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Since I, who am short, look up at the adult Baltzer-shougun, I inevitably look up at him.
While aware of being coy, I put my hands behind my back, took a step towards Baltzer-shougun, and smiled at him.
"Just kidding! Were you surprised?"
I smiled softly so that it would look as natural as possible, away from the affected smile I had just had.
"H, haha. You are much more intelligent than I had heard."
Compared to the smiling me, Baltzer-shougun's expression is stiff.
"Hehe. I'm happy to hear you say that. Well, that's why, I couldn't protect Leandra-jou right away, so you don't have to thank me in particular."
".........Thank you."
Baltzer-shougun's expression distorted for a moment as if he was having trouble with my words, but he quickly returned to his smile.
"However, Raimondo-sama doesn't usually come out in public, so this is the first time I've spoken to you like this. Well, well..., you have perfectly inherited Ost's black and Centro's green. If you come out to social events, you will surely attract everyone's attention."
In the royal palace, the words directed at my color cannot simply be words of praise.
I meet the gaze that values me head-on.
"Do you think so too, Baltzer-shougun? I like it because it's my mother's color and my father's color."
"Haha. That's right."
"Yes. I'm often praised."
Yes, I'm praised.
Mainly by my Anis, though.
But that's not to say that it would be interesting to tell that to Baltzer-shougun here.
Currently, I am the only dangerous factor among the brothers who has the potential to become king other than Federico-aniue.
Bertrand-aniue has already left the royal palace and established himself in the independent place of the academy.
It is now insufficient to aim for the throne again, with neither popularity nor achievements.
Although Andrea-aniue is in the royal palace, he is the leader of the nobles who will push Federico-aniue to become king.
The Karina faction, that is, the nobles who want Federico-aniue to become king, also understand that.
Orlando-aniue will marry into another country, so he will not be involved in the issue of this succession to the throne for the time being.
John-niisama and Jean-niisama, I don't like the way they say it at all, but they are mixed.
Putting aside pure demi-humans, there is no one crazy enough to push a mixed-breed, who has been called a defective product, to become king.
The young me, who is still young and has inherited Ost's black hair and Centro's green eyes, is uncertain and dangerous from the point of view of those who want to make Federico-aniue king.
Therefore, the Karina faction, who wants to make Federico-aniue king, wants to appease me, and those who don't want to drag Federico-aniue down from the throne and seize power using me.
But the young me, who currently only has Maria and Cyrillus-sensei as allies, cannot control either faction.
By the way, the brothers are originally the people who take on the core of the Karina faction, so putting aside the brothers' personal feelings, it's sad that they can't be on my side.
Well, put that aside.
Then how do I protect myself?
"Hoo? To whom?"
I smiled deeply at the gaze that contained slight caution, and brought the index finger I had raised to my mouth.
"Hehe. Are you interested in me? Baltzer-shougun. But it's a secret... Haste makes waste, you know? I don't intend to be so careless as to talk to people I'm not friendly with."
"...This, this. I appreciate your advice."
There's no way he wouldn't be upset by being told this by a child, and a child the same age as his daughter at that.
Think about it. Six years old is either a first grader in elementary school or a senior in kindergarten.
I'd be angry if I was laughed at by such a brat as careless.
Even if he doesn't show it on his face, he'll definitely be furious inside.
But at the same time, Baltzer-shougun will feel a certain sense of crisis in my words.
Who exactly is the person I'm friendly with?
If so, it is also conceivable to suspect that my statement is an instruction from that friendly person.
Then who is that person?
If it's from the Anis, Baltzer-shougun is from the Karina faction, so there's no need to hide it.
There are several other options that can be considered, but among them, what is the most realistic and most inconvenient opponent for the Karina faction, including Baltzer-shougun?
It's a Maya faction noble, isn't it.
Moreover, in this regard, Maria, who is my caretaker, was originally a noble assigned to Mother, that is, Maya-sama's side attendant, so the credibility increases.
The possibility that I was taken over by the Maya faction. It would be nice if this was just a bad imagination, but what if it was true?
Considering the worst-case scenario, he must confirm whether that is true, and if it is true, he must somehow recover from that situation.
Are you familiar with the security dilemma?
Simply put, if Country A considers its own security and takes steps to strengthen its military so that it has stronger power than neighboring Country B, it will be a threat to Country B, and Country B will take steps to strengthen its military even more so that it can counter Country A.
Eventually, Country B's military power will surpass Country A's, so Country A's threat will still remain.
Simply put, it's the kind of thing where actions taken for the safety of one's own country amplify the crisis in one's own country, and that is repeated like a cat and mouse game.
If you don't have the power to protect yourself, and there are two opposing factions, and if those two factions are threats that target you, you can make those two factions clash.
My plan seems to have worked well, and Baltzer-shougun's expression is grim.
So one more push.
"Baltzer-shougun."
"...What is it, Raimondo-sama?"
I directed a forced smile at me, and lowered my voice a little, acting childishly, speaking as if telling a secret.
"I don't want you to investigate, okay? It's a promise."
"Haha. That's right."
Childishly, coyly.
Saying that I shouldn't investigate is a pretense, right. A secret also doesn't become a secret if there's nothing that should be hidden, right?
Well, even if you investigate, what comes out is just the fact that I'm close with the Anis.
Baltzer-shougun. Please, find a secret that doesn't exist and keep me away from danger, okay?
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