On the eve of the Holy Night Festival holiday...
Serena was the first to realize that she had already fallen behind in the struggle for the imperial succession.
The storm centered around the Light of the Empire, Li An Adolf, had quietly changed many things.
The treacherous ministers who, other than the Emperor, had held the greatest power were completely wiped out; meanwhile, the White Magic Tower, which had always maintained its neutrality and never taken sides, had also established an alliance with the Empire.
And the name Li An Adolf was no longer just a household name within the Empire.
It had even spread across the entire continent.
Yet, among the members of the imperial family who had helped clear Li An's name, Serena Barba was nowhere to be found.
“Second-in-line... what an awkward position,” Serena murmured, staring at the phantom before her.
“Because I'm the younger sister, I can't snatch it from the eldest; because I'm the older sister, I can't compete with the youngest.”
She did not want to continue like this.
She wanted to possess something that truly belonged to her.
This had always been Serena's motivation.
“That is why I refuse to lose the Empire to anyone.”
Serena took a step forward.
With her footsteps, the surrounding lights gradually lit up.
The phantom standing before her had long jet-black hair and wore a theatrical half-mask on its face, making it impossible to discern its true appearance.
A black cloak fluttered in the wind, dragging along the ground.
“This was also why I wanted to become the Empress.”
Serena paused.
“But recently... the reason has changed.”
She reached out a hand toward the phantom.
However, her hand passed right through its body.
Serena sighed softly.
In the next instant, the phantom dissolved into mana, vanishing without a trace.
Yet the memory of that day remained deeply etched in her mind.
“Once I become the Empress, you'll notice me too, right?”
“When that time comes, I will definitely find you.”
Mustering her courage, Serena walked over to her desk.
The desk was piled high with various letters.
Among them were quite a few replies written by Li An himself.
Naturally, most of them were rejections.
Aside from those, there was also a list compiled for her ascension to the throne.
Viscount Gaius—possesses wide-reaching connections in central politics, owns a winery, and has immense financial power.
Count Trio—Commander of the Rose Knights. Extremely difficult to win over, but once loyal, incredibly difficult to sway.
And at the very top of the list, a name was written prominently.
★☆★ Li An Adolf—To become the Empress, this person must be captured (mentally) ★☆★
Serena stared at the name, her eyes gradually growing resolute.
“Li An Adolf.”
“You are mine.”
“I will never hand you over to anyone else.”
“Even if it is to become the Empress... even if it is to find that person.”
Since she could not make a move from that direction, she had to strike from another angle.
Serena personally headed to the administrative hall.
She was going to find Li An.
As it turned out—
“Director Li An is not in today.”
“He already went back yesterday.”
“He went back?”
Serena was stunned.
“Why?!”
...
The carriage jolted and bumped along the way.
This time, instead of traveling along the broad roads of the Imperial Capital, it took the path leading to the countryside.
Li An sat in the carriage, quietly observing the person sitting opposite him.
Her smooth platinum-blonde hair swayed gently with the carriage's rocking.
The young girl seemed truly exhausted.
Even while sitting in the uncomfortable carriage, she kept her eyes closed, her breathing light and even.
This was the road leading to the Adolf family's main estate.
If he could, Li An really did not want to come back.
He had originally planned to stay in the Imperial Capital during the Holy Night Festival holiday to get some proper rest for a few days.
But now...
A ticking time bomb sat right across from him.
The Third Princess of the Empire—Elizabeth Barba.
“...”
Li An prayed silently.
'Just stay asleep.'
'Preferably all the way to our destination.'
The situation had started a day ago.
“Director, there's something I want to tell you.”
Between people, there was a concept known as timing.
And there were certain moments that, no matter what, could not be avoided.
For example, when one was getting ready to leave the office near closing time, only to suddenly run into someone with a serious expression.
Furthermore, they were blocking the doorway.
This was clearly no coincidence.
Isha had already noticed several times that Li An was intentionally avoiding her.
So this time, she simply blocked his way out.
“What is it?”
Li An looked calm on the surface, but inside, he was desperately trying to stop his legs from shaking.
At a time like this, when there were only two people in the office and the woman was the one taking the initiative to say she had something to talk about, Li An had a good idea of what usually happened in such a scenario.
After all, ever since Isha became his secretary, this kind of situation was bound to happen sooner or later.
He had even intentionally caused trouble in the past because he feared this day would come, trying to get rid of Isha.
Of course, he had failed.
And now—
The time bomb was finally going off.
“Actually, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time...”
Isha spoke hesitantly.
“...”
Li An's heart tightened.
'Here it comes.'
The reveal of her identity as a princess.
Isha was going to confess that she was actually the Third Princess of the Empire, Elizabeth Barba.
This was his greatest fear.
Li An had already rehearsed this scenario dozens of times in his head.
He had even planned out his kneeling posture.
The moment she laid her cards on the table, he would immediately confess his guilt.
“So you were Her Highness the Princess! I was truly blind. Please forgive my past insolence, Your Highness!”
His head was completely ready to hit the floor in a kowtow.
To avoid hitting the hard floor directly, he had even prepared a carpet in advance.
Isha had even wondered why a carpet had suddenly and inexplicably appeared in the office.
Naturally, all of this was the result of Li An's careful and thorough deliberation.
He took a deep breath.
What came next would be the most critical part.
If anyone witnessed what he did daily, they would surely find her extremely pitiful.
