“Please arrest me if you will! Just don’t involve my family, they had nothing to do with all this.”

  Alexa watched as Lambert bowed in front of her in such a way that it was almost as if his life depended on it. Alexa remained silent for a good while, analyzing the man, as he kept his head low stiffly.

  Behind him, Alfred had an incredulous look, clearly glowering at the man after his admission of treachery. On the other hand, Wilhelm cracked a slight grin, seemingly amused at the duke’s reason to wag his tail desperately at Alexa.

  As for Alexa, she considered the young duke’s words. Sure, as he said, he cooperated with the 2nd Group Army and General Sebastian in committing atrocities, but she also knew that a local lord in occupied territory no less had very little power.

  Not that Alexa would bend the knee so easily in his position. She believed a woman of her caliber would stand up to bullies like General Sebastian, as her pride would be too high to accept being lorded over by commoner soldiers who were supposed to serve her.

  Then again, back in the Battle of Perlenstadt, she did freeze up and nearly fled, but, considering what she later did, she believed that she would in the end resist steadfastly.

  That was the role of the nobility, of royalty, of people above the masses. To be able to use their position with honor and integrity. Sir Lambert here clearly failed at doing that. Inexperience wasn’t a good excuse, and neither was fear.

  But, a merciful ruler would understand her subject’s situation and limitations. So she decided to be lenient this time.

  “Raise your head,” Alexa demanded. “And eat. Please, that fine steak will go cold. It’ll be a shame to our hosts.”

  “Your Highness?” Lambert seemed surprised.

  Alexa placed her chin on top of her hands, smiling sweetly as she leaned forward.

  “Let’s eat.”

  As Alexa picked up her utensils, she began to eat her salad, enjoying the simple veggies on it. She ordered Lambert to explain himself further as the two ate. While Alfred behind Lambert was clearly creating an ominous atmosphere to shame the noble, Alexa tried to counter it.

  And as a result, slowly, the duke managed to get more words out smoothly. Alexa soaked up everything he had to say for himself, from his story, to his excuses, down to his mannerisms.

  He was clearly a coward, and he was trying to make a story where he could be pitied. A rotten behavior indeed, but, at the same time, with what happened to him, from the soldiers talking to him threatening him, down to his knights getting into a brief altercation with the officials of the 2nd Group Army, he wasn’t fully rotten.

  So…

  “I see,” Alexa clapped. “You will therefore have to repent for your lack of courage, by helping me!”

  “...What?”

  “Have you not heard what I said?”

  “Y-you’re not going to punish me? Or strip me of my titles?”

  Alexa shook her head, as Wilhelm handed her a slip of paper that she lightly read.

  “Most nobles in the southern region seemed to have cooperated heavily with the 2nd Group Army when they started this nonsense,” Alexa said, scowling a bit. “Even Sir Ludwig did the same, and he’s not even here.”

  “Uh-huh…” Lambert awkwardly sliced his steak.

  “It seems that spinelessness and cowardice are common phenomena in our nobility. Goodness, we indeed have gone soft, right at the worst time possible.”

  “...”

  Alexa’s tone finally turned ominous, even as she smiled a bit.

  “But you, good sir, at least had the decency to be ashamed about it. I can’t have the most idealized stock of nobles to support me, unfortunately, so I’ll have to work with what I have. You see, the way I see things, being a greedy, incompetent, spineless coward is one thing, but when you can’t even feel shame about it, you’re a lost cause.

  “You, Sir Lambert, at least went here to beg on your knees with such a shamed look on your face. I want you to act on that shame. Work for me. I want you to investigate and gather all the nobles under you, and your peers in the southern region.”

  “That’s…a massive task,” Lambert said.

  “But, it’s something you have to do, or else…”

  “O-of course, I’ll do my best, Your Highness! I’ll make them all grovel to you for their mistakes!”

  “Wonderful! Wonderful!” Alexa smiled, nodding her head excitedly. Then, she called for one of the waiters standing close by. “Please, may I take a look at the menu again? I wish to give my new good friend here some fine cake.”

  +++

  Ludwig had been badly humiliated repeatedly.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Oh, how far he’d fallen already. It was clear that his government was now in free fall. With the news of the crown princess’s actions in the southern region, they were now fully humiliated.

  He couldn’t believe it. He had, for ages, thought that Alexa Theresa was a naive and spoiled fool. A brat who was good at nothing. No, this goddamned schoolgirl somehow outmaneuvered him politically.

  The worst part about it was that she probably had no idea what she even did!

  A flash of redness appeared on Ludwig’s face. It was immediately caught by the second member of the regency council, Count August von Stat. The younger man was clearly twitchy, and when he noticed Ludwig’s equally shifty demeanour, he groaned.

  “Don’t tell me you have no plan, old man,” August growled.

