Pervaz was a fairly large territory in terms of area alone, and there were signs that the population would explode immediately after the war.
It was thanks to Asha that the mortality rate of mothers and infants was lowered and the food self-sufficiency rate was increased.
'Asha always gave me credit, but the people of Pervaz all know. What Asha did for Pervaz....'
That's why they could beg for the lord to be saved first, even while their own families were dying next to them. They knew that if the lord died, everyone in Pervaz would have to go through dark days again.
"I think people need to get hit properly once in a while."
"What a scary thing to say."
Lionel asked, standing a step away from Carlyle.
"You can only see how stupid I was after getting hit."
"Stupid...? If Your Highness is stupid, then His Highness Matthias..."
"Now that the bastard is the emperor, you're really fearless to call him stupid. But I liked that."
Carlyle smiled briefly. But the smile quickly disappeared.
"Even now, if I have a little spare time, I regret it. I should have cracked down on Sir Raphelt more firmly. I shouldn't have doubted Asha. I should have apologized even then. I shouldn't have let her go alone..."
A long sigh escaped.
As he thought about it carefully, endless regrets came to mind. He used to believe that there would be no regrets in his life....
"After the Countess Pervaz left, I thought about it and smoked cigars every day, but I realized how luxurious and lucky that was."
"Your Highness..."
"Why didn't I know then? This easy thing, why on earth didn't I know?"
Why didn't he know and hurt Asha?
If Asha does not wake up and die, the last image of himself left to her will be a human who 'declared that he would take power and wage war on his country, and put a dog leash on his loyal vassal because she was not good enough'.
'I won't leave it like that. I will pour all my strength into it.'
Carlyle clenched his teeth as he directed the restoration of Pervaz Castle in place of Asha.
* * *
The social circles of the chaotic Zyro were filled with growing voices of disappointment about Carlyle, who had suddenly left for Pervaz.**
"I don't know what the hell His Highness Carlyle is trying to do."
"I know, right? I can't sleep at night for fear that our position will become difficult."
"Shouldn't we send a bribe to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager now?"
Their anxiety was understandable.
Carlyle was holed up in faraway Pervaz, and there was no news from him, while in the palace, a war of nerves was raging between Beatrice and the high nobles.
Beatrice, now the Empress Dowager, was openly trying to increase the imperial military power.
"There are many rumors that a reign of terror will begin soon. Rather than being kicked out of central politics on false charges, we need to get into the good graces of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager now!"
"But His Highness Matthias has already worn the emperor's crown, wouldn't it be difficult to overthrow him?"
"Just the attempt is treason, treason."
The nobles, who were quick to calculate their own interests, began to line up with Beatrice.
Most of them were middle- and small-ranking nobles who were struggling between the whales of Beatrice and the high nobles, but there were also some high nobles who were wavering.
After listening to the story of the guest who had come to see him, Carlyle summarized the whole content and asked.
"So, you mean that the House of Dupret has decided to join hands with the Empress Dowager?"
"No! That was just the reckless and unilateral action of my two foolish brothers."
Cecilia, who had come to Pervaz in secret, drew the line that the House of Dupret itself had not betrayed.
"However, wouldn't the fact that the heir of the house attended the Empress Dowager's banquet be interpreted as such… ?"
Cecilia gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, not even trying to hide her anger.
"That's why I… I don't want those idiots to become the heirs of the house, Your Highness."
Now that Cecilia, who had only shown the appearance of a gentle and cultured lady, had revealed her true colors, Carlyle finally became a little interested in her.
"What do you mean…?"
"Your Highness. I believe that you will ascend to the throne."
"You know that's treason, right?"
"Yes."
It was an affirmation without a single word of excuse.
Anger and ambition burned brightly in her eyes.
"I persuaded my father to postpone the decision. And I will help you here to the end. Using the dovetail of the House of Dupret."
Her cheeks, which had been plump and white, had become haggard from the anguish she had suffered while persuading the Duke of Dupret in Zyro.
Carlyle smiled and asked.
"There must be a price for that, right?"
"Of course. If Your Highness ascends to the throne… ."
