"What exactly happened in this past month?" Looking at the greatly changed royal capital, Melty's mind was completely scrambled.
As Takeru and the others returned, Melty noticed that Takeru seemed to be heading towards the palace. She was a bit confused.
Soon, arriving at the outer perimeter of the palace, Melty saw a large number of knights respectfully lined up, ready to let the carriage pass.
However, she had no memory of the two leading knights. Also, many of the soldiers seemed to be new faces.
"Takeru-sama, you've finally returned." Before Melty could think further, Diablo's voice came. What surprised her was that the voice wasn't welcoming her, but Takeru.
"Yes. Good work, Diablo, Esdeath. Let's go inside first." Looking at the two, Takeru nodded gently.
"Yes." Naturally, they had no objections to Takeru's words.
Soon, as the carriage moved forward, Melty became even more puzzled. The treatment Takeru received here made her feel as if... as if Takeru were the master here.
When they completely entered the palace, she noticed that the person sitting on the throne was not her father. Moreover, many of the surrounding officials were not familiar to her.
As Takeru led Filo and the others into the palace, a figure quickly came to Takeru's side and threw herself into his arms.
"Long time no see, Betty." Looking at Beatrice's attachment, Takeru picked her up.
"Yes. Betty missed Takeru so much." Hearing Takeru's words, Beatrice spoke directly.
"Lia-nee, we're back." At this moment, Filo greeted Emilia, who was approaching quickly.
"Welcome back, Filo, and everyone." Hearing Filo greet her, Emilia stroked her head and spoke.
"Takeru, who is she?" Looking at Melty, Chelsea came over and asked curiously.
"Her? She's Melty, the second princess of the former Kingdom of Melromarc, and also the first heir." Looking at the curious Chelsea, Takeru directly revealed Melty's identity.
"Eh? Takeru, you know my identity? Wait, what do you mean by the 'former' Kingdom of Melromarc? And what about my father and sister?" Hearing that Takeru knew her identity surprised Melty. But she quickly caught on to Takeru's use of 'former'.
"Melty-chan, this is the Dawn Empire. Master is the emperor here." Watching Melty's shocked expression, Filo kindly reminded her.
"Master is the emperor? And the Dawn Empire?" Hearing this news, Melty completely entered a state of confusion.
"So, you staged a coup? And my father and sister, could they be..." Coming back to her senses, Melty pursed her lips and looked at Takeru. Recalling the leisurely time she had spent with Takeru and the others, she felt even more saddened.
"After you watch these videos, you'll understand." Hearing her words, Takeru shook his head calmly. With a snap of his fingers, a special sphere appeared in front of her and began playing videos.
Everything was revealed: her sister and father framing Naofumi, the subsequent impeachment, the citizens' appeals, and their hatred for the royal family.
Watching this, Melty remained in a state of disbelief the entire time.
Glancing at Melty, who was watching the video in silence, Takeru didn't pay her much attention. He sat on the throne with Emilia and listened to everyone's reports.
During Takeru's absence, development had been very smooth.
Although there had been some hiccups, they had been easily resolved with everyone's efforts. Also, with the execution of various inactive lords by the Enforcement Department led by Akame and Kurome, Takeru's reputation throughout the country was growing.
Esdeath was also preparing to have a statue of Takeru built in the royal capital. After all, as their emperor, it was only natural for him to receive their veneration.
Also, as the emperor, it was perfectly fine for Takeru to be known by everyone.
So, regarding the construction of a statue for Takeru, Emilia and the others had all agreed. It was currently under construction and would probably be finished in about a week.
Seeing that they were interested in this matter, Takeru was amused, but he didn't say anything. He just asked if there were any problems in other areas.
"If there is a problem, it seems there is something. Recently, a large number of foreign refugees have entered the Dawn Empire's border areas. The instigator of it all seems to be the Bow Hero." Then, Emilia reported this matter.
"Hmm, what exactly happened?" Hearing her words, Takeru was startled.
"It's still not very clear. But according to the Intelligence Department's reports, these refugees came from the north. According to them, adventurers dispatched by a self-proclaimed country led a rebel army to start a revolution. The leader used a bow."
"After the revolution defeated the king, their lives improved slightly. But in the blink of an eye, the former rebels began levying taxes. The specifics aren't clear, but it seems to be because guarding the country costs money."
"So, the result was just a change of rulers. The root of the problem wasn't solved. On the contrary, due to the constant turmoil, the people were even worse off and had to leave their homes." Emilia told Takeru the information gathered by the Intelligence Department.
"Itsuki? It's hard to say for now. How did you handle it?" Then, Takeru asked directly.
"I've sent soldiers with some food. If they are willing to join the Dawn Empire, they will be accepted. If not, they will be directly expelled from the border." Hearing Takeru's words, Emilia spoke directly.
Hearing her words, Takeru nodded, not seeing any problem. Takeru didn't know what other kingdoms would do with outsiders, but Takeru was willing to accept citizens from other countries.
However, acceptance wasn't simply doing charity. They would have to swear allegiance to Takeru's country.
After hearing everything, Takeru had a general idea of what had happened since he left.
"Takeru, what do you plan to do with her? Should she be imprisoned as well?" Then, Emilia looked at Melty. Perhaps Melty hadn't done anything wrong, but being the daughter of the former king was enough to make her their enemy.
After watching the footage, Melty felt immense disbelief. Hearing Emilia's words, her heart shook. She pursed her lips, unsure what to say.
Thinking of her sister's and father's actions, she couldn't bring herself to blame Takeru at all. After all, Takeru had only become king as a natural consequence of the ministers' and people's wishes.
Most importantly, whether it was the changes in the royal capital or the smiles on the people's faces, it was enough to show that Takeru was more suited to be king than her father, or even her mother.
"So, Melty, do you have anything to say? Will you be my enemy, avenge your father and sister, or choose something else?" Looking at the complex expression on Melty's face, Takeru looked directly at her and asked calmly.
"I... my father and sister got what they deserved. I have nothing to say. So, what do you want to do with me?" Taking a deep breath, Melty spoke directly.
"I won't do anything to you. As long as you behave yourself, for Filo's sake, I will let you live in the palace." Takeru didn't harbor much malice toward Melty. Aside from being a bit naive, she was fine in other respects. Also, a little girl wouldn't cause Takeru any trouble.
"I see. Thank you. Um, can I go see my father and sister?" After hesitating for a while, Melty pleaded.
"You can. But don't even think about asking me to let them go. I've already been merciful by not killing them." Looking at Melty, Takeru said calmly.
"I know. Thank you." Hearing Takeru say this, Melty had nothing else to say. Just from the videos, she could see how terrible their actions had been. Not to mention that Malty had even tried to kill her to become the first heir.
"Guards, take her to the prison for a visit." After giving Melty a deep look, Takeru called two knights and had them take her to the prison. He didn't pay any further attention.
After visiting her father and sister, Melty ran back in disappointment. Her father, after his time in prison, seemed to have aged over a decade.
However, he had begun to accept this life. After all, besides being imprisoned and eating poorer food, Takeru had not physically tortured them.
When he saw Melty, he was teary-eyed. Although he had done many inhumane things, his love for his daughter was genuine.
So, when he saw Melty, he was very happy. He asked if Melty had been bullied. After learning she hadn't, he breathed a sigh of relief.