Jens stretched his stiff neck. He was essentially shouldering not only his duties as tactical officer but all the captain’s responsibilities as well.

And now this sudden ambush and battle. Thanks to the intelligence from the 17th Princess who had barged in—or rather, who they had fished out—the Nautile had quickly subdued the attackers without a single casualty.

As expected, it was the Archipelago’s ships that had attacked the Republic. But King Luten of the Archipelago responded coolly to the Republic government’s angry letter about the attack.

[They are missing Archipelago warships. Some forces—pirates or Imperial troops perhaps—are trying to frame the Archipelago.]

Surprisingly, the Republic government bought this nonsense. Or perhaps they were just pretending to.

The corrupt higher-ups in the government must have extracted plenty of concessions from the Archipelago. While soldiers on the front lines were dying, that meant nothing to them.

Click.

Jens entered the interrogation room. The princess sitting at the central table turned to look at him with an expressionless face. According to Imperial custom, not even a princess’s hair could be touched carelessly. Even trimming it required all sorts of elaborate procedures.

That’s why her ivory-colored hair, grown so long it reached her ankles, cascaded down to the floor beneath her chair. In the Empire, they’d probably display it on some gleaming golden tray.

The eyes looking directly at him were the distinctive purple of the Imperial royal direct line. Eyes whose thoughts were impossible to read. Up close, the princess was truly small.

Sixteen, was it? Though old enough to enter the military academy, she looked much younger and more fragile than others her age. Come to think of it, he remembered hearing that meals in the Empire involved all sorts of fussy procedures.

Jokingly, they said Imperial royalty only drank morning dew collected from pristine areas, and looking at this princess, that seemed somewhat plausible.

Jens gestured for Yuvil to lower his gun, pulled out a chair to sit down, and said, “I’ll skip the introductions.”

“Fine.”

“Thanks to the information Your Highness provided, we concluded the battle with minimal damage. I thank you on behalf of the Republic.”

“You’re welcome. I have my own desires too.”

He sighed. The Empire’s 17th Princess. Aira Merime. Her existence was special. Though bearing the title of 17th Princess due to her late birth, she was one of only three biological children of the current Emperor.

Her request was preposterous. It would be the first such instance in the Empire’s thousand-year history.

“Your Highness. Do you truly seek asylum?”

Even as he spoke, the absurdity of these words made his mouth feel gritty, like chewing sand. But whether she noticed his discomfort or not, the princess replied calmly.

“Yes. I seek asylum.”

“You? An Imperial Princess?”

“My decision is firm.”

Her purple eyes stared at him piercingly. He couldn’t detect a trace of falsehood in those eyes, but the unbelievable remained unbelievable.

“I understand your position in the Empire isn’t particularly favorable. However, this war is already tilting toward a conclusion, and if negotiations proceed well, you could return alive to the Imperial homeland. Didn’t you come to this ship to save your life in the remaining naval battles?”

The princess quietly laughed. It was a laugh difficult to understand, unbefitting a sixteen-year-old princess. Jens frowned.

“If you could return to the Empire, you could live under the 3rd Prince’s protection.”

The Empire was in turmoil due to succession conflicts. Anyone who paid even slight attention to Imperial news would hear about the prominent crown prince candidates and royal family members.

“Though you were unfortunately forced to deploy in this Servolang Naval Battle due to overlapping misfortunes, the Imperial family wouldn’t easily harm a princess whose magic might manifest someday. But asylum? Giving up that eternal life?”

“Tell me more.”

“…Even if you were willing to accept what you’d be giving up, wouldn’t the Archipelago have been better for Your Highness than the Republic?”

As this information—which he hadn’t known despite being on the front lines—poured out, Yuvil’s eyes widened.

The princess’s position? The 3rd Prince’s protection? Deployment in the Servolang Naval Battle? How did Jens, a Republic soldier, know all this Imperial information?

The Republic and Empire were separated by a strait, not even trading with each other, just growling at one another. Unless stationed on the front lines, people barely acknowledged each other’s existence. Citizens of each country simply regarded the other as swine.

But the princess spoke naturally, seeming to find his knowledge perfectly normal.

“First of all.”

“Yes.”

“You know the information but not the people.”

Jens’s eyes narrowed. The princess remained calm, though her voice lowered slightly, seemingly reluctant.

“What do you know about the Empire’s 3rd Prince?”

“I’m supposed to be asking the questions here.”

“Then what do you know about the… King of the Archipelago?”

Before mentioning Luten, the King of the Archipelago, a sound of teeth grinding was audible. Jens inwardly sighed.

He had worried that the young princess might be too frightened to speak properly when facing enemy soldiers, but she showed no fear of him or Yuvil. Instead, she was steering the conversation as she pleased.

Perhaps he should have been slightly more threatening. Then again, she hadn’t feared weapons at all, and there hadn’t been a trace of fear in her voice when she provided intelligence. Was this the kind of person who would undertake such an action alone?

“…The 3rd Prince is a strong crown prince candidate despite being adopted after his magic manifested rather than being the Emperor’s biological child, and I understand he’s favorable toward Your Highness.”

Why am I explaining this? Jens gulped down the coffee in his mug. His throat was parched.

