The Shadow Princess's Bargain
The window of the office was growing bright.
After yesterday's meeting ended, he had slept less than two hours. There was simply too much to organize on his own.
Still, with Arsens Berhardt's body bordering on superhuman, a few sleepless nights would cause no harm.
“Marshal.”
“Come in.”
Raylin entered the office.
“The Holy Kingdom's Hero has requested a meeting this morning.”
That was quick.
“Anything else?”
Raylin hesitated for a moment.
“……There was an unusual request that came in at dawn.”
“Speak.”
“Her Highness the Princess wishes to see you, Marshal.”
He set his pen down.
“Her Highness the Princess?”
“Yes.”
“You mean Princess Luen?”
“That is correct.”
The youngest of the imperial family. A shadow who cared for nothing but books. So disinterested in the throne that even the Crown Prince paid her no mind.
That was the reputation she held now.
But the Luen Nathaniel from the novel he had read, The One Who Tried to Seduce the Protagonist but Seduced the Crown Prince Instead, was different.
In the original story, she was a villainess of sorts. More precisely, a variant of one.
She opposed Perlin Claire, yet never appeared in the open—an unseen hand pulling strings from the dark.
Using her position as the Crown Prince's sister, she manipulated others to check the protagonist, drove a wedge between Leon and the protagonist, and endlessly interfered.
In the end, the protagonist exposed her, stripped her of all influence, and she was doomed to live out her days like a mouse in the imperial palace.
Since she never appeared again even in the final chapter, she had probably lived quietly somewhere before being swept away by the demons.
Now that same woman wanted to see him. He was curious what her purpose could be.
The same question showed on Raylin's face.
“What will you do?”
Normally he would have refused or postponed the meeting. The princess was not the priority right now.
Yet the fact that someone who had never stepped into the light was suddenly requesting a meeting was intriguing.
She would not have asked for something trivial.
“Tell her I will see her.”
“……Are you certain?”
“I am.”
“When shall I schedule it?”
“Now.”
Raylin looked slightly startled.
“Now, Marshal?”
“She sent someone at dawn. That means she is in a hurry as well.”
“Understood. I will inform Her Highness at once.”
The adjutant bowed briefly and left.
Alone in the office, he thought of the princess.
“Luen Nathaniel……”
A woman who had spent her life in the background. What could she possibly want from him?
He opened the door slowly and entered the reception room.
A girl was seated inside.
Long golden hair. Thin glasses. Blue eyes. A simple black dress with no ornamentation.
It was his first time seeing her in person, yet the atmosphere felt familiar.
She clearly belonged to that bloodline.
Luen Nathaniel, First Princess of the Nathaniel Empire.
Upon seeing him, Princess Luen rose from her seat.
She held a book against her chest and looked at him. Her gaze beyond the glasses was calm.
“Please forgive my sudden request for an audience, Marshal Berhardt.”
“Not at all. Please be seated, Your Highness.”
The princess gave a brief nod and sat down.
She placed the book she had been holding on her lap, her fingers resting lightly on its cover. The gesture made her seem uneasy.
“So. What brings you to me?”
He skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point.
She remained silent for a long moment. He did not press her.
At last, the princess spoke.
“Marshal Berhardt.”
“Yes.”
Her voice carried a trace of anxiety.
“Please save my brother.”
He did not immediately understand what she meant. After a brief silence, he asked,
“Your brother……?”
“Crown Prince Leon.”
Another silence fell. He gathered his thoughts before speaking again.
“Be precise. From what, exactly, do you wish to save His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“……From you, Marshal Berhardt.”
“Hah……”
A short laugh escaped him. Why would the princess say such a thing?
“Why do you believe I would harm the Crown Prince?”
“Not at this moment, of course.”
She answered.
“But the current is flowing in that direction.”
The princess paused.
He gestured for her to continue. The motion was somewhat rude, but it was too late to worry about such things.
“I have spent my entire life reading. History books, family records, the rise and fall of the empire, the chronicles of fallen kingdoms. Through those records, I learned to read the flow of real events as well.”
As if reading books alone could achieve that.
