"Esteban will abdicate the throne to Mable Gardenia Hermanno."
A smile involuntarily appeared on Esteban's lips as he finished speaking. He had been waiting for this moment ever since the news of the new king's visit to Abellardo. For a moment, silence fell, and people only exchanged glances. Soon, the banquet hall became as noisy as a market. Especially agitated were the priests of Abellardo. Esteban looked at them aggressively. Only one person, deeply hooded in a robe, stood motionless. Esteban was certain that this person was the new king, Michael Abellardo.
'Dare you try to take my daughter?'
Esteban had no intention of sending Mable to Abellardo. But as believers in the divine, they thought that even the most absurd things were possible with faith. Knowing their persistence, it was important to cut off any possibility from the root. For that, a legitimate reason was needed. There were several methods. The first was to marry her, but Mable was only one year old, so that was immediately rejected. Even if he bestowed a title on Mable, it would be useless if they insisted. In the end, the only remaining method was to abdicate the throne to Mable. It was a more certain method than marriage. Of course, he faced many objections, but Esteban successfully obtained the majority agreement of his ministers. When the news first reached the nobles, one of them grabbed the Marquis Gardenia and asked,
"Marquis, what is this? Didn't you choose the princess as the successor?"
"Well, I don't know anything about it."
The marquis consistently claimed ignorance in the face of the barrage of questions. The other ministers who attended the state council were also calm. Amid the agitation of the nobles who were not allowed to attend the meeting with the foreign delegation, all eyes eventually fell on one person. All eyes were on Oscar Ale Hermanno, who was expected to become the next emperor of Hermanno. But Oscar also remained calm, sitting composedly. It seemed as if he had known this would happen. After a while, the priests turned to the new king.
"Your Holiness, this means we cannot take the princess!"
But the new king remained silent. His red eyes were fixed only on Mable. The priest urged for an answer.
"Not yet. We can't take her."
The one closest to the divine, aside from the seed of the divine. Michael could clearly see the divine power living within Mable's body. Mable's divine power was immense, but it was a latent ability. The dormant divine power, waiting for a trigger to awaken, was currently useless. The new king believed there was no need to go to the trouble of creating the trigger himself.
"This time, we'll step back."
"But it's better to take the princess while she is still young."
"See if you can handle a mad emperor who is crazy about his daughter."
No one was willing to risk their life, but they couldn't give up the seed of the divine. Moreover, with the young emperor abdicating the throne to his one-year-old daughter, it would be difficult to take the princess in the future.
"But, Your Holiness, didn't you have a plan?"
Despite the priest's incredulous gaze, Michael continued to look at Mable. He was curious when her ability would bloom. He could see at a glance what kind of ability Mable would have in the future. When that time came, Mable would naturally come to Abellardo. So all he had to do was wait.
'An ability that drives people mad.'
The seed of the divine would eventually consume itself and come to him. Michael was certain of this. Esteban narrowed his brows. The reaction was less than he had expected. He thought they would immediately protest, calling it a mad act.
'If they had, I could have used it as a national issue to expel them as a group. What a waste.'
In any case, since he had declared his intentions, all that was left was to protect Mable. He hadn't asked for Mable's opinion, but what did the opinion of a one-year-old matter? She wouldn't understand even if he explained it to her. Although she could follow simple instructions and form sentences at one year old, she was still a baby. Even if Mable was a genius, it was impossible for her to understand this situation. As Esteban turned to sit back on the throne, he was taken aback. Mable was frowning and on the verge of tears.
"Mable? Why are you like this?"
"Si...er..." (I don't like it...)
"Father, Si...er!" (Father, I don't like it!)
Aaaaah! And then she cried so loudly that the banquet hall shook. Esteban, flustered, picked up Mable and tried to soothe her, but she only cried louder. Mable's crying was a situation he hadn't anticipated at all. Esteban was inwardly shocked.
'Mable... saying she doesn't like it? Surely she doesn't mean me, right?'
*** Two months ago. A secret plot to make Mable the emperor was carried out by a few people. Esteban first identified those who would oppose. The first was the Marquis Gardenia. Persuading the marquis was very easy. Esteban secretly called the Marquis Gardenia and bluntly brought up the matter.
"I plan to make Mable the emperor."
"Excuse me? What do you mean-"
"Marquis, if you oppose, Mable will leave for Abellardo. If you never want to see Mable's face again, oppose. What will you do?"
The persuasion took less than a minute. Next, Esteban went to see Oscar directly. Oscar, who was swinging a sword in a corner of the training ground, turned his head when he sensed someone approaching.
After the greeting, Oscar immediately sheathed his sword. Esteban quietly observed his son. Oscar's education was mostly managed by Duke Donovan, so Esteban only occasionally checked in and didn't pay much attention. Perhaps due to the harsh education, Oscar was quite mature for his age. He seemed to be desperately trying to avoid appearing young.
'Because the successor education started early.'
Esteban knew that Duke Donovan was pushing Oscar hard, and that the child felt pressured. The father and son sat side by side on chairs set up in a corner of the training ground. It was a rare conversation.
"Do you truly want to be the emperor?"