Cecilia looked straight into Carlyle's eyes and continued.
"Please make me the head of the Dupret family."
"You, the youngest and a woman?"
"Yes. I will be loyal to Your Highness until the day I die. Wouldn't I be a better choice for Your Highness than my bat-like brothers?"
"Tsk! Hahaha!"
Carlyle began to laugh.
It was the first time he had laughed in a long time since the emperor died.
"Ah, I really do like people like you who are so arrogant and honest."
However, his laughter gradually subsided.
"But I will no longer tolerate arrogance that disregards me."
Cecilia's shoulders flinched, but Carlyle continued with a cold gaze.
"I know it was you who helped Sir Raphelt to start a war in the South. How ridiculous must I have looked, fooled by that trick?"
"I never had such a wicked thought!"
Cecilia shook her head hurriedly, but soon spoke in a hesitant voice.
"But to be honest… I don't regret helping Sir Raphelt."
"What?"
"Nothing can be achieved by peaceful confrontation. Even as the Empress, you couldn't have just sat back and done nothing. I thought it would be better to have a controllable event happen instead."
Carlyle sighed.
This was the usual way of thinking for nobles. They saw the loss of life and livelihood of countless people as a 'controllable event'.
It was a possible thought because they ultimately believed that the damage would not come to them.
'I probably would have thought the same way.'
Carlyle rebuked Cecilia as if he were scolding his past self.
"What is it if not a tyrant who sits on a throne built on the blood of the people? Do you want a tyrant? Do you think a human who takes the lives of the people lightly will be benevolent to the nobles?"
"….I apologize."
"Anyway… I can make you the head of the Dupret family. But I can't make you the Empress. Will you still choose me?"
As he said those words, he thought he would have to have a debate with Cecilia that could not be bridged. Because her ultimate goal would be to be the Empress.
However, Cecilia nodded surprisingly easily.
"That's fine. If I can only be the head of the Dupret family."
"I understand that you've been striving for the position of Empress all this time. It wouldn't be easy to give up just like that, would it?"
Cecilia said with a knowing smile, as if she knew what he was thinking.
"Yes, I… I've been living all this time, envisioning only the future where I become the Empress. I believed without doubt that it would be me."
"It certainly seemed so."
"Both Countess Pervaz and Lady Ralphelt seemed laughable to me. I considered no one as beautiful as me, nor anyone as capable of fulfilling the role of Empress as me."
Her tone was quite different from when she stayed in Pervaz. Unlike the soft and coquettish demeanor back then, now she exuded a seriousness devoid of sweetness. It seemed like this was the true nature of Cecilia Dupret.
With such solemnity, Cecilia calmly admitted her mistake.
"To be more precise, I didn't believe in 'love.' Just as Your Highness doesn't love me, I also didn't believe Your Highness loved Countess Pervaz. So, I thought I could take your place as Empress."
For a moment, Carlyle was speechless.
"I believed Your Highness's attitude towards Countess Pervaz was merely a ploy to entice a partner deemed useful. But…"
Cecilia looked at Carlyle with wide-open eyes, feeling a pang of bitterness. Did she hope for Carlyle to refute her and say it wasn't true?
"I realized as soon as I heard that Your Highness was heading to Pervaz. That my aspirations for the Empress's position were meaningless."
Carlyle felt sorry for Cecilia for the first time, almost believing she was genuinely relieved.
She knew what she wanted, and she had used it to leverage the power of the Dupret family.
Amidst all this, Carlyle could imagine how awkward Cecilia must have felt within the Dupret family, especially given how much of a nuisance those two ambitious vipers were.
"Nevertheless, thank you for deciding to trust me again."
"There aren't many choices left for me now, Your Highness, as you well know."
Cecilia chuckled self-deprecatingly.
In other words, if there were other options, she would have abandoned him without a second thought.
But Carlyle liked people who were so honest to the point of being rude.
"Well, it's fortunate that your only choice was me. Alright, I'll trust you again."
"I'll do my best to support Your Highness's victory."
The two of them shook hands, just like when Cecilia first arrived in Pervaz.