The Elf Saint is a NEET, so I Forced Her to Work in Another World

Inheritance and Rewards (Part 2)

**Kuro**

"Oh! No, no, milord!" the Prince Vendette was quick to correct me. "You must've misunderstood. What His Imperial Majesty means is that, you're going to be his heir regarding his house, as his son is already dead, and has no prospect of having another child with his age. As for the matters of our empire, however, I believe he has already designated another person to be the temporary emperor once he died and we haven't elected his successor yet. That's the purpose of the crown prince in our country, really."

"Ah! Thank goodness," I let out an exhilarated sigh. As far as I was concerned, I'd always prefer a life of privacy, compared to a life full of dangers and unwanted attention. Besides, I believe the emperor was a wise man; a veteran of old wars, court intrigues and political maneuvers, he knew that an 'outsider' like me ascending the Imperial throne would create an extremely problematic issue with his nobles. The Holy Palatial Gardens—until the last few years—was antagonistic towards the Empire of Chersea. While nominally 'neutral', in practical geo-politics, the Human Saint sided with the northern kingdoms, which was made obvious by the events of the Imperial War, and the subsequent Great Rising of the Undead. Having a ruler with connections to the Empire's former enemies would be viewed as a slap to the faces of the nobility, and it won't bode well for the Saint's Peace Maddie worked so hard to achieve.

I've read a lot of historical accounts to know that shit's going to happen once His Imperial Majesty did give me the right to ascend the Imperial Throne upon his death...even as a 'placeholder'.

"..."

Honestly, I was also apprehensive about the inheritance I was to receive from the Empire. Like, dude, is the dead man living alone? No relatives that can take over his assets?

"Milord, the Viscount of Maverny is a lonely man," the Prince Vendette cleared up to me when I asked him. "He is so focused on his research about the cracking lights' potential, he never married."

A classic case of too much dedication to his craft.

"And, my apologies, Lord Kuro, but I think you're not aware that in our customs and traditions, inheritance always passes on to the children of the deceased."

"Your Highness, your laws provide no provisions if those children are non-existent?"

The Imperial envoy sighed, "Unfortunately, yes. I'd say, our previous rulers overlooked this possibility since we're used to having descendants; remember that—unlike the elves—we can marry up to five partners in this land. Relatives are out of the question, though there are rare cases they inherit the fiefs, but that's only if the patriarch/matriarch gave it to them by expressing it on their wills. The viscount has distant relatives in other noble houses in and out of the empire. Nevertheless, the emperor is careful not to upset the balance of power between the nobility of the empire, so as not one house would be dominant among others, hence it also factored in his decision to give those properties to you."

Well, that's fair, I guess... "But Maddie—I mean, the Lady Madelaine—can also heal an old womb, right?" I raised that possibility.

This time, it was Maddie who answered, "Milord, I think you're misunderstanding my abilities. The god-powers of healing are meant for something unnatural, such as sicknesses, wounds from accidents or battles, or limbs cut-off because of some adverse situation. And even so, it is still limited to only those whose lives should end some other time; for people who are to die at that very moment, they will still die, no matter how much mana I poured on my healing spells. As for fixing something that is expected to deteriorate over time, like aging, the heavens decreed it, and they can't always possibly go against something they already put in place."