The Prince Who Appeared Riding a Newbie
In the mansion of a certain noble house, a somewhat secretive meeting was underway.
"So."
Edward smirked, clasping his hands together.
"You're saying I lost to a mere chocolate parfait?"
The various influential nobles—his own faction—averted their gazes with tense expressions.
"......Perhaps we should have cast our votes against her after all."
At Count Claude's words, the other nobles nodded in agreement.
In truth, the "Trial Vote" convened by Queen Lydia should have been firmly in Edward's faction's grasp, with more than enough for a majority.
Edward had steadily built his power base.
The queen has no understanding of the human heart.
The queen, who always made the right judgments. In her 300 years of rule, her decisions had never been flawed. Even when met with fierce backlash at the time, she had always proven the outcomes correct.
But Queen Lydia had overlooked the human heart.
Humans were far frailer and more selfish than one might imagine.
Duty to the nation. A sense of justice for humanity. All that only emerged once one's own safety was secured.
Worrying about humanity's greater cause over one's own well-being? That was the realm of knights at best—or the queen herself.
Edward had exploited that gap to rally his forces.
"If we had all backed Your Highness, victory would have been assured."
"As I said before."
But Edward hadn't mobilized the forces he'd so painstakingly gathered.
"......The queen will never stray from the path she's set. Even if I were chosen by vote, she wouldn't bend her will."
The queen was indeed the type to force her decisions through, no matter what.
But that would have stripped her of any legitimacy, allowing them to pressure her sufficiently.
The reason Edward had abandoned that approach lay within himself.
I wanted, just once, for you to acknowledge me. But you refuse to recognize me even a little, to the very end.
Edward gave a bitter smile.
He had sought fair and square acknowledgment from the queen through the trial itself.
Even if rejected, if the result was convincing, he would have accepted it.
Yes, if it was a convincing outcome, Edward would have bowed out cleanly without a word.
He might even have devoted himself further to helping the queen perfect Sisilia as humanity's proxy.
But parfait......?
Parfait.
......Parfait.
"The problem is, I just can't accept it."
"......You did say that the trial itself was the test."
"It's just her usual wordplay."
Edward knew Lydia well.
A harsh mother who never once smiled at her own child, but they shared blood, after all.
"Sisilia's lived only 16 years. It's no surprise she has no regrets. You know, I had nothing worth calling a regret at that age either."
"......!"
The nobles felt as if they'd been struck on the head with a hammer.
Honestly, even those aligned with Edward had been swayed by the queen's words that day.
But Edward's point made it clear.
"No regrets so far doesn't guarantee Sisilia won't make wrong judgments in the future."
He was right.
If she'd made choices for 300 years like Queen Lydia, it might be different, but Sisilia's track record was overwhelmingly short.
The queen's words sounded plausible on the surface but rang hollow upon closer inspection—mere sophistry.
"And in the past 10 years Sisilia's handled missions, the Liannen Kingdom has enjoyed unprecedented peace. She hasn't even set foot in a full-scale war."
"......That's true."
Sisilia had joined the Windsor Knights during the era when the "moderate" demon faction held sway.
Though the "radicals" had rallied toward the end, the demon king's replacement had ultimately nullified it.
"Above all, even if what happened to me happened to her."
Edward thought of Murphy, grinding his teeth as he spoke.
"I don't think she'd choose differently. No, Sisilia might have erased the entire Gartan Territory from history. Like how she massacred Aztec Village."
Of course, Sisilia would have prevented Murphy's sacrifice from happening in the first place.
He knew that from what she'd said in her childhood.
But now, the truth hardly mattered.
"Now I understand clearly."
"Her Majesty's choice this time."
"Was a mistake."
"The future of humanity should be in Your Highness's hands."
"Even the queen must be growing dull."
Edward smiled coldly.
In his hand, he felt something hard.
The hair ornament Sisilia had left behind then.
Even after the trial's magic ended, it hadn't vanished.
"But pressuring her now won't change Her Majesty's decision."
"What do you think, Your Highness?"
So Edward intended to keep his promise.
"We need to make the queen realize for herself that Sisilia isn't fit as humanity's proxy."
Those words from back then.
"Even if it means breaking Sisilia."
Even if it required somewhat extreme measures.
Sisilia had to turn to ash.
Sisilia stepped out onto the balcony in her cute pajamas.
A dimly lit night bathed in moonlight.
Under the moon's glow, Sisilia looked inhumanly beautiful.
"Sneaking into the inhumanly beautiful Sword Princess's room? The captain would have you executed."
A cool breeze blew.
On the empty balcony railing, Jerryway balanced precariously.
"What, you knew?"
"The wind carried a fishy smell."
"......Fishy?"
"Rotten smell."
"Don't call a person rotten."
Jerryway hopped down from the railing casually.
Then, with a dumbfounded look, he said,
"I've always thought this, but doesn't it embarrass you to call yourself pretty right out of your own mouth?"
