Reborn as the Psycho Villainess Who Ate Her Slave Beasts' Contracts

The System looked genuinely shaken. "But then... how can you trust any of them? How can you build anything if—"

"I can’t." Elara’s tone was matter-of-fact. "Not fully. Not permanently. Listen carefully: the only way for me to ’completely’ control the Beast Knights—to ensure absolute, unbreakable loyalty—is to become the Emperor myself."

She set down her pen and looked directly at the floating mouse.

"And right now, the empire is in no condition to change rulers. It’s like a company that looks successful from the outside—impressive buildings, strong stock value, good public relations—but is completely hollow on the inside. Empty. One shock away from total collapse."

"You’re saying you can’t move for the throne yet."

"I’m saying that if I moved now, the empire would fracture. The Beast Knights would split along factional lines. The provinces would rebel. Our enemies would invade. Everything would burn." Elara’s expression was neutral but her words cut like knives. "So I stabilize first. I strengthen the internal structure. I build genuine power bases that don’t rely on Beast Knight loyalty. And I survive long enough to actually claim what I’m working toward."

The System was quiet for a long moment.

"That’s... a very long-term plan, Host."

"Most worthwhile things are."

"And in the meantime, you’re just... accepting that the people protecting you might turn on you at any moment?"

"I’m ’acknowledging’ it," Elara corrected. "There’s a difference. I’m not accepting it passively. I’m planning around it. Mitigating the risk. Building redundancies." She picked up her pen again. "Which brings us back to the poison."

"How—"