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Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Nibbling on a pork bun about half the size of her face that Greenie had made, Lilith looked out the window of a balcony that was high up in the palace.

“It’s… really crowded.”

Although she had seen many things in life, the endless ocean of crowds down there still stirred something in her.

The size of this crowd was probably far bigger than the Goddess’ worshippers at the Whispering Square of Luminous Theocracy back then. But then again, those were two fairly different things that could not be compared to each other, as one was a religious event and the other was an ascension ceremony that the entire empire had their eyes on.

“Seems like they care a lot about the ascension ceremony of your cute little princess,” Lilith casually remarked as she looked at the rowdy crowd down there. For a moment there, she felt like the ascension ceremony might not be as troublesome as she thought.

If people did not want to recognize the new empress, Lilith would certainly see rotten eggs and vegetables flying across the sky by now.

Yet here she was, leisurely enjoying a pork bun. The riot that she had expected did not happen down there. This meant that the adorable little princess still had a place in people’s hearts.

Did this mean that beauty had become one of the criteria to ascend the throne in this era?

Gosh. If that were the case, she would have to wear a big hat when she would walk down the streets next time. Wouldn’t want anyone to suddenly kidnap her and make her a king, then bestow her a harem of three thousand beauties. That would be a problem.

“That’s because the palace did not announce that it would be Leniah ascending the throne. This is for the sake of security in the city. If we had suddenly announced that the seven-year-old Leniah is becoming the empress, there would be riots in the city.”

Lesiah sipped her morning tea elegantly, in contrast to Lilith who was munching on her bun.

“And Lilith, you better stop grinning like a creep. You’re going to scare others.”
“I-Is… that so?”

Lilith subconsciously wiped her face. After making sure no one was looking at her, she finished the rest of the bun in three bites then said, “Oh right, where’s our cute little sister? I haven’t seen her all day.”

“Who’s your little sister?” Lesiah rolled her eyes at Lilith like it was nothing new, and said, “She’s still sleeping.”

A sigh escaped her. “When it comes down to it, the celebrant herself turns out to be the most relaxed person today. I’m already starting to wonder if this is a good idea.”

“Come on, don’t worry. No harm in trusting me one time, right?”

With a mischievous chuckle, Lilith snatched the teacup in Lesiah’s hand and emptied it in one gulp. A bitter yet refreshing aftertaste filled her mouth. “Besides, even if the plan fails, nothing terrible will happen as long as I’m around. At least, things can’t get any worse than this.”

“I… guess.”

Lesiah sighed softly in defeat while the smile on Lilith’s face grew broader.

A few knocks on the door were heard.

“Sorry to intrude.”

Lesiah straightened her back like how a princess should, then calmly answered, “Come in.”

Miss Sheila brought Leniah, who was still sleepy, into the room.

“Your Royal Highness, it’s getting late. We can start getting ready.”
“Alright, I’m counting on you, Miss Sheila.”
Miss Sheila bowed her head and answered, “Gladly.”

She looked like she wanted to say something, but quickly banished the thought after a moment of hesitation. She let go of Leniah’s small hand, then turned around to leave so that she could carry out the necessary preparations.

“It seems she still can’t understand what we’re doing.”
“I guess so… Since I haven’t told her about your true identity.”

Lesiah looked up at the beautiful ornate ceiling, and quietly said, “If Miss Sheila knew about your true identity, she wouldn’t have to worry so much about me.”

“Why didn’t you tell her? It appears to me that many people in the palace are quite puzzled about your actions as of late.”

“That’s because…” Lesiah gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her lips curled into a smile so sweet that while looking at it, one would think it was rather divine than human.

“I want to give Miss Sheila a surprise gift.”
“…I don’t get it.”
“Well, you shouldn’t, Lilith.” Lesiah laughed playfully in a rare girlish gesture, “If even you can get it, how can it be called a surprise?”
“Oh? Is that so? It seems that our crown princess still needs to be trained~” Lilith wriggled all her ten fingers, her face growing wicked by the moment.
“W-Wait. Are you aware of where we are right now, Lilith? To do this kind of thing in broad daylight is…”
Lilith licked her red lips and chuckled mischievously. “It’s precisely because I know where we are, and that’s what makes it even more exciting, no?”

Just when she was about to make her move…

Leniah yawned like she woke up a little, then tugged the hem of Lesiah’s blouse and asked cutely, “What are you talking about, Sister?”

