Eh, That's a Lie
Eh, that's a lie. Sisilia was seriously gearing up to storm the Empire. Erterion blocked her as she gripped her sword, ready to kill the prince on the spot and destroy the evidence right then and there.
"Calm down, Lady Sisilia! Not Wind Shear!"
"Dead men tell no tales!"
"Don't talk like some third-rate villain from a knight order sworn to protect humanity!"
"I'm not a third-rate villain—I'm a brilliant general!"
"The war hasn't even started yet! Lord Chiron! Where are you going now?!"
How many valiant knights had she seen over the years? In Queen Lydia's reign, there were plenty of knights whose loyalty sometimes bordered on excess. They were noble warriors willing to lay down their lives for the kingdom.
……But not a single one of those noble warriors had ever seriously declared they'd smash the Empire's capital single-handedly.
Lydia grumbled.
"I-I won't count that cleanup order, so put the sword down first……."
Only after hearing those words did Sisilia finally calm down a bit.
The northern conquest is still necessary, after all.
Of course, the point that convinced Sisilia was a little different. But those present had no choice but to interpret it that way.
She really doesn't want to do it…….
"Your Majesty."
Edward dropped to one knee and bowed before Lydia. Lydia didn't even glance at him.
"……Your Majesty publicly declared that Sisilia would never make the wrong choice when appointing her as Humanity's Proxy."
Sisilia thought Edward looked especially handsome today. Of course, as the heroine of the newbies, she couldn't be handed off to anyone, but if there were any girls whose type was handsome princes, she should recommend Edward to them.
"But this incident has shown that's not the case. No matter how rude he was, harming the crown prince was a poor choice that gains neither the greater good nor practical benefits. In reality."
"I'm furiously regretting it right now."
"……."
"I'll enter seclusion for reflection once more. Then, this sort of thing is bound to happen again."
Sisilia said with sparkling eyes. Lydia sighed as she looked at Sisilia.
It will happen, alright. Because she can't have the new cake menu.
She was certain. Sisilia didn't regret hitting the prince at all. Someone like that wouldn't even consider options like assassinating the prince or destroying the Empire just because hitting him caused trouble.
"Since she herself refuses so strongly, please reconsider the order naming Sisilia as Humanity's Proxy."
"Denied."
"Your Majesty."
Edward ground his teeth.
"Do you find me that untrustworthy?"
"……."
"Not even worth a single chance?"
The room fell silent. The queen remained quiet, and Chiron quietly closed his eyes, clamping a hand over Sisilia's mouth as she tried to butt in cluelessly. Sisilia squirmed for a moment but then stayed still, finding comfort in Chiron's embrace.
"I've already given you plenty of chances and trust."
"You're the troublesome one. Claiming you've given me something I've never even had."
"This is about choosing Humanity's Proxy. Is it right to let personal feelings interfere?"
"If I even had those feelings, I wouldn't feel this wronged."
"Edward."
Lydia rubbed her forehead like it was a headache.
"You're past the age for throwing tantrums."
"I'm trying it late, but you won't even allow that much."
Edward slowly raised his head. His eyes were colder than ever.
"Then, as a Windsor—not as royalty, but as your subject—I ask."
"Proceed."
"Is a Humanity's Proxy who so strongly refuses herself truly appropriate? Do you believe a role forced upon her will truly yield power?"
"And?"
"Trust me."
Edward said with eyes burning like boiling fury.
"I will surely bring the Demon King's head before Your Majesty."
"Edward."
Lydia smiled faintly.
"You are a fine knight."
"……."
Edward's expression hardened coldly. The queen's words seemed to praise him, but they meant:
Just a knight, nothing more.
"You antagonize Sisilia but never cross the line. You even shield her at times. I've watched you since you were six. It must not have been an easy decision even to oppose her."
Chiron scowled fiercely at the part about antagonizing Sisilia. Erterion shook his head in blank amazement at Chiron. He hadn't realized the father-daughter duo were both so oblivious.
"You have a warm heart. You grieve deeply over the death of a close knight. You see the demonkin as true enemies that must be exterminated. You are a fine knight. But that alone."
Queen Lydia seemed almost like a doll. Her tone held no emotion, no inflection—not even the slightest pity. As if that was simply the duty of a queen.
"Will not make you a king, let alone a hero."
"……!"
Edward's pupils trembled violently. But that very emotional shake seemed to prove the queen's words, so he clenched his teeth.
"Still, I was quite surprised by this incident. You acted quite royally for once. Develop a bit more, and you might even become king?"
Lydia smiled brightly. But it also meant: Don't even dream of being Humanity's Proxy.
