"Princess Isabella, the first practical lesson I am going to teach you is about to begin..."
"I will take the initiative to confess my guilt in court... You don't need to know what the crime is; I am making it up on the spot, and you need to punish me, either by docking my salary or demoting my position."
"Why? Hmm... Because this is balance."
"I am a powerful minister, with many officials and nobles allied with me, while the others would lean towards... let's call them the 'Conservative Noble Faction', and my side can be called the 'Yila Faction'."
"My influence is too great, so I must be suppressed, and vice versa."
"And I will gladly accept your punishment in court, so everyone will realize that I am firmly on your side, thus enhancing the royal authority."
"Don't understand? It's okay, what questions do you have? I will explain them to you slowly."
"You mean to say that you trust me not to betray the Empire, so you don't need to suppress me? I know, and I trust your trust in me, but that won't work... because that is the rule of royalty, the rule of the king and his ministers."
"..."
...
"Hmm..."
In the midst of a gentle hum, Isabella woke up from her dream about events long ago. She looked at Marilla sitting in front of her, then at the guards who had been protecting her as she slept in the study room.
"How long have I slept?"
Though she asked, Isabella felt it must not have been long... As the Emperor, her heart was always burdened with an unknown pressure, never having a good sleep since Yila's departure.
But she would never admit to this.
"Your Majesty, it has been half an hour."
"..."
Isabella gently rubbed the mark on her face left by leaning on her arm. She nodded at the guards on either side and said, "All of you, leave."
The guards complied without any questions and left the imperial study room in unison. Only Isabella and Marilla remained in the room.
"..."
"..."
"If you have any questions, just ask?"
In Isabella's words, Marilla, who internally held little regard for ranks, pretended to nod respectfully and said, "Are the rumors within the Empire true?"
The "rumors" Marilla referred to were the "Isabella and Yila collaborating in an act" rumors.
"Not true."
Isabella shook her head as she spoke simply. She looked at Marilla and said, "If it were true, the more extreme members of the Yila faction would have defected from the Empire simultaneously, so this is enough."
In other words, was this rumor spread by Isabella's command?
"Of course, if such a rumor could become the truth, I would rather it be true."
Isabella spoke in a strange manner similar to Yila, but there was no longer another Yila to instantly understand her meaning, so she could only shake her head at Marilla's puzzled expression.
"Dismiss yourself, let the guards come in, and ask Minister Caligula to come. I need to discuss matters regarding the slave capture with him..."
Marilla nodded at Isabella's words and instinctively asked, "Is Your Majesty planning to discuss terminating the slave capture team? Duke Caligula would not agree."
Duke Caligula, almost one of the leaders of the Noble Faction, was the endorser of the Empire's slave trade, and also the one Yila most wanted to kill, but actually...
Apart from being greedy and lecherous and liking female slaves, pursuing noble participation in politics, he is also loyal to the Empire and the Emperor, never taking concubines, and wholeheartedly devoted to his wife... Every time, Yila would sigh because of the Empire's strange logic.
But no one knew what he sighed for.
Those truly wanting to revolt have been rooted out and killed by the Yila Faction and the Noble Faction.
"..."
"Is it about terminating the capture of the foreign clans... right?"
"..."
Under Isabella's calm gaze, Marilla understood everything, becoming emotional in an instant, but still unable to make any judgments. She said, "Yila would be angry, very, very angry."
In fact, both of them understood this point.
"Everyone keeps saying Yila, mentioning Yila, as if without him, I would accomplish nothing... If he gets angry, let him be angry, if he wants to kill me, then let him come and kill!"
Isabella clearly looked unhappy, but soon, she forced herself to return to an expressionless state of composure, saying plainly, "I will prove that I am no longer a child."
Perhaps all of Isabella's impatience was just because of this.
"If one day, Yila leads his army into the Imperial Capital, what would be wrong with having him trample me underfoot?"
Isabella said this, because it was Marilla, she spoke candidly. It was the first time she expressed her inner thoughts, saying, "My father and I have waited too long... But Yila is too bound by rules."
Either trample over me, let me kiss his fingers, and stride towards his beautiful dreams with confidence after taking the Empire! Or obediently submit completely, without always having the attitude of 'I know I'm right, so I have to convince you'!
Either of these would be fine, but! But!!!
That kind of "humble arrogance" is truly something unbearable.
"Of course, if he fails to defeat me~"
Isabella said playfully, extending her pale, silk-clad foot slightly out of her shoe with a smile, "Then I will trample over him, telling him that I have already grown up."
Her creamy little foot swayed, resembling a tempting popsicle.
"Then, I will give him a hug and tell him..."
Isabella imagined the moment of her victory, smiling lightly and saying, "I will tell him—welcome back to the Empire, I have eliminated all the hidden sores of the Empire!"
And then...
Yila will acknowledge me, will praise me for the first time, he will call me by my name, not Princess Isabella. He will no longer say, 'A king must not be impatient, keep your expression indifferent, you can do even better,' but will say...
'Well done, Isabella.'
"..."
Within the imperial study room that Marilla had left, there remained only a solitary king, a rebellious and arrogant student, a child longing for specific recognition, a sensitive heart yearning for guidance... But there were not four people.
These four were the same person.