IWBAACTWITOS Chapter 4

The Empire's Empress, Charlotte, smiled brightly watching her young son eat cake. Snack time was precious—the only moment Aegis showed something resembling a childlike smile.

His chewing cheeks were so lovable she wanted to poke them with her finger, but if she actually did, Aegis would politely tell her not to.

'He's so pretty.'

Why were the words from that tiny mouth never pretty at all?

"Asher."

When Charlotte called, Aegis set down his fork, swallowed the food in his mouth, then answered.

"Yes, Mother."

"You might meet a new friend soon."

"A new friend? From which family?"

Because Aegis asked about the family first, Charlotte's smile nearly cracked. She masked her expression skillfully.

"The Remetio ducal daughter. A lovely young lady one year younger than our Asher."

At the mention of Remetio, Aegis's eyes widened. His pretty blue eyes blinked several times before a smile landed on his face.

"Tilly?"

"You know who she is?"

"Yes, I overheard Father talking with the Duke and Count last time. Father said she might become my bride."

"...What? Bride?"

This was news to Charlotte. Her face froze mid-smile. Seeing this, Aegis tilted his head with a flustered expression.

"Well, the Duke and Count said they'd think about it slowly."

"I see. Then it's fine."

Of course they would. Charlotte reassured Aegis and told him to finish eating, pouring milk into his teacup. Relieved, Aegis resumed eating his cake. Charlotte's smile remained warm and gentle, but her hands resting on her lap did not.

Charlotte fell into thought briefly, then told a lady-in-waiting to inform the Emperor's palace she'd stop by in an hour. Her husband Philius would undoubtedly wiggle with anticipation awaiting her visit.

Thirty minutes later, having finished a leisurely teatime with Aegis, Charlotte headed straight to the Emperor's palace. When Charlotte entered the office, Philius set down his quill and jumped from his seat. His face bloomed with a bright smile, suggesting he'd been yearning for her since receiving word.

"Lotty."

"I have urgent matters to discuss with His Majesty, so please step out briefly."

"Yes, Your Majesty the Empress."

Normally Charlotte would start with affectionate words, but she'd asked everyone to leave first. Realizing her atmosphere was unusual, the aides hurried out. Charlotte began removing her gloves. Inappropriate sounds emerged from her lace-gloved hands.

"L-Lotty?"

Shortly after, the gorgeous golden hair Charlotte loved most in the world was caught in her grip. At Philius's scream, the knights and aides waiting outside turned their gazes toward the windows.

'Another peaceful and happy day.'

"Roxy, I think Tilly really resembles you quite a lot."

Roxana looked at Julian with an expression suggesting he'd said something absurd. I ignored this and put a large piece of meat from my stew into my mouth.

"She said it was house-playing, dragged me outside, then suddenly became a Great Demon King. Does house-playing normally include Great Demon Kings?"

At Julian's genuinely confused expression, Roxana burst into laughter.

"You don't understand. House-playing needs a Great Demon King."

"...Really?"

"You've been called a genius since childhood and only studied, so you wouldn't know. I was once one of the Four Heavenly Kings."

"There were Four Heavenly Kings too?"

"Of course, I eventually staged a rebellion and ascended as the new Great Demon King, but initially I was assigned a Heavenly King role. Four Heavenly Kings and a Great Demon King, plus five chosen heroes."

Julian tilted his head in incomprehension. Roxana had run around her rural estate as a child without distinguishing between nobles and commoners, so she had many friends her age and good social skills. In contrast, Julian's position among the Three Houses meant his only close friends were Emperor Philius and perhaps one or two others.

"Then shouldn't our Tilly need Four Heavenly Kings too?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I'm a tyrant, so I'll eliminate the Four Heavenly Kings eyeing my back first."

"B-but then you'll be at a disadvantage when the heroes come."

"The Great Demon King absorbs the Four Heavenly Kings' blood and grows stronger, so don't worry."

Deciding further argument was futile, Julian laughed and fed me chopped meat. I chewed while smiling at Julian's stare.

"Tilly."

"Yeah?"

"Want to visit the Imperial Palace once?"

"No."

At my immediate answer, Julian smiled as if expecting this and fed me more meat. Today I could eat without moving my hands at all—so convenient.

"Yuri, feeding her is nice, but eat your own food."

"...Okay."

"Even if engagement talk came up from the Imperial family, nothing's confirmed yet. The children are still young, and His Majesty only mentioned it in passing. Don't worry so much."

At the word engagement, I startled. An engagement between the Remetio ducal house and the Imperial family? The original story never mentioned this.

'No, wait.'

In the original, Royna was the Remetio ducal house's only heir. But now there were two heirs including me, so one could marry into the Imperial family without succession issues.

'But the Imperial Prince is the sub-male lead.'

And the sub-male lead had loved Royna since early childhood. If I became engaged to the prince—family tree chaos. If Royna did—potential male lead replacement. A critically important problem. While I sat confused, cheeks stuffed with food, Roxana called me with a desperate voice.

"Thaleia, are you listening to Mother?"

I raised my head to meet Roxana's eyes. Her pupils held worry. I used her concern to my advantage, asking with a dejected expression:

"Do I have to go to the palace?"

"No, you don't need to. If you don't want to go, you don't have to."

"..."

"There's a child at the palace who could be Tilly's friend. If you don't want to befriend that child either, I won't try to arrange friends for you anymore."

Currently the only child my age residing at the palace was His Imperial Highness the Prince. Since I kept escaping whenever she tried making friends for me, Roxana seemed to have pulled out her final option. I sighed and spoke as if I had no choice:

"This is the last time."

At my permission, Roxana smiled faintly. Julian wore a somewhat complicated expression. But I had other intentions. Making one five-year-old boy cry wasn't particularly difficult—I planned to squeeze out every tear.

Bully him for a few months and Aegis would come to hate me. If both parties insisted they'd die before marrying, well, what could anyone do?

'I need to carve fear into his childhood so thoroughly he'll never want to see me again.'