For the past two years, Latille became busy with the crown prince's educational programme that Lean underwent before it got transferred to her.

Latille's teachers were forced to tighten her schedule and become strict with her since she didn't formally receive the crown prince's education from a young age unlike her brother, Lean. Nonetheless, she followed the rigorous schedule without any complaints.

I don't want to lose to Tratala. I want to surpass Concubine Anakcha's expectations; I can't miss this opportunity.

Unexpectedly, Haizens seemed to be a little helpful; although he didn't help directly, the very thought of him prompted Latille to concentrate on her studies to completely forget about him. Even so, problems arose when the emperor was assassinated inside the palace.

'What do you mean? What do you mean Father got assassinated?!'

'You have to hurry, and go back to the imperial palace, Crown Princess!'

Latille, who had been away from the imperial palace for about a month to stay with Lean, left the temple in a hurry as soon as she heard the news. Along with Sernut and the rest of the guards, she came back to the capital as quickly as she could.

My father got assassinated?

The unexpected news made her feel quite shocked rather than distressed. Nonetheless, Latille can't enter the capital, let alone the palace and had to turn back on her tracks.

'Crown Princess, you must flee immediately. After Prince Tratala takes control of the imperial palace, he will try to capture you.'

Thanks to a guard she had previously praised, she managed to run away without being caught by Prince Tratala. Latille first retreated to the Melosi estate where Sernut's father ruled as a lord. It was only after a few days there she could take a closer look at the situation.

'It seems that Prince Tratala placed the blame on you to tarnish your reputation and fabricate the emperor's will and gain the support of the emperor of the Qin Empire.'

'I'm going to summon the lords and high-ranking nobles to receive their oath of loyalty.'

'Yes, it shouldn't take time. There are still a lot of neutralists who still haven't taken a side, so we need to turn things around quickly before Prince Tratala persuades them to support him.'

The imperial guards and the army can't be controlled by anyone other than the commander. The amount of soldiers Latille can rally is far greater than that of Prince Tratala, but he has the emperor's will. Moreover, waging war in the capital would drop the imperial family's credibility greatly.

You son of a bitch, I knew you'd fuck up some day.

Latille muttered, spitting curses inwardly.

'I have to convince Duke Atraxi, the most powerful noble in the empire.'

When the emperor, who was believed to still have a lot left to live, was assassinated, there was a commotion amongst the nobles.

Those who supported Latille were furious, and those who supported Tratala rejoiced. However, the most powerful nobles, which didn't belong to either side were quite confused. The emperor's assassination was quite shocking, but they had to quickly decide with whom to side with quickly. The country and its people needed a new emperor, but the neutrals struggled to make a decision upon hearing the sudden news. An illegitimate yet intelligent prince or an unprepared crown princess? The nobles were in a pinch so was Duke Atraxi; he and his wife have been discussing the situation for a while.

'We have to help Crown Princess Latrasille.'

Unexpectedly, however, the duchess' opinion was firm. At his wife's stern remark, the Duke of Atraxi insecurely replied with, 'Is that so?'

'Of course!'

Duke Atraxi went back and forth around the room anxiously, glancing at his wife for attention.

'But dear, wouldn't it be better to wait and see? I also prefer the crown princess but rather than that, I want to see her overcome such difficulties alone.'

The duchess clicked her tongue.

'If you want to see her overcome such difficulties alone, how about switching over to the winning side, then?'

'Well…'

'Honey, think about it. Even if she's able to overcome such obstacles, we need to help her to gain her favour.

Duke Atraxi hardly gave a response. The Duchess raised her eyebrows.

'So, you really don't mind if Prince Tratala took the throne? Why are you acting like this?'

'Prince Tratala is just as bright as the crown princess. Although he's too much of a dreamer, he'll improve; it's only a matter of time.'

'What are you talking about? Our crown princess is quite intelligent.'

'Oh, I know, but she's only received formal education for two years. Goodness, how could she ascend the throne when she's only studied for that short period of time?'

The duchess sighed at her husband's stubborness.

'How obstinate! Honey, think about it… we have three sons.'

'Is that important?'

'Obviously! You have three sons, and your second son, Pukshu once fought with the prince and grabbed him by the hair.'

'They were young at the time…'

'Yes, but they're still on bad terms.'

The duchess tutted, approached the duke and lowered her voice to explain.

'If Prince Tratala rises to power, if all goes well, he'll maintain the status quo but if it doesn't, they'll be estranged from each other for no reason; but think about it, what if Crown Princess Latille comes to power?'

'Seriously, you! Think of our eldest son, Lanamun. Not because he's my son, but because he's the most beautiful bachelor in the Tarium Empire!'

'Ah!'

Only then did the duke catch on.

'If Crown Princess Latille comes to power, we can still maintain status quo even if it doesn't work out; but if it does work out, Lanamun can become Prince Consort. This is it, haven't you heard of Carrisen? The Duke of Daga used to be on Prince Heum's side before supporting Emperor Haizens and in return, he made his daughter empress, so why can't my son have that opportunity?

'Is that so?'

'Yes, my son can become a prince consort, too!'

Surprisingly, Duke Atraxi was the first to reach out to the Melosi estate. When he came, Latille was in the middle of a discussion with Sernut on how to persuade him to support her.