A prestigious princess of the Empire had been ordered around by him to brew cocoa and run errands to deliver documents.
He had even made her pass messages to other departments.
On days when he was too lazy to go to the breakroom, he would casually have her massage his shoulders.
Therefore, he had to apologize now, and he had to be so sincere that she would feel too embarrassed to pursue the matter further.
“Actually, I am truly sorry about all this time...”
“Um...”
Isha's cheeks flushed slightly.
“For this Holy Night Festival, when you go back to your parents' place... could you take me with you?”
“...”
Li An froze.
'She's not confessing her identity?'
The Holy Night Festival.
This was a registered religious holiday in the Empire, and also an official holiday.
It was one of the few rare long holidays the Empire had throughout the year.
Ordinary people would usually take this opportunity to return to their hometowns.
Devout believers would head to churches to pray.
Yet Li An had absolutely no intention of going back to his hometown, let alone going to a church.
He had originally planned to stay in the Imperial Capital during the holiday to eat, drink, and enjoy himself.
After all—
'Going back home is just too troublesome...'
The domain of Baron Adolf was located in a rather remote region.
To put it nicely, it was the countryside.
The air was fresh, and the scenery was beautiful.
To put it another way—there were too many bugs, the sun set early, and recreational activities were virtually non-existent.
Most importantly, the moment he went back, he would have to face his older sister, who always went out of her way to make trouble for him.
“My apologies, but I have some matters to attend to in the Imperial Capital during the Holy Night Festival.”
Li An refused flatly.
“Is that so?”
Isha was visibly disappointed.
“Then I can only do it now. Actually, I...”
“...”
Li An's heart leaped into his throat.
'Don't say it.'
'Please, do not confess your identity here.'
“Then let's go together.”
“...Eh?”
“To my hometown.”
Li An ultimately compromised.
With Isha looking like that, he simply could not bring himself to refuse.
The exposure of Her Highness's identity would just have to be delayed further.
He would drag it out for as long as possible.
As for how to deal with it later...
He would worry about that when the time came.
“Let's set off tomorrow morning. The journey might be quite long; is that alright with you?”
“No problem. I will pack my change of clothes and travel essentials.”
The two of them agreed to meet in front of the administrative hall the following morning.
That was how this journey back home came to be.
“We're almost there, Li An.”
“So fast?”
“I heard the Empire's treasury has become much wealthier recently, so they've repaired roads all over the territory. We just happened to benefit from it.”
“...”
Li An was silent for a moment.
'If you have money, you should enjoy life.'
'Why be so diligent about repairing roads?'
With this incomprehensible doubt in mind, he looked out the carriage window.
A familiar road came into view.
Vast fields of wheat stretched out, swaying gently under the light breeze.
The weather had been favorable this year, and the trees were laden with fruit.
On the hillsides, livestock could be seen grazing lazily from time to time.
“...”
Li An's expression was complicated.
'Damn it.'
'I still can't get used to this smell of manure.'
Naturally, countryside scenery could not remain beautiful forever.
Whenever the carriage passed by the fields, the scent of livestock dung would waft inside.
Even the sleeping Isha furrowed her brow subconsciously.
...
Several sheepdogs were sprinting behind the carriage.
“Woof! Woof!”
Upon seeing the pack of dogs, the horses instantly grew excited and accelerated.
The carriage driver hurriedly pulled the reins.
“Whoa—slow down! Slow down!”
But it was completely useless.
Gallop, gallop, gallop!
The carriage moved faster and faster.
Li An's face gradually stiffened.
'Wait.'
'Isn't this a bit too fast?'
If they continued at this speed, the front page of tomorrow's imperial newspaper would probably read:
“Imperial Official and Third Princess Both Perish in Carriage Accident!”
“What's happening?”
Isha was finally jolted awake by the turbulence.
Li An replied expressionlessly, “Nothing. Just that in about a minute, we'll be meeting the God of the Underworld together.”
“...Ah?”
The scenery outside the carriage window was flashing past frantically.
“Stop the carriage!”
“I can't stop them!”
Griting his teeth, Li An pushed open the door and scrambled onto the driver's bench, attempting to control the horses himself.
However, keeping one's balance on a high-speed carriage was extremely difficult.
Just as he took his seat beside the driver—
“Whoa—!!!”
A loud, booming man's voice suddenly echoed.
Miraculously, the galloping horses actually ground to a halt.
“Pant... pant...”
The driver, who had almost crossed the River Styx, slumped onto his seat, panting heavily.
Meanwhile, Li An looked a short distance away.
Among the people he knew, only one possessed such horse-handling skills.
“Long time no see, son.”
A man sat on horseback with a bright, cheerful smile.
Baron Arthur Adolf.
Li An's father.
He was also the head of the Adolf Baronial House.
Li An dismounted the carriage, staring at his father whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
But in the next moment, he was dumbfounded.
Something was wrong.
There was something off with his home.
What should have been a modestly sized wooden house had now turned into a grand, imposing mansion as if modified by transmutation magic.
Unfamiliar servants could be seen working all over the courtyard.
Every one of them was busy working up a sweat.
Li An could not help but ask, “What's going on at home?”
Baron Arthur flashed a brilliant smile.
“Nothing much. We just made a killing from investing in magic stones earlier, and then we discovered a habitat of Jewel Frogs. So...”
The Baron patted his son on the shoulder.
“Our family has hit the jackpot. And it's all thanks to you, son.”
“...”
Li An fell silent.
Rate on N.U.
