The Price of Rationality and the Empress’s Ambition

“Hmph…”

Ophelia collapsed onto the bed, kicking off her shoes with utter disregard.

“I’m utterly exhausted…”

[Wasn’t I the one doing all the work for the host the entire time? Why is the host tired?]

A disgruntled voice echoed in her mind.

“My body gets tired too, you know! And when my body is tired, I’m tired!” Ophelia retorted, her voice filled with righteous indignation.

The System fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words.

“So, how did it go today?” Ophelia ventured, a hint of curiosity in her tone.

After all, when the System took over her body, she felt as if she were asleep, completely unaware of what transpired.

[Let the host see.]

Without further ado, the System projected a recording directly into Ophelia’s mind.

“Wow… Is that really me? I’m practically falling in love with myself… So incredibly dashing…”

Ophelia gasped in awe.

“Wait! That magic—I only know second-tier Fire Manipulation now!” She suddenly exclaimed, witnessing her own destructive rampage.

[Isn’t this second-tier Fire Manipulation?] The System’s voice in her mind conveyed its confusion.

Ophelia gazed speechlessly at the two phoenixes conjured.

Indeed, Fire Manipulation.

[Based on the host’s magical power, and after careful calculation, this is precisely how the host’s Fire Manipulation should manifest. There’s no issue whatsoever.]

Right, no issue… There really wasn’t, yet something about it felt distinctly odd.

[So, Host, did I perform adequately? Was I of assistance?]

“Absolutely, you were a tremendous help! And you really put those mages in their place, it was perfect, my dear!”

[Dear…? The host called me ‘dear’…?]

Ah.

Having spent countless hours surfing the internet, Ophelia, due to her lack of social anxiety in online interactions, had developed a habit of affectionately calling others ‘dear’. Now, in her excellent mood, the word had slipped out subconsciously.

“You don’t like it? My apologies, I won’t call you that again then.”

[No, no, I don’t dislike it. Actually, you can continue…]

Why did it sound so shy?

“Oh, System, you’re acting like such a maiden,” Ophelia couldn’t help but tease.

The System instantly bristled.

Ophelia couldn’t help but imagine a grumpy loli, finally showing a rare moment of shyness, only to be teased into a biting frenzy. She suddenly found her System a little adorable. As she pondered this, the System’s voice abruptly returned to its serious tone.

[However, there’s one thing I must alert you to, Host.]

[Vina established the Ministry of Magic today, filled with the commoner mages (TL Note: Mages from humble or non-noble backgrounds, often lacking formal training or resources.) you were seeking. I don’t believe this matter is so straightforward, but I cannot currently calculate its full implications.]

[I don’t know what her intentions are.]

“The human heart, then?” Ophelia pondered aloud.

“She wants to become queen in the future, so she doesn’t want me to win over these people. By winning them over herself, she can secure their loyalty directly.”

“I think that’s probably it.”

Ophelia voiced her opinion.

[The human heart? No wonder, I have always been unable to calculate it.]

“But by telling me this, you’re helping me think. I’m just an ordinary person, truly. System, you’re like my external brain; without you, there’s so much I couldn’t figure out.”

“I’m too dependent on you!”

[What’s wrong with depending on me? It’s as if the host and I would ever part ways. Even if the host completes the mission and returns, I won’t leave, you know?]

Won’t leave!?

Is that true!?

[After all, for a socially awkward simpleton like the host, once this mission is complete, this unit will transform into a girl and be granted to the host as part of your mission reward. There will be no reproductive isolation; we can marry, you’ll have proof of identity, and I won’t require a betrothal gift (TL Note: A traditional gift from the groom’s family to the bride’s family in some cultures, often including money or property.), a house, or a car.]

[I will accompany the host until the very end of your life.]

Wow! That’s incredible… But is it truly alright? What about the System itself?

Ophelia was about to ask more when a soft knock sounded at the door. Ophelia had no choice but to hold her tongue.

“Come in.”

Emily entered.

Her gaze towards Ophelia was somewhat complex.

“What’s wrong, Emily? Is there something you need?” Ophelia inquired.

“Your Majesty,” Emily curtsied.

