“Then, there’s the Battle of Perlenstadt—!”

  Ludwig tried his best to tune out the sounds of the pipsqueak before him. August beside him was somewhat red-faced already, while Ludwig just smiled neutrally as Alexa Theresa reached the thirty-minute point of her long-winded rant.

  Ludwig didn’t know such a dainty girl could have this much rage and energy within her. She must be quite the feisty one, he imagined. Well, that was to be expected with brats her age.

  But the worst part about it was that she wasn’t wrong in any of her complaints. She kept railing at Ludwig about his handling of the war up north, the economy, the people, the fact that he still dared to keep the throne off her, and now, in between her tirade, she would slip in a part where she’d call him a ‘sleazeball’, a ‘useless geezer’, or worse ‘balding fossil’.

  Ludwig was an honest man internally even if he had massive pride, so he knew she wasn’t off the mark. He came into this position for a cynical ploy to get what he wanted, nothing more nothing less.

  It’s just that, she was delivering her accurate criticism like how a petulant girl that was denied cake would. That only made it more grating. Oh, and she’d take strikes in August here and there out of random.

  Worst of all, she didn’t even miss a beat, nor did she pause or stop. This girl…she was beyond angry. So, so angry. She probably wore her heart on her sleeve way too much, as it was obvious that what happened in both Perlenstadt and Letia was getting to her.

  Put simply, she was condemning Ludwig and August for the atrocities she saw with her own eyes.

  “That’s why I’m tired, good sirs! I wish to remove you two with dishonor. You call yourself a leader? Then why is my country in this state? I’d rather have an empty throne than have you two call the shots any longer!”

  She crossed her arms, puffed her reddish cheeks, and huffed.

  Finally, she had gone silent as she glowered at the two adult men.

  Her lady-in-waiting on the side had gone pale through this entire lecture. August was silent and still clearly enraged, while Ludwig took a few seconds to collect himself and finally respond.

  “...That was a good speech, Your Highness,” Ludwig placatingly said. “But, you see, you’ve overlooked something important.”

  “And what is it?” she asked with that childlike ring in her voice, a hint of great naivety hiding behind her enraged face.

  “The world is quite a bit more complex than what you think it is. Governance isn’t simple. We had our shortcomings, but regardless, Sir August and I here, and the rest of the fallen members of the Regency Council—served in good faith with what little we had.”

  “T-that’s right!” August finally gathered his courage to speak up, countering the princess. “Besides, no one in the Imperial Diet will accept your ascension. You haven’t turned eighteen yet. Respectfully, Her Highness should focus on her studies.”

  “I shall take your recommendations and protests at heart,” Ludwig nodded. “Leave the matters of the 2nd Group Army’s action in our experienced hands, and please, cool off your temper. It would be a shame if stress ruins a gem like you.”

  “Good sir! My face will remain pristine no matter how much stress I face. But that’s not what I called you here for! I called you here to fire you. You’re fired. Out of office. That’s that. I will announce it to the world too—!”

  “Are you sure that you’ll do such a drastic action right now?” Ludwig asked, coldly, as Alexa stopped. “If you do that, do you know that you will send the entire government into chaos? And why should we accept that? Why should anyone accept you suddenly taking reigns over the Empire, without ceremony, without confirmation, without the backing of the nobility?”

  Each word was a dagger that Ludwig pressed into the young girl’s heart. It was clear that today was a declaration of war from her, so the only way forward was to declare war on her too.

  But, Ludwig knew he didn’t have much access to the levers of power to make good on that declaration. And he knew she didn’t either. Therefore, he decided on a maneuver that would give him some breathing room.

  Time to buy more time. Keep pushing.

  Ludwig gave Alexa a predatory grin.

  “Surely, you wouldn’t want your subjects to be hurt in the crossfire of any eventuality, don’t you, princess?”

  Alexa flinched back, while her lady-in-waiting, a young girl named Adele, stepped between Ludwig and Alexa.

  “Sir Ludwig, I’m afraid I can’t let you get closer,” Adele declared, her eyes icy.

  “And I can’t let the two of you act too freely,” Ludwig said, backing off and straightening himself. “Whether we’re right or wrong, Her Highness's ascension must go through proper protocols. The regency council will not step down until we are sure we can hand the Empire to a worthy hand to lead it.”

  “But your hand has already failed the Empire a million times!” Alexa shouted from behind Adele, tears coming out of her eyes. “Have you no idea how many people died under your rule? You have blood in your hands, damned geezer. Have some shame!”

  “And what makes you think you’ll do any better, Your Highness?” Ludwig coldly asked, and the two girls shrank back again. Ludwig admitted to himself, being this harsh to a young girl who simply naively wanted the best for her people felt bad.

  But he had a position to defend. He wanted her as his tool, but now, that was clearly out of the picture. In that case, he’d just compete with her directly.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  In the end, a power-hungry man will have to fight to get to his goals. He nodded to those words of self-reflection. I have no choice left.

  “If you want the throne, prove that you can take and keep it,” Ludwig challenged, as he turned away and looked at August. “Until then, we adults have business to manage. Have a good day, Your Highness. Let’s go.”

  “Aye, sir,” August nodded along.

