“Your Excellency, the Emperor!”
Governor Pastel began her flattery with a salute.
“From the moment I took my first breath, I have revered the great Emperor! Hooah! Hooah! I can feel your greatness in the very air of the Empire!”
What intensity!
“Really? Thanks.”
The Emperor accepted the flattery as if it were nothing. It was the demeanor of one born into noble status and honored throughout life.
“Wooow!”
Her pink eyes sparkled.
Pastel’s admiration doubled.
The aura of a born ruler!
Poor Governor Pastel, who struggled through a life of poverty, could never catch up to such nobility!
Suddenly, Pastel wished to become noble herself. But really, it wasn’t sudden.
With her hands clasped together, she looked up at the Emperor.
“Can I have you as my personal godfather?!”
Her eyes sparkled~!
I’ll serve you like a father!
If only mom had accepted the confession, he could have been my real father?!
Then I wouldn’t be just Governor Pastel, but Emperor Pastel!
“Hmm?”
The Emperor’s expression turned curious.
He thought for a moment and laughed as if he found it amusing.
“Sure. If you’re the child of Blossom, I could consider you my child too?”
Hooah.
What a magnanimous Emperor.
Pastel raised her arms high.
“Long live the Emperor!”
Long live!
Then Pastel paused as if something struck her.
But isn’t the godfather position reserved for the Demon Lord, who has struggled so much?
The Demon Lord could have been my father if mom hadn’t betrayed him. Plus, he had taken care of me all this time!
Of course, the godfather should be the Demon Lord.
But, but.
The Emperor is the Emperor!
The Demon Lord is also the Great Demon, but he feels less impressive when compared to the Emperor.
The Demon Lord may not measure up to be the father of the great Governor Pastel!
Hmm.
Think, think.
After a brief moment of contemplation (1 second thought), Pastel cheered again.
“Long live the Emperor!”
She twirled around and shouted.
“Long live!”
The Emperor seemed intrigued.
“With such an appearance, could the child of Blossom be involved with this…? Is that why Demonious cooperates?”
Long live!
Suddenly, a commotion was heard at the door of the sickroom. The door opened, and a Demon carrying a cold apple pie shoved the Knight aside and entered.
『What’s with blocking the entrance?』
With red eyes narrowing in annoyance, he glared at the Emperor.
That voice snapped Pastel out of her pink power daydream.
The Emperor had been blocking the Demon Lord’s entry?
Oh?
No wonder the Demon Lord was so late.
“Huh?”
The Emperor looked puzzled and then glanced at the Knight.
“I didn’t mean to block even Demonious.”
The Knight bowed in apology. The Emperor smiled and accepted the apology, then turned to the Demon.
“Sorry, there was some confusion.”
Aha!
So there was a misunderstanding!
Pastel could empathize with the Emperor as a ruler.
It’s totally understandable!
But apparently, it wasn’t so for the Demon Lord.
Annoyance filled those red eyes.
『I told the head maid to block my entry and leave the child to eat alone.』
He scanned the sickroom. A lavish table with delicious dishes sat ready. The aroma of food filled the air.
『What is this about? Isn’t this supposed to be a resting space for a fainted child? Don’t you know you must keep the eating space separate from the resting area?』
His voice was sharpened by annoyance at being blocked by both the head maid and the Knight.
“Did the head maid do that too?”
The Emperor smiled awkwardly, unable to say anything. Although it wasn’t his fault, he felt responsible for the mistakes of his subordinates.
Pastel empathized more with the Emperor than with the Demon Lord as a loyal subject.
“Demon Lord!”
She pointed at the Demon Lord.
The girl made a serious expression.
“What nonsense are you saying to the great Emperor! Apologize at once!”
『What?』
The Demon looked bewildered.
The girl’s expression turned even more serious as she put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin.
“The Emperor prepared this for a hungry loyalist! Thanks to that, Pastel is now full!”
She patted her round belly.
Really full.
『Huh?』
The Demon looked flabbergasted.
Then he glanced at the apple pie he had made. Thanks to the Knight blocking entry, the pie had gone cold and was no longer steaming. The aroma of the food that filled the room overwhelmed the pie smell.
“That’s unnecessary! I just gorged on Melissa’s apples!”
Dessert yum yum!
“And, and!”
Pastel’s cheeks turned rosy in delight.
“Starting today, I am the great Governor Pastel! From now on, you will address me as the great Governor Pastel!”
Oh yeah~!
“Long live the great Emperor!”
Loyalist Pastel jumped up and shouted.
I was born to serve the Emperor!
“Long live!”
『Haa.』
The Demon pressed his trembling hand to his forehead.
『Young Craft.』
His red eyes snapped shut.
『Prepare yourself for a scolding when we return.』
His voice held a hint of anger.
Hooah.
Pastel, who was enjoying her overstepping, froze.