“Recently, I heard of the many things you have done. I was not present, but information still reaches my ears.”
Well, given that she had acted as a hidden hand in the original story, she must have her own information network.
“And what did that information tell you?”
“It seemed to me that you no longer place the imperial family first.”
He gave no reply.
Taking his silence as confirmation, the princess spoke as if defending herself.
“Please do not misunderstand. I am not criticizing you. It simply appeared that something else now takes precedence over the imperial family. That something is……”
Her gaze behind the glasses dipped briefly before rising again.
They spoke at the same time.
“The empire.” “The empire.”
At his answer, a subtle expression crossed her face.
“So my guess was correct……”
The princess continued.
“My brother is wavering. A wavering crown prince is dangerous. With Perlin Claire at his side, he will become even more so.”
Her voice lowered slightly when she spoke Perlin Claire's name.
“And if the Crown Prince wavers and becomes dangerous, the empire will be endangered as well. You would never allow that, Marshal.”
“So you thought I would harm His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“Yes. Even if you do not intend it now, you soon will. You are not the sort of man who would stand by while the empire is shaken.”
He did not confirm her statement.
Instead, he asked another question.
“What do you think of Perlin Claire, Your Highness?”
“She is the one who will ruin my brother.”
A short answer.
She turned the question back to him.
“And what do you think of her?”
“She is an obstacle to the empire.”
A faint smile touched the princess's lips.
“We think alike.”
“It would seem so.”
Relieved that their views aligned, Luen relaxed her expression slightly.
“Then may I make a concrete proposal?”
She placed the book on the table.
“This is not a simple request. It is a transaction.”
“Speak.”
The princess took a deep breath.
“I will give you everything I have.”
He regarded her closely at the sudden offer.
“Tell me exactly what you possess.”
“Myself.”
She answered without hesitation.
“The position of First Princess of the Nathaniel Empire. You may use it however you wish. I will become that tool.”
It was a radical proposal. So radical that he could not even guess what she would demand in return.
“In exchange, I have three requests.”
“Name them.”
“First. Save my brother Leon.”
“……”
“I know he is walking the wrong path. But that path must not end in death. Please, save him by any means.”
She paused once before continuing.
“Second. Separate Perlin Claire from my brother. I leave the method to you. All I care about is that she no longer ruins him.”
“……”
“Third. My safety. If Claire or my brother learn that I made a deal with you, I will not survive.”
Her fingers gripped the book again.
She was clearly trying to appear composed.
When she finished, she exhaled quietly, signaling that it was his turn.
“Hmm……”
The princess looked at him with anxious eyes.
Ignoring her gaze, he considered what the deal was missing.
She had asked him to save the Crown Prince, to separate Perlin Claire from him, and to guarantee her own safety.
Yet she had never once mentioned the single most important thing.
The throne.
With the Emperor bedridden, Leon sat upon the throne in practice.
She had assumed Leon would remain there. As if, so long as Leon lived, that seat would never be shaken.
Even if it were shaken, the next in line would be the Second Prince, never herself.
The thinking of someone who had spent her life avoiding politics.
How interesting. Truly.
He slowly rose from his chair.
“I have heard your proposal, Your Highness.”
“Then……”
“However, I will not accept it as it stands.”
Her fingers lifted briefly from the book.
“Why……”
“Two things in your conditions do not align. First, you offered yourself as a tool, yet a tool has no will. You do. Using you while suppressing that will would be a waste of your value.”
“……”
“Second.”
He looked down at her directly.
“You omitted the most crucial matter.”
Her gaze wavered as it met his.
“W-what did I omit?”
“So long as Crown Prince Leon remains on that seat, removing Claire will only lead to the same situation repeating. At first I thought it was merely a matter of personal preference, but it is not. The throne of the Nathaniel Empire itself sways those who sit upon it.”
“……”
“Crown Prince Leon is not someone who can withstand that sway. You know this as well.”
Her eyes filled with confusion.
For the first time, a single possibility surfaced in her mind—a possibility she had never once considered.
“Therefore, I will change the conditions.”
He made the offer in a calm voice.
“You will sit upon the throne.”