184

As soon as I heard the news, I went straight to Prince Raven’s palace.

“You’re here.”

He was sitting at his desk, rubbing his temples with a thoroughly troubled expression. After greeting me warmly, Nicola quickly set out some refreshments.

“Luckily, there was some carrot cake you like, Coco, so I brought it.”

“This is actually kind of touching… Thanks.”

My heart warmed as Nicola raised a clenched fist to cheer me on. I was glad he hadn’t changed, even after coming to this jaded Imperial Palace.

“Lord Aidan isn’t here today.”

“He seems to be busy teaching his apprentices these days. He thought he’d just make a few decisions and focus on his own research, but he left grumbling that the former Mage Tower Master had tricked him.”

“…Lord Aidan is teaching someone?”

“I’m surprised too, but mages are such oddballs. I’m sure they’ll manage among themselves. We’re the ones with a problem.”

Raven got up from his seat and plopped down across from me. I asked him to tell me what had happened in detail.

“Just as it sounds. After my brother caused that incident at the ceremony, His Majesty was apparently so shocked that he took ill. It’s understandable, considering how devoted he’s always been to Father. I went to pay my respects, and he ordered me to act in his place until he recovered. When I left after seeing him, I found out he had given my brother the same order. I don’t know whether he wanted to give him another chance despite the circumstances, or whether he decided I still couldn’t handle it alone, but that’s how things turned out.”

“I thought he’d be keeping his head down for a while, but he’s going to start throwing his weight around again at a very convenient time.”

“Exactly. It’s become a real headache.”

Fortunately, Raven said the Emperor’s illness didn’t seem to be very serious. I dug a large piece out of the carrot cake, took a bite, and put my mind to work.

‘Since he hasn’t issued an official decree and only gave the order verbally, that probably means he expects to recover soon, right? Or perhaps he wanted to step back completely and observe the situation.’

The Emperor’s obsessive love for Lawrence aside, he isn’t bad at his job. He’s a man capable of running the empire, in other words. I wondered what he was really thinking.

‘Whatever the reason, there’s no way Raven will lose to Lawrence.’

“Now we’ll have to divide up the work His Majesty was handling.”

“That’s exactly the problem.”

Perhaps his blood sugar had dropped, because Raven picked up his entire carrot cake and shoved it into his mouth in one bite. Whatever happened to royal dignity?

“I’m going to take only the projects I’ve nearly finished, or the ones that are substantial enough to matter.”

“It’s not surprising, but… I thought he would use His Majesty’s illness as an excuse to dump all the work on you while he did nothing. Instead, it looks like he plans to use this opportunity to have his subordinates seize control of the government.”

“I managed to hold him off somehow today, but he’ll definitely come back and take whatever he wants. He even brought Duke Seref with him.”

He seemed quite serious about it. I gave him a relaxed smile.

“They won’t get their way. It’s a shame that all these people who claim to be politicians haven’t read the internal regulations of the central ministries at all.”

“Why not?”

I took a sip of tea to wash the sweetness from my mouth before speaking.

“His Majesty did designate both princes to act in his place, but in a situation without an official successor—in other words, a Crown Prince—the person who acts for the state is actually me, the Chancellor.”

“…!”

“At the very least, I’ll be able to involve myself more than Duke Seref. I’ll do my best to make sure the substantial projects go to Prince Raven.”

“That’s our Chancellor!”

“I say that, but you know, don’t you? I’d actually prefer to divide them evenly and let ability decide the winner.”

“I’ll be satisfied if they’re distributed roughly evenly. No one can outdo you and the Minister of Finance when it comes to persuading nobles with words.”

There would be other problems if the princes were left to act in the Emperor’s place.

“Whether it’s for a week or a month, corruption will run rampant while His Majesty is out of action. And you should be careful too, Prince.”

Understanding what I meant, he nodded with a grim expression.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

As soon as Vespera received the letter from the butler, she immediately checked its contents. The envelope bore the crest of the grand ducal family.

“He says he’ll finish things and come as quickly as possible.”

“That’s a relief.”

As soon as the Emperor ordered the two princes to act in his place, Vespera informed her father of the situation. They needed someone to control the nobles who had been let loose. There was no way Lawrence would let this opportunity pass. He would certainly seek a chance to become Emperor. No matter what it took…

Her father couldn’t block the Emperor’s authority, but simply having him in the capital would make it difficult for the Empress and Lawrence to act freely.

“If he comes through the Gate, he’ll probably arrive sometime next week. I should let Ria know in advance.”

“I believe the Chancellor said she would be giving a special lecture at the academy around then. It looks like it’ll be a busy week.”

Just imagining what she would say with her small, round face was adorable.

“That’s right. I’ll have to clear my schedule somehow.”