"Any objections?"
Sisilia tilted her head slightly.
Her doll-like appearance left Jerryway speechless.
"......None."
"Then no problem. Why are you here? I didn't order delivery."
"Don't treat a Windsor Knight like a delivery boy."
Jerryway sighed and pulled a baguette from his pocket, tossing it to her.
Sisilia caught it effortlessly and started munching.
"Thanks for the daily bread."
"......You sound just like a saint. Today's concept?"
"Then Jerryway, the intruder in the saint's mansion, gets executed."
"Haha, executed? There's no place I can't go, Sisilia. Like how your winds are everywhere, my home is this whole world."
In short, a severe lack of moral compass.
"......Thief scum after all."
"Thief scum? What's that."
"Thief average."
"......Sisilia, I'm a thief, but not average."
Jerryway grinned.
"I was the trash even thieves stoned."
"Why?"
"Stole from thieves too. They said I had no honor even among partners."
Sisilia sighed.
"So why are you here? Keep sneaking in like this, and it'll be trouble. Even a master thief like you—Captain'll notice."
The Sword Princess secretly eating delivery during her hunger strike? A truth that must stay hidden.
Then, Jerryway suddenly dropped to one knee.
"Today I'm not here as a thief, but as a knight to see my liege."
"......"
Sisilia eyed him while chewing her baguette.
Sorry, Jerryway, but it didn't suit him.
"Good news and bad news. Which first?"
"Good first."
"Mission accomplished perfectly. Actually asked Beatrice, but from your face, she didn't tell you."
"Betty's diligent—ignores gambling addict talk. But if it's my order......"
Sisilia rummaged through old memories.
Yes, when he became a knight, she remembered giving some order.
Something decently good, she thought.
"The orphanage thing."
"Ah."
She finally recalled: travel the nation, gather poor kids.
Surprised, Sisilia said,
"You really did it? Must've been tough."
"I'm a Sword Emperor, y'know. Rounding up pitiful kids? Piece of cake."
Jerryway said with a grave face.
"You'll like 'em. Hand-picked the best."
......Why so solemn?
Sisilia felt a bit uneasy.
Of course, saving poor kids was great, but...
His expression was like a warrior facing mortal combat.
"Hand-picked the ones you specified and handed 'em to the sponsored orphanage. Done. Next order, my liege?"
"......Yeah. If you're helping, might as well go all the way."
Sisilia pondered, then said,
"They should have skills to stand on their own."
"Stand on their own—how much?"
Sisilia gave her idea of average standards.
"At least enough to kill an upper demon, right?"
Hunger strike Sisilia.
She got food, sure—but just desserts to fill her belly.
Foggy mind from empty stomach, plus carelessness around Jerryway.
With 99.99% of her brain on "newbie summon op," she mistook his "average standards" for "average for proper newbies"!
"......!"
Jerryway's eyes widened.
"That far...... Just how big is your vision?"
'Time for bed.'
Sisilia rubbed her eyes, mumbling.
Her usual "dodge with a half-joke" survival tactic.
"World conquest?"
"......!!!"
Jerryway jolted in shock, then chuckled.
"Gonna need knowledge then. Better go elite few over masses."
"Yeah, whatever."
Sisilia's face screamed annoyance.
Playing along with Jerryway was exhausting.
"Done talking? I'm off to bed."
"......Wait. Haven't told you the bad news yet."
"Gotta hear it?"
"You do, you brat."
"Brat? I'm telling Dad."
Jerryway paled.
But he steeled himself, pulling paper and pen from his pocket.
"The kids begged so much. Wanted to hear from their lifesaver directly. So, maybe pass on some intent?"
"Write a letter?"
"Yeah."
Sisilia took the paper and pen.
Super annoying, but couldn't refuse kids with tough lives.
Grow up healthy.
That's all I wish for.
"......No orders for a while, huh."
Jerryway muttered, taking it back.
Sisilia bowed her head.
Limit reached.
Stay up longer, and her skin would ruin.
"Then, later."
"No, hear this first."
Jerryway said gravely.
"Edward Windsor is plotting something. His goal: strip you of humanity's proxy role."
"......!"
Sisilia, set to ignore and sleep, halted.
Her foggy pupils dilated wide.
"For real?"
"......Yeah. There were signs before, but this tipped him—now he's openly your enemy."
But Sisilia's face lit up brighter than ever.
As expected, the prince on the white horse saves the damsel heroine.
"I'll try to block it beforehand as much as—"
"No!"
Sisilia grabbed Jerryway's hem, shaking her head ten times.
"Uh, huh?"
"Support the vice-captain fully—body and soul. That's an order."
"......Wh-why?"
"Because!"
Gulp. Jerryway swallowed.
What grand mission made her not just ignore the threat, but help it?
Sisilia's eyes sparkled.
"It's a secret."
Jerryway slumped in defeat.