"A-A favor...?" Princess Sophia bit her lip, fearing the worst.

Still, she bowed her head lightly in reverence toward Axel and replied, "Please... ask away."

Of course, she had no choice but to agree; she wasn't in a position to refuse.

"Don't worry, it's nothing much," Axel said with a smile as he leaned against his throne, crossing his leg into a figure four. "I just want you to take this with you."

In the next moment, a small item appeared in his hand—a black bead, roughly the size of a thumb.

Without much care, he tossed it to Sophia, allowing it to slide across the floor like a pebble.

"T-This is...?" she stammered.

Even after examining it up close, she had no idea what the item was. All she could sense was that it contained an immense amount of mana.

"That's an artifact," Axel explained. "It's called a Transmission Stone. It transmits sound from the emitter to its paired receiver. The one you have is the emitter, and this one is the paired receiver."

Of course, the statement was complete nonsense.

In the shop, real Transmission Stones cost 100 billion a pair. Axel would never spend that much on untrustworthy individuals. What he had given her was merely a black pebble infused with as much of his mana as possible, pretending it was an artifact.

Leaving a communication item with the princess and allowing her to return home was just a ruse to test her trustworthiness. After all, her return to the empire marked the beginning of her true role as a "pawn."

The plan was to send Navi and Mimir along with the princess on her journey back.

By sending those two, Axel could receive real-time information from the Empire while also keeping an eye on the princess. In the worst-case scenario, they could easily escape, as they could teleport instantly. Thus, there was no risk involved at all.

However, Sophia did not believe Axel's words. She had several communication artifacts in her collection, and none of them had such an absurd amount of mana inside.

'This... is definitely a bomb,' she thought, her face paling. 'A bomb that will detonate instantly if I show any signs of betrayal!'

Unsure if the artifact could truly be used for communication, Sophia felt her chest tighten. To refuse or to accept—this was the question. Her stress levels rose as she considered all angles and realized that, no matter what she chose, she would die either way!

"I-I'll definitely succeed in implementing this task, your highness..." In the end, she could only hold the stone with trembling hands and bow deeply to Axel.

"Well, don't worry." Axel, of course, had no idea about her misunderstanding. "As long as you report back regularly, I promise you'll be able to keep your life at least."

At this point, Sophia understood her fate.

She would have to become a mole for Axel, remaining in the Empire and reporting every move they made back to him. If she did so, she was certain that the Empire would lose the information warfare and, at worst, be defeated by the Axevaria Kingdom.

In short, she'd become a traitor to the Empire, bringing upon its ruin!

Yet, at the same time, she sensed this was her opportunity.

"Y-Your Highness, if I may… I have a suggestion for you," she said, keeping her head bowed.

At her boldness, Axel raised an eyebrow.

Right now, she was not in a position to offer an exchange, much less attempt to influence Axel's decisions. However, he was still curious about what she would say to try to pull the wool over his eyes.

"Go on. Do your worst," Axel replied, raising his chin and feigning arrogance.

"Thank you, Your Highness…!" Sophia's expression brightened momentarily at the chance to speak. "I think you already know this, but… I'm actually the first princess of the Alcott Empire."

Axel remained silent, as he already knew that information.

"And after my brother Kyle's death, I am now first in line for succession," she continued.

Her expression hardened as she finished her words, fully aware of their implications.

"If you help me claim the throne, I promise that our Empire will have an eternal alliance with your Kingdom, Your Highness…!"

Axel's expression didn't change after hearing Sophia's suggestion, but inside, he was stifling laughter. This was, after all, Axel's original plan. His goal was to push Sophia to her limits, drop hints like a subliminal suggestion, and lead her to this conclusion on her own.

The earlier questions and the "favor" he had requested were all part of inducing this result. This was the plan Axel had meticulously orchestrated for her: to create a "puppet" emperor and seize control of the Empire for himself!

However, since the outcome would benefit Sophia as well, he refrained from agreeing immediately. He didn't want her to catch on too soon.

"Only you would want that. What's the benefit in that for me?" Axel asked, his voice cold and commanding. "Right now, destroying the empire seems more profitable for me. Tell me, princess... What's in it for me? For our kingdom?"

Destroying the empire.

It was a phrase she never thought possible.

But now, with Axel saying it, it didn't sound impossible at all. In fact, with his strength, it might truly be easier than placing her at the top instead.

'Think...!'

Sophia wracked her brain for an answer.

And soon enough, she found one.

"...I'm sure with Your Highness's strength, conquering the empire would be easy," she began, her tone serious. "However, if you take the empire by force, the populace wouldn't follow you. If you leave it to me, I'll ensure that the entire Empire's residents will willingly bow before you!"

When she had first entered the throne room, she was desperate, merely trying to save her own life. But now, she was even dreaming of claiming the throne ahead of time, overtaking her siblings!

Her tenacity was truly remarkable!

Axel, hearing her assert that she would bring the entire empire under his rule, couldn't help but smile.

"Good!" he praised. "Then show me what you've got!"

With his agreement on the plan, everything appeared to be in place on the surface. The only thing left was to arrange for her return...

"Curse of Obedience!"

Of course, some safety measures were necessary.

After the discussions concluded, with Teruria's assistance, Princess Sophia was placed under an Obedience Curse. This ensured that she could not disobey the commands of Teruria and Axel.

If everything goes according to plan, a true "puppet" empress will ascend the throne.

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