The Empress bit down hard on her lower lip.
Now that only one task remained, everything depended on speed.
Before the Papiran Ducal House—the family of the late Empress—and the Serphis Marquess House—the family of the late Crown Princess—could begin to suspect that the "accident" had been anything but an accident, Voltaire had to be installed as Crown Prince.
Once he held the title, they could rally the neutral nobles to their side and suppress the growing influence of both the Papiran and Serphis families.
Only then would they truly be safe.
And yet...
Who could have imagined that the greatest obstacle would be a three-year-old child?
"That little brat still reeks of milk! Damn it!"
Princess Kien vented her fury by trashing her chambers, smashing and throwing anything within reach until the room was in complete disarray.
Even after that fool Voltaire left, Grandfather Emperor didn't stop playing cards.
By now, I'd become rather accustomed to this game.
Not that I'd learned the rules.
I'd simply grown indifferent to winning and losing, absentmindedly matching pairs while pretending to possess the intelligence of an ordinary three-year-old.
This round, I barely won again.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Grandfather Emperor barely managed to lose on purpose.
"Oh dear! My precious little one is simply too much for this old grandfather! Hahaha!"
He tossed his cards aside, scooped me into his arms, trapped me against his chest, and vigorously rubbed his cheek against mine.
"Eeeek! Don't wanna!"
He blinked in confusion.
"Hm? Why not?"
Why?
Because I was exhausted.
"It's booooring."
Even without thinking, I kept winning.
There was nothing enjoyable about it anymore.
And after matching cards without using my brain for so long, I was thoroughly sick of the game.
I looked him straight in the eye for a moment before dramatically turning my head away.
"Grandpa's boring."
"So this old grandfather is boring because he's too bad at the game?"
I nodded as enthusiastically as I could.
Please stop already, Grandfather.
While I continued this silent battle of wills with him...
Count Maron, the chamberlain caught between us, had gone deathly pale.
The attendant assigned to shuffle the cards stared helplessly at the scattered deck covering the table, clearly wondering whether he should even touch them.
That was when a voice came from outside the door.
"Your Majesty."
It was the voice of salvation.
Everyone immediately turned toward the entrance.
"The Duke of Croyzen has arrived."
"Oh my! Has it gotten so late already? Let him in!"
The Duke of Croyzen.
The House of Croyzen had stood beside the Empire since its founding, one of the families whose ancestors had helped establish the nation itself.
Even before my regression, they had remained loyal to the Imperial Family until the very end.
The doors opened.
And in walked...
...Wait.
Who was that old man?
The Duke of Croyzen I remembered had been much younger than the elderly gentleman before me.
The man from my memories had once served as my father's page when Father had still been Crown Prince.
But this grandfather...
No matter how I looked at him, he certainly wasn't Father's friend.
Could he be the previous duke?
Supported by attendants on either side, the old duke looked incapable of taking even a single step without his cane.
His hair was snow white, and his dark brown eyes were clouded with the beginnings of cataracts, making them appear almost gray.
"Your Majesty. I trust you have remained in good health."
"I'm still quite healthy. Come, have a seat. How have you been these days?"
At Grandfather Emperor's invitation, the duke sank heavily into the chair an attendant hurriedly brought over.
"Hahaha... I'm much the same as always. Before long, I'll hand my title over to either my son or grandson and retire to my country estate."
"Hah! You've been saying that for ten years now. I don't believe you anymore."
Grandfather snorted.
I quietly searched my memories.
No, Grandfather.
If I remember correctly, the Duke of Croyzen really will change next year... or the year after.
To Father's friend.
Unfortunately, I couldn't exactly announce that aloud.
So I simply stared blankly at the duke, pretending I knew nothing.
"My goodness! Her Imperial Highness is here as well."
"Hahaha! Isn't she adorable? She's grown so much lately. And she's even become good at this."
Grandfather openly showed the cards to the duke.
The hidden meaning behind his words was obvious.
You recognize this game, don't you? In that case, understand that I'm raising this child to become the future Emperor. Decide carefully whose side you'll stand on.
The duke narrowed his cataract-clouded eyes.
"Hmm... I see."
"Hahaha! She takes after her father. Quite talented, wouldn't you say?"
Grandfather laughed proudly.
"The recommended age for that game is twelve years old. She's rather young for it, but if she's enjoying herself, then I suppose that's fortunate."
The duke had understood perfectly.
That was his polite way of saying, Enough. I get the message.
Unfortunately...
My grandfather was completely unfazed.
"A recommendation is only a recommendation. Who says children have to wait until that age? She may be my granddaughter, but I think she's something of a genius."
After a brief pause, he lifted me into his arms and set me on the table directly across from the duke.
"Duke Croyzen."
He smiled broadly.
"Don't you want this child?"
...Huh?
Want... me?
Surely I'd misheard.
I looked up at Grandfather before turning to stare at the duke.
"Your Majesty... Your gracious favor overwhelms me."
...Why is he thanking him?
"Good. That's how it should be."
Grandfather nodded with immense satisfaction.
"I shall present my grandson's portrait and marriage proposal before long."
Wait!
What is happening?
Why do I suddenly have such a terrible feeling?
A portrait and marriage proposal?
Grandfather!
You're arranging this without even asking the person involved?
Don't tell me...
The fiancé I'd supposedly been promised to before I was old enough to remember—
Wasn't Aunt's decision at all.
