After the festival, many changes occurred not only in the Letius Empire but throughout the entire world.

Without time to mourn the sudden death of the emperor, Ron Letius’s ascension to the throne followed. Uncovering the truth behind the incident was a matter to be gradually addressed after the emperor’s seat was filled.

It was unexpected that Ron Letius, not Helio Letius, ascended to the throne.

At first, there was a flurry of opposition questioning whether Helio Letius should succeed to the throne, but those who realized that the Asthart ducal family stood behind the man quickly closed their mouths.

Contrary to the public’s concerns, the new emperor diligently built up achievements.

After expelling all corrupt officials, he selected and appointed capable individuals to administrative positions. Thanks to this, the imperial palace, which had been full of sycophants, became noticeably cleaner.

Unlike the previous emperor who insisted on managing the knighthood without qualification, Ron Letius readily admitted his own incompetence. He then handed over all decision-making authority for the imperial knights to the former vice-captain who became the captain of the knights.

Thanks to operating without the emperor’s intervention, the knighthood found peace after a long time. Subsequently, the imperial knights, who had lost manpower due to the disaster, began to regain their past momentum by recruiting new talents.

Thanks to Ron Letius quickly putting the imperial palace in order, the empire also swiftly returned to its place. As a result, criticism towards him gradually began to decrease. Before long, the empire was in an atmosphere of welcoming the new emperor.

As the contract between the empire and the duchy was nullified, the Charliee territory, which had become a vassal state of the Letius Empire, was returned to the Kshant Duchy.

Since the existence of the Kshant Duchy became meaningless once the territory was reclaimed, the duchy’s identity was soon replaced by the Charliee Kingdom.

Subsequently, the Charliee Kingdom signed a peace treaty with the Letius Empire, swearing to ensure the safety of the country in the future.

As the construction of the broken palace was in full swing, a banquet celebrating the liberation of the territory and the accession of the new monarch was held in the temple.

Although the coronation ceremony had not yet taken place, it was natural for Natasha Charliee, the only royal of Charliee, to ascend to the throne.

Many distinguished guests gathered at the banquet to celebrate Natasha’s coronation.

It was when the crown was about to be placed on the new monarch. Natasha, who had been kneeling on the stairs, suddenly stood up.

After placing the royal scepter on a cushion elaborately embroidered with numbers, she turned to face the crowd.

“The Charliee Kingdom will be succeeded by the Grand Duke of Kshant, who thoroughly protected half of our territory.”

This was followed by the shocking statement that she would give up the position of monarch.

“…What are you saying, Princess!”

“I’m saying that I will transfer the ruling authority of Charliee to the Grand Duke of Kshant.”

Soon, the temple was in great commotion.

“This is nonsense!”

Even the Grand Duke of Kshant seemed not to have been informed of this in advance. The duke railed against the other party who had made such a reckless choice, asking what this meant.

“It’s impossible for a kingdom not to be ruled by royalty!”

“How can you, who desired the kingdom’s reconstruction more than anyone, turn your back on the kingdom! It’s absolutely impossible!”

As even the Grand Duke of Kshant refused to succeed, related individuals gradually began to voice their opinions.

But Natasha paid no heed to everyone’s opposition. Far from retracting her decision, she was busy persuading the Grand Duke of Kshant.

“The Charliee Kingdom was able to rise again thanks to you, Grand Duke of Kshant. If you hadn’t protected our country’s territory under the shelter of the Kshant Duchy, the present Charliee wouldn’t exist.”

Natasha continued speaking while firmly holding the Grand Duke of Kshant’s hand.

“I believe bloodline won’t be an issue at all. You, who had no connection to Charliee, have already protected Charliee more diligently than anyone else.”

No one dared to refute Natasha’s words. As she said, it was thanks to the Grand Duke of Kshant’s dedicated protection of the territory that Charliee could flourish again.

“Although you betrayed me twice—”

At that moment, the Grand Duke of Kshant’s shoulders trembled slightly.

“You forced patriotism on me!”

“…”

“But even that was to protect Charliee. You, who desired Charliee’s reconstruction more than anyone, there’s no reason I can’t pass the throne to you.”