  “I haven’t dismissed you two yet!” Alexa glared daggers at Ludwig’s back.

  “I dismiss this meeting, Your Highness.”

  And that ended the whole debacle.

  +++

  “Damn that man,” Alexa curled her fist. “Damn him.”

  “Your Highness…”

  “Damn him. Damn him.”

  “Y-you should really settle down. Your pulse is…”

  Alexa felt Adele’s warm hands gently holding her arm, one of her fingers touching Alexa’s wrist. Finally, Alexa’s face turned back to neutral.

  “...I didn’t keep my emotions in check this time,” Alexa crankily said. “And I call myself the crown princess…”

  “Lady Alexa!” Phoebe’s worried voice blasted through the room as she opened the door.

  “Bravo! That was the finest declaration of open hostility I’ve heard! Bonus points for the real tears!” Wilhelm on the other hand had a wild look on his face, clapping as if Alexa finished a great opera performance.

  “Phoebe? Wilhelm?”

  They seemed like they were listening from the outside. Immediately, Phoebe ran to Alexa to check up on her, frantically, while Adele supported the young girl.

  On the other hand, Wilhelm looked like he was on cloud nine, his smile exhibiting self-satisfied amusement.

  Alexa groaned at Wilhelm.

  “What is it with you this time?” Alexa asked.

  “I need you to take notes with the way you spoke there,” Wilhelm said, his tone practically gushing. This was entirely uncharacteristic of a man as reserved as he. “That anger. That righteous indignation. It’s what rallies people, it’s what the masses crave. You have to practice it to perfection, then channel it in the perfect timing.”

  “H-huh?”

  “Right, right,” Wilhelm pulled out his notepad, scribbling on it like a deluded maniac rapidly. “I knew you had it in you, but now, it has finally fully blossomed. Yes, you’re that type of leader. Someone who’ll truly unite a nation in its darkest times just by your sheer character and spirit.”

  “Wilhelm, you’re being creepy!”

  “This land is now without hope, its people aimless, apathetic, and defeated. But out comes you, the voice that strikes against people like Ludwig. If you can just do that declaration but in a scale that will reach everyone’s minds using your ability, we can quickly exploit this situation—”

  “Wilhelm!” The three girls finally cried all at once, red-faced.

  Wilhelm stopped what he was doing, straightening in a split second, before coughing and clearing his throat, his previous manic episode disappearing back into his seasoned commander cadence.

  “Apologies,” Wilhelm said. “I was merely giving a strategic assessment of this newfound ability of yours.”

  “...What is it?” Alexa said, tired of everything today.

  “...Growing a spine.”

  At once, three shoes landed straight into Wilhelm’s punchable face.

  +++

  A few hours later, the situation at the palace finally cooled down.

  Alexa called her friends in for a little dinner, talking lightly about the day, before they proceeded to conduct a meeting again in Alexa’s room.

  Wilhelm had already healed from his previous minor and well-deserved injury, while Alexa finally had her temper under control. Phoebe still glanced at Alexa worriedly, while Adele was also a bit indignant on the side.

  With a deep breath, Alexa broke the silence.

  “So that’s that then?” Alexa asked, more so to herself.

  “Well, quite frankly, declaring open hostility to the regency council is a pretty rash act,” Wilhelm said, his hand under his chin. “But, Ludwig and August seemed even more shaken than before.”

  “Is this why you suggested exploiting this situation quickly?”

  A firm nod came from Wilhelm. Alexa leaned back on her chair with a sigh.

  “We have, right now, a bit of an initiative advantage,” Wilhelm said. “While our enemy fought each other as they fumbled their previous moves, we managed to gain momentum not just at uncovering their dirty laundry but also at alliance building.”

  “Please explain,” Alexa said.

  “The elves, Lady Alexa. And the 2nd Group Army. And Duke Lambert.”

  “Ah…”

  “Secondarily, news of your actions is also spreading,” A toothy grin appeared on Wilhelm’s face. “I took a few liberties on my own and reappropriated the seized money from the 2nd Group Army’s arrested officers to convince four major newspapers to give you a better image.”

  “W-what?!”

  “Sir Wilhelm?”

  “Seriously? In Her Highness’ face?”

  The three girls once again stared at Wilhelm with shock and outrage. The man in question once again lightly shrugged.

  “W-wilhelm,” Alexa laughed awkwardly. “Are you saying you’re committing corruption in my name?”

  “Reappropriating funds.” Wilhelm corrected.

  “For bribes!”

  “Convincing.”

  “It’s the same thing!”

  Wilhelm kept his cool demeanor.

  “In any case, these are strategic moves that give us an edge at the moment,” Wilhelm said. “Now that we’re in a cold war with the regency council, I’ll talk to our new friends to modify their operation a tiny bit.”

  He’s so scary. Not only is he a good military commander, but he sounds like a deadly propagandist. What kind of a man did I even hire?

  Well, a Defense Forces officer, that’s who, an annoyed voice answered behind Alexa’s mind.

  “Coupled with the fact that you have that ability of yours,” Wilhelm grinned further. “And we have good assets to stack up our initiative. Say, how open are you to weaponizing and shaping the narrative in your favor?”

  Alexa gulped.

  She was not staring at a demon hunter. He’s a damned demon himself!