"That's... I don't really know. I've been told that I should be the emperor, so I've been trying to live up to that. It's not a position I can say I want, nor one I can say I don't want."
Oscar had no choice. If his father and mother wanted him to, he had to take the position. Wasn't that why he was born? He thought his existence was solely to become the emperor.
'Why is he asking such a question?'
Oscar looked up at Esteban with innocent eyes. It felt strange to have such a conversation with his father. Esteban, unable to hide his complex expression, sighed and stroked Oscar's head.
"I plan to abdicate the throne to Mable."
Despite the affectionate gesture and the peaceful atmosphere, what Esteban said was not a trivial matter.
"I will announce it at Mable's upcoming birthday. If she becomes the emperor, Abellardo won't be able to take her anymore."
Esteban observed his son's reaction. As expected, Oscar seemed quite surprised.
"I've always considered you the next emperor, so if you don't want it, I'll cancel this plan. We can find another way. Oscar, what do you think?"
Oscar answered without hesitation.
"Yes. As long as Mable is safe, it doesn't matter to me. If Mable really becomes the emperor..."
Oscar's face broke into a warm smile. Esteban was a bit surprised. It was the first time he had seen such a childlike expression from his son.
"I will be a knight to protect Mable."
It was the first time Oscar had expressed his true feelings. *** The next person to persuade was Duke Donovan. Naturally, he expected the duke to oppose, as his own son Oscar was supposed to become the emperor. He would probably be the hardest to convince. Esteban had prepared several methods to persuade Duke Donovan.
"I plan to abdicate the throne to the princess."
He brought up the main topic first and waited for the duke's opposition. But there was none.
"……Why aren't you opposing? You must have expected Oscar to become the crown prince."
Duke Donovan, of course, and Esteban himself, had thought so. If not for the damn divine mandate, he wouldn't have come up with this plan. The duke calmly took a sip of tea and put down the cup.
"Oscar doesn't want to be the emperor. Although he learns quickly, his talent lies in swordsmanship."
The duke smiled at the surprised Esteban.
"Besides, he has already said he doesn't want to be the emperor."
Though Oscar had never said anything, it seemed the duke had seen through everything. Esteban, seeing the duke's seemingly cold face, burst out laughing.
"Did you talk to Oscar beforehand?"
"I haven't seen Oscar in a week."
To have predicted everything without meeting him. The duke knew Oscar well.
'I thought he didn't care because he entrusted all the education to Lyssandre Donovan, but that wasn't the case.'
With that, the persuasion of Duke Donovan was also complete. Now all that was left was to inform the remaining ministers. In fact, there was no need to persuade them. If the emperor, the Marquis Gardenia, and Duke Donovan pushed for it, no one would dare to oppose. When he informed the ministers, some voices of concern did arise.
"Even so, Her Highness is still too young to manage the state affairs."
"Don't worry about that. I'll handle everything anyway."
It was a clear statement that he would only hold the title. No one dared to oppose. Thus, all the families except the Xavier family, who were absent due to a visit to the southern mines and territories, agreed to the abdication. In fact, their majority agreement had its own reasons unknown to Esteban.
'Her Highness, who is not even one year old, is better than the unpredictable Emperor.'
'She must be so adorable.'
Thus, the secret plot, of which Mable was unaware, came to an end. *** The castle, the forest, and even the duchy were given to me. I guess the emperor does care for me. But giving me a country, what the hell is that! I'm only one year old today, you old man! No matter how much he cares, how can he just hand over the throne like this? The emperor is clearly not in his right mind. But what's even more absurd is that no one raised any objections. It felt like common sense was being destroyed.
"Aaaaah! Si...er!" (Aaaaah! I don't like it!)
The shock was too much; all I could do was cry. The emperor looked flustered for a moment and gestured to the nanny. The nanny came over and tried to soothe me.
"Your Highness, it's okay."
"Si...er! Si...er!" (I don't like it! I don't like it!)
'This is really ridiculous!'
The emperor was still young, probably not even 30. Besides, the heir, Oscar, was sitting right next to me.
He suffered so much every day in his successor classes. How could I let him be pitifully deprived of the throne? I cried for a long time. Everyone in the banquet hall stared at me with wide eyes, but I didn't care at all. If the country was going to fall apart, how could I not cry?
I cried so much that my voice lost its strength. The emperor, looking perplexed, gestured.
"Madam Lupa, take Mable back first."
...And that's how I was expelled from my first birthday party. *** I woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside the window, feeling utterly exhausted. My eyes were swollen from crying too much.
"Then, how should we call Her Highness? Your Majesty?"
"Not yet. Just 'Highness,' Larima."
Hearing Xavier and Larima's conversation, I fell into despair.
'So, it wasn't a dream after all...'
I was truly depressed. I regained my composure and recalled yesterday's events. My grandfather, the Marquis Gardenia, had once said he considered me the next marquis. But he didn't seem fazed at all by yesterday's crazy announcement. Oscar, who should have been surprised, was calm. Duke Donovan was also composed, even though his son had been deprived of the throne. The evidence was clear.
I screamed and pounded the bed. They all conspired without me, without even asking for my opinion!
'How can they do this? I don't want to be an emperor!'