My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 80

“Where are we…?”

As soon as we teleported, we let go of each other’s hands. Maria subtly detached from Seri and came closer to me.

“It seems the famed hill of Secul… is no longer what it used to be.”

Thanks to the sparring of the heroes, the ground was left with only a few strands of weeds growing here and there.

Still, the scenery was not bad at all. Looking down at the vast nature from the heights brought a sense of peace to my heart.

“It’s a bit chilly…”

Her faded golden hair fluttered in the wind, and the cool breeze of early spring made the tip of her nose blush bright red.

“It’s getting to be early spring.”

I took off my coat, enchanted with warmth, and draped it over her shoulders.

Honestly, I was cold too, but the inner clothes also had warmth magic, so I could manage.

“You’ll be warm if you wear it.”

“Ah…”

Princess Seri stared at me with wide, round eyes, surprised by my consideration from someone usually so ill-mannered.

I can be considerate too, you know. It’s just that my skills tend to backfire.

“Button it up.”

“Ah, okay.”

At my words, Seri grasped the collar of the coat and put it on properly.

“Isn’t it unnecessary? You are of the royal family.”

Maria pouted, seemingly still harboring resentment against the royal family.

“Then are you going to block the wind with magic?”

“I’ll do it if Teacher wants.”

“Forget it.”

I hate the cold, but sometimes it’s not too bad to be like this. It’s romantic, you know.

“It’s warm…”

Princess Seri murmured as she looked down at the coat.

“…Oh, by the way… Praus.”

“What?”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“Because the sunset is quite beautiful here.”

“Eh…?”

It was still before sunset. The townspeople of Secul called this hill a treasure for a reason, and looking at the sunset proves it.

Whenever I watched the sun slowly disappearing over the mountains, I was in awe. The beautiful rays of sunlight fading away had a way of captivating my attention completely.

I wanted to show her that scenery.

Of course, before that, I had to restore her self-esteem.

“Is that really the only reason?”

“… You looked troubled.”

“Do I… look troubled?”

When Princess Seri entered the room, her expression was darker than usual.

She smiled at me, trying to hide her feelings, but before that, I couldn’t help but notice her tearful face.

Seeing that, I couldn’t just leave her be.

So, it was just a light ‘whim.’ Nothing of significance.

“I know how you’ve been treated.”

Since being excluded from the competition among princes, she had endured disdain from those around her just to survive.

No, she had been enduring it.

However, the evaluations from those around her gradually wore down her mental strength and self-esteem until they hit rock bottom, leading to resignation about every situation, which brought her despair.

Knowing that, I still told her to continue walking that path.

I thought that was her only way to live. I believed it was right.

But now, I decided to change that line of thought.

Even if this world carries the game setting of ‘Three Heroes of the Pretéum Empire,’ it’s a game, and this is reality.

“… I’ve told you before. You are not incompetent.”

“Incompetent…?”

“Yes. You are not incompetent. Not you.”

“Don’t joke with me!”

Rarely, Princess Seri shouted.

It seemed her emotions had been pent up. After all this time, it’s no wonder she didn’t have someone to vent to.

“How do you know? Until New Year’s Eve, we hadn’t met, let alone talked. This is only our third meeting. How could you possibly know about my life…?”

Three times…

From her perspective, it may indeed have been three times.

But for me, it was not.

I knew everything about her past, how she lived, and what she wanted to do in the future.

It may have been a one-sided conversation, but I had seen her countless times and talked to her countless times.

“… If you want to stop pretending to be incompetent, you can.”

“What?”

Yes, now she could stop.

Since I had made up my mind to place her on the throne, there was no need to make it hard for her.

“Meaning you can prove your capabilities. Without needing to mind the other princes.”

“What do you mean…?”

The fact that she didn’t understand indicated that she was indeed a foolish princess.

“Fool?! I’m not a fool!”

I know. She wasn’t a fool.

On the contrary, she was a wise human being.

It was true she had nothing particularly exceptional compared to the other princes.

But she had a different way of thinking than them.

When faced with problems, it was the ability to exclude the authority of the royal family from her thought process.

Typically, princes lived without any deprivation under the emperor from a young age, and if something displeased them, they would use their royal power to bully others.

Thus, their mindset was fundamentally based on ‘coercion.’

However, Princess Seri was different.

Having faced power since childhood, she understood that coercion could not always be the solution.

So she would enumerate as many possible cases and possibilities as she could to reach the optimum solution.

That was the secret to her wisdom.

Her misfortune had given her the wisdom that was her weapon.

I believed that this wisdom would save the upcoming empire and the other races. It had been the case in the game too.

“Who have I ever said I would side with?”

“……!”

“I am your ally. You don’t need to bow your head wherever you go. You don’t need to tremble in fear. If anyone tries to kill you, my disciples and I will protect you, so don’t worry.”

Well, in reality, it won’t be me who does the killing, but the heroes!

“Praus…”

“Does that make you feel at ease?”

The golden-eyed princess quivered, and soon tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and trickled down her cheeks.

