What Chloe wanted was to have the power to protect her loved ones, and to live a happy life loving them. Now she had power and her loved one by her side, but that very loved one was anxious because of her.

However, as long as she remained the king of Tigrium, it would be difficult to alleviate his anxiety. Due to the greed of tiger therianthropes wanting only tiger therianthropes to inherit the throne, she would continue to be plagued by endless pressure to remarry. Even if she had a therianthrope child with Hugrey, as long as the hatred between tiger and wolf therianthropes persisted, they might still demand a therianthrope heir from a union with a tiger therianthrope.

“Mmm… No… Don’t go.”

Chloe’s brows furrowed as she gazed at Hugrey’s face, sleeping soundly like a baby. It was because of his sleep-talking.

Again, that dream.

Hugrey had often muttered such things in his sleep since Chloe started traveling between Tigrium and Roizen. Although Chloe never asked Hugrey what dream he had, she couldn’t help but know who he was telling not to go.

To think someone would find it so difficult to send her to Tigrium.

Her contemplation deepened. What was the right thing to do?

She gently lowered her lips to kiss Hugrey’s forehead. She knew Hugrey would wake up immediately when she kissed him, but it was better to wake him a little early than to let him suffer from such dreams.

As expected, Hugrey opened his eyes.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Mmm…”

Hugrey slightly frowned, then smiled softly as he put his hand behind her neck and pulled her close.

“Stay like this, just a little longer.”

Chloe buried her face in his chest with a bitter smile at his sleepy behavior. She already knew that he, who never used to act spoiled, only did this on the bed in Tigrium’s palace. Here, he was just a wolf desperately worried about losing his mate. Poor thing.

Chloe summoned not only the tiger royal elders, but also representatives of non-therianthrope nobles of Tigrium, and representatives of the commoners’ council to the palace.

As this was the first general meeting called in the king’s name since Chloe ascended to the throne, and the agenda had not been disclosed in advance, the elders’ faces were a mix of curiosity and slight concern.

“I have called you all here today to express my intention regarding abdication.”

As Chloe finally spoke, silence and bewilderment settled over the meeting hall.

After several seconds of sustained silence, one of the elders finally spoke.

“Abdication! You’ve only just ascended to the throne as the most legitimate heir, how can you suddenly speak of abdication!”

His voice was excited, almost too agitated to be addressing the king. It was understandable to have such a reaction when mentioning abdication without even completing a year on the throne.

“That’s right, I am the most legitimate as a therianthrope. But what if we broaden the scope to include non-therianthrope royalty? Couldn’t we find plenty of others who could sit on the throne besides me? Where is the reason that the throne must be inherited by therianthropes? Most of Tigrium’s citizens are humans, not therianthropes. We already live intermingled with humans, so why must the ruler necessarily be a therianthrope?”

“That’s because therianthropes are much…”

Another elder tried to raise his voice, but his words were cut off by another voice that followed.

“That’s right. The notion that the king must be a therianthrope is outdated. Not just in Tigrium, but nowhere in the world is it an era where therianthrope physical abilities are needed for governance. Superior attacking power, rapid healing ability, why are such things necessary for ruling a country? Those were qualities needed hundreds of years ago when territorial wars were active and magical beasts had to be hunted. Now, we don’t really need the ruler’s physical abilities.”

It was the words of one of the non-therianthrope noble representatives.

“That’s right! Although the number of royals has increased due to the king’s repeated marriages, the citizens were unaware of the cause of these repeated divorces and remarriages. The people are angry that national marriages have been repeated, only increasing the tax burden, just to ensure the throne is inherited only by therianthropes. What the people want is not a therianthrope monarch, but a monarch who will understand the circumstances of the citizens.”

The representative of the commoners’ council continued. Indeed, there was value in Chloe gathering all of them. In fact, she had only kept the agenda secret from the elders, but had given prior notice to the representatives of the noble and commoner councils.

“Therianthropes are far superior to ordinary humans…”

Once again, a tiger elder tried to speak, but this time Chloe interrupted him.

