“Having it grow unexpectedly is a result of power.” The king looked at me while he stated his reasons for protecting the prince, hoping that I would agree. But I remained silent.
“May I ask what that has to do with Viscount Yanga’s successor not yet being decided?”
“Forgive me for being vague, but the problem is not with House Yanga itself, but rather you, Alicia.”
“Me? I mean, I know I did give my opinion as an intermediary last time...” However, that didn’t mean it was only my idea. It concerned what the Frontier Alliance, and my own faction, had to gain, but it seemed the central nobles were sensitive about me forcing my way into the conversation.
“I did say I was being vague. There are rumors that it is you who is next in line to the throne.”
I stared blankly. “What?”
Nowadays, if you had told me that airplanes are flying, I would have found that easier to believe. However, that would have been good news. This was bad news.
“I’m next in line? Who would anyone even think that? Thanks to my time at the ‘health resort,’ I have no special training, and I’ve only just been able to stand attendance in official meetings. Surely, it’s impossible that I would be the heir.”
“Normally that would be the case but with all my older sons having passed away, the only scions I have left are you and Albert.”
Why on earth did people think I would be next in line? No matter how I thought about it, the idea of becoming queen filled me with dread.
“There are also those who wish for that to be the case. Even people within Albert’s own faction. Namely, those who aren’t happy with his leadership.”
“This is giving me a headache... So you mean, those people aren’t wishing for Albert’s success and instead want me to take his place?”
“To put things clearly, Albert’s supporters aren’t too pleased with him, and your name has come up more than a few times as a result. They seem to be taking advantage of the opportunity. And to make matters worse, you went and worked with the Church to send off relief supplies.”
“To make matters worse?” “Went and worked with the Church?” His words just confused me further.
“To those people, while Albert is sitting around doing nothing to address the situation in the Yanga territory, they see Alicia working together with the Church to send supplies—doing her duty as a royal family member. They’ve started rallying to make you, someone known for her competence, the heir instead of Albert,” the king continued.
“Without so much as a word said to me. If they really want me to be a ruler, they aren’t doing a great job of showing it.” It was probably more of a way to scare Albert into ruling his faction better. I was just a bargaining chip that they pretended to be concerned about. If I were actually to take them up on it, something I would never dream of, they would no doubt shut up and abandon me. Plus, if that kind of story was circulating about me, then people would be quick to make accusations whenever something has my name attached. Sadly, I could understand why.
“Your Majesty, I know I have already stated this once before, but I have absolutely no interest in being your heir. If I am causing trouble to the royal family, I do not mind if you strip me of my royal status.”
“That is simply not an option.”
“It’s not impossible. Your Majesty must have seen the reports regarding Viscount Yanga and his influence on Sacula and the remote regions. There are plenty of ways. You could send me to a different house as an adoptee, or send me to be betrothed.” I couldn’t imagine being betrothed to anyone else other than Ash, but that was one thing I’d had to learn as a daughter of a royal.
“That simply won’t work. There would be a lot of consequences if the princess were to be sent off like that. These things aren’t decided so easily.”
“It’s not about being able or not being able to... Anyway, please quickly decide a successor for the Yanga region.”
“We can’t. Alicia, do you not understand?” Do I not understand? Yeah, I don’t understand. Not at all.
“Your Majesty, do you plan to abandon them as they suffer?”
“I know this will cause a lot of pain to Gentoh and the others. However, if I forgive the chaos being caused in the capital, it will bring danger to the royal family. In that case, we simply can’t lend support. As king, sometimes I have to give up on some things.” I don’t understand. I don’t even want to understand. What a coward. A family of cowards. The problem was the central nobles and the royal family being too strongly entwined. In order to protect that, he would simply cast the people living in the remote regions away. How could they be okay with throwing away people’s lives?
“In that case, I assume you are preparing to also abandon the Frontier Alliance? I will be standing alongside the frontier region lords in their anger.”
“Please calm down, Alicia. If you do anything more, you’ll only create more problems.”
He’s really asking me to calm down? I plan to bring down the full power of the Frontier Alliance and the Church. The glint in my eye probably told him everything he needed to know. The king let out a sigh and stood up.
“Alicia, realize that this is the beginning of a lot of turmoil.” He drove the wedge in with cold anger.
“What have I even done?”
“We do things a certain way here in the central region. Having you here was always bound to fail. I warned Albert to not get involved with the Church too.” What kind of excuse is that? Who was the one who was unable to protect me from Marquis Datara? Who was the one who called me back? Who was the one going out of their way to amass a huge faction? How had I done anything wrong? I just came here to help Ash... Did I do it wrong? There probably was a better way. If I had known it would end up like this, I would have approached things better. I was the one in the wrong.
“I’m going to place you under house arrest. You will be unable to leave the palace without permission.” How cold. His words were as icy as a northern wind. They made me flinch and unable to speak properly. It felt like I had gone back to the time before I met Ash.
“It’s for your own good, Alicia. There are also rumors that people plan to dispose of you so you don’t interfere with Albert. I don’t want to lose any more of my children.”
Your children? I’m having to go through this because I’m your child? I had to stop myself from crying right then and there. The man who called himself my father left the room. The room felt frigid.
The maids and servants, worried for me, started talking. I have to respond. But what do I even say? What is the correct way to respond? I don’t even know. This is no good. What should I do? I have to do something, but I can’t. Once you’ve stopped moving in the cold, it’s hard to start moving again. But knowing that didn’t help any. I looked at the cup on the table. The cup was filled with the very same herbal tea that filled me with warmth on that cold day, but the contents of this cup had chilled.
“Ash...” I miss you. I mumbled toward that distant light in a faraway region.