The First Princess’s Palace.
An unexpected summons from the First Princess forced me to stop what I was doing and come here.
Despite being busy, I made time to come — and yet, the moment I arrived, she greeted me with suspicion.
“What exactly are you plotting, Kenneth? You’d better spill everything right now.”
Plotting?
That’s absurd.
Kaela, the First Princess of the Ron Empire.
The most prominent flower of the empire and the one who inherited the strong bloodline of the First Empress — with her striking auburn hair and the golden eyes that symbolize the imperial family — she exudes an aura of elegance and charisma, like a regal rose in full bloom.
In every iteration of my returns, I had always maintained a good relationship with her.
But this time, things were different.
This time, she was interrogating me with a sharp, hostile expression.
“Ever since the assassination of the Second Empress, you’ve been living quietly like a mouse. And now, suddenly, you’re taking an interest in the power struggle? Are you planning something with the support of the barbarian forces? That’s treason, Kenneth. Treason.”
I’m just trying to survive.
I couldn’t understand why she was taking the time to approach me directly.
As the leading contender for the next imperial throne, others always came to her — not the other way around.
This was the first time she had sought me out on her own.
Not once in all my many returns had this happened before.
It made me wonder — could the First Princess herself be the one behind this recent conspiracy?
Was she testing me because she thought I might interfere with her plans?
There was no material evidence, but the circumstantial evidence was hard to ignore.
Every time I proposed a massive construction project in past timelines, the argument I used to persuade her was the threat from the foreign tribes.
It wasn’t the most convincing reason from a practical standpoint, but for some reason, she always believed me — and granted me the approval I needed.
At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it — just grateful for her support.
But now, the more I reflected on it, the more suspicious it seemed.
If she didn’t truly see the foreign tribes as a threat, why would she have supported those projects so readily?
With so much uncertainty in the air, I decided it was time to put some distance between us.
“Princess Kaela… No, I’ll take the liberty of calling you something else. Kaela… sister.”
“Who gave you permission to address me so casually? Are you seriously challenging me right now?”
“Not at all. I only wish to speak my truth. Kaela… sister, I have no interest in the imperial throne — not even a sliver. And that’s not because I lack power now — it’s a truth that won’t change even in the distant future.”
I just want to survive and live a long life in a peaceful timeline.
That’s all.
“…Then why did you do it? I heard you poured everything you had into this — even damaging the Second Empress’s legacy in the process. None of this makes any sense to me.”
It doesn’t make sense to me either.
How was I supposed to know the foreign tribes were secretly hiding their true power — and that the empire’s arrogance would lead to disaster later?
But I couldn’t exactly tell her the truth.
So, I did what I had to — added a bit of seasoning to the facts and played on my emotions.
“There’s no place for me in this imperial family.”
My argument was based on the possibility that there were enemies within the royal house itself.
Nothing had happened yet, but who knew what dangers lay ahead?
“That’s why I’m leaving.”
Let’s call it an evacuation.
Once things settle down, I can decide whether or not to return.
That was my real plan.
But it seemed she took my words in a different way.
For the first time, she seemed visibly shaken.
“A royal’s place is wherever they choose to stand. If you feel you have no place, it’s only because of your own inadequacy.”
“No! You don’t understand the hardship of being a royal with commoner blood.”
That’s right — you and the First Prince both.
If I’d been in your position, maybe fighting the foreign tribes would’ve seemed like a winnable battle.
But for someone like me — with mixed blood — no matter how hard I struggled, every timeline ended in a bad ending.
Power struggles?
Civil wars?
You think those are more important than survival when a greater threat looms?
I’d had enough of their endless infighting.
My head throbbed just thinking about it.
We were siblings, no matter how distant — and yet, every time, I’d been forced to fight them just to survive.
Did they even understand my resentment?
Did they care?
My outburst left the princess speechless.
Despite the gratitude I still felt for her kindness in previous lives, I couldn’t let my guard down.
Not when she was still a prime suspect in the current conspiracy.
“…I see. I understand your feelings now. I’m sorry — I misjudged you.”
“No, I should apologize. I spoke out of turn.”
And just like that, she offered a straightforward apology.
A superior who could admit when they were wrong — that had always been one of the reasons I sided with her in past lives.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave. Thank you for the tea.”
“Yes… Take care of yourself in the north. …Don’t get hurt.”
There was still so much left to do.
So I turned away from her words — words that carried a faint trace of loneliness — and left the First Princess’s palace without looking back.
*
“This can’t be happening! This is absolutely ridiculous! Waaahhh!”
