The Villainess With A Heroine Harem

Chapter 407 Conveying Sincerity

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In Emilia's eyes, the Blue Dawn Republic that was being used as a disposable sandbox by the Black Tiger and Gray Wolfe was an opportunity that she would be foolish to let go of.

The chaotic economy and the distressed masses both desperately needed a way out of the crisis they had been plunged into, but no one seemed to care at all.

Their own government was too corrupt, the two mega-corporations were too busy fighting each other to care, and no one else seemed willing to dive into these muddy waters.

Under such circumstances, all she had to do was make them believe that she could be their salvation, and they would follow her of their own free will. And as long as she fulfilled her promise, they would never regret that choice.

Of course, to really gain their trust and belief, Emilia would have to first show them who she was, and what she could do for them.

This was why each of her answers revealed another facet of her own nature, without any reservation. Even if not everyone in the Blue Dawn Republic was watching, she believed that they would soon see it for themselves later.

Emilia believed in herself, and she hoped that, at that time, the people she was trying to convince could also see her sincerity.

Of course, not all questions were so straightforward and easy to answer. Had that been the case, Emilia believed that the interview would look too scripted and insincere, and that would end up completely defeating its purpose.

This was why she only requested for certain questions to be included in the interview, and nothing else. If the interviewer wanted to ask more, she could, and Emilia would answer her to the best of her ability.

The only restriction she had put forth was to make sure the points she wanted to get across weren't missed.

Being a human, the spectacled, brown-haired interviewer naturally wasn't perfect. With Emilia's charm, it was already hard enough for her to maintain her rhythm and professional attitude, even if it was only on the surface.

It didn't take long for her to finish most of the 'required' questions, and then start indulging her own curiosity.

"So basically, everything that Princess Emily did was what you would have done, right?"

Emilia nodded. "Mhm. When my friends were coming up with the script, they based her completely off of my personality. Later on, I also took part in refining her character, so we can be considered one and the same."

The interviewer stared at her with a fascinated smile. "You're so… Ahh—!"

Knowing she was close to messing up, the brunette quickly came up with a question off the top of her head. "A-Anyway, t-there's one thing I don't get. The great general was clearly an enemy, right? The way she was given another chance… wasn't it too risky?"

Emilia hummed thoughtfully, and just when the other girl was about to turn green from regret, she smiled. "Some people always regret what they have done once they face the consequences of their actions, but some… never ask for redemption. Which one do you think is more worthy of a second chance?"

The brunette breathed a sigh of relief once she realized that her little boss didn't really mind the question, and then seriously started considering her response. "Uh… it should be the ones who regret, right? It shows that, deep down, they must not be so bad after all."

Emilia shook her head in denial. "Regretting it only when you face the consequences… what you regret is not that you committed the crime, but that you were caught, don't you think?"

The interviewer was stunned, but when she thought about it, she could only nod. "That… makes sense?"

The crimson-haired girl nodded. "Although it earned her both glory and fortune, the great general knew what she did had led to too many people losing their freedom and lives. When faced with the consequences, she did not beg for forgiveness, and that was because she believed she deserved it."

Thinking about the character of the general, she smiled. "When given the chance, she agreed to fight for the princess for the rest of her life, and helped her free more and more people from slavery. Even then, the great general never believed she was free of all fault. I believe that such a person can be considered truly worthy of redemption."

Plus, the general had a talent worthy of being cherished, but Emilia didn't include that in her answer. 'Hmph, even if someone is talented, as long as their attitude isn't right, I won't necessarily give them a second chance.'

Cynthia almost rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Why not add 'unless they were really, really cute' to that thought?"

Emilia sent her an innocent smile. 'Eh? I wouldn't do that.'

"Wouldn't you?"

The crimson-haired girl hummed thoughtfully. 'Well… unless they were as cute as you, no.'

Cynthia decided to shut up and go into isolation to avoid being driven up a wall, only to hear her partner's cheeky 'Bye Bye~' there as well.

Recalling how nowhere was 'safe' for her anymore, the raven-haired girl could only gloomily decide to ignore her partner.

Unlike Cynthia, however, most of the audience and the interviewer took Emilia's words at face value, and couldn't help but be impressed by her 'mature thoughts'.

Even if she couldn't do it in a real scenario, the fact that this little girl was able to think about it on her own was enough to prove to many that she was both intelligent and charismatic on a level that was completely different from her peers.

The great general might have been 'unforgivable' for many, having participated in enforcing both slavery and cannibalism, even if it was only indirectly. But in Emilia's words, since she was only a tool for their enemy, wasn't it better to allow her a chance to undo the harm she had caused instead of executing her to vent their anger?

Since the general grew up in Krass, thinking about it rationally, it made sense that she'd never had such an 'opportunity' presented to her before.

Of course, some people would argue that once one had their hands dirtied, the stain could never be washed off, but that wasn't an argument Emilia was interested in getting into. Even if it was true, the objective of 'Princess Emily' had not been to make the world perfect, but to abolish the use of slave collars.

Benevolence, gratitude, forbearance, and redemption.

Even for the interviewer, it was hard not to be moved, and she couldn't help but feel a little complicated in her heart. "Do you… also trust someone like that?"

The crimson-haired beauty turned away shyly, a charming blush on her cheeks. "Yes."

The brunette gulped, wondering why she felt so restless all of a sudden. "T-That's great! I-I… uh… Oh! Right, at the end of it all, the princess must have won, right?"

Emilia remained silent for a while before she tapped her lips, smiling mysteriously. "Who knows? What matters most is that she did everything that she could."

The interviewer bit her lip in thought. "But wouldn't it be sad if she ended up losing?"

The crimson-haired girl sighed. "Sad? Of course, the princess would be heartbroken that she couldn't realize her ideals, couldn't fulfill her dreams, and couldn't show her lover the world that she dreamed of. One where no one could be stripped of their own free will. But… wouldn't it have been even more unfortunate if she never even tried?"

The brunette interviewer was also just a young girl in her late twenties, but she couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of how self-centric she was compared to this girl, who was much younger than her. "W-Would you really go so far for what you believed in?"

Emilia just smiled. "I believe actions speak louder than words. Wait for me. In a few days, I'll prove to everyone that it's not just my lips that move for justice, but also my heart!"

When the interview ended, the image of a blooming cornflower stayed on the screen, and the people of the Blue Dawn Republic couldn't help but stare at it with a heated gaze.

This was their national flower, a noble blue that stood out from the masses, and yet, at the same time, it also seemed to gently accept and embrace them.

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