  “Keep yourself together. Acting rashly is something I cannot afford from you,” Ludwig waved him off, turning his head to the side to look outside of their carriage.

  “Rashly? You’re the one who quickly bent over backwards to General Essen and General Braun. Now they’re both sacked or dead!”

  “Good, they were rebels too.”

  “But you told me they were preferable to Henry and Alexa.”

  Ludwig simply narrowed his eyes as he stared at August briefly, and immediately, the younger noble looked away, his hostility wavering in the face of Ludwig’s gaze.

  Don’t you dare question me, you runt.

  “...I already explained to you,” Ludwig crossed his arms. “All we need is to buy time.”

  “Buying time is pointless if we have no plan to use it.”

  “We have an open opportunity now. The Imperial Army is in disarray. We can grab some of its pieces in the process.”

  “Ludwig, we need all the damned pieces or this nation is over.”

  “You think I don’t understand that? All I’m saying, is that while we blundered, our naive little brat did the same too.”

  Finally, Ludwig tried to smile a bit, though it was rather small.

  “She forcefully acted too far on her own, and now, many in the Imperial Army will resent her disrespect. She may think herself above all of us, but people are people. I imagine many will find it an insult that someone who isn’t even in the government removed a high-ranking officer.”

  “Then what is our damned play?”

  “As I’ve said, calm yourself down,” Ludwig sighed. “I’ve already sent my men to the commanders of the 1st and 3rd Group Armies. If Henry now has the 4th Group Army, and Alexa Theresa has the 2nd Group Army, then we’ll have two for ourselves.”

  Ludwig smiled, as he imagined the three-way battlefield in his mind.

  “With such a deck, we can force a little standoff in the meantime.”

  +++

  Alexa impatiently waited in her office in the Monile Palace. It was now Saturday, and she would have to return soon to the Grand Academy on Monday, so she wasn’t amused that it was already 8:30 AM and there was no news yet of Ludwig’s arrival.

  He told me he’ll be here by morning.

  Alexa scowled as she looked at her pocket watch.

  Is he playing games with me again?

  She left Wilhelm yesterday in Letia to work with Duke Lambert at getting things in order, and of course, to install loyalist officers in the 2nd Group Army and force the nobles there to kneel to Alexa’s authority.

  On the other hand, Alfred was left with heavy work for the Royal Guard, as they scoured the Empire for potential co-conspirators to the incident in the southern region, so all she had with herself was Adele helping her with the upcoming meeting, and Phoebe close by for moral support.

  All in all, she needed to finish work here, as she still had heavy magic lessons to do in the Grand Academy to focus on.

  That, and what about my quest?

  Her Questline A2, the one about expanding Imperial Healthcare, had been disrupted partially by the events down south. Her strategy to meet the needs of her people in terms of healthcare was by hiring healers and expanding clinics and hospitals in the countryside.

  Now that was busted. She’d probably have to go ask the Headmaster for more leave later once things settled down.

  Lazily, she checked on the current status of the crisis.

  So instead of the people from Letia being angry at me, it’s going to be Ludwig and the Imperial Army this time.

  Quite frankly, she didn’t want to bother changing its projected effects.

  She knew the Imperial Army and the Old Guard, which was basically Ludwig and his allies, was going to be her enemy anyway, so the opinion malus was something she’d just have to take.

  But, depending on the meeting today, it could get worse or better.

  Ideally, she wanted to improve it, if not, keep it at the current projected effects.

  But I really, really want to lecture Ludwig.

  That man after all was truly grating her. She wanted to slap him. Even back in Grand Academy’s reopening, it was as if he had no true remorse for his failures, and he regarded her coldly.

  Not only that, but he was blocking her from ascending to the Empress early. She already petitioned multiple times that she needed to take control, but Ludwig kept with that tired old excuse of ‘you’re too young, Your Highness’.

  “Ugh, I want to slap him so bad,” Alexa said.

  Finally, someone soon knocked on her door. Alexa spoke with a raised voice in response, telling the person on the other side to open it. It was Adele, and beside her were two men.

  “Lady Alexa, they’ve arrived,” Adele curtly declared.

  It was Duke Ludwig von Kassel and Count August von Stat, both of them immediately bowing in Alexa’s presence.

  “Your Highness, I apologize for our tardiness,” Ludwig said in a steady tone. “I hope you’re not too displeased by it.”

  “My, of course I’m not,” a vein popped in Alexa’s forehead as she stood up with a strained smile. “Please, come in and take your seats. Adele, serve these fine gentlemen some tea please.”

  “As you wish, Lady Alexa,” Adele nodded, bowing and leaving. Alexa on the other hand turned to Ludwig and August. Even when she spoke politely, she made sure to let out a tinge of her irritation clearly to set the tone.

  “We have much to discuss, you two.”