“Oh, you’re here,” Alexa smiled, as a man entered her office. While normally, she should remain in the Monile Palace and administer the country from there, from time to time, she would have to stay at the Perlenstadt Palace, which had been renovated to serve major administrative functions instead of being the royal family’s personal home at the Imperial Capital.

  Namely, the prime minister and his or her cabinet’s offices would soon be moved to the Perlenstadt Palace. One of the offices, this one to be specific, would be reserved for Alexa whenever she visited Perlenstadt during emergencies, or in this case, official functions, like her speech at the Imperial Diet earlier.

  Adele smiled pleasantly at the commoner politician, urging him to take a seat, before placing a cup of tea on both sides of the table. Then, she began calmly pouring tea into Alexa and Jonathan’s teacups. In the meantime, Alexa simply observed the young man before her. Earlier, he was quite the trouble stirrer in the Imperial Diet.

  Right now, though, he was just sizing her up, silent and observant. She smiled a bit.

  “So, what’s your stance on me finally freeing Henry?” Alexa said. “He’s been fighting for quite a while up north now. I’ve heard that many of your colleagues wish for me to finally fully restore his honor.”

  “Yes, of course,” Jonathan adamantly placed his hand on his chest. “Your Majesty, that man was our leader, the visionary who led us to where we are today. It is a preposterous idea that he is shamed and dishonored, to the point that the man has to battle demons just to prove himself.”

  Jonathan’s eyes darkened as he looked to the side. “For us mere commoners, it’s a grave injustice that in the one time our brothers acted against this unjust system, our nation vomited them and painted them as villains. I know they were imperfect, I know they’ve committed much unjust crimes and violence, but, at the time…”

  Alexa raised his hand.

  “You don’t have to keep explaining,” Alexa said. “I understand. After years of looking back on the events that happened before this, I’ve realized a great deal that the story was not as black and white as I’d like it to be.”

  After all, even when I came into the fray and changed many things as crown princess, the inertia of centuries of imperial mismanagement wasn’t going to disappear. Mere pretty words to rile up the people were helpful, but anyone with half a brain must have realized back then that everything I was saying was just propaganda.

  Of course, Henry had a major hand in the revolt actually materializing, but, in the end, he was just capitalizing on discontent that had always been there and will always be there until this rotting nation is fixed.

  Alexa sighed a bit. “There’s still much work to do, and until then, people will revolt. Whether it’s misguided or not is not up for me to decide; after all, it’s not like Henry would have rallied hundreds of thousands to fight for him if there was nothing wrong on our side.”

  “Your Majesty…” Jonathan’s eyes widened, as if refusing to believe that Alexa was saying something like this.

  “I know, they say I and Phoebe are the heroes, the good guys,” Alexa smiled lightly. “And well, there’s a lot of truth in that, but you people shouldn’t be painted as the sole villains just because you acted out of line. The Imperial family lost the Holy Mandate for a reason. Even the sun dragon, until now, refuses to recognize me as worthy of the throne.”

  “Your Majesty,” Jonathan lowered his head. “Why did you call me here first? I am your enemy, aren’t I?”

  “As I’ve said earlier, I don’t want enemies.” Alexa looked to the side. “Do you consider me your enemy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why did you praise me and smile at me earlier?” Alexa asked. “Doesn’t that mean there’s a chance for common ground over there?”

  “...I am a commoner, Your Majesty. You’re someone above me simply by birth, at least, according to ancient law. I consider that law to be ridiculous. We’re all humans, after all; for what reason must any piece of text consider one man above another? You even agreed to that principle earlier in the Imperial Diet.”

  Alexa nodded, and Jonathan gritted his teeth. “Yet, you remain in your throne. That is, I believe, hypocrisy of the highest order.”

  Adele frowned. Her expression turned cold, and quite frankly, even Alexa felt a bit of anger at the man. She didn’t like how he insulted her this way, and while she was used to it and she did encourage people to speak freely in front of her, she still, in a sense, viewed herself as royalty. She didn’t like being spoken to this way.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  But, in the end, her rational mind told her that the man was right. Alexa was selfish, even now. She may believe in some way that it was a bit ridiculous for one person to have the right to rule over millions just because they were born from the correct vagina—to make a crude point clear—but she still wanted to hold onto the throne.

  Why? Because she was Alexa Theresa. She should be empress, and she should be the one who would bring her people out of the gutter. Maybe then, once all the work was done, she’d consider…stepping out a bit, but not now.

