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To my surprise, I could hear a tinge of fear in her voice. What could have made Dorothea, the very picture of arrogance and confidence, feel afraid?
It was before I usurped the throne she began to explain.
Her meeting with the Demon Queen had been a product of sheer chance. Dorothea had just turned seven at the time and had demonstrated a rare talent with the sword. To gain real combat experience, she had joined an expedition into demon territory although she hadn t so much joined as observed from the rear. No matter how strong she might ve been, she had still been a member of the imperial family. In fact, she hadn t been there so much for the experience as she had for the feather it would put in her cap. At any rate, a territory that past intel had suggested was relatively safe was chosen as the battlefront, and she observed the fighting from a safe distance.
That had been when she met her: the Demon Queen.
I had heard of the demons great strength, Dorothea continued. But her? She was beyond anything I could imagine. I could ve handled the Three Great Archdemons alone by myself if they had shown up even then, but I fear I can t hold a candle to the Demon Queen even as I am now. She isn t a power any human can hope to defeat but a cataclysmic force of nature itself.
The expedition team was wiped out in the blink of an eye. Dorothea herself had fought against the Demon Queen, but her efforts were for naught.
I was prepared for death. Yet for some reason, she spared me, and only me.
Confused, Dorothea had asked: Why won t you kill me?
She answered, Killing you will too greatly alter the course of history. Even now, I don t understand the meaning of her words.
Regardless, Dorothea had been spared and had found a new purpose.
From then on, I made it my goal to unite all of humanity s forces to face her again.
She had done everything in her power to achieve this. Even her international aggressions had been carried out in pursuit of this goal. Whether that justified her actions or not was up for debate, however.
William asked what was on everyone s mind. How could such a powerful person exist without anyone but you knowing of her?
I have no way of knowing for certain, but I suspect it has to do with what she said about not wanting to alter the course of history, Dorothea said.
Meaning?
Knowledge of her existence would greatly affect the world. She s limited her actions to avoid shifting the course of history.
Hmm This all sounds a bit complex, but I get that it doesn t bode well for humanity. William frowned.
If you were aware of such a threat, why didn t you warn everyone? Claire scolded Dorothea. Surely working together would have been more sensible than invading every nation left and right.
Claire Fran ois, you know nothing of politics. In a world where nations have vastly different vested interests, words bear no weight at all.
There were a multitude of frameworks by which one nation could interact with another: by military force, economics, ideology, morality. Of these, Dorothea had believed sitting down to talk it out to be the least useful. Personally, I disagreed. But I couldn t deny that quite a few people had thought like her in modern-day Japan.
Nonsense, Claire scolded her further. If people knew we shared a common enemy who threatened us all, they would listen. Especially if you were the one speaking.
Dorothea shook her head as though exasperated by the fact that Claire couldn t understand something so simple. Listen they would, and nothing more. They see no reason to act as long as our empire exists to hold the demons at bay.
You could urge them to action, just like Philine did.
That only worked because they saw me as a common enemy. As I said, our empire is the one defending the world against invasion from demon territory. Because of that, no other nation perceives the demons as a serious threat.
She had a point there. I, at the very least, had never considered demons a real threat during my time in Bauer.
That doesn t make it right to annex other countries by force! Claire yelled.
Indeed. I ve never once thought it right. It was simply my best option. But I ve failed, thanks to you all, she said with a self-derisive laugh.
I understand your motives, Dorothea, I said. But why do you believe the demons are coming to attack in full force now, of all times?
I assume you re aware that demons can t enter the imperial capital? she asked.
Because of the barrier, right?
Indeed. But all the same, the demons are still able to send human spies like the one I let flee amidst the fighting moments ago.
I recalled her earlier glance at an imperial official as they slipped away. That must have been said spy.
By now, that spy will have reported to the demons that I slaughtered you all, making this their perfect chance to strike, she continued.
I see. So when you said you were going to kill us, it was all an act ? Claire asked.
Personally, if that had been an act, I d have preferred it if she held back a bit more.
No, I meant every word, Dorothea said. If you had failed to survive my power, then you wouldn t have lived up to my expectations regardless. If anything, I was ready to be the one killed and leave everything in your hands.
Philine, your mother s way too hardcore! I shouted.
I m sorry! I m so, so sorry! Philine incessantly bowed.
So, now what? It doesn t look like we re in a state to continue this summit. William looked around at the surrounding wreckage. The noncombatants had all returned now that the fighting was over.
Dorothea, how much time would you say we have until the demons are upon us? Dole asked.
After thinking for a moment, she answered, Counting the time it would take for them to break through all the fortifications along the way, I d say two weeks.
Two weeks Might as well be nothing. Dole grimaced. It was doubtful whether two weeks would even be enough time to summon reinforcements from Bauer, the country closest to Nur much less all of humanity s forces.
I m guessing you have something planned, Dorothea? I know you re not one to do something this reckless without a contingency, Manaria said as she appeared.
Sister! Claire dove into her arms. You re healed now?
Yeah. I m sorry I made you worry, Claire.
I felt a twinge of envy but let things slide on account of what had happened to Manaria. Besides, Claire was still mine to hug whenever I wanted!
I do have something planned, Dorothea answered Manaria. A massive magical tool is installed in one of the strongholds between demon territory and the capital. If activated, it ll wipe out both the demons and the stronghold.
According to her, that magical tool was her trump card, created with the empire s latest, greatest, and most cutting-edge technology. It was apparently so powerful that maps would need to be redrawn after its use.
If you had something like that, why wouldn t you just detonate it in demon territory? Claire asked.