A curtsy? Emily hadn’t curtsied in ages. Why was she suddenly doing so?

Ophelia was momentarily stunned, which only made Emily’s expression grow more intricate.

“Your Majesty, which is the real you? The one in the palace today, or the one before me now?”

“Was Your Majesty’s former gentleness an act? Or were the coldness and dominance just now the pretense?”

Ah, how was she supposed to explain this?

Ophelia was at a loss for words, racking her brain for an explanation. She certainly couldn’t reveal the System’s existence.

She wouldn’t tell anyone about it. In this bizarre world, the System wasn’t its central core, and there was a slight possibility it could be sealed away. With that possibility, she absolutely couldn’t speak of it.

“Pfft.”

Emily chuckled.

What was so funny? Ophelia stared blankly as Emily’s stern face transformed into a smiling one.

“I understand, Ophe. Were you forcing yourself to abandon all emotion, to think purely with reason, and that’s how you became like that?”

Ah, a perfect explanation!

From now on, if anyone asks, she would answer exactly that: she abandoned all emotion to think with reason. *Hiss*… how dashing that description sounded.

Emily sat beside Ophelia, her eyes twinkling as she gazed at Ophelia’s face.

“Seeing how you want to explain to me now, yet you’re still so dumbfounded, with exhaustion etched across your brows, I just knew.”

“Hug me.”

Ophelia opened her arms, and Emily immediately bounced into her embrace.

Emily felt healing, warm, soft, and fragrant, like a living bolster. Ophelia couldn’t help but hug her a little tighter.

Drowsiness began to creep in.

Assemblies truly were a torment to the mind.

“Ophe—”

Before drifting off to sleep, she heard a murmur, blending with dreams, warmth, and fatigue:

“I don’t like you like that. My family is full of people like that.”

“I still prefer the gentle you, just as you are now.”

Ophelia savored the warmth, then closed her eyes.

****

The northern part of the Empire was the kingdom of the Snow Maidens.

Now, countless Snow Maidens gathered, their expressions solemn and fearful, working together to create a sky-spanning blizzard as a protective barrier.

“The blizzard is too fierce! Retreat immediately! Our soldiers aren’t like us, they’ll freeze to death!” Luca shouted to the Empress beside him, fearing the storm would swallow his voice and she wouldn’t hear.

The Empress did not reply.

She stood firm, raised the long spear in her hand, and hurled it towards the frozen tundra.

A gaping hole was suddenly torn through the sky-spanning blizzard.

The Snow Maidens wailed, but it was futile. The Empress remained expressionless as her spear cleaved through that expanse of snow and wind.

The sky shattered.

The Snow Maidens spewed blood, collapsing haphazardly across the ground.

Luca was speechless.

A heaven-blessed Emperor, this was the Empress. Had he not possessed a resilient will, he would have almost offered his loyalty.

The Empress still wore an impassive expression, stepping over the fallen Snow Maidens scattered across the ground, and entered their palace.

Inside the palace, a disheveled Snow Maiden sat with her head bowed; she was the Snow Queen.

The Empress used her spear to lift the Snow Queen’s head. The Snow Queen’s face was ashen, her eyes vacant.

“I gave you a chance, to serve me, and I would not invade the Snow Maiden’s kingdom. But you refused.”

“You made your people die with you.”

“Please, Your Majesty, spare me! I can be your plaything now! You can do anything to me!” The Snow Queen froze for two seconds, then burst into tears.

The Empress turned, waved her hand, and several subordinates, excluding Luca, approached the Snow Queen.

“You hold no value for me to conquer. I crave beauty, but I crave the soul beneath the skin even more. You are a renowned beauty, but your soul cannot satisfy me.”

The Empress waved her hand at her subordinates.

“Kill her. Do not touch the other Snow Maidens.”

“Understood. As Your Majesty commands, the other Snow Maidens will become our people. We have no reason to harm our own people.” A subordinate stated with a serious and earnest expression, then turned, revealing a gleaming blade.

“Your Highness, the Snow Maiden, it is our Empire’s custom to slay our enemies and celebrate victory with their dismembered bodies. Therefore, please become the spoils of our Empire’s conquest!”

