“I will become the king of this country! I will create a kingdom where everyone is happy, without having to be mindful of the Empire anymore!”
Twelve years ago.
A young Ian Nell Chelsea boldly declared her ambition.
“My beloved daughter.”
King Molin Del Chelsea smiled.
The corners of his lips were raised sadly.
His eyes were filled with sorrow.
King Molin, wearing a complex expression, said,
“You cannot become king.”
The resolute voice echoed in Ian’s mind, and she opened her eyes.
“…”
She looked around with empty eyes.
A familiar interior.
It was her room.
‘Another dream…’
The dream that appeared every now and then was a persistent ghost.
It felt like a warning to realize the reality.
Not to have vain dreams.
“Hoo.”
She sighed lightly and got out of bed.
The time was five in the morning.
It was the time when Ian Nell Chelsea’s day always began.
“Phew!”
Her mind cleared as the cold water touched her face.
After a simple wash.
She changed into light clothes and opened the door.
The maid, who was waiting in front of the door as usual, bowed her head.
“I will escort you.”
She followed the maid to the front courtyard.
There, Royal Knight Glong was waiting.
Ian smiled brightly at him.
“It’s Sir Glong today. Please take care of me.”
“It is an honor to be with you, Princess.”
“Let’s start right away.”
“Yes!”
Naturally, the early morning swordsmanship training began.
Even before the sun rose, they were full of enthusiasm.
“You must always keep your eyes open. Do not miss even the slightest movement of the opponent!”
“Do not focus solely on swinging your sword! Move your feet! You must remember that the beginning of everything is always the feet.”
Sweat poured down like rain during the intense training that lasted for nearly an hour.
“You have worked hard.”
“Thank you.”
Knight Glong sheathed his training sword and bowed his head.
Ian smiled and nodded, as always.
After the training, it was bath time.
Five maids attended to her bath.
The Chelsea Kingdom traditionally valued bathing.
To them, bathing was not just an act of washing the body.
It was close to a ritual.
They believed it expelled evil from the body and purified the mind.
Therefore, even in remote rural territories, public bathing facilities were always present.
Nobles and royals flaunted their wealth by how large their bathhouses were in their mansions.
They were serious about bathing, spending two to three hours every day, sometimes even five hours.
“Thank you.”
Finally, Ian’s bath was over.
With the help of the maids, her bath time did not exceed 30 minutes.
Considering that even ordinary commoners bathed for more than an hour every day, it was excessively short.
“This is the dress you will wear today.”
After the bath, it was time to dress up.
That too, within 30 minutes.
Considering that even the daughters of ordinary noble families spent more than two or three hours dressing up, it was excessively short.
In fact, even this had been inevitably extended from less than 10 minutes due to the gazes of those around her.
“Let’s move right away.”
“Yes.”
After dressing up, she immediately attended the morning mass that began at 8 o’clock.
After the mass, there was a morning briefing.
After that, lunch and a short nap.
Then, afternoon work again.
In the evening, there was dinner followed by evening mass.
When all these schedules were over, it was night, and she would study privately.
At midnight.
Only then would she lie in bed and close her eyes.
Her day was always filled without a gap like this.
Twelve years ago.
Ever since the day 12-year-old she was told that she could not become king.
Until now, she had kept this routine without missing a single day.
With only one thought in mind: to seize the throne with her own power.
“Ian. It’s been a while.”
“Oh my, Kian. What brings you here?”
Kian Del Chelsea.
Ian’s younger brother, the prince.
He appeared with a group of priests and holy knights from the Deusis Order [a religious order] and sat next to Ian.
A solemn mass was in progress, but no one objected to his movements.
“What do you mean what brings me here? Have you thought about what I said before?”
“What did you say?”
Ian asked with an innocent expression. Kian’s expression twisted.
“Don’t play dumb. I asked you to support me for the position of heir to the throne.”
“Ah~ right. You did.”
“So? What do you think?”
Kian turned his head and looked at the waiting priests and holy knights.
“As you know, Sister, I am implicitly supported by Gatren. If I become king, I can have Gatren’s power behind me.”
Kian moved his butt a little closer to Ian and whispered.
“Of course, I know that Logan is trying to get in line with Drasen.”
“So?”
“Our Chelsea Kingdom must join hands with Gatren rather than Drasen! So, I must become king.”
After that, Kian gave a long speech about why Gatren was greater than Drasen.
“Oh, is it already this time?”
Kian sighed as it was almost time for the mass to end.
“I don’t know what Father is thinking, leaving the heir position vacant, but this is not a good situation. It only fuels conflict.”
“That’s right.”
Ian nodded.
Leaving the heir position vacant was dangerous.
It was the only thing she agreed with in the nearly hour-long conversation.
“So, you should support me, Sister. And tell Father nicely too. Father dotes on you.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“No, not think, just listen to me…!”
“Sorry. It’s time for the briefing now. Let’s continue this conversation next time.”
Ian got up from her seat and left the chapel.
She didn’t need to see what kind of expression Kian was making behind her.
‘Stupid bastard.’
Backed by Gatren?
That was a delusion.
Kian was just a puppet entangled in Gatren’s vines and being manipulated.
He thought he would grow the kingdom with Gatren’s power, but well.
In Ian’s eyes, it looked no different from handing over the entire country to Gatren.
“Ian. It’s been a while.”
On the way, someone else came to find Ian.
In a fleeting moment.
Ian’s expression twisted, but she quickly returned to her smiling face.
“Logan. What is it?”
“What I said before. What do you think?”
Logan Del Chelsea.
