When the Female Lead Went Off-Script, the Main Male Lead Became the Tyrant's Empress

Haster was about to retort that there was no reason he should have seen it before, but he closed his mouth and slowly surveyed the lakeside.

“……It resembles the lake in the palace garden and its surroundings.”

“It’s the other way around. The one in the palace garden resembles this place.”

Arden corrected him.

“The lake in the palace garden was modeled after this place. My imperial father gave it to my imperial mother when he proposed to her.”

Those words carried a profound meaning.

Creating a lake required laborers, money, and a great deal of time.

Yet the Emperor had given it to her not as a wedding gift, but when he proposed.

It meant that he had been determined to take her as his wife, and that he had been certain she wouldn’t reject his proposal.

“As you know, my imperial father was not the heir at the time. He was the second son among two sons and three daughters. I don’t know what sort of bargain they made, but their interests aligned. My imperial father became Emperor with the support of my imperial mother’s family, the Ducal House of Irinnora, and my imperial mother became Empress.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I intend to support the Royal Prince of Panouruth.”

Haster looked at Arden, urging him to explain.

“Don’t ask whether I’m clinging to him because he’s my friend or anything like that. This has nothing to do with that.”

“I was going to ask which one you intend to support. Since you mentioned a friend, it must be the third.”

Panouruth was a longtime ally of the Amperion Empire.

Whether they liked it or not, the two countries were influenced by their respective rulers.

Fortunately, no major conflict had ever arisen between the two nations.

Until now.

The King of Panouruth was old.

And he had no children.

What that meant was simple and precarious.

Who would become his successor?

The King had three much younger brothers and two younger sisters.

The previous King of Panouruth had continued taking concubines until the day he died of old age.

Perhaps in rebellion against such a father, the current King had taken only one Queen.

Unfortunately, they had no children.

Therefore, he had decided to choose one of his younger brothers as his successor.

The problem was that he still hadn’t chosen which one.

The third whom Haster mentioned was the King’s third younger brother.

He was a friend who had attended the same academy as Arden.

“Are they all still unmarried?”

“Unfortunately.”

The difference between Panouruth and Amperion was whether they had a concubinage system.

Amperion, which had no such system, could only appoint a legitimate child born to the Empress as the successor.

However, in Panouruth, which had a concubinage system, both the Queen’s children and the concubines’ children were given the opportunity to ascend the throne.

Furthermore, the lives of the princes and princesses who failed to ascend the throne were determined by the King’s orders.

They were fortunate if they were merely sent far away under the pretext of a marriage alliance.

It wasn’t uncommon for a jealous ruler to falsely accuse talented brothers or sisters of treason and send them to the execution grounds.

Because of this, the nobles of Panouruth were reluctant to form ties with any member of the royal family other than the King.

They were always locked in competition, and the princesses were too young.

The unmarried Royal Princes had to secure their positions as successors through their own methods.

“It’s a gamble.”

“I know.”

“You’ll suffer a loss if someone else is chosen.”

“Even so, it won’t affect the alliance. There’s no reason to become enemies simply because the person I supported wasn’t chosen. Even if the other side dislikes us, they won’t act based on personal feelings. And there is one way to guarantee that bastard’s victory.”

“What is it?”

Arden puffed out his chest and declared proudly.

“I can become that punk’s wife!”

Haster couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

He had thought Arden was being serious, only to be caught completely off guard by the sudden joke.

Once his laughter began, it showed no sign of stopping.

Arden continued spouting nonsense about how taking a bride who brought an entire empire as his dowry would naturally give the prince an advantage in the competition, and Haster couldn’t regain his composure.

“What an idiot.”

Haster rebuked Arden.

A trace of laughter that he hadn’t managed to suppress still hung transparently across his face.

At that moment, Arden was overwhelmed by the exhilaration of witnessing a new star sparkle for the first time among the countless stars scattered across the night sky.