But his attempt was thwarted by Ria’s firm opposition—she didn’t want to see any more overtime added to the schedule.

“Our special guest lecturer today is Cornelia Libertas, the youngest and first female Chancellor of the Seraphina Empire!”

I entered the classroom wearing a light but formal dress suit. The students welcomed me with applause. Apparently designed specifically for lectures, the desks and chairs were arranged in ascending rows that spread out in a fan shape. The place was larger than I’d expected, making me think half, Yes, this really is an academy attended by rich kids, and half, I never expected so many students to come to the lecture.

‘I suppose my existence is still fascinating to them.’

After all, the title attached to my name was absurdly impressive.

In my previous world, I would have taken advantage of the opportunity to give lectures around the world and collect hefty speaking fees. But I was a Chancellor living off the state’s coffers now, so this was free.

This special lecture had been prepared for upper-year students majoring in business and administration, but anyone could attend after registering in advance. In the front row, Julie and Rio waved at me with their eyes shining brightly.

‘It might be a little too jaded a topic for them to hear… Well, I suppose there’s no harm in learning about it early.’

Standing at the podium, I adjusted the voice-amplifying artifact in front of me to the desired volume and greeted the audience.

“Hello. I’m Cornelia Libertas, Chancellor of the Seraphina Empire.”

Another round of welcoming applause rang out.

“It’s nice to meet you. Some of you may have seen me at the graduation ceremony, while others are seeing me for the first time. To be honest, I never imagined I’d receive a request like this after the commencement speech, but the president gave me this wonderful opportunity to stand here today. I won’t be talking about my life story like I did last time. Instead, I’m going to give a lecture that students majoring in business or administration would do well to hear. There are no special restrictions on registering for this class, so please feel free to listen.”

I wrote four large characters on the blackboard.

F. A. M. I. L. Y B. U. S. I. N. E. S. S

“Has anyone heard this term before?”

It was quiet. Of course it was—it was a word used in my previous world. After thinking of a term the students might understand more easily, I wrote an equals sign and replaced it with another word.

H. E. R. E. D. I. T. A. R. Y S. U. C. C. E. S. S. I. O. N

“Is this term a little easier to understand? Anyone know it? It’s fine if you’re wrong. I’ll give a gift after the lecture to any student who answers enthusiastically.”

Then hands began to rise here and there.

“It means inheriting the family estate.”

“Good.”

I smiled at the student who had answered first and continued.

“The exact meaning of hereditary succession is passing down and inheriting a family’s wealth, status, occupation, and so on from generation to generation. It’s something that happens often in Seraphina.”

There was a reason I had made time to come here despite the current situation. It was to ‘raise awareness.’ Whether they read the newspapers or heard about it from their parents, anyone dreaming of majoring in administration or business would know about the confused state of affairs these days. Students receiving training as heirs to their families even more so. I wanted to make them aware of the dangers of customs they took for granted. Most people in my previous life already knew these things, but here, they would be quite radical ideas. Still, I could hope they would have an effective impact precisely because of the current circumstances.

“There are probably quite a few students here who will inherit a family or a merchant guild/house. In time, I too will pass my title on to someone. To whom will I pass it? Usually, it goes to the eldest son. Why is that?”

I felt the atmosphere gradually grow heavier.

‘Of course. It’s not as if there are only eldest sons in this room. There are second sons, third sons, eldest daughters, and all sorts of others.’

I smiled faintly to myself and continued asking questions.

“Why pass the family on to the eldest son when there are second and third sons as well? The second or third son might lead the family better. They might even be more capable. There could even be a more capable member of a collateral branch.”

“…!”

Several students bristled at my blunt words.

“Chancellor, you may not understand because you were personally granted your title. In venerable families, succession by the eldest son is the rule.”

“My father said the family will remain peaceful only if the eldest son inherits it!”

“There’ll be bloodshed. If you don’t want to destroy the family, you have to quietly hand it over to the eldest son.”

I listened in silence, then nodded several times as if they had a point. But they had not offered a single proper justification.

“All right. Bringing collateral branches into this may be going too far, so let’s limit it to the direct line.”

I walked over to where the students who had objected most vehemently were sitting. They appeared to be a group of close friends, all eldest sons.

“Then let’s go back and consider this again. It’s natural and peaceful for the eldest son to inherit. If the eldest son inherits, there’s no bloodshed, but if the second or third son inherits, blood will be spilled…”

Looking into the eyes of the student who had mentioned bloodshed, I could tell he was probably the son of a fairly influential family. At such a young age, he was completely packed with arrogance. Seventeen, perhaps. I placed my hand on his desk and met his defiant gaze head-on.

“Then if the second or third son shows promise, does that mean the eldest son gets angry and kills his younger brothers? Even though he himself doesn’t have an ounce of ability?”