* * *

“Is that the life His Majesty wants for you?”

I aimed straight at the heart of the matter. The princess raised her voice, indignant.

“Don’t talk about it like it’s so simple! What could I possibly do against Mother or Father?!”

She wasn’t wrong.

The princess had no power. Her luxurious life was a gift from the Emperor, who deemed her worthy of royal indulgence solely because of her bloodline.

If she had no intention, will, or hope of breaking free, she could continue to live as she always had—relying on others’ goodwill.

If the Emperor were utterly devoid of affection for his children, driven solely by a twisted ambition to sell his daughter for control over Velon, her fear might have been justified.

But the Emperor, for all his faults, was the sort of person to laugh indulgently even if Evelyn performed an awkward, ridiculous dance.

Too afraid to act herself, she sought help from someone with even slimmer chances of success?

It was no different from the mindset of a ten-year-old child.

“If you can’t do anything, then continue to comply. No one can step forward to act in your stead for your true benefit—not me, nor the maid glaring at me right now.”

It wasn’t as though my parents had made my path easy, either.

Adopting modern business strategies must have been shocking in this world.

Everything was met with resistance.

I’d clashed with my father endlessly, even as the heir whose position was unshakable.

Still, I’d only succeeded by proving myself right, even when my father called me a disrespectful brat.

If the results had come even a little later, I’d have been branded the reckless heir who ruined the Everdeen family.

Just as I wasn’t disowned for shaking up the family business, the princess wouldn’t be exiled or executed for refusing a marriage that wasn’t even critical to the nation’s future.

If she’d lived as a puppet under the Empress’s thumb since childhood, it was understandable for her to fear taking her first step.

But if she couldn’t even muster the courage to say no and instead hoped someone else would solve her problems, that was something she’d have to accept.

“What would you do if I turned this into a scandal to blackmail you? Would you silently endure it because you couldn’t bring yourself to tell His Majesty?”

The princess, who had been silently biting her lip, finally countered.

“N-no! That’s not….”

“Why? You’re just as likely to lose the Emperor’s favor and trust. No, wait—perhaps you’ve never had it to begin with. After all, you’re no better than a child who only accepts what’s handed to them.”

I spoke deliberately, my tone laced with mockery.

The princess shot up from her seat, her face flushed with humiliation.

“I—I can’t listen to this anymore! If you have no intention of helping, then I’ll take my leave….”

As the princess’s patience reached its limit, I responded with a smile.

“Continue as you have been. If you despise others making decisions for your life under the guise of ‘it’s all for your sake,’ then you must be prepared to endure their resentment.”

That was a lesson that applied to my past self as well.

I understood better than anyone what it meant to silently strive to meet others’ expectations, only to be crushed by the weight of their demands.

Becoming Jurgen Nil Everdeen had initially been the result of someone else’s request.

Perhaps this life wasn’t all that different from the previous one.

But having started over, I now knew from experience that parents wouldn’t take responsibility for my life.

And the commands and judgments that seemed so absolute at that age were often just the petty whims of adults driven by convenience.

I no longer allowed others to control my life.

I reformed the disastrous management practices, removed freeloading distant relatives from key positions, and introduced a modern welfare model.

If I’d feared backlash, I wouldn’t have accomplished anything.

Watching the princess tremble, I felt a twinge of guilt for pushing her so hard.

But backing down now would render our entire discussion meaningless.

“B-but… how….”

When the princess hung her head again, I offered a capitalist smile and replied, “From here, I can assist you. However, I do not work for your benefit, Princess.”

Every action had a price.

Though I might seem amiable, my goals were clear.

If the princess could help me achieve what I wanted, I would gladly extend my hand to her cause.

---

After my long meeting with the princess, I prepared to head north.

The last train of the day was still available.

With the situation so urgent, I packed only a portable communication device and locked my bag.

My abrupt departure startled the servants, who hurried to inform the count.

My father, looking as if the sky had fallen, sprang from his bed to stop me.

“Where—where are you going this time? If it’s urgent, just send someone instead….”

I cut him off sharply.

“This is something only I can do.”

Now that I knew what the Emperor had ordered Hernan to do, I couldn’t afford any more delays.

Hesitation now would lead to irreversible consequences.

‘What a truly despicable order….’

It was clear how the Emperor viewed the residents of the occupied territories—as expendable.

Would the dragon really dismiss this as a trivial matter?

His own bloodline would survive, after all.

Whether Hernan accepted the Emperor’s command or not, both scenarios posed a problem.

If he defied the order again, it could be seen as outright treason.

The fortress at Yudenet currently housed more soldiers than ever, not for invasion but for self-defense.

Yet, if the Emperor decided to frame the rejection of his alliance as rebellion, there were plenty of ways to do so.

“….”

If Hernan complied this time, that would also be disastrous.

Arriving in Velon at dawn after a sleepless journey on the night train, I approached the fortress where a division was already assembled, ready for deployment.

As I jumped from the carriage and ran to the gates, a knight spotted me and cried out in alarm.

“Lord Everdeen!?”

The shout startled the person I most wanted to see.

Hernan’s eyes briefly lit up with surprise and joy before narrowing into a sharp glare.

The swirling snow seemed to pause as Hernan stormed toward me and shouted.

“What are you doing here?!”

Gripping both my arms firmly, Hernan demanded an answer.

Undeterred, I responded.

“I’m here to protect you, Duke!”

My hands, frozen stiff from clutching the carriage rails, shakily cupped Hernan’s face.

Roughly half a year ago, when I first arrived in Velon, the harsh cold had overwhelmed me.

I collapsed from sheer exhaustion upon reaching the fortress.

Even now, my condition wasn’t much better.

Velon was a land of relentless blizzards except during its fleeting summers, and even then, snowflakes danced near Yudenet Fortress, perched on the northern frontier.

Surviving this brutal cold a second time was purely a matter of willpower.

The Emperor’s command to Hernan was nothing short of barbaric—a massacre disguised as a military operation.

Using a minor disturbance in Haptis, Baron Radin’s territory, as a pretext, he ordered a crackdown on alleged rebellion.

The true intent was obvious: to disrupt Yudenet’s ventures and destroy its strongest support base.

‘So that’s why they advised me to withdraw quickly.’

Knowing that any delay could lead to disaster, I pressed on without rest, even as dizziness and fever took hold.

My worsening condition deepened Hernan’s frown.

“Protecting others is my duty, not yours, Lord Everdeen.”

Ernan’s voice trembled with barely contained frustration.

This was his way of protecting me?

He might as well marry the princess and make me his secret lover.

Of course, if he did, I’d sell my stake and sever all ties.

If keeping me in the dark while shouldering injustice was his idea of protection, then my defiance was my way of protecting him.

“No, I didn’t come here alone.”

Standing tall, I declared, “Sir Hernan Velon Yudenet, I command you: from this moment, all forces of Velon are to prioritize the safety of Her Highness Evelyn Denoir Feltysia above all else. By order of the Imperial Family.”

This was the only lawful way to defy the Emperor’s orders.

* * *