I finally understood why Count Stratege had made his move when I turned seven.
"Political enemies? Of Count Stratege's? And they're trying to get close to me? Why?"
Nothing but question marks filled my mind.
After all, I'm the Emperor's eldest son, yet I'm the youngest of four, right? In terms of treatment and succession rights to the throne.
There's no benefit in getting close to me.
The ones who told me were Werel, Herkov, and Ikt.
Apparently, they had suspected something was afoot due to the suddenness of it all, and had investigated through connections they didn't even have.
"Though low in the order, you do possess succession rights. From the perspective of houses with no claim whatsoever, this represents a chance to obtain that one-in-ten-thousand possibility, one might say."
"His Majesty actually seized such a chance himself, so it's not impossible. Your Highness, you are actually being targeted."
Following Werel, Herkov said something terrifying.
"Count Stratege has relatives by marriage outside the Empire as well, so it seems he was scheming to bring you under his control due to the repercussions of a power struggle on that side."
Even Ikt, who until now had no direct connection to me despite being my superior, seems to have investigated.
And probably, my close aides who investigated this time also learned of such inside circumstances.
The Empire is a collection of many nations.
Though within the Empire, the constituent nations have kings and nobles.
In other words, is the Empire like an international organization?
Above the various laws of the nations on this continent, there seems to be Imperial law in an international legal sense.
"So, in other words, to people who want to expand their influence in their own country by borrowing the authority of the Empire, I'm a target because I'm of low importance and born in a way that wouldn't cause problems if sent away from the capital?"
"Well, Lady Asha. Please do not speak of yourself in such a manner."
Harty, who is both my wet nurse and my half-aunt, looked troubled as she helped me change my clothes.
This was because today was the day to meet my father.
And it was my birth month.
Apparently, in this world, it is common to celebrate the month of one's birth rather than the birthday itself.
They celebrate somewhere during the birth month, or within that month.
Since there is no internet or even cars, it seems circumstances require that much flexibility to hold celebrations.
"Well, Asha. Thank you for being born. I'm happy to celebrate you again this year."
"Yes, I intend to spend my time expressing gratitude to Your Majesty and, of course, to my late mother."
As always, I get picked up and held when we meet.
But I'm about the age of a first-year elementary student now, so shouldn't you stop treating me like a child soon?
No, well.
It's still fun being spun around as always, though.
If I don't say something about this somewhere, won't this continue until puberty?
Is that okay?
"I had clothes made to celebrate Asha's growth again this year. I wonder if you'll like them."
"I look forward to them every year. Thank you very much."
My father the Emperor gives me clothes for my birth month.
Of course, shirts, collars, accessories, and shoes to match the clothes come with them.
And these range from formal wear to riding clothes, and even nightwear.
This happened because my father consulted with Harty about it.
The thing is, I have no other opportunity to obtain clothes besides these birth month presents.
Among Imperial nobles for whom bespoke tailoring is a given, to be invited to the palace in this capital, one must have a tailor of considerable standing.
But I have no such connections around me.
When they approached the tailor that Harty and Ikt use, they were apparently told that the difference in rank was too great and they would be bullied by their peers.
So it was decided that my father would have them made for me using the birth month as the reason.
Because my father has the Imperial Household's appointed tailors.
"This year there's a formal dress in vermilion and gold. ...Huh, and another one, in blue?"
I opened the box containing the prepared clothes and compared the two formal dresses.
Usually there's only one formal dress per year, and I've been unnecessarily delighted by the everyday wear and increasing its proportion, but this year there are two.
"Yes, I was actually thinking of telling you about that too."
When I sat down after being beckoned, my father's hand touched my hair.
"The dark color is fading, isn't it? We used to have matching hair."
My hair used to be a blackish gray, but recently it's been turning whitish.
Honestly, I hated that it looked like white hair too.
"In that case, could you not give me something called hair powder? I would like to have cool black hair like Your Majesty."
"Is that so, is that so. I shall prepare it."
To my father who narrowed his eyes and readily agreed, I made a guts pose internally.
There are many people with flashy hair colors in this world, but apparently there are still bloodline-based systems.
In the capital, people of good birth tend to have blue-based hair.
Herkov is a beastman with fur, but even so, there are almost no red-haired people like Herkov in the palace.
Also, there seem to be few people with pale colors, so I thought my whitish hair would stand out unpleasantly.
"Actually, in one month, the royal family of Lukiusaria will be coming for a courtesy visit. At that time, we will hold a tea party to welcome them, and I would like Asha to attend as well."
