POV

The king of Mainz(de facto protagonist of the story)

"Welcome to the western empire, your majesty. I hope you are having a good time here." said someone from behind me.

As I turned around, I saw a handsome man with a smile coming towards me. He looked quite charming, like a knight on a white horse. The princess's face scrunched up at the sight of him.

"I am having a good time here. May I ask who you are." I asked the man politely, even though he looked annoying. I felt like I had seen him before, but I couldn't remember where.

He looked a bit surprised and said, "Why don't you introduce me to him, my dear sister."

She looked at him coldly and said, "This is the third prince of the empire and is the duke of Breisgau. He is also my honorable brother."

They don't look like they have a good relationship. It is also pretty weird that he is a duke. If they have the land, most nobles make each of their sons inherit a title but most give their sons a barony or, at most, a county. There used to be a 1*prince of wales in my old world, so I suppose it's not that weird.

"Your majesty, may I talk to you for a while," he said while eyeing the princess.

The princess, getting the gist of what he was saying, left us alone and went to talk with some other people, presumably members of her faction.

The prince looked me in the eye and said, "I want you to support my faction in the takeover of the throne, your majesty. If you help me, your western border will be secured, and you will find a powerful ally."

I am tempted to make a deal with him. The problem is, I don't want to make an ally. I want to make a puppet. The western empire is highly conservative. There will be a large amount of resistance against a female ruler. There is also the fact that I propped her. Even if she is extremely intelligent, she will have to depend on me to keep the throne.

This will result in a puppet being formed in the west of my country, and Mainz's defense pressure go down. If I prop up this man, he will be able to take control of his country. He will not be in my control and can betray me at any time. The princess probably knows this, but she needs to secure the throne first.

"I don't want to intervene in the internal affairs of another country. Succession to being an emperor should be earned by one's worth and not by the help of foreign forces."

He paled considerably and walked away. I firmly refused him and, at the same time, gave him a warning not to seek support from any foreign forces. Of course, the warning was just a bluff, but whether he can see through it or not can only be determined by his intelligence.

I wonder why they aren't taking the princess seriously. Maybe it has to do with the conservative nature of the country. Fortunately, the prince is not that intelligent. If he wanted my support, he should have given me more intriguing benefits.

"Looks like you had a heated conversation with him." said the princess.

I glared at her and said, "Let's meet the second prince."