My Disciples Know That I Am Strong

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

“Ugh… ….”

Seri groaned as she stretched out her crouched body. Because she slept without the curtains drawn, she had the sun’s rays hit her face.

She reluctantly raised her body, shivering with the chill felt on her own skin.

The magic effect that Maria cast last night had ended.

“It’s cold.”

Seri sighed as she felt her body temperature rise after wrapping her clothes around her body.

“I didn’t get much sleep… …. It’s all because of him.”

She muttered as she ran her fingers through her messy hair. Her head was so full of Prause, her mind was gone.

“This is the first time I have ever been so direct… ….”

Se-Ri has already faced men to the point of getting tired of it.

Since she was the only daughter of the emperor’s own children, it was all the more strange not to see her.

But the men Seri had to meet always had a purpose.

The reasons for her rise in status, wealth, and connections with the imperial family were different, but there was no ‘love’ for them.

Seri was already tired of it, so she hated men.

But she felt somewhat different to her Prause.

Her tone was dirty and she thought she had left courtesy under her feet, but she intuitively sensed that there was something kind in it.

She said, ‘Even when she was talking, it felt like she was thinking of me rather than herself.’

Actually, what she felt was not wrong.

Prause was taking great care to save her tax collector.

Although her expressiveness was limited due to her expression management skills, he showed the best he could.

And Prause’s purpose was to save tax collectors and raise him to the throne, so he couldn’t be as greedy as other people.

She had no intention of becoming the emperor’s son-in-law, and she had even the slightest bit of personal affection for tax collectors, so she said.

But.

“It’s like the fact that you brought up the story of breaking up your marriage, and the way you want me to survive, and the way you risk your life to be my force…….”

‘Surely that person…… You must like me, right?’

Even if her misunderstanding was off, it was off for a long time.

“But this is the second time we’ve met, did you fall in love with my looks? I’ve heard of such cases……. That… Is it like ‘love at first sight’?”

She stood in front of her mirror and looked at her own face.

Although she had just woken up and had a defenseless face in many ways, the golden light from her hair and eyes was still brilliant, and her features were so distinct that anyone could say she was pretty.

“She liked her self. Ugh! Ah! She did, but I heard that she sees it easily if you give her heart at once……. Mmm. Should we meet a little more?”

She was about to say that if Prause heard it, she would hit her forehead and go crazy.

“Then, when you become a lover, there will definitely be things like this…… Will you do everything? Obviously that too…….”

Smart.

It was the sound of a knock that awakened her spirit, which had been lost in a manly delusion all by herself.

“Princess tax collector, are you awake?”

It was the voice of a knight on Chris’s side who was assigned to be her escort and surveillance.

The knight standing in the hallway reacted immediately to the muttering heard in the tax collector’s room.

Seri’s tension, which had risen so far, died, and she was annoyed for no reason.

‘If it was Prause, how would she have woken me up… …. No no no!’

Serri shook her head urgently.

‘Let’s not think strangely. Prause is a commoner anyway. We can’t continue.’

She almost gave everything to her emotions for a moment, but she reflexively regained her sanity.

This wasn’t because she was a realistic person or because reason was more important than emotion, it was something like survival instinct.

Her feelings were superfluous to her in her dying position if she erred her judgment.

At least in front of others.

‘Besides, I can’t completely trust Prause’s words. Becoming emperor is the only way for me to survive. How can you believe me if I say that out of the blue?’

Though she thought so, Seri couldn’t help but ponder.

It was not only because she wasn’t actually engaged that she wanted to be, but also because she had doubts about her situation several times.

‘Even if I don’t become the emperor, if Prauss is my force, he’s just an escort knight…… I want to let it go. Since he defeated the leader of the knights in one fell swoop, he will surely feel relieved to be by his side.’

Seri looked at the magic scroll on her bed and covered it with a blanket.

As she can’t be sure about anything right now, it’s best to wait and see what happens next, so she doesn’t draw any conclusions.

“The Princess?”

“Come in.”

She looked at her knight entering her own room.

“Good morning, Princess.”

“Ah… Good morning.”

‘I can’t even smile at the thought of not doing anything today.’

As she was about to say that, she let out an old sigh.

She knew that if she grumbled at her own knight, not even her own knight, she would only be hated.

“Breakfast is served as usual—”

“I’m sorry, Princess. Today, His Highness the Crown Prince said we should have breakfast together.”

“Brother Chris?”

The accident stopped for a moment at the sudden call of Chris.

‘Why?’

Her mind immediately returned to her mind that something was wrong, and for several days she thought about what she had done and found her highest potential.

Meet Prause.

That was all.

‘She said at the time that she had come to see Chris’ brother.’

Only then did she realize why Prause had asked her to talk at night, why she had whispered in a whisper so that no one else could hear.

She noticed that Chris knew she was watching her, so she was taking care not to get her into trouble.

“…… Why in the morning?”

“If you go, you will know. However…… There is a strange warmth left in the room.”

Said tax collector suppressing her agitation at her keen sense of knighthood.

“You sound like warmth. Would you like to sleep here?”

“…… Excuse me.”

