“As Viscount Sukuna said, this is quite a complicated situation for the central regions,” declared Officer Raino. “However, for the Frontier Alliance, it is actually quite simple. All they have to do is decide. So we should push them to hurry up and make a decision.” No doubt the others in attendance were thinking that much would be enough. But I disagreed.
“We will protest every day, all together, all the time, under the pretense that we can not go ahead with other duties until this has been decided. How does that sound?” Officer Raino continued. Lady Amin—who knew the most about how things worked here—nodded to Officer Raino, who had a huge grin on her face.
“It would probably be a good idea to come up with a few reasons as to why, and then send them to different departments within the palace. I can provide various methods of doing so,” Amin continued.
It would probably be a good idea to buy up most of the paper here in the royal capital. Although temporary, the price of paper is probably going to soar.
Once we’d decided our next steps, the meeting adjourned. While the central nobles were heavily underestimating the Frontier Alliance, if we were to send in a large number of complaints, that should be enough to force a meeting to decide the next Yanga viscount. Or so the (reasonably) wiser members of the Frontier Alliance thought. As opposed to our more combat-minded members who thought it would be better that we prepare to attack the palace at any given moment. I was one of the latter. I even went so far as to check that the head maid’s breastplate wasn’t rusted.
I should probably preface that everyone in the capital manor was battle trained. Although those stationed there were probably not as skilled as the central region’s nobles. In order to overwhelm them with numbers, we had to make sure that even the maids and cooks would be able to fight. This kind of mindset had proven useful in the past, so it could come in handy again. Just as I was about to ask them to prepare the head maid’s equipment, Amin spoke up.
“Your Excellency, sorry for asking so soon after the meeting, but could I have a little of your time?”
“Hm? Sure,” I responded. Lady Amin was one of the first attendants sent to me from Lady Alicia. Unlike those from the central regions, she was both quick and thorough. I doubt she had stopped me simply for an idle chat.
“Has there been word from Her Highness Alicia?” I asked. I thought that was what she wanted to talk about, but strangely enough, Amin seemed to hesitate with her response.
“No. I have decided to discuss this with you of my own accord. I may be going against Her Highness Alicia’s wishes, but I thought I have to tell you this...”
This is even stranger. There may have been times when Lady Amin had been one step ahead of her mistress, but she had never once gone against her will. She had the expression of a mother desperately trying to protect her offspring.
“I can tell this is quite an important matter. Should I ask the other attendees to leave?”
Lady Amin had a troubled look on her face as her eyes darted about the room. It seemed she wanted me to ask the others to leave but wasn’t brave enough to come out and say it.
“I sincerely apologi—” Amin said.
“No need, nobody would be put out by such a beautiful woman’s request. If you are that worried about it, the palace sent me some tea. Would you care to join me?” I asked.
“Okay, I shall prepare some sweets.” The others would no doubt be happy about this too. The frontier regions were not ones to easily forget a favor. They also do not easily forget betrayal either.
“So, what seems to be the matter?” I asked.
“It seems Her Highness Alicia was terribly hurt by what happened lately...” Amin started.
“She was placed under house arrest by her very own father. It’s to be expected. That’s all an old warrior like me can really say...” I had only known Her Highness Alicia for a short time, but she was a diligent, kind, and friendly person. I could only imagine how much pain she was in.
“I’ve been trying to cheer her up, but I only end up making her worry about me.”
“Even in difficult times, she finds it hard to not worry about those who serve her. A wonderful trait to have as a royal.” The prince and king could learn a thing or two from her.
“So, are you asking me how to lift her spirits?” I didn’t mind being asked to do so. I wanted to invite Alicia here for a few days—she could eat her favorite foods and use the kitchen as she liked. However, I could not even meet with her, let alone have her stay here. Just what on earth were the royals doing to this endearing young girl?
“I was wondering if it would be possible to send a letter...”
“A letter? Of course, that much we can allow.”
“Her Highness Alicia expressed a wish after her talk with His Majesty. I thought it may be good to let you know...”
Lady Amin was struggling with her words. She usually spoke quite clearly, even if she didn’t have anything nice to say, so her hesitation and secrecy were really odd.
“I believe Her Highness Alicia didn’t expect me to hear, but I couldn’t stand to see her like that...”
“Hm, I can see why you hesitated.” That’s why she was struggling to say what this is about. Amin was trying to reveal what her mistress was so desperately trying to hide. You could say she was overstepping as an attendant. However, they were also friends. As expected of Arthur. Much like how Itsuki was admired by Sir George, it seemed my youngest child was also admired by a good friend.
“Why, in the remote regions, it’s not unusual for a master to make friends with their attendants. Although you rarely hear about it around here. I think it’s fine for you to talk about it. It could also end up helping my youngest son.”
“Thank you,” Amin said in a hushed voice. “Alicia mentioned that she wanted to see Ash.”
That’s a simple wish. I could come up with any old reason to call for my knights. Although they won’t have to put up with this for much longer, I didn’t think it would be good to allow Arthur to continue on like this.