Ice cold……
#
The conversation between the Great Demon and the Emperor continued.
Pastel was chased out for being a child in the adult conversation and couldn’t hear what was discussed.
Instead, she lay back, full, and dozed off, waking up briefly to nibble on a handful of grapes before falling back asleep.
With the morning sunlight, she finally opened her eyes refreshed.
“Hooah, morning.”
She wiped the drool from her mouth and sat up. Looking around the quiet sickroom, she waved to the Sun Friend outside the window instead of a person.
“Good morning, Sun Friend! I’d love to call you sunshine, but I’m sorry that it doesn’t suit Governor Pastel!”
Ahem.
I should speak with dignity from now on.
“Cough, cough!”
She cleared her throat.
Waving her hands gracefully, she declared.
“Is anyone there?!”
The great Governor Pastel is hungry!
“Is anyone there?!”
Pastel stopped and pondered.
Is anyone really there?
No, no.
Mew mew.
Governor Pastel is a cat, meow.
Hooah.
That’s not dignified!
Shock.
Pastel clutched her head.
“What does a dignified tone even mean?!”
Is this the inherent traditional deficiency that an acquired ruler inevitably possesses?
“Ugh!”
I want to be a born ruler too!
“I want the highest bloodline too!”
Just then, the door opened, and a maid entered.
“You called?”
She bowed her head.
“Eh?”
Pastel felt a little embarrassed.
Did they all hear that?
Her cheeks flushed.
She rubbed her slightly warm cheeks.
So, so.
“I want grapes.”
Hehe.
“Yes.”
The maid bowed and left the room.
“Aha ha.”
Pastel, feeling shy, chuckled to herself and turned back to the window. The sun shone brightly, sparkling like the sun!
“Good morning, sunshine!”
Wow! Saying sunshine makes it really feel like morning! People must be honest with their hearts!
“Yay! Yay!”
What a great morning!
Pastel rubbed her hands together. Glancing around the sickroom, she pulled out the note she had hidden in her pocket.
A competent ruler tackles important tasks on the most lucid of mornings.
Pastel was a competent ruler, so she was working in the morning.
As she unfolded the note, ominous words caught her eye.
―We welcome the joining of the Empire’s top scheming family.
Hooah.
So ominous!
As a loyalist, I cannot forgive such ominousness!
Pastel’s hands trembled.
How could such an ominous welcoming note reach the loyal subject of the great Emperor?
What misunderstanding did they have about me!
So unfair!
To rectify this injustice, I must charge head-on.
She glared at the hideout address scrawled next to the note.
“You rotten Nobility Faction, you have no idea how underestimated you are, but it won’t go as you think!”
As desired, the Empire’s top schemer will face off against me!
To concoct a wicked scheme, she focused her mind.
Haaap!
Ultra high brain rotations……!
Wait a minute.
Ultra high brain rotation is a skill Pastel invented just now to prove her loyalty.
It is powered by her loyalty to the great Emperor so it can yield remarkable effects.
If activated properly, Pastel will finally become the greatest schemer on the planet!
Hooah, the fear of a crying cow and splashing duck.
How frightening.
There was a knock at the door. The maid quietly entered and placed a plate of grapes before exiting.
“Oh! Grapes!”
Pastel dove into the grapes first.
Gem powder, yum yum.
The bouncy flesh popped as she chewed.
“Wow! Delicious! The best in the Imperial Palace! Fruit is amazing!”
For Governor Pastel, who had spent time in the sky island with questionable transport conditions, this was a whole new world!
Suddenly, Pastel’s expression turned serious.
Now that I have the authority to wield the Demon Realm Stock Company, can I use the distribution network to deliver fresh fruit to the student council room?
She pondered.
“Could it be possible?”
Then I can relax on a comfy sofa while munching on fruit?
Sofa plush.
Fruit munching~!
Insane happiness.
Her arms instinctively shot up in the air.
“Long live the great Emperor!”
It was a praise that came from deep within.
“Long live! Long live!”
Pastel dashed around the sickroom. She ran around so crazily that she remembered she didn’t need to breathe as a non-human being and just kept running around mindlessly.
“Long live! Long live!”
But I feel like I forgot something.
What could it be?
While running and thinking, she spotted the note carelessly tossed on the bed and suddenly remembered.
“Oh! Right! I need to come up with a scheme!”
She stopped running and picked up the note.
She peered closely at the ominous text.
―We welcome the joining of the Empire’s top scheming family.
So, so.
Schemes, schemes.
Merrily.
Warm, warm.
Chewy, chewy marshmallow.
It’s delicious when roasted over a campfire.
Marshmallow?
Aha!
Her pink eyes sparkled.
I must go visit the hideout to clarify this misunderstanding!
And then rush back to ask the Demon Lord to make marshmallows for me!
Yep, yep!
