As someone who aspired to inherit the Imperial Throne one day—

She could not bring herself to admit that her own abilities were insufficient to persuade Hárðr.

"Then let us conclude the discussion regarding the Academy's personnel authority here and move on to the matter of rewards."

Rather than pressing me further and asking me to speak to Hárðr, Fjodora changed the subject.

Before introducing the new topic, she elegantly raised her teacup and moistened her throat.

I silently watched her and waited for her to continue.

"Is that a matter Your Royal Highness can decide entirely on your own?"

A trace of doubt appeared in Reisir's voice.

It sounded almost provocative.

As though he were asking whether she even possessed the authority to grant whatever he requested.

Needless to say, speaking to a member of the Imperial Family in such a manner was extraordinarily rude.

Ordinarily, such provocation would have earned severe punishment.

Yet—

Perhaps Fjodora felt guilty about what had happened to Reisir's family.

Or perhaps this was simply the inevitable favoritism reserved for a protagonist and heroine candidate in the original story.

"To speak so boldly in front of this humble one... you truly are audacious."

Far from showing displeasure, Fjodora let out a hollow laugh.

There was even interest in her expression.

The attitude was astonishingly favorable.

In fact, her words almost sounded like:

You're the first person who has ever treated me this way.

"To answer your question, this humble one is not the person who ultimately decides what reward will be bestowed. However, I can present my opinion to Royal Father, who does make that decision. There is a saying that one loses nothing by asking. So if there is something you desire, why not tell me?"

Though she openly admitted she lacked final authority, she still exuded the relaxed confidence of someone accustomed to power.

That confidence vanished instantly when Reisir spoke.

"I want my family's territory returned."

"..."

"Now that I think about it, perhaps I have shown you too much leniency."

The warmth disappeared from Fjodora's face.

"You wish to receive a territory as a reward? Do you realize how disproportionate that request is compared to your contribution?"

She clearly hadn't expected him to demand the return of the Daudabiner Earldom.

"If you had asked for gold, I would have ensured you received enough never to regret it. If you had asked for honor, I would have granted opportunities to earn it..."

Her voice trailed off.

Although her expression remained stiff, I detected genuine regret in her tone.

Fjodora had probably hoped Reisir would request an opportunity to earn greater achievements.

As she herself had said, defeating a single monster was nowhere near enough to justify the return of a territory.

"I have no intention of forgetting who deserves the greatest credit in this incident. When everyone else was in chaos, the first person to step forward and prevent casualties. The one who risked his life to buy time until you recovered from your panic. Surely you haven't forgotten that it was Young Master Karvaldr."

"I haven't forgotten."

"And yet you still ask for the territory? If I were to return it to you, what exactly would I have to give the Young Master? I can scarcely imagine."

As though worried about its master's distress, Fjodora's eagle familiar let out a quiet cry.

"Biiik..."

It pressed itself gently against her arm.

Reisir, however, remained unmoved.

"I am not asking for something new. I am only requesting the return of something that was unjustly taken. Is that truly such an unreasonable request?"

"Be careful. That could be interpreted as criticism of the Imperial Family."

Reisir flinched.

This world operated under a rigid hierarchy of status.

No matter how justified he might be, openly offending the Imperial Family was a dangerous path.

Unless he wished to be charged with lèse-majesté, he needed to choose his words carefully.

"I understand that there were... misunderstandings surrounding the Imperial Family's decision to seize my family's territory."

The humiliation was obvious.

Instead of speaking directly, he wrapped the accusation in euphemisms.

Seeing that expression, Fjodora looked bitter.

To the current Reisir, however, even bitterness likely appeared indistinguishable from mockery.

"But ten years have passed since then. Surely that is enough time to determine that the phenomenon was not the result of some artificial experiment."

His voice remained controlled.

Yet beneath it lurked years of resentment.

"They continue claiming the cause must be investigated. But if nothing was discovered after ten years, what reason is there to believe anything will be discovered in the future? Furthermore, the same phenomenon has now occurred at the Academy and even within the Imperial Palace itself. Is there truly any reason to continue investigating my hometown specifically?"

"Even taking all that into account, the answer remains no."

Fjodora shook her head.

"As I said before, this is a matter of fairness."

The irony was that she probably wanted to return the territory more than anyone else.

This wasn't speculation based merely on her current behavior.

It was something I knew from the original story.

After Reisir became famous for conquering countless Demon Realms and saving innumerable lives, it was Fjodora who insisted he be honored and summoned him to the Imperial Palace. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Back then, she had offered the return of the Daudabiner Earldom as a reward.

Reisir had refused to be satisfied.