“Ah, wait…? Why am I crying?”

She hurriedly wiped her tears with her sleeve, but the tears kept flowing out once they burst.

Trying not to show herself crying, she lowered her head.

It can’t just be a coincidence that she felt more accustomed to silently crying. I gently patted her back, watching her trembling shoulders.

“Why are you crying…?”

“Shh.”

At Maria’s grumbling, I put a finger to my lips. She glanced at the distant mountains, failing to hide her discontent.

I knew Maria harbored resentment towards the royal family, but she was still on our side.

I’d have to make sure to explain everything to her about Princess Seri later.

As time passed, it seemed Seri calmed down, as I could hear the occasional sound of her swallowing her snot.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes… I must have felt too relieved for a moment; I showed an embarrassing side of myself, unlike a princess.”

Seri sniffed and lifted her head again. Her eyes were red, and the whites were bloodshot.

“It’s okay. Before being a princess, you’re a person.”

“… I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before.”

“Perhaps not.”

“Is this something I genuinely like?”

The nuance was strange. It felt like she had interpreted my earlier words differently from my intentions. Was it just my misunderstanding?

“I do like your wisdom.”

“Are you shy now? At this point?”

“No.”

“Alright. Let’s go with that.”

What’s with this reaction? It’s hard to adapt.

It feels like she’s desperately fishing for compliments or something.

I somewhat understood what that was, but I had no intention of mentioning it. Doing so would ultimately be meaningless.

“But Praus, you know I don’t have any allies in the royal family, right? If things go wrong, the royal family could become enemies; are you really okay with that?”

“I have no intention of turning the royal family against me. What I desire is for you to live and become the emperor. Having the royal family as enemies would be counterproductive.”

“Is that really possible?”

“It is possible, because I am here.”

Even if I weren’t here, you were destined for it.

The heroes and Duke Tori would have supported you.

“With such affirmed words, I have no choice but to believe, even if I don’t want to.”

“Is that so?”

“Then Praus is… the only one in the world who is my ally… no, my side. Hehe.”

Seri smiled.

It wasn’t a smile to erase emotions; it was a light-hearted smile that freed her from her worries.

“Are you feeling the desire to become emperor now?”

“… If I become the emperor, I’ll have to kill my brothers with my own hands, right?”

At her question that cut to the core, I hesitated for a moment to answer.

No matter how poorly people had treated her, they were still her siblings. I couldn’t even imagine how painful it would be to kill family, but I was in a position where I would have to force that upon her.

“You won’t have to do the killing directly, but it would have to happen under your orders.”

“I can’t escape killing them, can I?”

“There are ways to not kill them, but you’d be putting yourself in danger.”

In other stories, princes or princesses who don’t become emperors live by getting married or taking other positions in the palace, but such hopes didn’t exist in this world.

Letting other siblings live would spark rebellions in every corner.

Especially from the faction supporting Crown Prince Chris.

There were routes in which nobles dissatisfied with her becoming empress would retaliate against her.

However, even if they attempted that route, ultimately, Seri would still ascend to the throne.

The problem was what would happen afterward.

Even if rebellion routes could lead to a happy ending, the empire would be in a weakened state during the Demon War, turning it into a ‘time game.’

For a skilled player, time game could actually be a good thing and things could progress smoothly, but for someone clumsy like me, it was the worst-case scenario.

Thanks to that route, I had to reset from the save point earlier. Damn it.

Of course, in this world, such a possibility didn’t exist.

Because in this world, the two dukes that were second to the royal family were in my grasp.

Duke Tori and Duke Rexton.

I planned to utilize Duke Todiah soon as well. I eventually wanted to meet Duke Kalus from the east.

In any case, if I could keep those four dukes neutral or turn them to my side, there would be no possibility of failure in the succession war regardless of their mental state.

“…… I see.”

“You can’t become emperor with half-hearted resolve. If the other princes find out that I have entered your faction, they will be the first to try and kill you when the succession war begins.”

I imagined all the princes joining forces against her.

If the princess ended up getting killed by a different faction here, it would all be over.

No matter how much I became her support, it wouldn’t grant me the right to directly ascend to emperor because I wasn’t of royal blood.

Even if I did ascend, I wouldn’t be able to suddenly run the country.

That’s why this was the worst-case scenario I was considering.

“Choose. Live your life like a caged bird under the watch of the Crown Prince, or become the emperor and enjoy everything.”

“Everything…?”

She muttered, seriously contemplating.

I told her to make a choice, but even if she said no, I would still make her the emperor.

Even if it meant officially announcing that I would join Princess Seri’s faction.

So this was simply my selfishness, forcing her for the sake of a happy ending.

“… Then may I add one condition?”

“A condition?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

She stared at me without wavering.

Her eyes reflected resolve. Whatever the condition was, it seemed I had to comply, unless I wanted to risk her committing to becoming emperor right here.

“If I become the emperor… since the engagement would eventually disappear… can you stay by my side for life?”

“… What?”

I doubted my ears at Princess Seri’s words.