Natasha winked one eye as if joking, then took off her cloak. The cloak, flying in a semicircle, eventually draped over the Grand Duke of Kshant’s shoulders.

“…But for me to succeed Charliee…”

The Grand Duke of Kshant hesitated after confirming the princess’s sincerity.

“There’s also the issue of succession, isn’t there? I cannot produce an heir.”

“Ah, don’t worry about the succession issue. My descendants will succeed. ”

“…Pardon?”

“I’m saying I’ll take back that position when I’m ready. Hmm, does this sound a bit selfish?”

She put her finger on her lips with an innocent expression.

“No, it’s not selfish. You’re making the right choice. To protect the kingdom, you should do at least this much.”

The duke laughed heartily, feeling much more at ease.

Smiling along with him, Natasha picked up the royal scepter she had put down earlier.

Realizing the woman’s intention, the Grand Duke of Kshant soon knelt on one knee and raised both hands above his head. Following this, the royal scepter was placed on his palms.

“I entrust Charliee to you. Lienne Kshant, no, Lienne Charliee.”

“Thank you for giving me the honor of becoming the second sun. From today, I will live a new life as Lienne Charliee and diligently rule the country that the princess has cultivated.”

Thus, the Charliee Kingdom slowly grew under Lienne Charliee.

The capable royal knights, who were once synonymous with Charliee, also slowly grew. Dante Yuster was active as the new captain of the knights and performed many great deeds.

Whether thanks to the shadow who had worked together in the previous operation, or thanks to someone from Galonde, Galonde Empire and Charliee Kingdom continued smooth exchanges.

Thus, everything seemed to be flowing smoothly.

But just as everything seemed to become peaceful, the Asthart ducal family, which had brought about peace, collapsed.

Overnight.

As the duke and duchess disappeared overnight, the ducal family naturally dissolved.

The Asthart ducal family was a prestigious family with power rivaling that of the imperial family.

People who couldn’t find a reason to abandon the money and honor they had accumulated began to make plausible guesses that perhaps the Asthart family was the actual perpetrator of treason.

As talks about the Asthart ducal family didn’t cease, the imperial family finally spoke up.

Ron Letius announced that he and the Asthart ducal family had directly dealt with the former emperor, and in order to claim how reasonable it was, he revealed Kyle Letius’s ugliness.

Among them was one old truth revealed to demonstrate the former emperor’s incompetence.

It was belatedly revealed that the hero who had brought Charliee’s territory several years ago was actually Sieghart Asthart.

As it was revealed that the plan was Sieghart’s, the controversy ended. This was because the opinion that dealing with Kyle Letius had rather contributed to the empire’s development became dominant.

In addition, a new controversy arose. The relationship between Sieghart and Natasha was belatedly highlighted.

Love between the perpetrator and the victim. It was quite an appealing topic for the media and people looking for something stimulating in peaceful days.

But the Asthart ducal family had long since disappeared without a trace a month ago. As even the former servants of the Asthart ducal family consistently claimed to know nothing, there was no chance for the truth to be revealed.

Only rampant speculations to satisfy curiosity.

Natasha, who learned of this fact in advance, supposedly broke up with Sieghart.

They supposedly fled in advance considering people’s reactions later.

The duchess’s incurable disease supposedly relapsed, so they confined her to a hospital.

This too was mere speculation, so the truth was ultimately buried deep beneath the surface where they couldn’t know.

Whether they were sick of the media and people chasing after them demanding to reveal the truth, the servants coincidentally began to disappear.

Everyone, including the gardener responsible for the ducal family’s garden, the competent butler Jenkis, and Meliana and Vanessa, the duchess’s close maids.

As those related to the Asthart ducal family disappeared one by one, there were even jokes in the world that they were living happily together on an uninhabited island.

“Hey, young man! Are you ready today? You promised to go hunting with me!”

Penril, the village troublemaker, shouted with a broad smile.

At this, the eyes of people around the couple became sharp. Sparks flew from the eyes glaring at Uncle Penril.