Lesiah’s cheeks heated up as she hurriedly explained, “We… We were just saying that the weather is nice today.” At the same time, she shot Lilith a glare as a reminder to the latter to watch her mouth around children.

“Really? Why doesn’t that sound like what I heard?” Leniah tilted her head to the side, looking confused.

“That’s because you’re still in dreamland, Leniah. You probably heard that in your dream.” Although it was a pity that Lilith failed to cop a feel, she chose to be a good influence to the child by immorally fooling her.

“Is… that so?”

However, her cheap lie failed to even convince the innocent Leniah.

“No doubt you heard that in your dream. If you don’t believe me then close your eyes and count to three. I’ll cast a magic spell that will wake you up from a dream without you even realizing it! By the time you wake up, I’ll be waiting for you with your beloved candied fruit skewer!”

The smile on Lilith’s face was extremely shameless, even when she was talking to the innocent child.

“…Really?”

Leniah suspected nothing and shut her eyes tightly, then eagerly started counting down.

“One… Two… Three!”

Lilith calmly took out a candied fruit skewer. The moment Leniah reopened her eyes, she pretended to be pleasantly surprised and said, “Oh my, Leniah woke up at a great timing! Had you woke up a little later, this would have been given to someone else.”

“(⊙o⊙) Wow! Yaaaay!”

Leniah took the candied fruit skewer, then started eagerly munching on it like a squirrel with great satisfaction. She had long forgotten about what she heard just now.

“Sheesh. You’re already eating this kind of stuff first thing in the morning. That’s going to give you cavities.”

Lesiah patted Leniah’s head. Although she sounded like she was admonishing her younger sister, she had a doting smile on her face.

“Little Sister really loves to eat candied fruit skewers, huh?”
“Well, Leniah has loved eating sweet food since she was little. I reckon the amount of cakes she has eaten from the moment she got her milk teeth can probably be stacked into a huge castle.”
“That’s true love.”
“True love… indeed…”

Watching Leniah stuffing candied fruits into her mouth one after another while smiling blissfully, Lesiah’s face suddenly turned solemn.

“Why don’t we… call off Leniah’s ascension?”
“Huh? What are you talking about? Isn’t it a bit too late already?”
“Am I a despicable older sister for forcing Leniah to shoulder such a burden while she’s still ignorant of the situation?”

Lesiah was still bothered by this…?

Lilith smacked her head and sighed. “I told you that having your little sister ascend the throne is to merely keep that vacant position occupied, so that those ambitious ministers won’t have too much room to exploit. As for the political affairs, I’ll send reliable personnel to deal with them on her behalf. All she needs to do is just sit on that magnificent chair, and occasionally motivate others by giving them her cute smile. It’s going to be a completely different job scope than the time you’re in charge.”

“But still, I…”
“Fine, let’s make a three-year deal,” Lilith suddenly said.
“Three-year… deal?”
“Correct. We’ll leave Leniah in that position for three years. If she decides that she doesn’t want to do this anymore after that, you’ll return to replace her, okay?”
“But…”
“No but, this is the best way. It’s only for three years and even if Leniah hates this, I don’t think she will blame you too much.”
Lesiah pondered for a moment, then finally said, “Well… Fine then. Three years. I’ll leave the throne in her hands for three years, then it’s up to Leniah whether she wants to stay up there or not.”

After saying that, Lesiah immediately felt a weight being lifted off her chest. She turned her head to the window, and saw the most radiant first ray of sunlight she’d ever seen in her life.

“That’s the spirit.” An almost unnoticeable smile crept onto Lilith’s lips.

Lesiah was really as gullible as a certain saintess she knew.

The throne was a position that countless would do anything just for a chance to sit on, or even just to warm their a̲s̲s̲e̲s̲ on it. Lesiah was well aware of her ministers’ wild ambitions, but she did not know those starving wolves had actually been coveting the throne.

Perhaps Lesiah was an anomaly. She longed for freedom instead, and did not care about the throne. She only wanted to be relieved of that burden.

While her little sister stayed on the throne for three years, she would not have to work the whole time. No political affairs to deal with, no responsibilities to bear. She was just going to sit there and enjoy the benefits of that excessive power, such as having unlimited candied fruit skewers to eat…

Would she want to leave after three years?

Of course not. Not unless she got kicked in the head by a donkey.

Hehe, what a perfect plan.

Oh, this plan should be given a name. Hmm… What about… “The Ultimate Empress Project”? The objective would be to make the cute Leniah want to stay on the throne forever.

If the plan succeeded, there would be nothing stopping her from kidnapping Lesiah.