  “I do respect you though,” Jonathan said, smiling a bit. “You’re someone who at least listens and considers our grievances. You’ve shown yourself to be quite merciful and benevolent. You’ve even thrown your life on the line more than most people, even me. So I don’t really have much leg to stand on here.”

  “Right, so you consider me an enemy, but you respect me.”

  “Indeed, Your Majesty. We wouldn’t call ourselves the ‘radicals’ if we weren’t going to oppose you royalists, would we? ” Jonathan laughed. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid even if you let Henry and his comrades off the hook soon, we cannot be true ‘friends.’ That is simply impossible. Ridiculous even.”

  Alexa smiled. “But, we can be enemies that don’t stab each other, right?”

  “...Preferably, yes.” Jonathan looked to the side, clearly unsure.

  “I have a proposal then.” Alexa tapped her pen on the table impatiently. “And that’s why I called you in here, in fact.”

  “Hmm, what is it? You know, I’ve found it quite strange that you’ll pick someone from the smaller, less popular faction for your office first. Shouldn’t you meet first with your first pick for a prime minister?”

  “Indeed, it is imperative that I meet first the people who will set up the basis for Lotharingia’s first proper elected government,” Alexa stressed that clearly. “But, as you may imagine right now, our country is technically at war with the demon horde.”

  “Yes, that is true.”

  “Hence why I wish to have unity. Even if it’s temporary.”

  “Unity, you say.”

  “Indeed. Now, of course, we cannot have unity if everyone is at each other’s throats, now, can we? Especially since we’re starting out a new chapter in our country’s history, it’s best that we…design the playing field with unanimous agreement.”

  Jonathan laughed awkwardly. “Your Majesty, that does not sound very democratic to me.”

  “We’re not a democracy,” Alexa said lightly. “The people just voted once. There’s no telling if they’re going to vote again any time soon. That will be decided by what constitution we’ll create.”

  “That is true, but the people have had a taste of it. I doubt that they’ll let go of it so easily.”

  “I have many enemies within the royalist faction,” Alexa said. “There are a lot of people who wish to roll back reforms and such and such. There are a lot of them who don’t want to give the people certain rights. There are even many still, amongst the high nobility, who want to replace me. I don’t want them to complicate things.”

  “I see…and where are you getting with this…”

  “Hence, I want to gain the support of as many people in the Imperial Diet as possible. To do that, I plan that both royalists and radicals create a government where they share powers in a way that no one in their most extreme ends will be able to make a fuss and complicate things. You understand what I’m saying, right?”

  Jonathan laughed. “Get to the point.”

  “Become my first prime minister,” Alexa said. “Yes, crazy. A radical, from a faction that lost the election, becoming prime minister. But it’s not as if moderate royalists can’t vote for you for the leadership contest.”

  A royalist prime minister would be the natural path, but, with them having the majority support in the Imperial Diet…

  Alexa smiled further. It would be difficult to control a royalist PM. Having a radical in such a high position instead would mean his survival in his post is based on my grace. I can control him easier.

  Besides, Alexa wanted to balance both factions. As Wilhelm said, even the enemy could be used under the right circumstance. Picking one side of the aisle would be a trap. She’d become forced to follow only the whims of the royalists. That arrangement was not acceptable. No, the royalists would have to work with the radicals.

  The radicals would be tempered because Alexa would control them. In the end, she would be the one with power.

  Jonathan frowned. “Preposterous.”

  “The cabinet will be majority royalists,” Alexa said. “But there will be a few radicals here and there. And since the Imperial Diet is still made up of royalists, and, well, there’s still a monarch around, me, it’s not as if it would be that big of a stretch. It’ll be a gentleman’s compromise.”

  She searched for a word in her head. “I’ve even got a proper spin for it, if people need convincing. In this time of war, crisis, and need, what else do the people truly need? Leaders fighting each other or leaders cooperating with each other?”

  “...Goodness.”

  “Yes, that’s what I want. I want the first government of Lotharingia to be a grand coalition! Royalists and radicals, side by side as they save the nation," Alexa smiled brightly. “Think about it, once it’s all over, once the demon horde is gone and everything is stabilized, no one will be a villain or hero. We will all get the credit! The playing field will be so competitive and healthy in that case. What say you, Mr. Radical?”

  She extended her hand to him. “The deal is sweeter than this, by the way. Think of your friends up north. If you agree with this, I’ll hold up my end of the bargain at last and restore their honor. It’s all up to you now, good sir.”