Sister, Lady Letticia is currently working . Please wait in the meantime .

Understood . Is it fine for you not to listen to what Yuri has to say?

Yuri wishes to speak to Lady Letticia alone .

I see . Thanks for leading the way for me .

We walked back the way we came .

Sister, what just happened

If youre intending to ask for my forgiveness for what Yuri said, theres no need . I already understand .

Indeed .

Thats why I want to say this . Beforehand, what you said about the position of leader of our territory: if you intended that as an apology then Ill have to refuse .

These are two separate topics . I just think youre the best fit for the role . Honestly Father has been considering this already and even working on documentation to submit for approval .

I didnt expect them to have gone this far with it already .

What?

Honestly, I was even glad to hear your engagement cancelled . As someone who works for our country, I think its a huge loss if someone of your talent left our nation .

Youre speaking too highly of me .

Not at all . Why are you so vehemently rejecting this? Youre the eldest and have plenty of achievements of your own . Is it just because youre a woman? I dont see how that stops you from being a great leader .

He had caught me .

As a woman, I felt like I had to retreat behind the curtain .

The thought filled my mind .

But when someone asked me the question as directly as that, I had nothing to say .

Why did I think I had to reject my position because I was a woman?

The more I thought about it, the less I could rationalize it .

Just the justification of this is what should happen was enough to stop me from ever considering the reason .

If remaining a leader is too much pressure on you, I dont intend to force you . Youre free to leave if you really want to

Hm, arent you contradicting yourself here?

After all, youre shouldering a great burden . If I add more pressure on youas a brother and as your family, I cant do that .

Is that so?

I inhaled deeply and asked myself .

What kind of future did I want to choose?

Right now there were two paths before me .

Becoming the leader, and not becoming . There were countless branch routes on the latter road .

Ill ask you one last time . You say it doesnt matter which side I pick?

Yes . I mean what I say .

Is that so? Well then, Bern . Ill accept the role of territory leader .

Bern laughed out loud .

Really? Thats great .

And that was when we arrived at our destination .

Bern, Tanya, and I walked into the empty room .

Please wait here . I still have matters to attend . Some workers in the palace might come over with some materials . Tanya, feel free to wait here too .

Understood . Thanks .

After Bern left, I sank into the couch .

Is this the best course of action, milady?

Tanya asked me with concern .

What are you referring to?

The position of leader .

Yes . I dont regret it . I think being able to continue down this path alongside everyone else might be something great for me .

Is that so?

Tanya smiled, relieved .

Heh heh . Please be sure to stay by my side in the future too .

I might say the same to you . I belong to milady until my body decays .

Ahif you really were to decay, Id be quite troubled .

We laughed at this statement .

And then there was a knock at the door . One of the palace workers was here .

She made us tea with a practiced hand and left again .

Honestly I liked Tanyas tea morebut this was a matter of personal preference .

In the moment, I enjoyed my hot tea in silence .

Today too much had happened .

As if trying to digest everything I sipped on my tea without saying anything .

Excuse me . Sorry for the wait, Lady Iris .

Lady Letticia! Not at all . Im grateful for the opportunity to rest .

Im glad youre taking a good break .

Lady Letticia sat before me .

Thanks to you, Yuri told us everything . That way well be able to move in on those nobles we didnt have enough evidence to convict beforehand . Thank you for everything .

Youre far too kind . Im just happy to be of use .

Being of useYou always help us achieve the best goal . Even in the negotiations with the Acacia Kingdom . We really are endlessly grateful .

Im honored .

Lady Iris . Are you willing to become the leader of your territory?

Yes . Did you hear about this from Bern?

Yes and no . Ive heard a little from him when we were discussing other topics . Seems like hes asked today as well .

Yes .

Then what do you plan to do?

I plan to inherit the position .

Lady Letticias eyes narrowed with excitement .

Is that so? To be honest, Im going to tell you something that must stay in this roomIm about to ascend to the throne .

It made sense . In the situation that Prince Edward and Dean had passed away, she was the only remaining successor with royal blood .

Unlike my grandmother, Im not serving as a transition point . Ill have actual political power .

Wow! Thats really!

I let my honest surprise show .

Although Id already realized she had the capability to do this, it seemed like it was finally coming to pass .

Her grandmotherQueen Ellia had ruled from the top of the nation, although shed done so by ruling alongside other people with royal blood .

That kind of rule clearly served as transition for the next generation .

But if she was saying her rule would be different, this means she would be the first true queen of this country .

Taking this step didnt just mean countering traditional notions, but also breaking them down and rebuilding them . It was a path above paths .

Ive made up my mind . As a matter of fact, Im already walking this road . Lady Iris, hope we can look after each other in the future .

Those should be my words .

Well then, Lady Iris, I wanted to give you a present for your response to the Acacia Kingdom affair . Your district will be designated as a special district with a certain degree of self-governing privileges .

What does that mean?

I think you know this already . When my brother was still here, this country was moving toward centralized power .

Yes, absolutely .

In short, we wish to treat you and your territory as exceptions . Please continue showing us your skills .

After I processed her words thoroughly, I realized how much gravity stood behind the words she spoke so lightly . I couldnt help but inhale sharply .

Is this the best course of action?

Lady Letticia chuckled lightly .

You ask the same question too, huh . No matter good or bad, I think its the best option for the country . Ive reported this to other nobles, and no one has complained . But that shouldnt be surprising . To protect themselves, they ganged up on your territory alongside Queen Ellia . When that brother of mine was attempting to collect baseless taxes from you, they not only ignored it but followed in his example . And during this crisis they didnt make any attempt to assist you either .

I didnt agree or anything, just nodded vaguely .

But was this really the conclusion shes confirmed with other nobles?

She moved quickly .

If she was so intent on pushing good will upon me I didnt have much else to say about it other than accept her well-intentioned gift .

Thank you, Lady Letticia . Ill work my hardest for the territory from now on . If I can work hard enough to become an asset to our nation, Ill be honored .

Im happy to hear that .

So in a harmonious atmosphere, our conversation ended .