather plump person, but this overly full-bodied person is not suitable as a match for Your Imperial Highness!”
“Well, judging someone by their loo—”
“That is not so, Your Imperial Highness. I might not be the best person to say this, but a person who lets their body go is a person who lets their personality go. And with this detestable face on top of it...... this man’s terrible personality is oozing from every inch of this portrait!”
While wondering whether a single portrait could indeed convey so much, Yuliana cleared her throat in an attempt to clear the air. “In any case, I am thinking about proceeding with this offer.”
“With this fatty?! I mean, with this pig?!”
She actually said it. What’s more, her rewording was even more foul-mouthed.
“I only said ‘proceed.’ Well, it would depend on how things play out, but I might also consider actually going through with it.”
“How can that be...... for Your Imperial Highness to be married off...... Allow me to give everything I have in preventing this from happening!”
Uh-oh, those eyes means she’s serious, thought Yuliana as she tried to convince Hanna otherwise. “Hold on, listen to me first. At the moment, I am in a very precarious position.”
The empire was not a single monolith. The emperor held overwhelming authority, but there were many who were discontent with his tyrannical rule. This included not only the countries annexed by the empire, but also men of influence hailing from families with long histories in the empire, and even some of the emperor’s own blood relatives. And among those in opposition to the current emperor was a faction who was trying to hold Yuliana up as a figurehead.
“I do want to put a stop to my father’s rampage. Letting that man continue doing what he wants is something that must not be.”
However, in order to do that, she needed power. Especially power from foreign countries.
“Alsbeit Kingdom is a major power that also has friendly relations with its neighbors. If our empire attacks them indiscriminately as we have been doing, we will end up having to face many countries all at the same time. I’m sure that’s why even that man is being cautious right now.” If she successfully garnered the cooperation of the kingdom, that would cause the winds of fortune to blow strongly in favor of the anti-emperor side.
“But Your Imperial Highness, if His Imperial Majesty truly regards the kingdom to be as dangerous as you say, then wouldn’t he send one of the other imperial princesses with higher status and influence?”
“I cannot say for certain. But at the very least, expelling me from the country would mean the faction opposing him would lose their figurehead and thus lose influence. And it just might be that on top of that—” Yuliana glared at the dancing flames while continuing. “Perhaps he intends to have me assassinated in the kingdom, and then lay the blame for my death on the kingdom and use it as the pretext to invade them.”
“That’s too much...... But if that’s the case, then that’s all the more reason why you should turn this down!”
“I am aware of the dangers involved. Even so, I see enough value in this offer to bet on it. However, I am yet sorely lacking in information. Unfortunately, I do not know much about the internal state of Alsbeit Kingdom. To that end—” Yuliana looked straight into Hanna’s eyes, which caused a faint blush to creep into her cheeks. “I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Yes, I’ll do it!”
“Listen to what I have to say first!” Yuliana felt a slight sense of doubt regarding her personnel choice while elaborating on her request.
“Eh, really? More like, would His Imperial Majesty actually allow this......”
“No, I believe this is within the limits of how far he would allow us to push things.” The flames dancing in the fireplace reflected in her eyes as if her resolute will was also burning within like a fire—