"Me? Huh, is this an official occasion?"
"Are you nervous? Don't worry. We will also invite noble children around Asha's age. This is because they are bringing a prince and princess of the same age on their visit."
No, this is totally official.
I involuntarily look at my usually noisy close aides.
I saw extremely unwilling expressions for a moment, but now they were clearly looking away.
They've been like this since the office raid incident last year.
I won't suddenly take off my jacket and frame you for false charges if you don't get in my way.
But the fact that they don't stop me means it's already been decided.
And the fact that the clothes are already made means everyone except me knows.
The Empire is a collection of many nations.
Though within the Empire, the constituent nations have kings and nobles.
In other words, is the Empire like an international organization?
Above the various laws of the nations on this continent, there seems to be Imperial law in an international legal sense.
"So, in other words, to people who want to expand their influence in their own country by borrowing the authority of the Empire, I'm a target because I'm of low importance and born in a way that wouldn't cause problems if sent away from the capital?"
"Well, Lady Asha. Please do not speak of yourself in such a manner."
Harty, who is both my wet nurse and my half-aunt, looked troubled as she helped me change my clothes.
This was because today was the day to meet my father.
And it was my birth month.
Apparently, in this world, it is common to celebrate the month of one's birth rather than the birthday itself.
They celebrate somewhere during the birth month, or within that month.
Since there is no internet or even cars, it seems circumstances require that much flexibility to hold celebrations.
"Well, Asha. Thank you for being born. I'm happy to celebrate you again this year."
"Yes, I intend to spend my time expressing gratitude to Your Majesty and, of course, to my late mother."
As always, I get picked up and held when we meet.
But I'm about the age of a first-year elementary student now, so shouldn't you stop treating me like a child soon?
No, well.
It's still fun being spun around as always, though.
If I don't say something about this somewhere, won't this continue until puberty?
Is that okay?
"I had clothes made to celebrate Asha's growth again this year. I wonder if you'll like them."
"I look forward to them every year. Thank you very much."
My father the Emperor gives me clothes for my birth month.
Of course, shirts, collars, accessories, and shoes to match the clothes come with them.
And these range from formal wear to riding clothes, and even nightwear.
This happened because my father consulted with Harty about it.
The thing is, I have no other opportunity to obtain clothes besides these birth month presents.
Among Imperial nobles for whom bespoke tailoring is a given, to be invited to the palace in this capital, one must have a tailor of considerable standing.
But I have no such connections around me.
When they approached the tailor that Harty and Ikt use, they were apparently told that the difference in rank was too great and they would be bullied by their peers.
So it was decided that my father would have them made for me using the birth month as the reason.
Because my father has the Imperial Household's appointed tailors.
"This year there's a formal dress in vermilion and gold. ...Huh, and another one, in blue?"
I opened the box containing the prepared clothes and compared the two formal dresses.
Usually there's only one formal dress per year, and I've been unnecessarily delighted by the everyday wear and increasing its proportion, but this year there are two.
"Yes, I was actually thinking of telling you about that too."
When I sat down after being beckoned, my father's hand touched my hair.
"The dark color is fading, isn't it? We used to have matching hair."
My hair used to be a blackish gray, but recently it's been turning whitish.
Honestly, I hated that it looked like white hair too.
"In that case, could you not give me something called hair powder? I would like to have cool black hair like Your Majesty."
"Is that so, is that so. I shall prepare it."
To my father who narrowed his eyes and readily agreed, I made a guts pose internally.
There are many people with flashy hair colors in this world, but apparently there are still bloodline-based systems.
In the capital, people of good birth tend to have blue-based hair.
Herkov is a beastman with fur, but even so, there are almost no red-haired people like Herkov in the palace.
Also, there seem to be few people with pale colors, so I thought my whitish hair would stand out unpleasantly.
"Actually, in one month, the royal family of Lukiusaria will be coming for a courtesy visit. At that time, we will hold a tea party to welcome them, and I would like Asha to attend as well."
"Me? Huh, is this an official occasion?"
"Are you nervous? Don't worry. We will also invite noble children around Asha's age. This is because they are bringing a prince and princess of the same age on their visit."
No, this is totally official.
I involuntarily look at my usually noisy close aides.
I saw extremely unwilling expressions for a moment, but now they were clearly looking away.
They've been like this since the office raid incident last year.
I won't suddenly take off my jacket and frame you for false charges if you don't get in my way.
But the fact that they don't stop me means it's already been decided.
And the fact that the clothes are already made means everyone except me knows.
Daily Update
Next Time: The Lost Princess 2