The king’s third son.
Like his brother, he had asked Ian to support him as the heir.
Ian swallowed a bitter smile.
‘What is it with today…’
It was amazing that they were brothers.
It was amazing that they came to bother her on the same day.
Of course, unlike these thoughts, her expression was still smiling.
The third prince, Logan, frowned and looked at his sister.
“Unlike my stupid brother, you are smart, Sister. You understand what I mean, right?”
“That Gatren is dangerous?”
“Yes! Gatren is hiding its ambition to devour the continent. The beginning is our kingdom. To stop that, we must join hands with Drasen.”
Ian nodded.
Still, he was a little more reasonable than his stupid brother.
Of course, he was still only at a one-dimensional level.
“I don’t know. But I’ll think about it.”
“It’s not enough to just think about it! Father needs to quickly decide on an heir and sort out the situation. Otherwise, we will be Gatren’s…”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time. Let’s continue the story next time.”
“Sister! Wait a minute!”
Ignoring Logan’s voice from behind.
Ian moved to her office.
“Damn it! Just because she’s a little smart, she’s so arrogant…”
Logan’s curse was heard quietly, but she ignored it.
It wasn’t the first or second time.
She had heard those words countless times.
“Ian. You cannot become king.”
“Princess. Your role is not to take care of state affairs.”
“Sister. Don’t do useless things and stick to my side.”
“Ian. I heard that Duke Sotron’s son is proposing. Mother thinks there are no better conditions. You should think about your age now, shouldn’t you?”
Ian lives harder than anyone else.
The reactions around her are always similar.
Contempt. Ridicule. Sympathy.
From their point of view, Ian, who does not do what a woman should do, feels like a kind of mutant.
Even the same women did not understand Ian.
No, they despised and ridiculed her even more.
They treated Ian, who was trying to live a different life from them, like a crazy person.
She could enjoy a comfortable life, but she was making herself suffer.
They gossiped behind her back, saying that she was making a fuss because she was a little smart.
“Hahahaha…”
Ian just laughed.
A smile that had become a habit without her knowing when.
When she wore this smile that everyone praised as pretty.
In fact, Ian was the saddest.
‘It’s okay. Let’s get a grip. Smile.’
Realizing that her expression was distorted, Ian smiled again.
Otherwise, she thought a very depressed expression would come out.
Ian smiled as she always had.
‘By the way, when are you really going to decide on the heir?’
Suddenly, her brother Logan’s words flashed through her mind.
That Father should decide on an heir as soon as possible.
Honestly, she didn’t like it, but it was true.
If this continued, a big fight might break out between the two princes’ factions.
It was the lesser of two evils, but an heir had to be decided as soon as possible.
Why doesn’t King Molin decide on an heir?
Perhaps he is playing tug-of-war between Drasen and Gatren.
Chelsea, a small country, had been able to survive until now thanks to such tug-of-war diplomacy.
‘Anyway, it’s a fortunate thing for me.’
Ian’s smile deepened even more.
Finally arriving at her office.
With only the royal knight and the servant helping with the work left.
She said.
“How is it going?”
“It’s almost finished. Reports have come in that 90% of the families have already completed preparations.”
“Even if the preparations are complete, have them checked again. Provide intensive support to families that are not yet ready.”
“Yes.”
“There is not much time left.”
Ian’s smile contained a cool chill, unlike usual.
A sense of determination was also felt.
She continued.
“It’s the first and last chance. To remove the foundation of the rotten kingdom…”
It was then that the royal knight moved.
Swish-! Clang!
The quickly thrown dagger shattered the window and became embedded in the tree outside.
Startled, Ian jumped up.
“What’s going on!?”
“I’m sorry. I felt a presence outside.”
The royal knight stared out the window with sharp eyes.
After staring out the window for a long time, he bowed his head.
“I think I was mistaken.”
Ian sighed deeply.
“It’s okay. It can happen in sensitive times like these.”
She patted the royal knight and sat back down.
“Have a craftsman called to repair the window later. I’ll have to work like this today.”
Ian gave orders to the servant and started working as if nothing had happened.
Behind her, the royal knight still had a suspicious expression on his face.
‘I definitely felt something…’
***
A place a little away from Ian’s office.
Choi Hyun-seok let out the breath he had been holding in.
“Damn… I thought my heart would drop.”
“Rachel almost screamed.”
Choi Hyun-seok and Rachel swept their chests and sat down on the floor.
“Look at this. I told you I had a bad feeling.”
“Geez. What are you saying after stalking with a perverted, grinning face!?”
“Hey, you have to say it right. It’s not stalking, it’s undercover investigation! Like a spy!”
“Yeah, yeah~ I’m sure.”
Choi Hyun-seok, feeling guilty, raised his voice, but Rachel didn’t care.
“This…!”
He tried to hit her on the head, but he held back.
To be honest, the investigation was an excuse, and he was following her because he missed seeing Ian.
But he ended up hearing something he shouldn’t have.
“So, Hero. What should we do? That blue fox seems to be plotting something!”
“Well…”
In the circumstances, it is clear that Ian is trying to do something.
I don’t know exactly what it is.
It was clear that it was not something that could be quietly overlooked.
Perhaps a lot of blood will flow.
“Hoo, I should get extra pay for this unplanned work.”
Choi Hyun-seok, who had a dry wash [a figurative expression for feeling frustrated] with a sigh, got up from his seat.
“Let’s move for now. We need to gather more information.”
Ian Nell Chelsea.
What is she, who always smiles with an innocent face, plotting?
It was necessary to find out in detail.