# 114
The plan that was conveyed to the two people was not long.
Dearyn just needs to get ready, and Sirius just needs to act like a duke.
As for the rest, Robin will take care of it, that's the whole plan.
If too many people knew, the secrets would spread quickly, so none of the nobles residing in the Third Prince's Palace knew about this plan.
‘Anyway, it is not the number of allies that is important, but moving the Emperor’s heart that is most important.’
This meant that just pressing people together would not make the emperor's heart change.
“How is the Emperor?”
In the end, if things depended on only one person, the Emperor, then it was important to know who that person was.
Fortunately, the person who knew the Emperor well was present in front of them.
Who can accurately evaluate the emperor better than the first crown prince, who grew up seeing the emperor from birth?
Sirius seemed to think for a moment, then answered frankly:
“I don't know.”
“…You don’t know? Why?”
He's not an ordinary person, he's the eldest son. It cannot be that the Emperor has not seen more than you.
“My mother always said that the Emperor was a difficult person to know.”
“But you have to feel something from it. At least a personal impression.”
Sirius thought again.
In his memory, the Emperor was an unfathomable person, perhaps the only one who truly knew himself.
He behaved with kindness and respect towards the Empress who was his political marriage, but at the same time he married a concubine, placing the First Crown Prince in a respectable position, but provoking a clever rivalry between himself and the Second Crown Prince.
He didn't particularly favor the former concubine, and he didn't like Inden the most.
On the contrary, he was more on Sirius' side. However, he never intervened to declare Sirius crown prince.
“Whatever Endean does, if it is not in the Emperor’s heart, it will be of no use.”
Since the Emperor leaves things vague and unclear, he is likely to ignore the topic if it is not of great interest.
“What would happen if Sirius discovered that he was the First Crown Prince, and it was not in the Emperor’s heart?”
“It will kill him.”
Sirius answered without hesitation.
"What?"
“If he doesn't have it in his heart or he doesn't need it, it can happen.”
“……How could it be ‘possible’ for this to happen?”
Dearyn's face distorted at Sirius's cold speech.
There are things that can be accepted rationally, and there are things that cannot.
Whatever it is, it's his son.
“If I had been dear, my mother would not have died like this.”
If the Emperor had the will to protect him, the mother, Empress Olivia, would not have been killed in that way.
It was neglect and negative support. Sirius vaguely guessed that there was something in the Emperor's heart that he didn't like.
“And I think even after I disappeared, he would have tried to find me anyway.”
If the Crown Prince had disappeared, there should have been a huge uproar in the country to search for him.
But in Dearyn's memory, that never happened.
The disappearance of the First Crown Prince was just a light rumor, and the news of Sorben's attack on the war was even more noisy.
If the Crown Prince was dear, the search for him would not have stopped until now.
Even if he wasn't the Crown Prince, any father and mother would do it.
Parents do not stop searching for their children until they see their body.
“I am not someone big and important to the Emperor.”
Sirius shortened his posture.
Dearyn felt dizzy from the situation being worse than she expected.
“…Aren’t we both going to die like this?”
“Hmm…….”
“……Don’t try to seriously calculate the odds.”
Sirius looked like he was really calculating the odds of his death.
If things were like this, it would be better to send that crazy dog to the countryside immediately.
Why did he have to be this crazy dog who stood out even in madness to be in this situation?
“Dyaren will not die.”
“Sirius, you should also think about not dying!”
“I also, as far as possible, will not die.”
They were pledges that could not be trusted.
"Don't die. Take the path of survival at all costs. If you feel like you're going to die, forget everything, even register your services for the Eighth Division and the First Crown Prince, and go live in the countryside!"
“Will Diarin go with me to the countryside?”
“……No, not to this extent…….”
“Then I will die.”
Dearyn slapped Sirius' back hard. It wasn't a light slap, she was really angry.
Of course, Dearyn's hands were more painful than Sirius' back, but Sirius, sensing the sincerity of Dearyn's anger, removed his slight smile.
"I'm serious."
"once again!"
“I am neither a prince nor a nobleman, so why should I live in the countryside without two houses?”
It's hard to know until you actually experience it, but if you give into this thinking early on, you may not even try to escape when the situation becomes hopeless.
But if you talk to Sirius carelessly, you may limit yourself. Deyarin carefully urged him to differentiate between what he could and could not do.
“If that happens… I will ask to volunteer to go with you to the Countryside Temple.”
It may be unfortunate that there are no money-making opportunities like in the city's temples, and you may face prejudice from the local priests, but that is something that can be given up for the sake of Ceres' remaining life. The important thing is that Sirius lives.
“Will you go with me, Diarren?”
Sirius widened his eyes as if he hadn't expected this.
Dayarin couldn't believe herself when she said that, but she said it, and she didn't regret it. She really wanted Sirius to live.
“Yes, and if it doesn't work out, run away.”
"Good."
Finally, Sirius gave a reassuring reply to Dearyn.
Dearyn finally sighed.
She no longer cared what Robin would do or what would happen in front of the Emperor. Just live, just survive.
—
After that, the two continued for several days thinking together of a plan.
It was fairly predictable what the Second Prince wanted and what Robin could do, things might include denying the existence of the Eighth Division or discrediting Sirius as an impostor.
But they had a trump card that others did not have.
That Dearyn has not revealed her true abilities, and that Sirius is the First Crown Prince.
Even if they did not believe the words of the madman on the battlefield, they must listen to the words of the first crown prince who disappeared.
“…Will this work?”
Deyarin turned over on her bed and imagined many times what the party would be like.
I repeated this dozens or hundreds of times.
But no matter what she imagined, the sight of Sirius collapsing covered in blood from the Second Prince's knife always appeared.
"No! Sirius is strong."
Deyarin forcefully removed that image.
Uncertainty increases anxiety, and anxiety brings bad thoughts that may lead to worse outcomes.
Sirius is a human. Even if he is strong, he is not invincible. The wounds still on his body prove that he could bleed, be injured, and die.
But nothing would happen at the party in front of the Emperor, especially no knife fight.
Despite repeating this to herself, her heart did not calm down.
Her tense heartbeat continued.
“Ah…”
Deyarine tossed and turned on the bed, overwhelmed with anxiety that she could not control.
She felt as if her heart was coming out of her throat, or as if holes were filling her body and bleeding.
Is she doing a death exercise?
She buried her face in the pillow and closed her eyes tightly.
No matter how upside down things are, staying up all night worrying does her no good, and unless it's a planning session, it's best to rest and calm down.
If she doesn't take care of herself, no one will take care of her.
Even if she was heartbroken because of her brother, or was wronged in the temple, or had arrows shot over her head in war, she did not forget this principle.
“It'll be okay... I have to sleep... I have to sleep.”
But the more she forced herself to sleep, the more distant she became.
“Fuck.”
Deyarin gave in to despair and got out of bed and headed to the hall.
She was thinking about drinking a cup of warm tea.
But Sirius, who should have gone into the room to sleep a while ago, was in the hall.
“Sirius?”
He was standing at the window looking at the night moon. He may have sensed Dyaren leaving, but he didn't turn around.
Deyarin stood at a distance, surrounded by a calm that she did not want to interrupt.
“Dyaren.”
Finally Sirius turned to her.
Sirius's eyes, sparkling with moonlight, were unusually clear.
With a sharp look as if to make a logical and clear judgement, Sirius asked:
“Are you going back to the temple?”
"…What?"
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