Saintess Rii, who had been happily enjoying a holiday stroll through the capital, was now sobbing in the Third Prince’s palace.
She’d brought this on herself.
[To the esteemed Third Prince of the Ron Empire, Ron von Kenneth,
We have received your report.
Thanks to you, we were able to assess and address the situation before it damaged the church’s reputation any further.
We wish to express our gratitude.
We have heard that you will be heading to the Great Plains for relief efforts following the unprecedented disaster there.
As a gesture of support, we will dispatch the Saintess to accompany you.
Though she still has much to learn in terms of maturity, her abilities are beyond question.
Please make full use of her skills.
We hope this marks the beginning of a strong and enduring partnership.
—Pope Eustanius]
Ah, the Pope — truly a wise and respected leader of the goddess’s church.
Of course, I knew there had to be some calculation behind this decision.
By sending this troublemaking Saintess to me — her natural enemy — the Pope was neatly washing his hands of her responsibility.
Thanks to this turn of events, the church’s greatest asset was now in my hands.
A true win-win situation — even if it hadn’t been my intention, it was an incredible harvest.
Rii — the current Saintess, said to be born only once in a century through the goddess’s divine revelation.
As the Pope had described, Rii seemed like the most hopeless of the hopeless at first glance — and indeed, she was hopeless in many ways.
But her ability to wield divine power was so exceptional that she was considered one of the greatest in history.
With a talent like hers, the ways I could use her were endless.
“She could serve as a walking buff machine, a symbol of the church’s authority to boost my credibility, or an unmatched healing machine.”
Of course, there was always the risk of her unpredictable behavior — but as long as I kept her under strict control and prevented her from acting on her own impulses, that wouldn’t be an issue.
And so, without meaning to, I ended up forming quite the team:
Kyle, our strategist.
Frennila, our powerhouse.
Rii, the Saintess (even if only in title).
And me, the figurehead prince.
An unlikely but surprisingly effective “Avengers” squad.
Once preparations were complete, I ignored Rii’s loud sobbing and boarded the assigned carriage without sparing her a glance.
Clang!
“Oh! Good morning, Your Highness!”
Thud!
Without a word, I slammed the door shut again.
I turned slowly, only to see Kyle shooting me a playful wink.
His unnecessary sense of humor was seriously testing my patience.
But I couldn’t yell at him — nor could I back out of this situation — so I swallowed my frustration along with two calming pills I’d kept on me just in case.
Only then did I manage to reopen the carriage door and step inside with a forced smile.
“Apologies — I was caught off guard and acted without thinking. Please forgive my rudeness.”
It was an unexpected display of disrespect, and I immediately offered my apology in case I’d offended her.
“Don’t worry about it,” Frennila said with a warm smile.
Thank goodness she didn’t seem upset.
The interior of the carriage was more spacious and comfortable than I’d expected, so I quickly seated myself diagonally across from her — keeping as much distance as possible.
I hadn’t originally planned on traveling north myself. But somehow, things turned out this way.
At first, I hesitated — the idea of spending so much time in close quarters with Frennila made me deeply uncomfortable.
But the possibility of enemies lurking within the imperial family made my decision for me.
The situation was calm for now, but I had no way of knowing when a dagger might be pointed at my back.
I’d already figured out how to avoid the threat from the foreign tribes —
I wasn’t about to get stabbed in the back by my own empire.
As I mulled over these thoughts, Rii stormed into the carriage, still fuming and muttering under her breath.
…Wait, she was sharing this carriage too?
No wonder it was so spacious.
Honestly, I was grateful for her presence.
Things had been getting awkward with just Frennila and me — but with Rii wedged between us, the atmosphere would surely lighten up.
Rii, however, didn’t seem inclined to sit down.
She stood there, arms crossed, glaring at me.
“Seriously?! A cute, precious girl like me was crying her heart out, and you just walked away without even trying to comfort me? What kind of person does that?!”
…Does she seriously describe herself as cute and precious?
All I saw was an annoying, noisy black-haired beast.
Rii kept grumbling beside me, but I didn’t respond.
If I ignored her long enough, she’d tire herself out and quiet down eventually — she always did.
“Your Highness, all preparations are complete.”
Before long, Kyle’s report came from outside the carriage.
“Alright — I’ll leave the rear guard to you. Take care of it.”
At Kyle’s signal, the support troops at the front began to move out.
Unlike past timelines, this time the empire had chosen to send aid to the foreign tribes.
All of this was happening under the emperor’s approval — and my full authority as the third prince.
As I wondered how these events would shape the course of history, I slowly closed my eyes, lulled by the gentle rocking of the carriage.