Shift! The Side-Character Heroine Novel

Olivia felt nothing about meeting her biological father of this world. She had nothing to fear from him.

She was not alone in that. Even Cirilla had no feelings for Emhyr whatsoever. To Cirilla, their parents were long dead. The one who raised her was her grandmother, Calanthe. Other than Calanthe, she cared for no one else but her sister, Olivia.

Emhyr had only been obsessed about reclaiming his country. He could care less about his children. Perhaps being the son-in-law of the Kingdom of Cintra was nothing to be proud of. He could only find value as the reincarnated child of the Nilfgarrdian Empire’s Emperor.

Even so, he did not expect to grow infertile. As emperor, he had wedded at least three other consorts and multiple lovers. His seed never once took hold. As age caught up to him, the very children who he had abandoned earlier in his life became his lifelines.

Especially Olivia. After a few years of being Kaer Morhen’s leader, she had proven herself as a shrewd politician. On top of that, she had outstanding financial management abilities. She could easily be treasurer of any country out there.

To Emperor Emhyr, Olivia was the ideal heir that Nilfgaard needed. Otherwise, he would never rest easy.

In spite of his ruthlessness, he still intended to unify the entire continent. At the same time, he was not prejudiced towards other races. This was shades better than the Kings of certain Northern Kingdoms who prosecuted other races, to the extent of ethnic cleansing.

When Olivia arrived at the City of Golden Towers, the capital city of the Nilfgaardian Empire, she was welcomed by Emperor Emhyr in an unprecedented manner. Those familiar with the Emperor were bemused. They knew that the Emperor thought highly of the ‘Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms’, but this was a little unexpected.

Who knows, this Olivia might be the Emperor’s secret lover. Might she even be the illegitimate daughter of the Emperor?

The people who attended the ceremony were stunned by her beauty. Of course, among them was the Black Knight Cahir. His eyes glistened. He felt like a little boy falling in love for the first time all over again. Something told him that he had already fallen in love with her as he was bringing her out of a ruined Cintra…

The grown-up Olivia shared some similarities with that of Emperor Emhyr’s. They had the same hair color. They even had the same, superior aura lingering around them. She was no Princess, she was an Empress Regnant!

Emperor Emhyr took in her magnificence with relish. He even felt that the pain in his heart had vanished. He seemed to have foreseen a future of his daughter inheriting his vast empire. How glorious would the empire’s future be…

The Emperor organized a grand banquet for Olivia. At the same time, he informed everyone of his plans to award Cintra to Olivia. He believed that it was a smart move. Who knows, this would give those rebellious nobles second thoughts.

Olivia only accepted the offer on the surface. She did not need anyone to give her gifts or awards. But she did not reject Emhyr’s plans to gradually build up her influence.

Apparently, they had a secret meeting, where he ensured that his daughter would be his sole inheritor. Therefore, he decided to openly declare, no, spread the shocking news that Olivia was his biological daughter.

Emhyr seemed to have forgotten that Cirilla was also his daughter. However, what he remembered of Cirilla was a crude, reckless brat. Most importantly, she lacked beauty. How could she inherit his vast empire?

Little did he know that Cirilla had grown refined and beautiful, through the stimulation of the Elder Blood. This world’s Cirilla had not yet been exiled by Vilgefortz, nor had she gone through turmoil and hardship that eventually earned her the scars that you see on her face.

Cirilla still behaved like a guy and had grown immensely powerful, but she had also grown far more beautiful. She could easily reel in suitors at will!

It was such a shame that only Olivia could enjoy Cirilla’s ugly duckling transformation. She had predicted it right. She had the power to change a plain-looking individual into a diva!

Olivia had no qualms about Emperor Emhyr’s decision to reveal her identity. She was not even interested in his vast empire. She only believed that it would be easier for her to conquer this empire in the future.

Emperor Emhyr would have never expected someone like Olivia to exist in this world. If someone gave her something, she would be displeased. She would only be satisfied if she has earned it with her own hands!

To take the Empire for herself in the future, Olivia pretended to accept the ‘olive branch’ that the Emperor was offering, thus ‘happily’ becoming the sole heir of Emperor Emhyr!

Emperor Emhyr was filled with joy. He ignored the voices of opposition in his country. Other than awarding the Kingdom of Cintra to Olivia, the Emperor even awarded a highly valued Countship from the Duchy of Toussaint to Olivia. It was as if he was rewarding Olivia’s struggle over the years.

Of course, Emperor Emhyr did not award it in person. He dropped Duchess Anna a certain hint. Thus, Olivia mysteriously became a countess of the ‘fairy-like’ Duchy of Toussaint.

If the “Witcher” game ever released a DLC related to the Duchy of Toussaint, Olivia would most certainly be a key figure. Who knows, she might even be a close friend of Duchess Anna. After all, Olivia was a first-class social butterfly.

As Olivia and Emperor Emhyr carried out their plans in secret, Geralt and Cirilla added more to their list of achievements as they successfully lifted the curse that had been placed on King Foltest [1] of Temeria, earning his genuine friendship…

However, the second Northern War broke out. The battle was violent and bloody. The only person who walked away none the lesser was Olivia, who continued developing more farming technologies.

It was now time to mobilize Kaer Morhen’s army!

Translation note:

[1] “Foltest” (弗尔泰斯特) was the king of Temeria, prince of Sodden, sovereign of Pontaria and Mahakam as well as the senior protector of Brugge and Ellander.