As Se-Ri grew older, she learned to ‘manage facial expressions’ and ‘refine her voice’.

It was made with her determination to never show emotion.

“Then I will call the wizard and tell her to warm up her room so that she can sleep well at night.”

“I told you that was done a few days ago.”

“This is the name of Your Highness Chris. She will be seeing her fiancé often in the future. You said you would be in trouble if you got cold.”

‘Be funny too. The subject of only trying to use his younger brother.’

She didn’t like Chris, but she was relieved that she could sleep warmly in the future.

‘By the way, he’s a fiancé… ….’

Seri knew that her fiancée had no shortage.

Despite the fact that he is the son of the Grand Duke, he was good at military strength and even handsome in his own way, so he was evaluated as not bad.

However, it was not to her liking that everything was done on purpose.

‘But you’re going to break the engagement with someone like that. How much does Prause love me…….’

I was in the process of building stacks of illusions that even the person in question was not aware of.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

* * *

“It’s been a while. Come and sit down.”

Chris, who was sitting in her seat of honor, greeted Se-Ri with a smile. Her chin pointed to the spot right next to her own.

“…… What about the other older brothers?”

The publican who sat in her seat asked.

“Did we ever share a meal together after Mr. Obama said that he would soon elect the next emperor?”

“No.”

“If you know, don’t ask such useless questions.”

“Yes, sorry.”

Se-ri, seeing Chris, who was serious about the stories of the other princes, bowed her head as she always did.

“Then why did you call me?”

“Let’s start by eating.”

As if she had waited for his words, her maids came and set her dishes down in front of her.

Her apparently warm, mouth-watering treats were being placed in front of her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of her being tamed.

She

She was even more miserable knowing that she was doing all this for herself.

But her body reacted honestly.

A rumbling sound echoed from her body, which was hungry from her late night hunger. Seri reluctantly took up her spoon and ate her soup.

She savored her taste, feeling her cold body warm.

“…… Seri, the engagement is going well. You don’t have to do anything.”

Chris said as soon as she ate the dish she served him.

Her taste dropped at his words, and she hesitated to put the spoon down.

“Is that so?”

She wanted to say she didn’t want to get engaged, but she held back.

Last night, Prause had told her to go ahead with the engagement, so she thought it wasn’t the moment to choose yet.

But she knew that one day she would have to choose between Chris and Praus.

“By the way…… I heard Prause visited your room yesterday. What did you talk about?”

Se-Ri’s heart started pounding at Prause’s story.

She panicked, wondering if they had been caught talking secretly last night, but she put down the spoon, trying to suppress her agitation.

“…… We didn’t talk much.”

“I heard you said something in your ear. Tell me what you mean.”

Put it over your ear.

At those words, Se-ri realized that she wasn’t talking secretly late at night, and at the same time accelerated her thoughts.

She had to come up with an answer anyway since she was asked, so she couldn’t be blunt.

When she brought up the story of Prince Chris yesterday, she recalled Prause sighing and gave the most plausible answer.

“Prince Chris is too pushy… ….”

‘I’m sorry, Prause.’

“Force? Under! You’re laughing. A madman who protects other races on the subject of the Empire is acting recklessly against me?”

‘Embracing other races…… ?’

Se-Ri momentarily failed to manage her expression due to an unexpected story. He unknowingly puts on a surprised expression.

“Why don’t you know that other races are being accepted only for the sake of the Empire’s labor force, not for equal human treatment?”

While Chris was talking freely, Se-ri kept her expression.

‘Is Prause friendly toward other races? Like the Duke of Aus? If you think about it…… The wizard I brought with me yesterday was an elf. Could it be that he, like me, thinks that we should join forces instead of oppressing other races? If so…….’

“Seri.”

“Oh, yes.”

Chris’ voice interrupts her thoughts.

“What are you thinking?”

“No. Other races are subjects to be dominated, and it is strange that they are treated that way.”

“Yes. You know something.”

Chris smiled contentedly at Seri’s false empathy.

“But why did I go and tell you that story?”

“I don’t know either. Maybe it wasn’t to create a connection between me and the royal family. It’s funny for me to say it, but I’m the one who looks the weakest in the imperial family.”

“I see. If that’s the case, I guess I won’t allow anyone related to Prause to enter the imperial palace in the future.”

“…… For that reason?”

“Why? Are you asking me why now?”

Chris set her fork down roughly, chilling her. She thought, ‘Oh, that bastard is f*cking again,’ but her expression remained calm.

“No. Just… …. I did it because I was curious if he was an enemy of the imperial family.”

“Enemy… …. Yes, an existence that might become an enemy. So, until the succession war, there will be no contact at all. If it’s not my power, I have to make sure I don’t enter the opponent’s power.”

Chris knew that Prause was the biggest variable.

She judged that if he joined the forces of another prince, she might be at a disadvantage.

Anyway, Prause is currently considered one of the strongest characters in the Empire.

Besides, there were competent swordsmen and wizards under him, so from Chris’ point of view, there was no reason not to be wary.

“Anyway, you know that, you calmly prepare for the wedding.”

“Yes, brother.”

‘I think I will have to call Prause to my room soon. If you convince me, then…….’