My Disciples Know That I Am Strong

Episode 8. As expected, the imperial family is rotten. (4)

“You weren’t sleeping.”

I spoke to the princess tax collector who was sitting in her chair in front of the moonlit window.

As soon as she heard my voice, she jumped up from her seat in a fright. Her clothes, which were draped over her shoulders, slipped down.

“Oh, how did you get in?”

“I used teleport. A competent wizard for me… No, because I have a disciple.”

I said, running through Maria’s hair.

She was resentful of helping the imperial family, but in the end she trusted me and gave up her opinion.

“Wizards are rare talents, so unless you are a noble or imperial family, you can’t have them personally.”

“That only applies to those who belong to the ‘magic union’. There is nothing wrong with a person who acts individually.”

A magic combination.

It was a group of wizards who gathered talented magicians from a young age, taught them magic, and developed them to devote themselves to the empire.

Because this union belonged to the imperial family, as she said, only nobles and above could personally lead a mage.

However, the case of mages who are personally growing and active was an exception.

The fact that he did not receive any support from the imperial family, and it made no sense that it was impossible for an individual to have one, gave him flexibility.

However, for a stable income, talented wizards tended to cling to nobles or imperial families, so it was rare for them to engage in individual activities.

So there were quite a few people who thought like her.

“…… You know more about the law than you think.”

“Don’t they say that if you don’t know, you will be harmed? And our Maria is strong enough without entering a magic guild.”

The top magician of the magic combination was the combination leader who broke through the 8th tier.

Although he is an elderly nobleman, he could be said to be the strongest among the existing wizards in the empire.

Maria is still in the 7th rank.

By the way, Glair Todia is also a member of the Magic Guild, but he has just broken through the 6th tier.

She was a mage close to the 8th tier in the game, but considering that she was several years earlier than when the original heroes met, there was no doubt that she was a mage of a level that could not be ignored.

“Hee, hee hee…. Our Maria…….”

I cleared my throat as I watched Maria smirking.

“…… Anyway, I didn’t come here to harm you. She’s here to tell a story.”

“What are you talking about with me?”

Her eyes are full of boundaries.

“Princess tax collector, I know a way for you to survive.”

“Yes?”

I looked at the candles on the table. The candle flickered anxiously as if it were about to go out.

“…… Aren’t there personal wizards? The room is quite cold.”

“I just like this… ….”

Do you like this?

It’s early spring when winter hasn’t gone yet, right? In a time when it’s cold and you’re about to die, you’re holding out with one candle?

If you’re going to lie, you have to do it right.

What she was wearing right now was a goose fur, famous for her warmest fur. Even though I was wearing it, I was shivering because it was cold.

“Speak straight, Princess Tax Collector. Isn’t that what you’re doing because you really like it? It has no choice but to be like this, so it’s such a mess.”

“What, what?”

Even though my tone was demeaning, there must have been a stabbing corner, so she couldn’t refute it and only let out a bewildered drool.

“Maria, raise the temperature in this room and cast a soundproofing spell.”

“Yes.”

As Maria uses her magic, the temperature in the room rises rapidly. She’s about to sweat a little.

Princess Se-ri’s expression also improved a lot. She looks comfortable

“Isn’t the fact that you don’t have an escort or a personal mage out of fear that the other brothers might notice you?”

Her mage was second to her, but she wasn’t without her escort. She has an escort, but she just isn’t her force.

Her knights who protect her are the knights of Prince Chris’ faction. An escort would have been put in her name to keep an eye on her doing anything nonsense.

“Besides, you’ve been preparing for an engagement lately, haven’t you? Arranged by Prince Chris.”

She was still young when we met two years ago, and there would have been no talk of an engagement.

However, Princess Se-Ri was slowly approaching the right age for marriage, and Chris intended to use it to consolidate his power.

“You agreed to be engaged to the son of the Todia family, believing Prince Chris’ words that he would protect you.”

Todia was the best among ducal families, and a family that was loyal to the imperial family.

I wonder if he said that the one who sided with the Todia family among the nobles could become the emperor.

“Dah, how do you know that? I heard it’s going on in secret…….”

It is as she said.

Everything must have been done in secret.

Because the other princes wouldn’t have been just watching as their power increased.

“That doesn’t matter. The important thing is that I know that, and I want to teach you how to survive.”

“The way to survive… ….”

“First of all, continue your engagement with the Todia family.”

It is right to continue the engagement right now.

If she says that she will not be engaged to her from here on out of repulsion, her prince will turn her against her eyes.

She wouldn’t kill even for the sake of expanding her own power, but it was unknown what kind of harm it would do.

If the harm was beyond her sanity, she could let go of everything at the crossroads.

That was something that should never have happened.

It’s okay until the engagement is established. But when you get married, problems arise.

It was because her route to ascending to her emperor was rapidly becoming difficult.

In the game, the son of the Todia family has an affair with the daughter of another noble family due to another prince’s trick, and there is an opportunity to break off the engagement.

If she gets married and resigns herself to her current situation and doesn’t think about changing her empire, she has no choice but to come close to a bad ending.

Of course, it can be overcome through other events, but the easier it is, the better.

“Yes?”

“It is a story to follow the words of Prince Chris. As long as you’re helpful, neither the crown prince nor the other princes will touch you.”

“…… That, what next?”

“Wait for an opportunity to break up the marriage. We are not married until after the ceremony.”

“What, what?!”

Her voice rose.

It was late at night, so her voice could be heard in the hallway, but as long as her soundproofing magic was on, her noise wouldn’t escape.