"Of course, it'd be regency rule. I'll be eating for life, after all."
Lydia clasped her hands behind her back with a playful grin and walked up to Sisilia with deliberate steps. She took Sisilia's hand. A hand so soft it couldn't belong to a knight. The sheer defiance of nature—that a powerful knight's hand could be this plush—seemed to symbolize her boundless potential.
"Sisilia Windsor."
Lydia said firmly.
"Absolutely, I have not the slightest intention of withdrawing my will. So give up already."
Sisilia blinked and said,
"Eh, that's a lie."
"……Don't you think that's more realistic than what you said earlier?"
"I thought you'd kill him, but you let him live? Unexpected. With this, I've granted your request. Satisfied, Lydia?"
Lydia, back after handling the private matter, leaned back in her office chair and closed her eyes.
"You're taking it surprisingly lightly."
Erterion said, standing by her side.
"I warned them ahead of time, and they have their own headaches with heir issues."
"……Even so, comparing Prince Edward to the seventh imperial prince is a bit much. If Edward were the emperor's son, the emperor wouldn't be agonizing over succession like this."
If he were utterly incompetent, I wouldn't even worry.
Lydia answered inwardly, recalling the earlier events.
Do you find me that untrustworthy?
Edward's image flickered in her mind. She hadn't shown it at the time, but it had cut deep. Edward had never caused major trouble since childhood. Having seen so many royal heirs from other nations stir problems, Lydia had once considered bearing another if Edward proved lacking. But that there was still only one royal—Edward—was proof she'd acknowledged his excellence.
Simply……
She'd judged him unfit to bear humanity's mission.
……But lately, other thoughts keep creeping in.
Because of Sisilia's unexpectedly hardline response.
Because of her unanticipated child's desperate flailing.
The two combined kept producing novel outcomes.
If we could draw in beings from a world where the goddess's power hasn't waned yet. Entrust those varied colors to Sisilia, and have Edward control that Sisilia.
That too—
Might be a new answer.
Lydia seriously weighed the two options. Deciding humanity's future. No amount of deliberation would be enough—
"……Please have mercy!!"
At the persistent noise, Lydia embarrassedly opened her eyes.
"……."
"Your Majesty. It's been half a day already."
Unable to endure it, Lydia opened the window.
"Please show mercy!"
"P-Please…… show mercy……."
Sisilia and Beatrice, dressed in white, were bowing repeatedly in front of the palace.
"……What game is that?"
"It's called historical drama Sisilia…… I don't know the details either."
Lydia felt dizzy. In her 300 years of life, she'd never seen a knight in white protesting in front of the palace.
"Your Majesty."
"Speak."
Erterion glanced at Beatrice, whose face was flushed with shame. She surely hadn't come of her own will. Unlike Sisilia, who was bowing with full abdominal force, Beatrice was merely mumbling in a mosquito-like voice.
"This isn't something that can be forced."
"Hmm, true. Her plea sounds less sincere than Sisilia's."
"……No, that's not what I meant."
Erterion stared straight at Lydia, who was trying to gloss over it.
"She's refusing this strongly. Wouldn't it be better to withdraw the order?"
"……."
"As Your Majesty said, if she's someone who makes the right choice from the start."
Erterion thought of Edward.
Does even Master think so? That Sisilia is better than me.
"……Shouldn't we respect her choice to refuse as well?"
Lydia smiled bitterly.
Well played, Sisilia.
Lydia had predetermined Sisilia as Humanity's Proxy and shoehorned the process to fit. That forced fit had become a contradiction shaking the queen. Erterion's logic just now was a fatal flaw directly contradicting her words.
If someone who always chose correctly now chose that she herself wasn't fit for Humanity's Proxy, that too must be correct.
The queen's own words were now choking her.
"Then, what do you think we should do?"
Lydia asked in a serious tone, not her usual playful one. Erterion was quite surprised. The queen he knew didn't ask others' opinions. But as a knight, he had to answer his lord sincerely.
"As Edward said, why not trust him once?"
The queen, cold as ice, laughed as if hearing an amusing joke upon Edward's name.
"I'll tell you this much, Lord Erterion."
He's still cute, though.
Lydia propped her chin by the window, watching Sisilia shout diligently, and said,
"Even if I withdraw naming Sisilia as Humanity's Proxy, Edward will never become it. That's certain."
The queen turned away coldly. At her unyielding will, Erterion cried out.
"Your Majesty, why do you despise Edward so much?!"
"I told you earlier. Are you asking me to repeat myself twice in one day?"
Lydia closed her eyes again, signaling no arguments accepted.