I'm In Love With The Villainess Volume 4

Volume 4 Chapter 13 To Change the Empire: Part 1

Chapter 13:
To Change the Empire

"I THINK THE NUR EMPIRE is heading toward ruin as it is." It was currently lunch break, a few days after Philine and I had come to an accord.

The classroom was unusually empty, with only Claire, Philine, me, and a small handful of other students present. The three of us were chatting over lunch when Philine said those words seemingly out of the blue.

"What do you mean?" Claire asked as she shot a glance my way.

Her meaning was clear: This could be our chance.

"The empire has taken aggressive action against many countries, not
just the Bauer Kingdom," said Philine.

"We'll be surrounded by enemies on
all sides at this rate."

As I expected, Philine had been concerned about the state of her country this whole time. For now, she was a princess in name only, lacking in
both authority and ability, but she still cared for her country's well-being.

"Certainly, the empire has made a great number of enemies," said Claire.

"They've managed so far thanks to the strength of their military and their focus on domestic industries, but that's a poor reason to assume they'll manage as well in the future."

"Exactly. I'm especially worried about what would happen if the current ruler changed." Philine hesitated.

"If...if something were to happen to Mother, I fear the empire would lose its foundation. I wish to do something
before that happens."

"What do you think should be done, then?" Claire asked, wisely judging that Philine had broached this topic in hopes of seeking advice.

Put on the spot, Philine thought for a moment.

"We have to shift the empire's current foreign policy from one of aggression to one focused on reconciliation."

Yes, yes, yes! I thought. If Philine hadn't at least been aware of the problem, we would have gotten nowhere. This was a big step forward.

"I see..." said Claire. "But such change would be difficult to achieve with the empire in its current state. There are a number of problems that need to be fixed first."

"That's true," Philine agreed.

"What problems do you see?" Claire asked.

Philine thought for a moment once again. "I think the biggest issue is the fact that Mother doesn't see a problem with her current policies. But in another light, that also means we can change the empire's policies if only we
change my mother's mind."

"Oh, indeed. For better or worse, Her Majesty has great influence over this country," said Claire. "It would be no exaggeration to say all your foreign policy is dependent on her."

"But I really don't get the feeling she'll change her mind so easily," I added.

This was the stubborn Dorothea we were dealing with, after all. She seemed to have put a lot of thought into her current policies, based on what little I had gathered from my audiences with her.

"We'll need evidence to support our case, but with the empire as well-off as it is now, finding any might be difficult. It'd be nice to at least have more people who shared my cause, though..." Philine didn't have many allies to turn to, as evidenced by the fact she'd brought her woes to a couple of foreigners.