You wouldn’t have guessed he was a public figure. He was acting like a father who had just discovered his daughter had a male friend she was close to. If he had properly acted like a public figure, then maybe I wouldn’t dislike him as much. While I felt lonely as a daughter, I still somewhat held respect for him as the king. He’s just like Prince Albert. No matter who he’s dealing with, he acts informally when things are going well for him, and acts formally when things aren’t. I’ve never once felt that acting like that has helped me in any way, and it wasn’t about to help the people of Sacula and Yanga. I felt myself getting angry. As both a daughter and a public figure.
“That reminds me, Ash. I heard that Count Sacula, the Church, and the Frontier Alliance lords all have something to ask of His Majesty.” I said, glancing over at Ash, who returned a glance with soft, kind eyes as if he was asking me if I was okay. I nodded in return. This time, I wasn’t lying. I was being honest with myself. This is who I am. I’m not like I was that night, when I had to lie in order to stay alive. Ash had realized this. Instead of pushing me to accept a cup of tea, he turned toward the king.
“Yes, that’s correct. Your Majesty, I have something I would like to submit,” Ash said as he pulled out a bundle of papers he had held under his arm. It was the application for a gold service medal, which up until today he had been working hard to gather together for my sake. That right there is my worth. Three gold service medals—he’d made sure I was worth quite a lot. Ash’s achievements, no matter what others may have had to say about them, meant a lot to me. My body tensed up and I shivered. I’m glad. I’m so glad. No one else would be able to give this much to a princess who was treated like spare scraps. Ash handed the documents to the king. Based on everything that happened today, it was easy to tell what the documents—which the Church and the Frontier Alliance had worked together on—were without even reading them. The king didn’t reach for them right away, clearly not wanting to acknowledge their contents. I took them from Ash and handed them to him myself.
“Your Majesty, I agree with everything written here. Please take them and give Ash the credit he deserves.”
The king looked around the room, but there was no help to be found. He was in my quarters. I could chase out any enemy. Unlike at the royal council meeting, he couldn’t just come up with a lame excuse and ignore it this time.
“Sir Fenix...” the king finally spoke as his gaze fell upon the documents. “What do you want?”
“I am the self-made son of a farmer, Your Majesty. You often hear about it in old tales, right? A youngster with a lower social standing gets a wish granted by the royal family. Surely, it should be easy to understand what I’m asking.”
I felt my face turning red as I thought about what Ash’s next words would be.
“I wish to have Her Highness Princess Alicia as my wife.” He finally said it. My greatest wish. Although now wasn’t the best time for it, I couldn’t help but shamelessly show how happy I was on my face. I managed to at least not make a sound, and I prided myself on holding back that much. You can do it, Alicia. I’m a person who can discern between official and private matters. I raised my head and swallowed my joy and shame. The king was wearing a deep frown on his face.
“Sir Fenix, you already have a fiancée. If you were to go back on your engagement to receive a gold service medal, it would affect the dignity of the royal family.” That was probably the best argument he could come up with, but it meant nothing. It wasn’t rare for noblemen or affluent merchants to have second or third wives. It would in fact be strange if Ash, who had a lot of commendations, as well as a lot of roles, weren’t to take on a second wife. My dear “brother” Itsuki, who had no heirs, was a prime example of that kind of anomaly. It’s not that the king didn’t understand that. That’s why his next words, although shaky, were no doubt his true feelings.
“Alicia... Alicia, are you okay with this? Becoming the wife of a lowly farmer—” Ah, of course, I thought to myself as I interrupted the king from continuing further.
“I do not mind at all.” What does the king even mean by that? How dare he, as someone who has never tilled a field, try to make out that a mud-covered farmer was a bad thing? I knew what it meant for a farmer to be filthy. I had experienced it myself back in Sacula. Thanks to farmers holding fast through hardships, society was able to function—craftsmen could make weapons, merchants would be able to sell them, and nobles were able to rest their ever-so-weary heads on their desks. Ash had taught me to understand that, and I held the utmost respect for him. More than anyone else in this world.
“If Ash says he wants me, then I will happily marry him. This is my true desire. And...” I wanted to continue, but I hesitated. Come to think of it, I’ve never been able to say this before. This is the first time I’m going to say it out loud. I unwittingly looked at Ash, though I shouldn’t have. I ended up getting too emotional.
“And...I’ve always...loved him.” I could have just said that I loved him, I really didn’t need to mention that I had always loved him. What a lame confession. This isn’t the place to do it at all. I should have done it when we were alone. If possible, I should’ve done it in Sacula. On that hill. It would’ve been so lovely. I had gotten lost in my imagination, but I wanted them to give me the benefit of the doubt. Something big just happened, so go easy on me. My confession was so terrible. I wanna redo it all.
“I-I see... But, Alicia.” It seemed the king still had something to say. Although, more accurately, it seemed like he was just holding himself back from groaning. I regained my composure. What does he mean by “but”? Compared to Ash, he was nothing, so I faced him with a fitting expression.