“And King Aigis of the Archipelago unified the divided factions of the Archipelago and possesses power similar to the Imperial royalty. Though he can’t achieve immortality without the Empire’s ‘greenhouse.'”

The princess listened silently, her expression blank. But her hands, cuffed and resting on the table, clenched into tight fists.

She gripped them so tightly that the bones on the back of her hands protruded like small bird wings. Jens glanced at her hands, then looked at her with an expression that asked if she was satisfied now. The princess slowly parted her lips, which had lost their redness, and spoke.

“Do you know why the 3rd Prince is favorable toward me?”

“…Because of Your Highness’s excellence?”

“Hah.”

The princess briefly lowered her head with a short laugh, then looked up. Her face was full of sarcasm.

“Royals who can’t become Emperor must live forever trapped in that ‘greenhouse’ you mentioned, the Evighkeit Palace. If you don’t want to suffer that fate, you must trample your peers without exception.”

Though currently neither trapped in a greenhouse nor trampled, she knew her fate.

“Excellence? That’s more of a hindrance. To survive outside the palace a little longer, it’s better to be a pretty doll with a sweet smile.”

That doll-like pretty face contorted. Deep furrows etched into it, unsuited to a young girl. Hatred, anger, horror.

“Now, Lieutenant Will. Think carefully. The 3rd Prince has everything. But there’s one thing he doesn’t have.”

Looks, martial prowess, leadership, the position of 3rd Prince secured through adoption when the Emperor had no biological children. What he didn’t have…

“Set aside the thousand-year history of the Empire that you know, and think only of recent politics. This era’s Empire is unusual. Which princess am I?”

“The 17th.”

“The 17th. Yes, seventeen! This is unprecedented in Imperial history. Some consider it a blessing, but for royals living in this era, it’s hell. Let me give you one more hint. Who is the biggest competitor to the 3rd Prince, that strong crown prince candidate?”

“…The 4th Princess. Then…”

The 4th Princess is the Emperor’s biological child born after the 3rd Prince was adopted. Not just her, but there are too many potential heirs in the current Imperial family when there should only be one or two. This puts biological children in a very advantageous position. To overcome this disadvantage, the adopted 3rd Prince chose…

Just as he was about to answer, the princess quickly shook her head and continued.

“Now let’s look at the King of the Archipelago. He and my stepbrother, the 3rd Prince, have many differences, but they also have something in common.”

Jens’s brow twitched. Having instantly reached a conclusion, he put down his pen and covered his mouth.

“They both desire marriage to Your Highness. The 3rd Prince to supplement his lacking legitimacy. The King of the Archipelago…”

“Because he needs a broodmare to bear his children.”

“…”

At the princess’s blunt words, Jens let out a long groan and spoke in a careful voice.

“You’re only sixteen.”

“But someday I’ll be twenty, and twenty-two.”

Unlike the usual expression, she cut off at twenty-two. Looking at Aira strangely for this, Jens spoke.

“I’ve met King Aigis of the Archipelago.”

“What?”

“You said I don’t know people, but I know King Aigis somewhat.”

The princess’s expression froze.

“Did you also participate in the Lassian Accord?”

“I was there, but that’s not important. However, I know more about King Aigis than those who’ve never met him. He didn’t seem like someone who would treat a girl like you badly.”

First frozen, then thawed, then dried up again. The princess slammed the table, stood up, and glared at Jens with murderous intent.

Perhaps due to fatigue, blood vessels had burst in the eyes of the princess who had been at the front for months and was now constantly tense aboard an enemy ship.

“How can you say such things!”

“…Please calm down.”

“Why! Of all people, you… you. You. Admiral, you! Then our contract is…!”

BANG!

“Princess!”

The princess, who had been trembling with her hands on the table, collapsed in front of him. Jens rose in surprise. A thin line of blood trickled from the mouth of the princess who was convulsing on the table.

“Yuvil! Call the medical officer.”

“Yes, sir.”

“No need…”

Still convulsing, the princess coughed up blood. Jens helped her sit upright in the chair and patted her back, wearing a bewildered expression.

Her body grew hot instantly under his touch. Her breathing came in broken gasps. Could her condition deteriorate so suddenly, even accounting for her near-drowning and exhaustion?

Jens frowned as one possibility occurred to him.

“Could it be the Emperor’s disease?”

“Inner… pocket.”

The princess, about to lose consciousness and breathing feverishly, barely managed to point at her clothes. Jens hurriedly searched her garments. There was no time for propriety.

As she had indicated, a medicine bottle filled with pills was found in her inner pocket. He handed it to her, but she seemed too weak to take it, gasping for breath.

Jens frowned and selected pills of different types from the bottle, holding them out. She weakly nodded.

“Yuvil. Water.”

“Ah, yes.”

Jens poured the pills into the princess’s mouth and tilted the water cup Yuvil had brought. Fortunately, she could swallow, and after barely getting the medicine down, she immediately lost consciousness, her body going limp.

Looking down at the burning hot princess, Jens sighed and lifted her up.

“Damn. What am I supposed to do with this troublemaker?”

The princess in his arms was so small and light that it was hard to believe she was even sixteen. Jens hurriedly carried her to a cabin with a bed.