After the incident with Alice, Chris-san offered me a profound apology.
She apparently had no intention of causing me any harm; she had simply ordered her Stealth Force to maintain their usual perimeter around her. As a result, she felt terrible for having appeared to test me. Despite her status as an emperor, she pressed her hands and forehead to the floor in a deep, formal bow.
Of course, since no actual harm had been done, I immediately told her that I forgave her, but she refused to raise her head for a long time, which was quite distressing.
Currently, Alice and I had been shown to a different room...
"Gulp, munch... Seconds!"
"Hey, show some restraint!"
For some reason, we were being treated to a magnificent dinner.
Perhaps because of Alice's earlier actions, the vast dining hall was staffed by only the bare minimum of servants compared to the reception room. Alice was gorging herself without a shred of reserve. Still unable to keep up with the situation, I hurriedly tried to caution her.
"What are you talking about, Kaito-san? This is my rightful compensation! I have every right to enjoy this dinner!"
"Huh? What on earth do you mean...?"
"Like I said—I played along with 'The Emperor's Charade' and acted exactly as she wanted me to."
"What?"
"Yes, that is correct. I am truly grateful to Alice-sama. Please, eat as much as you like."
"Wait, what? Chris-san!?"
I didn't understand. I had no idea what the two of them were talking about.
Seeing me tilt my head in confusion, Alice swallowed her food and turned toward me.
"Look, Kaito-san. Didn't I tell you? This person's thought process is entirely focused on the country—on making the empire better. There’s no way someone like that would take the high-risk gamble of making an enemy out of you."
"Umm..."
"In other words, she had her Stealth Force out there with the full intention of being caught. If she’d just kept them in the reception room, that would be one thing, but having them tail us from the city gates? She wouldn't do that unless she wanted to be noticed."
"What?"
What did that even mean? She had positioned her elite guards on the premise that they would be discovered? For what possible reason?
"It's just my guess, but... the Emperor wanted to treat you as a State Guest and deal with you with the utmost courtesy from the start. She wanted to create a situation where the nation could never afford to be hostile toward you, right?"
"Yes... however..."
"There were people who weren't convinced, weren't there?"
"That is exactly right."
Alice's words were apparently the truth. Chris-san nodded with a solemn expression.
"Well, even a nation isn't a monolith. From the perspective of the Emperor, who has met you and knows about the Underworld King-sama, you are someone who must never be taken lightly. But among the foolish nobles, there were likely those who thought of you as nothing more than a 'cocky brat who got lucky because the kind Underworld King-sama spoke to him a few times.'"
"Truly, you see through everything."
"To an extent. So, the Emperor wanted to restrain the other nobles from taking foolish actions by making them believe you weren't someone they could oppose. That’s why she needed that scenario."
"That scenario?"
"The image of me bowing my head to Miyama-sama and begging for mercy. I placed many servants in the reception room so that rumors would spread quickly. Once I add a bit of flavor to those rumors, the story that 'the foolish Emperor attempted a scheme, but Miyama-sama saw through it and made her grovel for forgiveness' will spread. If that happens, those harboring foolish thoughts will dwindle, making them easier to control. It also makes it easier for me to argue from Miyama-sama’s perspective."
Adding to Alice's explanation, Chris-san spoke with a detached calm, as if discussing someone else entirely.
Alice let out a heavy sigh and spoke again.
"This is exactly why I dislike this person. This Emperor... depending on how things went, she was prepared to let herself be killed."
"What!?"
"......"
"If I hadn't seen through the Stealth Force and her other moves hadn't worked... she intended to eventually harm Kaito-san of her own volition and let the Underworld King-sama or the Death King-sama kill her. She would have used her own death to show the country the sheer folly of opposing Kaito-san, right?"
"Yes. What is best for the Arclesia Empire is to build a friendly relationship with Miyama-sama. To achieve that, I do not mind throwing my own life away. No matter what Alice-sama says, I am a tool for the state. The national interest is far heavier than my own life."
"......"
A chill ran down my spine. The look in her eyes and her unwavering tone—she was serious. Chris-san was truly prepared to discard her own life if she deemed it necessary for the sake of the country.
"See? I told you. This is the kind of person she is... a doll that works for the state."
"To me, those are words of praise. I had devised five different methods to convince the fools around me, but thanks to Alice-sama's intervention, it seems I can suppress them in the most efficient manner. Once again, thank you."
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
"......"
I found myself overwhelmed. The resolve to sacrifice everything for her country, a will that didn't waver even when putting her own life on the scale... This was what it meant to be a monarch carrying a nation on her shoulders.
As these thoughts crossed my mind, Chris-san looked at me and offered a faint smile before lowering her head once more.
"That said, speaking as an individual and not as the Emperor, I feel terrible for using Miyama-sama to manipulate my country's consensus. Please allow me to apologize again."
"Ah, no, please..."
"I will do anything in my power to make amends. Please consider my decision to reveal my true intentions as a show of my sincerity. And so, I hope you will continue to be a friend to the Arclesia Empire."
"I... I understand."
Witnessing her resolve as an Emperor, I couldn't say anything else. We were roughly the same age, yet I wondered how a different environment could lead to such a detached, pragmatic way of thinking and acting.
"Now then, let us leave the heavy talk at that. Miyama-sama, I will have a room prepared, so please stay the night. Oh, rest assured, I am not weaving any more strange schemes."
"Ah, well, but Lilia-san will worry..."
"I shall send a Hummingbird to the Ducal House of Albert myself."
"There's no reason to be reserved, Kaito-san. This means a luxurious breakfast, too—Ow!?"
"You're way too honest about your greed."
I felt completely swept up in Chris-san's pace. Before I knew it, it was decided that I would be staying the night.
Chris-san announced that she had work remaining and stood up to leave. But before she reached the door, she approached me and whispered quietly in my ear.
"Later, I have something I wish to discuss with you personally... No, rather, there is information I wish to share. Please come to my room tonight."
"I... I understand."
After that quiet message, she headed for the exit again. Just as she reached the door, Alice spoke up.
"Hey, Emperor, you got a second?"
"What is it, Alice-sama?"
"This time, I decided that playing along with your scheme would be beneficial for Kaito-san, so I cooperated. But I am not your ally; I am Kaito-san's ally. If you ever try to use him for 'national interest' again... be prepared for the consequences."
"I shall keep that in mind."
With a short reply to Alice's warning, Chris-san left the room.
Dear Mother, Father—in the end, I feel like I was dancing in the palm of Chris-san's hand. To have the resolve to carry a nation and to use even herself as a pawn in her schemes... it seems the name of the Wise Emperor is not just for show.
"Milady! A Hummingbird has arrived from Her Majesty Chris of the Arclesia Empire!"
"What...?"
"It says that Miyama-sama will be staying at the royal castle for the night! She says he will be treated with the utmost care as a State Guest, so we should rest easy..."
"......"
Hearing Lunamaria’s report, Lilia froze with a dazed expression. After a long silence, she spoke in a voice that seemed to vibrate from the depths of the earth, her hands and mouth trembling.
"Luna."
"Y-Yes!?"
"Explain it to me. What exactly had to happen for Kaito-san—who left just this morning—to become a State Guest of the Arclesia Empire...?"
"I... I haven't the slightest idea..."
"Aaaaaah! Honestly! Why can't that man just go out normally and come home without anything happening?! What is wrong with him?!"
Lilia clutched her head with both hands, letting out a piteous, tearful scream.
"Luna, wine... bring me wine."
"Huh? Um..."
"I can't stay sober in a situation like this! Kaito-san, you... IDIOOOOOOOT!!"