The Snow Maiden shrieked:

“No! Please, Your Majesty! I’d rather be embraced by you than be killed! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—”

The Empress walked out coldly.

Luca followed her. He had always found this part of the Empire’s customs somewhat barbaric; he couldn’t accept dismembering enemies and impaling them on steel blades to celebrate victory.

‘I cannot restrain them, but I can restrain myself.’

“Hmph, another disappointing soul. Next, there’s the Elf King, the Vampire Queen, and, of course, the Kingdom’s Queen.”

“Which one do you think I should conquer first?”

Luca knew she was asking him.

“Ally with the distant, attack the near. Befriend the Elf King and the Vampire Queen, then attack the Kingdom.”

“By the way, Your Majesty, now is the perfect time for an offensive. I’ve just received intelligence—this is the complete recording of the Empire’s last council meeting.”

Luca pulled out a recording stone.

The Empress did not take it. “Too lazy to watch. Summarize it for me.”

“The Kingdom’s internal troubles are evident. The Queen appears to have sacrificed emotion for rationality, which is a great hardship for her. She neglected to consider the human heart, creating a rift with the Kingdom’s most crucial noble class.”

“Vina, who has no such rift with the noble class, has not yet inherited the throne.”

“There is also the hidden danger of an evil god within the Royal Capital.”

“The Kingdom is currently beset by both internal and external troubles; this is our opportunity. An attack now would be a sure victory.”

But conversely, his own opportunities would also diminish significantly. Yet, there was no rush; slow and steady, the Empress’s trust was paramount.

The Empress took out a blank sheet of paper.

Upon it was drawn Ophelia’s likeness.

“Over the years, the so-called kings have steadily lowered my expectations. Every single one possessed only a beautiful exterior.”

“Ophelia, that is her name, isn’t it?”

“I hope for a soul worthy of my conquest.”

“Luca, go write letters for me. My generals are savages; you are an exception.”

“Go write letters to the Elf Forest next to the Kingdom, the Vampire Fortress, the Goblin Domain, and the Human United Nations, inviting them to besiege the Kingdom in half a month.”

“Do you have anything else to add?”

Luca pondered for a moment.

Anything else to add? Hmm.

Luca remembered that day, when that girl, so unsuited for political machinations, had asked him if he would follow her.

She didn’t understand the Kingdom, just like that council meeting where Vina clearly isolated her. Did she still trust Vina implicitly?

“This is a personal request of mine: this Queen is merely a naive, ordinary girl pushed into that position by a multitude of people, nothing more than a pawn for a group of schemers. If she is not to your taste…”

“Please do not let her be killed and turned into a trophy of war. Let her live a normal life.”

The Empress let out a sound of “Ho.”

“I didn’t expect that. Luca, could it be that you are actually very kind?”

Luca shrugged.

If asked what he regretted most in his life, he would now answer: the two assassination attempts on Ophelia. He was an ordinary person striving to climb higher, while Ophelia was an ordinary person unknowingly used as a pawn.

They were all just ordinary people.

“I’m a scoundrel, Your Majesty. I’m simply adhering to my own principles.”

“Also, the Sages’ mediation of the war will last approximately half a month. Let’s launch a lightning war when the conflict begins. During the Sages’ mediation, we will demand their Queen from the Kingdom.”

Following this, the Empire would enter a prolonged period of war preparation.

The next Starry Tea Party, he’d remind the sailors that they could profit from this, and then he could continue listening to Candygirl’s story of pursuing her Queen!

Luca suddenly found himself somewhat expectant. He wanted to continue following the situation and offering advice.

Right, the novelist said he was going to write a book about a yandere princess imprisoning the Queen. When would he write it? He was rather eager to read it.

Luca sighed.

Looking south with longing, he gazed towards his former homeland.

Storm clouds gathered.

He would, after all, confront Vina a second time.

That golden radiance felt like yesterday. He inhaled a breath of cold air, exhaling a plume of warm.

‘I am afraid, so I face my fear directly.’

Come then, let us fight again. With the world as our chessboard, we shall play another game.