We can t just install it anywhere. It needs a volcanic belt ley line to work.
Something clicked in my mind. Dorothea Did you use that magical tool to make Mt. Sassal erupt? I asked.
You re sharp, Rae Taylor. Indeed, I did. This magic tool is able to agitate the fire and earth essences running along the ley line, she answered without an ounce of guilt.
So that was how it was. The reason the eruption had happened earlier than it did in the original game was because the empire had pulled some strings. Perhaps the empire had been the cause of the eruption in the original game too.
You fiend! To my surprise, Thane grabbed Dorothea s collar. His usual melancholic expression was replaced with one of pure rage. Do you have any idea how many of my citizens suffered because of that eruption?! Even now, many are on the verge of starvation!
As king, Thane had greatly grieved the suffering his dear subjects had been forced to endure following Mt. Sassal s eruption. To find out the disaster had not been natural but rather man-made was understandably maddening.
I have no excuse, Dorothea said. I wished to conquer your country, but I didn t have the luxury of choosing my means.
You re heartless! Thane snarled.
Is that so? What would you have me do, then?
There s nothing you can do to make up for what you ve done. Go to hell.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, that s not a good move there, Your Majesty, I said. Let s at least get an apology and some reparations out of her. While I sympathized on an emotional level, we had to look toward the future.
I am willing to meet that demand, Dorothea said. That is, if Philine is willing too.
Huh? M-me? Philine said, having not expected her name to be brought up.
Yes, you, Philine. I abdicate the throne to you.
***
Philine? As empress? Are you insane? I asked Dorothea.
H-hey, what s that supposed to mean, Rae?! Philine snapped. And how come you ve suddenly stopped addressing me as Lady Philine?!
I looked at Dorothea and Philine standing side by side, comparing them. I know Philine is actually quite capable when she tries, but compared to Dorothea, she s a little lacking. Oh, and I figured it was about time I dropped some formalities.
I hate that I can t even rebut that! Philine complained. And what s with that random reasoning?!
Philine was capable, sure. If she weren t, she wouldn t have managed to form the anti-Dorothea alliance so quickly. But I doubted whether she was capable enough to fill Dorothea s shoes. Even when she became empress in the revolution route of the game, her love interests assisted her in her rule. She wasn t like Dorothea, who ruled on her own merits she was someone whose ability to use others was what made her shine. But given how low her affection levels with the love interests were, I just couldn t see them assisting now.
I know, I know, Philine said in defeat. I can t become like Mother, no matter what I do.
Indeed, that s true, Dorothea commented.
Gah?! Philine s jaw dropped. Y-you didn t have to agree!
Don t jump to conclusions. There s no reason you have to become like me in the first place.
How strange. It was almost like Dorothea was trying to encourage Philine.
You seem rather insistent Philine becomes empress, I said. Why?
Process of elimination. It d be outrageous to leave the throne to my other children, who only pandered to me. Philine showed the will to make me abdicate, even if only for a moment. None of my children are more fit for the throne than her.
Mother, are you praising me? Philine asked.
Of course. Would I relinquish the throne if I thought so little of you?
O-oh, uh, I suppose not.
I was only now realizing that Dorothea might be a bit of an airhead. I wasn t about to forgive her for what she had done, and I wanted her to be fairly punished, but I also couldn t really bring myself to hate her as a person. I could do without her monstrous strength, however.
We ll have to postpone your coronation ceremony due to the circumstances, Dorothea said solemnly. But from this moment on, you are the Empress of Nur, Philine.
Philine straightened her back and met her mother s eyes. It is an honor, she said. She put her hand over her heart and bowed, her composure earning back some of the adoration I d felt for her earlier. Just some, though.
I had my doubts as to whether Dorothea s other children would accept this lying down. I didn t think any of them would directly oppose Dorothea s decision, but I expected problems for Philine in the long-term.
Come to think of it, with this, the plan Claire and I had hatched to manipulate the empire had come to a close, and with resounding success! Whew. It had been a long journey, and well, there wasn t even time to relax, what with the demons hot on our tail. Life was a rollercoaster, all right.
So, what s the plan, Your Imperial Majesty? How are we fighting the demons? William asked.
Huh? Y-you re asking me?! Philine panicked.
Naturally, Dole said. This is the empire. Who knows the lay of a land better than its own people? We don t intend to make you the leader of our alliance, to be sure, but humanity is in danger. We re willing to temporarily entrust command of our forces to you.
I couldn t say I envied her position. It was only her first day on the job and she already had to come up with a battle plan against the demons and all while handling negotiations with leaders from Sousse, the Alpes, and Bauer, to boot.
I-I might be able to handle some political and diplomatic matters, but commanding an army is beyond me Philine said hesitantly.
Dole smiled. You don t need to take on everything by yourself. You re the highest authority in the empire, but that really just means you re in charge of assigning the right people to the right jobs. And as luck would have it, there happens to be someone well versed in the art of war right here.
Oh I understand now. Then, Mother, can I ask you to lead our forces? Philine asked.
I refuse. It would set a bad example for a political loser to take command. If I m to be assigned anywhere, it should be as a foot soldier on the frontier or on the front line.
Oh no Philine said hopelessly.
C mon now, I thought. What happened to the cool Philine who boldly declared checkmate against Dorothea only moments ago?
If you re the loser, then do you not have an obligation to do as the victor commands? Claire cut in. What right do you have to act so haughty, especially in such dire straits?
Yeah, tell her what s up, Miss Claire!
Humph Dorothea frowned.
Besides, Claire continued, if someone of your standing was a foot soldier, there would be no order on the battlefield. The front lines would be in chaos.