“No, it’s a breakup! Do you know what will happen to me or you if my brother Chris finds out about that?!”

“…… Is it. Come to think of it, I haven’t asked this question yet.”

“Question?”

I looked straight at the princess tax collector with a puzzled face and said.

“Princess tax collector, does she intend to become emperor?”

“Yes, yes?!”

Even though he raises his voice, he covers her mouth.

I can understand her reaction.

With four princes in front of her, asking herself, the youngest of her children, if she had any intention of becoming emperor was not something she could do sanely.

It was because fighting the princes, who already had strong forces, would only mean giving up one’s own life.

“Don’t be crazy!! I-I don’t want to die.”

“Serie Aether Pretium.”

I called her full name in a serious voice.

“The only way you can live is to become an emperor.”

Precisely, it is the way to prevent human extinction.

Anyway, when humans go extinct, she dies too, so I think the result is the same.

“What…… ?”

“If you are under Crown Prince Chris, you will be able to protect your immediate safety. But I guarantee you, one day you will die.”

I affirmed.

“What are you talking about? Do you suddenly appear and dazzle me?”

“It is not deception. I am only telling the truth.”

“It’s true, don’t be ridiculous! How much do you, how much do you know about me? Even two years ago. You told me to pretend to be incompetent if I wanted to live.”

“As a result, I am still alive.”

“However, the gaze from Obama and Mama is worse than before! I even put them in a corner like this, saying that if a child of the imperial family is so incompetent, then his authority will be diminished…… !”

Princess Se-ri clenched her fists. It was as if the shivering had been subjected to all sorts of humiliation for two years.

To be honest, it was true that her treatment was worse than that of a noble’s concubine. She was too presumptuous to ask her to understand that of her.

But now was the time to crouch.

“I hate you. Like your words… I shouldn’t have listened!”

Listening to her crying voice, I took a step closer. And he called her in a calm, low voice.

“Princess tax collector.”

“… ….”

“If you intend to become emperor, I, no… We will be your strength.”

“What… I beg your pardon?”

“You must have already heard rumors about our strength. Because the imperial family is a place where information is faster than anywhere else.”

“Why do you go that far? I’m the youngest member of the imperial family, I’m timid, and I’m inexperienced because I don’t have any experience yet… Also… ….”

I blocked the princess’s mouth as she talked about it.

“She was self-deprecating. You are a competent person.”

“Gee, don’t lie.”

The princess frowned and removed my hand and said that.

You’re too strong? After all, the bloodline of the royal family is different in itself.

Among the game’s official settings, there was a setting that those with royal blood had excellent swordsmanship and magic aptitude.

So the princes could not only handle considerable swordsmanship, but also use magic even if they were not of high rank.

Because the princess was rejected since she was young, she didn’t even get a chance to learn, so she remained weak, but she felt that she was stronger than me.

“If you were really incompetent, I wouldn’t have told you to pretend you were incompetent. I think you will be able to lead the empire wiser than anyone else.”

I grabbed her hand with my other hand and dropped it.

“…… Why is it me? Cleverness alone cannot lead an empire. The other brothers excel at everything: swordsmanship, magic, economics, politics, and war strategy. But I didn’t learn any of them properly.”

Rather good.

If you haven’t learned anything, it means that you won’t have any prejudice about anything you learn.

In fact, it was because of this kind of discrimination that she was able to have a different mindset from others.

“Why are you risking your life on me?”

“I liked you.”

In response to her question, I casually said whatever came to mind.

“Yes, yes, yes, four?!”

Embarrassed not knowing what number it is today.

But now more than ever, the agitation was the greatest.

“Isn’t that one enough?”

“That’s that, that’s that, that’s what, what does that mean?”

What do you mean? Literally, I like your way of thinking.

“… I know you are having a hard time, but I hope you will suffer a little more in the future.”

I patted her on the shoulder twice to comfort her.

“I will come here from time to time… I wish we could talk about this and that every time.”

“This is a story…… !”

Her face turns red.

“And when there is something dangerous or urgent, write it here and tear it up.”

What I held out was a transmission magic scroll.

It was a magic scroll that would write letters on the opponent’s magic scroll when torn.

“Even if you don’t write the letters, if you tear it up, there will be a signal, so I will come right away.”

In the end, I had to take care of the princess, one of the main pillars leading to a happy ending.

“Doesn’t this make you a little less anxious?”

“Yes… ….”

“Then, this is the end of today’s talk. Come again next time.”

“Everything, see you next time… ….”

I put my hand on Maria’s shoulder as I was puzzled by the muttering princess tax collector.

“Let’s go.”

“…… “Teleport”.”

With Maria’s magic, we were able to arrive in front of the house in Sekul in an instant.

“Master.”

“Huh?”

“Why did you say that to her?”

Maria sulked. The cheeks are very inflated. Why is he like this again?

I should have explained that the princess is friendly to other races.

“I believe that a person at the top should have a correct mindset. In response, I just thought that Princess Se-ri was the most suitable person in my opinion.”

“Is that really all there is?”

What is it? Saying that makes it seem like I was having a secret conversation with the princess tax collector to do something about it.

What are you misunderstanding, this guy?

“That’s all. What else do you think there might be?”

“…… Or else.”

Maria, with a pouting face somewhere, went into her house, leaving me alone.

Why are you doing that…….

* * *

On the other hand, in the imperial palace, the princess’s room.

The princess, who had fallen on the bed, buried her face in her pillow. Her red ears are revealed through her disheveled golden hair.

‘Did I, by any chance, receive a love confession from Prause?’

A strange illusion was emerging that would trouble Prause.