“Yes, therianthropes possess superior physical abilities compared to humans. But as the representatives of the noble and commoner councils have said, superior physical abilities are not particularly necessary for a king. I could clearly see that after actually playing the role of king myself. And being a king is actually a job that suffers from extremely heavy workload. It requires a strong will to want to properly fulfill the role of king to be able to do it properly. However, I don’t have such deep affection for Tigrium that I want to make such great dedication and sacrifice. I wasn’t born here, didn’t grow up here, and have never been indebted to this place in any way. To be really honest, I feel more intimacy and affection for Elaion where I was born and raised than for Tigrium. I love that land more and love the people there more.”

“Oh, my…”

“No, how could that be!”

Sighs erupted from here and there.

“What can I do when that’s the truth? And even apart from my feelings, aren’t the citizens of Tigrium trembling with a sense of betrayal after learning that only therianthropes have inherited the throne?”

Indeed, the existence of therianthropes revealed after the war over the ownership of the Santal mines had caused antipathy among humans. The fact that therianthropes, whose existence they didn’t even know about, existed as the ruling class, and that kings had repeatedly remarried several times to pass on the throne only to therianthropes, were all facts that caused resentment among humans.

The elders’ insistence on Chloe remarrying was also due to awareness of such public opinion. To quickly secure the succession rights and their power through a therianthrope heir. If the position of heir remained empty, voices calling for choosing an heir from among non-therianthrope humans would eventually grow louder.

However, Chloe did not agree at all with the idea that therianthropes should inherit the throne. There had been many side effects from trying to pass on the throne only to therianthropes, and in this world where the majority of members were human, therianthropes had maintained their vested interests for far too long. It was time for therianthropes and humans to have equal opportunities, regardless of their nature.

In fact, the most frequent advice she received after ascending to the throne was that she should quickly bear a therianthrope heir. It felt as if passing on the throne to a legitimate tiger therianthrope was their ultimate goal, and she felt like she was sitting on the throne as a breeding mare to fulfill their greed.

“What Tigrium wants is not a king with therianthrope blood flowing in their veins. It’s a prepared ruler with a heart that loves Tigrium. That’s not determined by whether one is a therianthrope or not. So I wish to abdicate the throne to another prepared individual.”

Not herself, who occupied the throne solely because tiger blood flowed in her veins, but someone who could properly govern Tigrium, suppressing the therianthropes who only voiced their own interests to maintain their vested rights, should become king.

“Who on earth are you talking about!”

One elder asked, bursting out in anger.

“Grand Duke Karl.”

Grand Duke Karl was her maternal uncle. If Tuscan Staxten’s father was her mother’s eldest brother, then Grand Duke Karl was the second brother. Of course, Tuscan Staxten, Grand Duke Karl, and her mother all had different birth mothers.

Grand Duke Karl had lived a life unrelated to the throne and had not been involved in power struggles, but he was a figure respected by the people of Tigrium for his gentle temperament and cool judgment. He would do a much better job as king than Chloe herself, who had suddenly become king one day.

Silence fell over the audience. Everyone knew it. That Grand Duke Karl was the most legitimate and suitable candidate.

“If we just remove the rule that only tiger therianthropes must inherit the throne, wouldn’t the Duke’s age not matter? The Duke already has several children.”

Due to the therianthrope succession principle, even the king’s ability to produce heirs had to be considered in Tigrium. But if only the rule about having to be a therianthrope was removed, there would be no problem since Grand Duke Karl, her uncle, already had children older than her.

“Since representatives of all classes are gathered here, I propose we decide by vote.”

There were 10 elders, 5 from the noble council, and 5 from the commoner council. If Chloe’s one vote was added, they might be able to break the rule that therianthropes must inherit the throne.

“In a meeting called by the king, the king can only propose the agenda but cannot exercise voting rights. If you’re willing to accept the voting results even so, we’re fine with it.”

An elder suddenly said with a meaningful smile.