The Risky Path to Power

The princess seemed neither fully recovered nor completely broken, but rather in a strange intermediate state.

The core of her being had not vanished with pain and regret; instead, it stood out more, like rocks emerging from melting snow.

“Yodel, I lost my composure earlier. You’re right—regret is useless now. Let’s talk about how to deal with Frank.”

“Uh… Good. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but I have a problem. Frank has tightened his surveillance on me. He’ll send a doctor to check my health regularly, and the next exam is the day after tomorrow.”

Without waiting for Yodel to respond, she continued:

“So, to keep him off guard, I either need to fall ill again or find a way to mislead Frank into thinking he’s still the sole heir.”

Cecilia had once dreamed of being freed from her illness, and now she abandoned health without a trace of reluctance, as if the sick person were not herself.

Though Yodel understood this was to cope with the checkup, her willingness to harm her own body unsettled him deeply.

“You… sigh.” Yodel wanted to persuade her, but he also knew the only true solution to Cecilia’s psychological problems was to kill Frank quickly and bring Eck back.

In the end, Yodel agreed to her request. He had a way to make Cecilia appear ill in a short time.

Meanwhile, Thanatos stared blankly at Cecilia.

She realized that even standing before her, Cecilia showed no trace of fear, and her speech and thoughts remained unaffected.

Neither Cecilia nor Yodel had yet noticed this anomaly.

“Since Frank has struck first, what do you plan to do? His position is unstable; many in the palace must resent him. If you want to counterattack, it should be soon.”

“The king is still alive. If we can rescue him from inside and out, Frank’s crimes will be exposed, and his fragile rule will collapse.”

Frank’s coup had both advantages and disadvantages for Yodel. It killed the first heir and left a stain on Frank, making Cecilia the final legitimate heir—in a way, shortening her path to the throne.

Cecilia lowered her eyes, not immediately agreeing: “It’s possible, but how is that different from Frank?”

“He staged a coup to seize power, and then we stage another coup to reclaim what should be ours…

“No, we might not even get power. Father is not Eck; he might not immediately give me the throne… If so, would we have to follow in Frank’s footsteps and force his abdication?”

“This…” Yodel was puzzled, signaling her to continue.

“Furthermore, although Frank now openly controls the palace, his faction and Father’s supporters are certainly still in opposition behind the scenes.

“This confrontation will not only drain royal authority but also give outsiders an opportunity. Even after we take control, the standoff won’t end. We’ll have to purge Frank’s faction, which means another round of losses.”

Yodel stroked his chin thoughtfully: “So what are you saying?”

“My point is simple. If royal power changes hands repeatedly in a short time, and palace personnel are shuffled frequently, by the time we seize power, Buckingham Palace will likely have been infiltrated by Parliament due to internal strife. Royal authority will be weakened, and the monarchy’s prestige will plummet because of Frank’s patricide and fratricide.

“Though I believe I can eventually regain control of Buckingham Palace and secure the throne, during that time, we probably won’t have the energy to deal with the world war.

“Yodel, do you understand? The original plan is no longer feasible. Even if I become queen, I might not have enough strength to intervene in the war.”

These words struck Yodel’s sore spot. He had been busy building connections with the kingdom’s high council and helping Cecilia recover, all with the fundamental goal of preventing or mitigating the First World War.

But according to Cecilia’s analysis, his plan to use the Three Islands Kingdom to influence the war was certainly doomed.

At the same time, he sensed that Cecilia had more to say—other ideas left unspoken.

So Yodel decided to hear her out: “In that case, do you have a solution?”

Cecilia indeed had her own thoughts. Her voice grew unsteady:

“Yes. It’s crazy and extremely dangerous, but if it succeeds, I can concentrate secular power in my hands! Then I’ll have enough strength to shape the world order.”

Hearing this, Yodel could guess what she intended:

“Controlling royal power isn’t enough… You want to move against Parliament? Are you sure you’re still thinking clearly? You should know better than I how difficult that is!”

Yodel had to be cautious about this idea. Such a level of coup, if successful, would bring huge benefits, but failure would be catastrophic—possibly triggering a civil war in the kingdom before the world war even started.

“If I had truly lost my mind, I would immediately stage a palace coup and go to war with Frank, kill him, and resurrect my brother! But I haven’t. I want to find a way to save both my brother and the kingdom!

“And we don’t have to do it all at once. We can first retake the palace, then gradually confront Parliament. That would increase our chances of success.”

The two clashed like never before.

Cecilia believed the situation no longer allowed for slow, steady progress; radical measures were necessary to overthrow Parliament and concentrate power.

Yodel considered it too risky, unsure if Cecilia was thinking clearly under the immense blow.

“Controlling the entire kingdom and merging royal power with parliamentary authority—ending the century-long internal strife of the secular world—is the best way.”

“But don’t you think the success rate is too low? To topple a behemoth like Parliament, how many high-ranking officials and common soldiers would support you?”

Cecilia shook her head and stated a conclusion:

“The real problem is not the kingdom’s high officials, but the national church’s attitude toward royal power!

“If the church supports our actions, I can restore royal authority to its peak a century ago! If the church doesn’t, no amount of support will help.

“You are a God-chosen; you should understand divine-level power better than I do!”

Her earlier words had failed to move Yodel, but this one made him freeze.

He realized he had been viewing Cecilia’s coup plan with a past-life mindset, ignoring the biggest difference from his previous world: the existence of true gods.

Thanatos could kill millions with a single plague. If such level of power backed them, integrating royal and parliamentary authority might not be so hard?

The national church worshipped the Storm and Ocean God. Yodel didn’t know his strength, but it shouldn’t be weak.

If they could secure the church’s—the divine authority’s—support, perhaps they could reunify secular power?

But then a new question arose: if the church had a true god as its backing, why had it not completely controlled the kingdom, instead leaving the royal family and Parliament to rule the secular world?