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Chapter 7
Was it during a university general education class? Or maybe it was a career planning course.
A gray-haired professor looked at the students who had only just turned twenty and spoke earnestly.
“Life doesn’t go the way we want it to. No matter how carefully you make your plans or how clearly you set your goals, there’s a greater chance they won’t turn out exactly as expected.”
“…Which is why you should always have a Plan B.”
Iena happened to agree.
Ever since graduating from college, she’d kept those words close to heart. They’d left her with an extremely cautious habit. Whenever she made plans—no matter what they were—she always prepared several alternatives.
This was the first choice.
This was the backup.
This was the backup to the backup.
And this time was no different.
She had already come up with several plans.
In short:
Plan A: Get a divorce.
Plan B: Be deposed as Empress.
Plan C: If everything failed, escape to House Heigaga and hide there. This plan absolutely required her father, Sir Edward’s, help.
“Damn it!”
Slumped in her chair, Iena raked both hands through her hair.
How could everything have gone wrong so spectacularly?
Divorce was impossible.
Being deposed was also out of the question.
And even if she somehow climbed over the palace walls and escaped to the Heigaga estate, that still wouldn’t solve anything.
She already knew exactly what Edward Fritz Heigaga would do in a blind rage.
He’d march on the Imperial Palace with his private army that very day.
And then…
A civil war.
She might get to start her second life…
…but Calix Klose’s would be over.
“So then…”
Plan D?
What came after that?
“Ugh…”
She really hadn’t wanted to resort to this one.
But life never went according to plan.
Unfortunately, only one option remained.
Plan D.
Run.
Up to that point, it was the same as Plan C.
After that, however, everything changed.
She would disappear somewhere neither Calix nor Edward could ever find her.
Of course, even this plan had plenty of problems to solve.
First, where would she run?
Second, who could help her?
And finally…
How could she stop Edward from doing something stupid—like starting a rebellion because Iena had suddenly vanished?
“…Maybe I should leave a letter.”
Father… I no longer have any attachment to this worldly life… Please don’t look for your daughter anymore… I pray you live a long and healthy life…
“…Am I becoming a nun or something?”
Somehow she doubted Edward would quietly accept a letter like that.
Iena let out a long sigh.
Whatever.
She’d just have to think it through one step at a time.
For now, the most urgent question was:
Where should she run?
That wasn’t exactly an easy decision.
After all, the main setting of The Tyrant’s Flower was the Alcrus Empire, where both Calix and Iena lived.
Other places were barely mentioned.
At best, there was the heroine Odelia’s homeland—the Triania Empire.
But did she know much about the Alcrus Empire itself?
Not really.
The only things she knew were that its capital was Ronaheim and that the empire’s northern border met Triania.
Incidentally…
That border was also where Iena would eventually be taken as a prisoner.
She didn’t know much about Triania either.
Apparently it was freezing all year round.
Cold in spring.
Cold in summer.
Cold in autumn.
And winter wasn’t even worth mentioning.
Its harsh climate made the land barren and difficult to live in.
Under those circumstances, it wasn’t surprising that Triania coveted the neighboring Alcrus Empire, blessed with far better conditions.
Beyond Triania lay the northern sea.
Across that sea stood the Ista Empire.
According to the novel, Ista was an incredibly advanced nation.
It had become the first empire to develop large-scale international trade, making it prosperous beyond compare.
People from all over the world gathered there.
Different skin colors.
Different nationalities.
Different languages.
…At least, that’s what Calix had said.
He’d mentioned it while giving Odelia silk imported from the Ista Empire.
But that was all.
Just a brief mention.
It had simply been a setup for the side stories.
The meticulous author, who never wasted a single plot thread, later wrote an extra story in which the two of them traveled to the Ista Empire.
The problem was…
By then, Iena had been so thoroughly fed up with Calix that she’d never bothered reading the side stories.
So in the end…
She knew nothing about Ista except its name.
“…Seriously, what a useless bastard.”
If she’d just finished reading, she might have learned something useful.
Unable to help herself, Iena cursed aloud.
“Was that, by any chance, about me?”
“Eek!”
Startled, she spun around.
Sure enough, Calix was leaning casually against the doorway.
