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Chapter: 7
The meeting was adjourned.
For a long while, the ministers had forced themselves to continue in the frozen atmosphere, muttering grievances under their breath.
“Ugh, Princess isn’t playing around either.”
One minister, intimidated by the tense standoff between the mother and daughter, spoke up chattily.
The scholar, who had witnessed the brutal psychological duel firsthand, added his comment.
“Well, of course. As the Emperor’s daughter, the Princess can’t be ordinary.”
The ministers who had directly participated in the meeting couldn’t help but agree with that reluctant tone.
“She hasn’t even been formally educated, yet how can such a young child be so clever?”
Despite being only six years old, she bore the same charisma as Rosiate.
Her determination to push through what she wanted without bending, the courage to stake her life—
The ministers seeing Princess Sieta for the first time were half intimidated.
Sieta, though just a child of six, matched her mother Rosiate, the Emperor of the Empire, in presence and will.
“Well, it makes sense. If the two of you are remarkable, the Princess in between would naturally be exceptionally clever too.”
As the distinguished ministers and scholars spoke about Sieta’s father, they suddenly realized the sensitivity of the topic.
“Wait, wait. Someone could get in serious trouble if they hear this. Let’s stop here.”
They hushed immediately.
But at that precise moment, Sieta, who had stepped outside briefly to eavesdrop on comments about herself, overheard it all.
She widened her eyes in surprise.
‘…Father?’
Until now, overshadowed by Rosiate’s imposing presence, she had completely forgotten about her father.
In the original “I Will Punish That Villain”, there had been little mention of Sieta, so she hadn’t remembered him well.
‘Still, I did have a father. There was a brief note saying he was executed along with me.’
Since the original record mentioned he was executed alongside her, regardless of his status, he should at least still be alive at this point.
Her eyes snapped open with realization.
‘Why didn’t I think about meeting him until now?’
Within the royal household, she had only focused on the ever-present Rosiate and completely forgotten her father.
From a long-term perspective, joining forces with her father would be dangerous.
In the original, he had certainly been executed with Sieta, so logically, contacting him would be risky.
Yet…
‘He could help me in the short term.’
Would a six-year-old analyze risks? No—she only knew he was her father.
So it wasn’t inherently a problem that little Sieta missed him and tried to reach out.
‘Of course, like when I caught the Blue Tiger.’
Rosiate might, even earlier than in the original, see Sieta as a threat and try to kill her.
But Sieta judged that the likelihood was low for now.
Why?
‘Because I caught the Blue Tiger.’
It wasn’t exactly proper to openly defy the Emperor by claiming she had caught the Blue Tiger.
But as a result…
Rosiate could not simply kill her eldest daughter who had accomplished something so impressive.
Sieta watched anxiously as Rosiate slowly spoke in the freezing meeting room.
“Very well, one thing.”
It was slow, deliberate, but…
“Your head… resembles mine.”
There was unmistakable satisfaction in her voice.
Sieta, who had been anxiously waiting for her mother to speak, twisted her face in disbelief.
‘Right now… she’s bragging that I’m clever?’
Sieta glared straight at Rosiate’s smiling, almost teasing eyes, disbelief written all over her own.
And now, I’m completely doomed.
For no particular reason.
“Uh… well…”
Even as Sieta stammered nervously, Rosiate simply smiled as if it were a painting, saying nothing else.
‘I think I’d feel less anxious if she got angry.’
But Rosiate showed no intention of scolding her.
Regardless, for a daughter caught trying to contact a father with whom the Emperor was on bad terms…
“This is exactly like my clever daughter…”
Was not the kind of thing she would say.
“She must think my father could help.”
Sieta swallowed hard.
Only then did she realize that Rosiate had been silently watching her from behind. With a trembling voice, she asked:
“Uh, since when have you been there?”
Her words came out in the natural, unrefined pronunciation of a child.
Rosiate glanced at the nervous little girl and chuckled softly.
Yet the icy atmosphere remained, and a cold sweat ran down Sieta’s back.
‘I’m really, really screwed.’
No matter how Sieta felt, Rosiate’s calm tone showed no change.
“Well…”
She vaguely answered, showing no intention of giving a proper reply.
Sieta, unable to even wipe her sweat, anxiously watched Rosiate’s expression.
The Emperor quietly murmured:
“Does she wish to share her fate with her father?”
And then, as if she had no further business with Sieta, she left the room.
It took Sieta about ten minutes to recover from the shock.
Though said casually, it was a direct question:
‘Do you wish to share your fate with your father?’
In the original, Sieta, alongside her unknown father, was accused of rebellion and executed by Rosiate.
Someone unaware might think she simply intended to join her father’s faction.
But Sieta, knowing the original, realized:
‘This… is a straight-up death sentence.’
How was she supposed to handle that?
The events that followed happened quickly.
At the next day’s meeting, Rosiate immediately said:
“We’ll reconsider the Romancia Kingdom proposal.”
She retracted Sieta’s input.
“The investment issue as well—clearly the rash decision of a child.”
On the surface, it was justified, but everyone present knew the true meaning.
‘Directly.’
It was a declaration that Rosiate intended to cut Sieta down.
If Sieta didn’t trust Rosiate and acted on her own…
‘Well, that would be the start of the original story!’
She would likely be treated as a budding rebel and executed, just like in the original.
Even if she ran away to meet the main protagonists, she might survive temporarily, but eventually she would die as the daughter of the treasonous Rosiate.
Faced with such a horrifying future, Sieta shut her eyes tightly.
Then she began to strategize.
‘Normally…’
Rosiate invested in the path with the highest potential.
Also, because the Sikan Empire was strong, the Romancia Kingdom’s provocations were not forgiven.
The Rosiate of the original story had no regrets about this—after all, as the ruler of the Empire, it was only one choice among many she made daily.
But now…
Clearly, she had come forward to dispute Sieta.
And that changed everything.
Unlike the original,
‘Even if I am right, it’s a problem now.’
The Emperor of the Empire could not ignore the reasoning of a six-year-old child—people would talk.
‘I explained everything so clearly and thoroughly.’
At least in this world, the idea of iron—not copper—holding magical power is an unprecedented, revolutionary event in centuries.
