Seeing that the girls were already skeptical, Faust struck while the iron was hot.
"In fact, it was the imperial princess of the empire who told me about the Midwinter Kingdom's curse and suggested I attempt to break it; otherwise, I would have had no knowledge of Midwinter's internal affairs."
This was the truth, though Charlotte's original intention was to retaliate against Faust for his insolence toward Lady Lian, hoping he would fail miserably in the Midwinter Kingdom—preferably dying here—to prove he was unworthy of being an ally personally chosen by the dragon lord.
"Oh, is that so?"
Upon hearing this, Selena's dissatisfaction vanished by more than half, and her furrowed brows relaxed.
Goodness, why didn't you say so earlier?
Since she was a matchmaker, the evaluation of her had to change.
Lola regained her queenly dignity and elegance, speaking calmly.
"Speaking of which, there has never been such a strange situation in history; humans becoming the kin of a wicked dragon. Generally speaking, dragons harbor an immense hatred for all mortals, making communication impossible."
Possessing the memories of fighting against a demonic dragon, few people understood the existence of "wicked dragons" better than she did.
"That is why I would consider cooperating with the Second Empire. It's not a matter of whether I want to or not; I have already been dragged into it... the dragon lord of that empire specifically named me to assist her."
"!!"
"Such a thing happened?!"
The girls turned serious; being remembered by a true dragon, for whatever reason, was unsettling.
Faust nodded and clenched his fist.
"If one only has one chance in life to establish a world-shocking achievement, I must consider if this is the only opportunity of my lifetime. In the face of such a chance, I will not run away."
"Of course, if the dragon lord of the empire is not of a kind nature, then I shall slay her!"
The prince regent's words were heartfelt, and even Viviana could not see any flaw in them because they were all selective truths.
"Slaying a dragon..."
The girls' beautiful eyes widened at the mention of the word.
Selena and Lola in particular kept looking Faust up and down, as if they had already envisioned the man's heroic posture as a "dragonslayer hero," their silver eyes sparkling.
"This is your true objective, isn't it?"
The beautiful girl with long black hair thought she had grasped Faust's weakness and smiled with her arms crossed.
"I knew it; no hero can resist the temptation of slaying a dragon. Sigh... for the sake of making a name for yourselves, it's impossible for you lot to ever settle down."
In this fairy tale world, the pursuit of merit and fame was almost inscribed into their genes, especially for those with the title of prince; it was as if they were poisoned by it.
The mere gimmick of a "possible dragonslaying" was enough to burn away all reason.
Faust gave a noncommittal hum.
Viviana, who had been a witness to the alliance at the time, knew more about the situation and asked.
"Your Highness, how much time do we have left?"
Faust replied, "It will be within these few years. At the latest, I must go to the empire in a few years' time. I do not wish to trample upon the promise I made personally."
Lola was dazed. "A few years..."
The mature, cold, and charming black-haired woman showed a melancholy expression, instinctively reaching out to stroke the man's hair. She set aside those memories of his lackluster performance from the night before, and the gentle maternal instinct she displayed now made Faust obediently crane his neck toward her.
"We will not let you face it alone."
Selena rested her chin on one hand and sighed.
"I had intended to spend my days in leisure, but now it seems I must work hard. At least so you won't have to face the danger all by yourself. I suppose there's no choice, since you are my lover."
Seeing this, Faust immediately performed a look of being formulaically moved, shedding formulaic tears, and radiating formulaic positive energy.
"Everyone... with your support, I am truly... beyond grateful..."
Knowing how the mechanics of fate operated, Faust's mastery of acting had reached the pinnacle; he could display genuine emotion at will, far beyond what any pretender could achieve. Only in this way could he deceive the wheel of destiny.
The prince regent wiped his tears while secretly reflecting.
Oh, 【witches】, do not blame me for being despicable. If I do not push you, you will never know where your limits lie.
The talent of every 【witch】 was Peerless; describing them as super-geniuses was not an exaggeration at all. However, all 【witches】 were lazy sluggards who didn't care at all if their talent was ever realized.
Lola was living off the legacy of the first Midwinter princess, and Selena had previously only thought about how to go on vacation. As for Viviana... well, the golden-haired knight maiden had a magnificent character and was indeed incredibly disciplined, practicing diligently on her path.
But even so, without Faust's supervision and demands, would Viviana really have progressed on her own? It was doubtful.
In short, get up! Stop living the life of a pampered princess! Everyone, start grinding!
After reaching a consensus, the group finished their breakfast in the room before heading to the audience chamber. Lola prepared to announce Faust's position as the "co-ruler" to the ministers.
The upper levels of the castle in the Midwinter royal capital were the private domain of the royal family, while the lower levels and the perimeter housed the kingdom's council hall.
The ministers discussed and handled various affairs here every day, but today was a bit special, as Faust found a group of people kneeling on the steps outside the audience chamber.
The prince regent's eyes lowered slightly as he recognized the leader.
"Is that... Arcturus?"
"Yes. Since yesterday morning, Arcturus and his faction have been kneeling there to beg for forgiveness."
Lola said indifferently, "However, I didn't know how to deal with him, so I just left them there."
The prime minister of Midwinter had likely been heavily influenced by some sort of curse or hex during the previous 【witches' feast】, as he had been hell-bent on killing Selena.
Whether this was a crime and whether he should be prosecuted depended entirely on the monarch's whim.
Snow White shrugged and said to Faust.
"I actually don't care about his offense. Faust, it depends on how you want to handle it. Whether to kill him or spare him, it doesn't matter."
Letting me make the judgment? I suppose so, since I am a co-ruler now.
Faust thought for a moment and recited a poem.
"A body trained to be like a crane and a pine; the clouds are in the blue sky, and the water is in the bottle."
"Hmm?"
The people around him didn't know what poem the prince regent was reciting.
Faust explained, "My meaning is that some of them are the clouds, and some are the water; they are all loyal ministers! There are no traitors among them!"
"They were all doing their duty for Midwinter. If you don't mind, let's spare him."
The Midwinter Kingdom ultimately needed a governing body. Was Lola the mother really going to rule the nation?
Don't make Faust laugh.
During the days Faust spent with Lola in the royal capital, he had long since seen through her; this shy and timid older sister knew nothing of governing a country and left all the trivial matters to the prime minister.
One couldn't blame Lola, for most kingdoms were like this. If a monarch possessed a path like 【sovereign monarch】, they would simply provide buffs.
If they didn't have a path specialized for a monarch, they would delegate power even more, handing affairs over to professional occult nobles of the 【sage】 path.
This was the way of a ruler; even Faust believed this. After all, in this fairy tale world, it was highly unlikely for courtiers to rebel.
Rate on N.U.
