"Your Majesty!"
The cabinet ministers spun around, cries of astonishment erupting at the sight of Richard.
"My people... The next king... shall be Cesar."
Having forced out those few words, Richard’s strength failed him, and his knees buckled. Edgar caught him instantly.
Despite his frailty, Richard managed to remain upright a moment longer on his own.
"...This country... I leave it in your hands."
Cesar and every cabinet minister present bowed their heads low—save for Alain, Duke Orange, and Skeve.
With that final command delivered, Richard exited the meeting room. The moment the doors clicked shut, he finally collapsed.
"Your Majesty!"
The maid rushed to his side and helped support him.
"...You did well, Sire."
"...Yes... quite."
Elsa applied healing magic to Richard once more. Edgar then lifted the king into his arms and carried him back toward the healing room.
Inside the meeting room, a massive commotion broke out.
King Richard had declared, in his own voice, that Cesar was to be the next king.
"Now it is clear which of us was telling the truth, Uncle."
This time, it was Alain who turned deathly pale.
"Urgh..."
"I assume you stole that Key-Seal as well. Return it at once."
Cesar took a half-step forward. Victory was within his grasp.
"...Elsa did a wonderful job," Reinhard said from the spectator seats, his face flooded with relief.
However, Prince Arthur still wore a grim expression.
"...Does no one else see it? This is bad."
"Eh? What do you mean?" Jin asked.
Prince Arthur spoke in a voice tight with urgency. "Lord of Kunlun, Crown Prince Cesar is in danger! The other side has the king's younger brother, Duke Orange, and that Skeve fellow, while the Crown Prince stands alone."
Hearing this, Jin immediately issued a command. "Reiko, protect the Crown Prince!"
"...Yes, Father."
While Reiko normally loathed to leave Jin’s side, his orders were absolute. After a split second of hesitation, she surged forward at twenty percent output, determined to end the threat instantly.
To the onlookers, it looked as if she had teleported. Reiko was suddenly standing beside the Crown Prince. In that same heartbeat, she sensed a Wind Cutter released by Skeve from behind.
The timing was down to the wire.
"This is my Father's command. I will not allow this."
Reiko threw herself between them to block the Wind Cutter—or rather, she swung her arm with such raw force that she physically swatted the magic blade out of existence.
Skeve gasped in total shock.
Without a moment's delay, Reiko closed the distance and struck Skeve with Paralyze.
"Gyaa!"
With a short cry, Skeve slumped over, unconscious. Barely two seconds had passed.
Crown Prince Cesar and Alain appeared stunned, barely grasping what had just occurred.
Duke Orange, however, was faster on the uptake. Seeing Skeve’s assassination attempt fail so utterly, he turned tail and fled the room immediately.
For a brief moment, Reiko considered chasing him down, but she prioritized Jin’s primary instruction to protect the Crown Prince.
She deployed a Magic Barrier to envelop the prince. Ten seconds later, the royal guards finally swarmed the room.
"Your Highness—no, Your Majesty, are you unharmed?"
"Yes, I am fine....Take Skeve into custody."
"At once!"
"Lady Reiko Nidou, Lord of Kunlun, you have my gratitude."
Cesar then turned back toward his uncle, Alain. "Uncle, it is time to hand over the Key-Seal."
Surrounded by the royal guard, Alain Desmon had no moves left. He sullenly surrendered the Key-Seal to Cesar.
Cesar held the artifact aloft for all to see.
"By this, I am officially the King!"
It was a grand proclamation. The assembled ministers broke into simultaneous, thunderous applause.
Following this, an accession ceremony was held—though it was significantly simplified given the circumstances—and Crown Prince Cesar officially became King Cesar Valois de Celuroa I.
With that, the turmoil surrounding the new monarch of the Celuroa Kingdom came to a tentative end.
"Elsa, you were magnificent!"
Once the political situation had stabilized somewhat, the international delegates returned to the Guest House. There, Elsa, the unsung hero of the crisis, was showered with praise.
"T-Thank you very much." Elsa’s face was flushed crimson with embarrassment.
Jin, sitting beside her, looked equally proud.
When the room finally quieted down, Jin decided to seize the moment. He felt that if he missed this chance, he might never find the right timing again.
"Um, everyone, I’d like to take this opportunity to make an announcement. Elsa and I... we..."
However, the crucial words caught in his throat.
Since the group had a general idea of what was coming, the room went dead silent as every eye turned toward Jin. The weight of their gazes only served to make him more nervous.
"We... we..."
Jin squeezed his eyes shut and forced the final words out.
"...We're engaged!"
After a momentary pause, the room erupted in applause.
"Congratulations!"
"Well done!"
"It was about time, honestly."
"Ah, to be young again..."
Warm wishes were offered from all sides. Both Jin and Elsa turned beet red, bowing their heads in silent gratitude.
The atmosphere became increasingly relaxed after that. Jin received congratulations from his acquaintances Marquis Theoderic, Marchioness Firenziano, Duke Blue, and Prince Arthur, while Elsa was embraced by the Empress and Reinhard.
"...But the hard part starts now," someone noted.
The conversation naturally shifted toward the future of the Celuroa Kingdom.
"Because it was an emergency, everyone acted without worrying about the formalities."
Operating the Golias units, evacuating people to the ships, and Elsa's medical intervention—none of these services were meant to be rendered for free.
"I believe the Celuroa Kingdom has sufficient reserves, aside from their food supply."
However, if they were forced to pay reparations to every country involved, the nation might buckle. The scandals that had occurred during the ceremony were that severe.
"It is a legitimate international incident, after all," the Empress noted. Her words reflected the shared sentiment of the room.
"We won't be able to head home just yet..."
There was a mountain of work to be done, from cleaning up the legal aftermath to signing new treaties with the new king.
"Also, I am concerned about Duke Orange’s whereabouts," Reinhard added. Of all the delegates present, only the representative for the Kingdom of Franz was missing.
"It is a bit worrying," Prince Arthur said, his expression darkening. His keen intuition had already been proven right once that day.
"It might be wise to stay on guard tonight as well," the Empress murmured, a comment that instantly chilled the celebratory mood.
"...Indeed."
"Let us retire for the night and prepare for tomorrow."
The new King Cesar had sent guard soldiers to the Guest House, but they felt somewhat unreliable after the day's events.
The delegates withdrew to their respective rooms. Eventually, only Jin, Elsa, the Empress, and Fritz remained.
"Jin-kun."
Now that the other foreign representatives were gone, the Empress returned to her usual, friendly tone and took Jin's hand.
"Make Elsa happy, all right?"
"Yes, I will."
"...I am genuinely happy that the woman you chose is a daughter of our Empire. However, please do not let that bind you."
"Your Majesty?"
"I want you... the Lord of Kunlun, to act with a broad perspective. You do not need to show favoritism toward the Shouro Empire."
She concluded by saying that making the world more prosperous would ultimately lead to the development of the Shouro Empire—and every other nation.
"Jin-dono, take good care of my sister. I know I can leave her in your hands....Elsa, let him make you happy."
"...Brother."
With those blessings, the Empress and Fritz returned to their quarters.
"...Shall we head back too?"
"...Mm."
Jin put his arm around Elsa’s shoulder, and the two of them walked down the hallway together. Reiko and Edgar followed quietly a few paces behind, careful not to disturb them.
Peace had finally settled over the Celuroa Kingdom.
In the night sky, the moon and a single bright star shone side by side.