Grandfather had arranged it before his death.
That's right.
My future self already had a blasted fiancé.
Lloyd von Croyzen.
The grandson of the old duke sitting before me.
The second son of the next Duke of Croyzen.
Or, to put it another way...
My father's friend's second son.
And the reason that bastard deserved every insult imaginable...
People called him a "free spirit."
Though honestly, free spirit was an absurdly generous euphemism.
To put it plainly—
He was an incorrigible flirt.
He insisted he wasn't.
And if you listened to his explanations, you almost believed him.
"I was simply kind to everyone," he'd say.
"I merely smiled a little too freely."
The problem was...
By "everyone,"
he exclusively meant ladies.
That was Lloyd.
He possessed an almost supernatural ability to make women believe he was in love with them.
As a result, scandals followed him wherever he went, whether he wanted them or not.
Hence the nickname, the Free Spirit.
If he hadn't been the second son of the Duke of Croyzen...
If he hadn't been engaged to me...
Society would have buried him alive under the title of womanizer.
Fine.
Let's be unbelievably generous and accept that much.
Was kindness really a crime?
Women who convinced themselves that an engaged man loved them weren't exactly innocent either.
Nor were the loose-lipped gossips who exaggerated every rumor because it wasn't happening to them.
Before my regression...
How many noble ladies had I personally peeled away from Lloyd?
If I exaggerated only slightly...
Perhaps more than a hundred.
That was Lloyd's greatest flaw.
He never handled those situations himself.
I always had to clean up after him.
There was even one count's daughter who boldly stood before me and declared,
"Lord Lloyd loves me. And I love Lord Lloyd as well."
Lloyd looked at me with pitiful eyes that practically screamed,
When did that happen?
Then deny it!
Tell that insane girl she's mistaken!
Explain yourself, you idiot!
The words rose all the way to my throat—
But I never got the chance to say them.
Because the lunatic beat me to it.
"So please dissolve your engagement."
At that outrageous...
Disrespectful...
Utterly shameless demand directed at a member of the Imperial Family—
I slapped both of them across the face with all my strength.
Then I snatched the parasol from the count's daughter...
And swung it upward with every ounce of strength I had...
Straight into Lloyd's most precious possession.
The count's daughter shrieked.
"Aaaah! Aaaahhh!"
Then fled in tears.
Lloyd foamed at the mouth and collapsed onto the ground before later grabbing the hem of my dress and insisting he'd been wronged.
Ar—
who had already been my knight at the time—
silently removed one of his gloves...
And threw it directly into Lloyd's face.
Naturally...
Lloyd was beaten into a bloody pulp by Ar in the palace gardens that very day.
The next morning, Aunt sent formal protests to both the count's family and the House of Croyzen.
The ducal family practically begged her to let the matter disappear quietly.
Thanks to that, Ar—a commoner who had nearly beaten the duke's second son to death—escaped punishment.
So...
Grandfather!
No!
That man is a complete garbage wagon!
I stared up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.
Instead of understanding...
He simply rubbed his cheek against mine again, squashing my face until I could barely speak.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
"Hahaha! This old grandfather will find you a fine husband from an excellent family."
No!
Grandfather!
That isn't a fine husband!
That's a broken-down garbage wagon!
And so...
At the tender age of three...
My engagement to the future king of human trash was decided.
After breakfast the next morning, I headed toward Grandfather Emperor's palace as usual.
Holding my nursemaid's hand, I toddled through the corridors and toward the stairs.
...Hm?
Why weren't we going upstairs?
Just as I waddled toward the staircase, my nursemaid suddenly lifted me into her arms.
"We won't be going to His Majesty's private palace today."
"Then where?"
"The Grand Audience Hall."
Soon an enormous crimson door came into view.
Its massive wooden frame had been polished until it gleamed.
The center was covered in rich red velvet, while glittering gemstones decorated the lower panels like winding vines.
Two Imperial Knights in immaculate white uniforms stood guard before it.
I'd passed this place countless times before my regression.
Yet I'd never realized just how enormous it truly was.
Now, standing before it in the body of a three-year-old...
The sheer scale of the doors felt overwhelming enough to steal my breath.
Footsteps echoed down the corridor.
The knights, my attendants, and my nursemaid all turned simultaneously.
"We greet His Majesty! Glory to the Empire!"
Everyone dropped to one knee or bowed deeply in perfect unison.
The sight was so magnificent that I simply stood there staring.
Then...
Grandfather suddenly came charging toward me.
"Ohhh! My precious little darling got here before this old grandfather? Are you cold?"
No.
The heating is so warm I'm roasting.
Just look at this layered dress and this fox-fur cape.
Stretching both arms wide, I shook my head vigorously.
Grandfather slipped his hands beneath my arms and lifted me high into the air.
"Come! Let's go inside!"
Resting comfortably against his chest, I looked ahead.
Being carried made my view much higher than before.
I rather liked it.
An attendant raised his voice and announced our arrival.
"His Imperial Majesty the Emperor enters!"
The enormous wooden doors split apart down the middle and slowly swung open.
Inside sat the Four Grand Dukes along with the Empire's most powerful nobles, each arranged according to rank.
The instant the doors opened, every one of them rose to their feet.
Then, together, they bowed deeply toward the entrance.
"We greet His Imperial Majesty! Glory to the Empire!"