Because the territory wasn't the only thing that had been taken from him.

To restore his parents' honor, he had demanded an official apology from the Imperial Family as well.

And—

The Imperial Family refused.

Fjodora had tried to persuade the Emperor.

The Emperor refused to acknowledge any fault.

In the end, Reisir abandoned any hope of receiving an apology.

Instead, he requested practical compensation, including reconstruction funds for the territory.

Some of those demands were admittedly excessive.

Driven by guilt, Fjodora tried to give him everything he wanted.

As a result, she gradually lost the Emperor's favor.

Eventually she was dispatched to a Demon Realm under the banner of noblesse oblige.

And there she died.

Officially, she was killed by monsters.

In reality, she had been assassinated.

The Imperial Family denied this.

They insisted that the First Princess had died to monsters and accused Reisir—who had entered the Demon Realm with her—of fabricating the assassination story to escape responsibility.

Considering that the people who sent the assassin belonged to the Imperial Family, it was all part of the same scheme.

The public accepted the official explanation without question.

After all, numerous companions who entered Demon Realms alongside Reisir had died over the years.

Rumors had already begun circulating that he intentionally sacrificed his allies to make defeating bosses easier.

Just remembering that part pisses me off. Let's stop thinking about the original story.

That had been my intention.

Unfortunately, the frustration already gathering in my chest escaped as a sigh.

Everyone's attention immediately turned toward me.

"Young Master Karvaldr, what do you think?"

A character from someone else's novel asked an incredibly troublesome question.

Though phrased as a request for my opinion, it was obvious what she really wanted.

She wanted me to agree with her and convince Reisir to abandon the idea.

"Well... that is..."

"Nya!"

"Hm?"

Just as I opened my mouth and found myself hesitating—

Yor suddenly stuffed a cookie into it.

My wise Baby Dragon had bought me time.

I could only marvel at her intelligence.

Slowly chewing the cookie, I considered the situation.

If I accepted a certain premise and imagined the most advantageous way to guide the conversation, a plausible answer began to take shape.

After washing away the cookie's lingering dryness with a sip of tea, I finally spoke.

"As Your Royal Highness says, returning a territory as a reward for this incident is impossible."

A sad smile appeared on Reisir's face.

Disappointment.

Resignation.

Understanding.

The expression seemed to say that he understood my position and didn't want me to feel guilty.

Unfortunately, I had only just finished the first sentence.

"The Imperial Family must return the territory to the Daudabiner family by a different method."

"...!"

For an instant, Reisir's golden eyes seemed to shine.

Not literally.

Merely figuratively.

But the intensity was unmistakable.

"Why do you think so?"

"The disaster that struck the Daudabiner Earldom ten years ago and the anomaly that occurred recently are clearly the same phenomenon. Even considering only the existence of the window used to check one's abilities—which will soon be publicly announced—that conclusion is unavoidable."

"And?"

"The individual who ended the monster's life ten years ago was Reisir Daudabiner. The individual who defeated the monster during the graduation ceremony was also Reisir Daudabiner."

I continued calmly.

"The same phenomenon occurred. The same person resolved it. If the Imperial Family confiscated a territory as punishment in the past, but now bestows rewards for the same circumstances, people will inevitably become confused. They will be unable to understand the Imperial Family's reasoning."

"The Imperial Family could simply choose not to reward Mr. Reisir."

Fjodora probably didn't actually believe that.

More likely, she was presenting an argument another member of the Imperial Family might make.

"There were too many witnesses. People saw Reisir defeat the monster. If no reward is given, a justification will be required."

I set down my teacup.

"And not merely at the Academy. Similar incidents occurred in the Imperial Palace itself. Another occurred in a foreign nation. Surely the Imperial Family cannot claim that all of those events were orchestrated by the sole survivor of the Daudabiner family."

"I suppose not."

Fjodora nodded.

"Leaving aside the fact that he has never even visited two of those locations, Mr. Reisir possesses neither the resources nor the influence necessary to orchestrate such things."

"Furthermore, suppose someone attempted to argue that the current phenomenon is merely a delayed consequence of experiments conducted by the former Count and Countess..."

"You needn't continue."

Fjodora waved her hand.

"Since the Imperial Family has managed the Daudabiner territory for the past ten years, claiming that such experiments truly occurred and are only now producing results would amount to publicly announcing the Imperial Family's incompetence. And with the same phenomenon appearing abroad, it could easily become a diplomatic issue."

She had just articulated half of the argument I was about to make.

Since she clearly understood why suspicion could no longer be directed at the Daudabiner family—

It seemed safe to proceed to the next step of the discussion.