The duke didn't send an attendant but came personally, which surprised Latille; and he didn't come alone, he brought an elegant young man in a grey robe with him. She immediately recognised him; he was the Duke's eldest son, Lanamun. Despite being famous, he showed a lack of interest in social events; but whenever he showed up in parties, his face would be plastered all over gossip papers. There were many young ladies who struggled with an unrequited for him.

Noticing her confused state, he warmly comforted Latille.

'Thank you for your hard work, Your Highness the crown princess.'

'Thank you for coming, Duke.'

'All you need to do is trust me. I will make sure to get back what is rightfully yours.'

Was he always this friendly?

Latille expressed her gratitude towards the duke with a soft smile but became puzzled.

Why is he acting nice all of a sudden? Nonetheless, I need his help right now.

The duke looked at her with such great affection, almost as if she was his future daughter-in-law and quickly pushed his son forward.

Well, don't be shy now.

'Your Highness, this is my son, Lanamun.'

Lanamun, standing expressionless, took a step forward. He looked at his father in disdain then reluctantly greeted her.

'… Lanamun, it's an honour to meet you, Your Highness the crown princess.'

Not only was he uninterested in society, he also didn't care about politics, so Latille never had the chance to run into him.

Why did he bring him along? He clearly looks dissatisfied.

Latille was puzzled.

'Ah yes, you must've had a lot of trouble coming this far.'

Duke Atraxi delightedly looked at the awkward Latille and Lanamun with admiration.

'Haha! You both look meant for each other; maybe it's because you both share the same hair colour.'

Latille widened her eyes at the unexpected remark while Lanamun looked at his father in disgust.

'What? What do you mean?'

With Sernut who intended to remain neutral naturally siding with Latille, Duke Atraxi gathered Prince Tratala's supporters, and those who originally supported her flocked to the Melosi estate, too.

The duke persuaded the emperor of the Qin Empire and the prince's supporters to join Latille's side while she ordered some merchants to go to the capital and say, 'Prince Tratala wants to take the throne by force, while the crown princess is away. She can suppress him, but she doesn't want to inflict harm against the civilians living in the capital!'

Yet, Prince Tratala fought back, so taking control of the palace wasn't as easy as I had initially thought.

Although the emperor originally intended to hand over his seat to the crown princess, Prince Tratala spread false rumours that he had left a will to hand over his position to him because he had feared that Latille's education period would be quite short after the raid. Even though it was simply just 'blind-eyed gossip', it did stimulate those concerns regarding her education. Under this situation, neither side had pre-empted positive public opinion. People even started having arguments about who should ascend the throne whenever they gathered at bars or restaurants. Latille came up with an idea.

'We need to take advantage of another country.'

'Wouldn't it be dangerous? When used incorrectly, foreign powers can become a double-edged sword.'

'We're only going to receive support from them, though.'

'It wouldn't be that easy…'

'There's a definite way.'

Latille intentionally appealed to neighbouring countries, presenting herself as an inexperienced and weak monarch and used this strategy to gain foreign support; and with all the foreign countries supporting her, she was finally able to recapture the capital, enter the palace and imprison Prince Tratala. Concubine Anakcha, his mother grovelled at her feet.

'Your Highness, please forgive my son just this one. Tratala was the son of the late emperor and your sibling. You both share half of your blood! Please, spare the life of my son even if you take mine in return.'

The sight of her tear-stained face is quite pitiful.

People had initially thought that Latille would forgive the prince and spare his life, but they were wrong. Prince Tratala's aides, who were also imprisoned consoled him.

'The empress regnant is bound to be kind. Even if you're going to be punished severely, it would only stop at confinement.'

'Of course, rest assured. If you're somehow still alive, we'll come up with a plan to overthrow the empress regnant, Your Highness.'

'Even if you get exiled, you're most likely to be sent to Aronde Tower or Sostar Castle. We'll rally your men there to prepare for your escape. Opportunities will always come, so don't worry.'

'If you see the slightest gap in power, you can take over and seize public opinion right away.'

When Latille calmly ordered Anakcha to be taken to her original residence, Prince Tratala's supporters thought she wouldn't harshen his punishment, but they were wrong. She surprised everyone by ordering the execution of the prince and the abduction of his mother. Those who took the lead in the assassination of the emperor were also executed.

Although she looked sorrowful before giving the orders, her tone and demeanour were sharp and absolute. People then began to recall the archmage's prophecy regarding the two siblings, Lean and Latille.

'The princess has the qualities of a king. If she comes to power, lots of blood will be shed but the Tarium Empire will not seize to develop further.'

Then in the spring of the year 517, Latille recovered the emperor's body and held a funeral then finally held a coronation ceremony after completely laying the groundwork for her rule as the 19th emperor.

Translator's note: I just want to make it clear, Latille is referred to as 'Emperor' while whoever is marrying the supposed 'Emperor' is depicted as 'Empress' regardless of their gender in the raws, so I decided to refer to her as 'Empress Regnant' while her husband will be referred to as 'Prince Consort' since whomever marries the reigning empress is not an emperor, but a prince consort. That's different if the emperor is the one who's reigning since their wife would be an 'Empress Consort' or simply just 'Empress'.