“What are you talking about! I invited them to dinner today to celebrate making a pot full of beef stew.”

“By the way, they’re going on an outing with me tomorrow, so don’t even think about taking them separately!”

“The day after that is when I’ve been invited to the mansion, so likewise, don’t think about snatching them away! Hoho!”

The ladies chattered noisily, saying there was no time at all for the couple to give to Penril.

The young man who recently moved to the village made a troubled expression looking at the ladies surrounding him.

“Unfortunately, we won’t be able to attend dinner tonight.”

“What? Why!”

“My wife urgently called me home. It seems to be an urgent matter, so we’ll have to excuse ourselves.”

“Oh dear… I hope she’s not sick. It can’t be helped. I’ll have to feed the other neighbors instead.”

The lady who had invited the couple today sighed with a disappointed expression.

She wanted to ask them to visit later if possible, but since his wife had been constantly suffering from minor illnesses, she thought there might be something wrong with her today as well.

Watching the young man’s back as he hurried his steps saying he needed to go home quickly, they showed envious reactions.

“Phew, the lovebirds never change.”

“I feel bad saying this when his wife has fallen ill, but… it’s nice to have the couple move back. It’s refreshing to the eyes.”

“Right? Me too. If they show signs of leaving again, we’ll have to hold onto them tightly!”

Intense sparks flew again beyond the ladies’ eyes.

“Natasha, I’m home.”

Sieghart, who had returned home, called his wife’s name.

Natasha peeked her face into the quiet dining room.

“Welcome home, Enoch?”

“You should call me Sieghart at home.”

“Okay! Welcome home, Sieghart?”

“My wife called urgently, so I came running, brushing everyone aside.”

Natasha and Sieghart came down to a rural village in Osreil and pioneered the lives of Tisha Winter and Enoch Winter.

‘Sieghart, shall we make a new start?’

‘A new start?’

‘In a free place where no one knows us, without caring about others’ gazes. Abandoning grand and unfortunate names like Charliee or Asthart.’

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, there was only one reason they abandoned Asthart.

Because they could no longer use the names Charliee and Asthart that had tormented each other.

So the couple went down to Osreil and continued a peaceful and stable life.

“Ugh, it’s an eyesore. Who knew our lord was such a romantic person…”

Along with the members of the Asthart ducal family.

Jenkis clicked his tongue and served food.

“Why? It looks good. I’ve been having so much fun watching the two of you lately that I don’t even notice time passing.”

“We don’t need to watch plays anymore, hehe.”

Meliana and Vanessa lightly scolded Jenkis for embarrassing them and poured tea into Natasha and Sieghart’s teacups.

Natasha gently waved her hand, telling them to stop teasing. Sieghart, surprisingly, didn’t seem to mind such reactions and sat down without saying anything.

“I was looking forward to the lady’s beef stew for days, but why did you suddenly want to have dinner just the two of us?”

Natasha opened the conversation while sipping the steaming tea.

“I think showing you would be faster than telling you.”

No sooner had she given a look to Meliana and Vanessa than smiles bloomed on their faces.

Vanessa, who was so excited for some reason, came running and put a blunt object on the table.

“These days, they say you can even know the gender of the child to be born with divine power in advance.”

A flower pot with beautifully blooming flowers dominated Sieghart’s view.

“They say it’s a girl.”

“…Natasha.”

“She’ll have clear bright eyes just like ours, right? How small and pretty will she be? Oh, as for the name…”

Sieghart, who had risen from his seat in an instant, approached Natasha. Soon, the members who noticed the next ritual to be performed slowly made way.

Sieghart held Natasha’s waist firmly and spun around. The hem of her dress bloomed elegantly like the flower buds blooming above the flower pot.

“Are you happy?”

“Yes, I’m happy beyond words. Really… I don’t know how to explain this overwhelming feeling…”

“Do you need to explain? One action is enough.”

Sieghart, who didn’t know what to do and kept fidgeting, couldn’t have been more adorable. Eventually, Natasha slowly closed her eyes.

Another new beginning, a kiss celebrating the birth of their child followed.

-The End-