“Of course, the majority of lizard demihumans believed that this confrontation was instigated by humans to create a war. I am inclined to think the same,” said Hassad, who casually looked at Lazer to observe his reactions. “Nonetheless, the truth is impossible to know now. Right, miss?

Lazer, who had not moved one bit during this time, uttered a quiet sound of displeasure.

The girl, fascinated by this story, did not notice the eye contact between the two men. “So? What happened next?” she asked, trying to get Hassad to continue on with the story.

“After ascending to the throne, Muguerza contemplated killing all of his relatives so that he would not be assassinated by his own relatives again. Nonetheless, before he could implement this plan, he died of a serious illness, ending his short regime of merely five years.”

“… I wonder how he felt about all this.”

“Do you mean his relationship with Malak?”

“Yes, within a short span of six months, he endured three assassination attempts most likely orchestrated by his sister… How did he deal with all that?”

“Well, one of his dying words, which had been recorded in books, was ‘Turn joy into worry, timidity into prudence, and fear into anger’; this was his life motto.”

“This…” She murmured these words but felt vaguely sad.

If this was how kings should think and endure, then lives as kings would be too dark and difficult.

“Did this lesson help you?”

“Oh!?” She blushed.

“Do not worry about it. These are natural emotional reactions that will occur during this process. Regardless of how powerful kings are, they all have to face their inner fear. I believe that you will surely transform such feeling into a force driving you to move forward in the future.”

“… Do kings feel fear?” She could not imagine it. After all, Diana always behaved as if she had nothing to fear.

“All beings feel fear. That is an essential instinct that prompts beings to respond to situations and act accordingly. Without this stimulation, we would never be able to adapt and survive.”

“I see… If we can find a way to face our fear…”

“Yes, if we choose to deliberately ignore or suppress this feeling, we will become disoriented and make wrong decisions,” said Hassad, trying to change the topic and create a more relaxing atmosphere. “Miss Diana, I also have fears.”

“What?” She looked up in amazement.

“This class should have been over long ago. Your bodyguard was reminding me of such with his eyes.”

She froze for a moment, and then, she and Hassad chuckled aloud.

Although Hassad did not state it openly, he was keenly aware of the difficulty involved with the throne war and knew that he should not have discussed this topic publicly. However, his remarks were enough to make her feel the weight of the situation.

If you cannot even trust your own sister—then who can you trust? She clenched her fists and quietly reminded herself that no one can be trusted. This was the most terrifying part of the throne war. This type of “lonely” thought would affect the kings’ decision-making and how they treated their people. Complete self-reliance—this was how royal families and even citizens survived.