The Reincarnated Count's Daughter Is the Strongest as She Is Loved by the Spirits, Though She Is Only Wishing for Regular Romance!

Large sunshades were placed in the courtyard, each with chairs and tables set up underneath.

As we sat down at one of them, our attendants waited a little distance away.

"I had the spirits create a barrier so our voices can't be heard outside."

"Can they really do that?"

In response to the duke's question, his spirits bobbed up and down energetically.

"You seem to get along well. You must take great care of them."

"My wife passed away, and my children are all grown up. Watching my grandchildren grow and nurturing these spirits are my joys now."

This man, he's completely different from Count Dalimore when it comes to spirits. No wonder their faction split.

"Eleven years ago, right after the previous emperor's death, we were all tied to our territories because of the conflicts with other countries, weren't we?"

"Indeed. I stayed in my territory the whole time."

"So, you wouldn't know what happened in the palace. At first, Empress Eufenia promised to hand over the throne to Jean-sama in five years. With the condition that she and the general would assist him, we all agreed to her accession and united to defend the country against external threats."

Wiki-kun didn't have that level of detail. I avoided looking at personal details, and besides, I was two years old at the time and didn't read all the links. Even if it was written, I might have missed it.

I'm glad I didn't read it. Knowing such messy details could be life-threatening. I can't keep a poker face.

But now I know. I might be getting involved in something big.

"Did you know that the development of the spirit forest was meant to create housing for refugees?"

"Yes."

"Refugees kept pouring into the central region, and there was nowhere to house them. Dalimore was desperately looking for land. His brother, Marquis Trill, didn't want to cooperate, and other nobles refused to take in refugees. I offered my land, but the Empress rejected it."

"That's..."

"The Empress, who had just become the ruler, didn't want to owe anything to someone who hadn't pledged loyalty to her. But there were no other options. So, Dalimore set his sights on that forest."

"You knew it was the spirit forest, right?"

The duke nodded deeply at my mother's question.

"Yes, I knew. That's why I tried to stop him. I suggested using royal lands instead. But no one, not even the Empress, took action. Dalimore made the decision, and the plans were executed amidst the chaos of war recovery, food shortages, and daily administrative work."

"So, the faction split?"

"Yes. We proposed building housing for refugees in my territory. But Dalimore insisted on developing the forest. We couldn't cooperate with those who would anger the spirit king."

It's really hard to know the truth without hearing it directly. I thought the duke was the leader of the faction that developed the spirit forest, but he actually loved spirits and nurtured spirit beasts.

"Then why didn't you tell the Empress it was the spirit forest?"

"Duchess Nadia, do you remember? The Empress gave birth to Prince Andrew the following year. She was already pregnant and left political matters to the general. Our meetings were refused, and decisions were buried under piles of paperwork."

"Was that part of the chancellor's plan?"

The duke nodded with a wry smile at Chris' remark.

"Most likely. He was a clever man, skilled at smoothing things over. Everyone relied on him to settle disputes."

"And after five years, the Empress didn't hand over the throne to Jean-sama."

"That's right. The people loved the hero who expanded the borders and the beautiful empress by his side. Compared to that, Jean-sama, who had stayed out of the limelight, was forgotten."

"But then it might have still been possible..."

"By then, you were already frequenting the palace, weren't you? Especially you, Nadia-sama."

"Yes, I visited many times when the crown prince was young."

"Then you must have noticed. The Empress started dismissing those with old-fashioned views, most of whom supported Jean-sama as the next emperor."

"...Oh, dear."

Wiki-kun had the official history of this country, no doubt. But official history is written by the victors and isn't always the true history. The Empress gained popular support and won the power struggle to stay on the throne.

...What must Jean-sama have felt watching that unfold?

"Wait. I heard from the Empress that Jean-sama didn't want to become emperor."

"That's not true. Three days before Dalimore was captured in the academy forest, he and his associates met with Jean-sama."

Ah, I see. I remember now.

I wondered why Dalimore didn't know Jean-sama had a spirit beast, even though he was pushing for him as emperor. But then he said Jean-sama was loved by spirits.

What face did the chancellor make at that time? The clever chancellor, praised for his intellect, why did he demand the Empress abdicate in such a place?

This is bad. I'm starting to have unpleasant thoughts.

Even though I know I shouldn't meddle in power struggles, my mind is clouded with doubts.

"Be careful. Dalimore was a man with a following. His network still exists. You are valuable to any faction. If you don't want to be caught up in a power struggle, form your own faction and gain power in the court."

As soon as we reached the waiting room and parted ways with the duke, people started queuing up in the hallway to ask about our schedule and request meetings. Those who had avoided us earlier were now eager to talk about spirits, while others wanted to verify our relationship with the duke. Our attendants and butlers were overwhelmed.

As for me, my mind was short-circuited from all the new information, but eventually, I decided to ignore it.

I don't care about things that happened before I was born. But there is one thing I want to know.

"How much did you know about Duke Powell's story?"

Standing in front of my seated family, I folded my arms and glared. If there are still unshared details when I'm making the correlation diagram, I'll have to activate the forbidden Wiki-chan, which I hate.

"We didn't know much. The central region doesn't share such information with others, especially not with marquises."

"That's right, Dia. And we didn't want to get involved. Getting caught in a power struggle with the royals would be terrible."

So, neither father nor Chris knew. Judging by the shock, mother probably didn't know either.

"I always knew, but no matter how close you are, royals and nobles are different. I thought the Empress was making sacrifices for the sake of the country. I was told Jean-sama wasn't interested in the throne."

"Accepting the duke's story as the truth might be questionable. Though, it did make sense."

If we want to know what really happened, we'd have to gather information. But doing that would alert both the Empress and Jean-sama. Impossible. Too dangerous. I won't live long.

It doesn't concern me directly, but my actions could influence the next emperor. Though, I doubt that.

"Alan-oniisama, why are you silent? Do you know something? No, never mind, I don't want to hear it."

"Um..."

"Talk to Chris-oniisama."

"Jean-sama is hard to read."

"That's... I thought that ever since that strange letter."

"But he was the first royal to contact you personally, right?"

"Well, yes. But the crown prince is the only one who tried to talk to me. Even after the incident with Dalimore in the academy forest, neither the Empress nor the general approached me. I wondered if they weren't interested in information about the spirit kings."

Maybe they just thought I was a weird kid and didn't want to deal with me.

"Mother. I don't want to sound disrespectful, but do you think the Empress's image was crafted by her advisors? That masculine speech and mannerisms?"

"Oh, she once spoke to the general in feminine language."

"I see. She might be playing the role of the empress supported by the central nobles, while letting them handle the actual governance."

Is power really that important? Enough to betray your brother?

"Yes. She was just a normal princess during her school days. She changed after the previous emperor passed. But I can't believe she would betray Jean-sama. She cared for him deeply."

Ugh, I don't get it!

It's too much for an ordinary office lady like me.

I'll prioritize my family's happiness over the royals!