“Well, I have no room to be worried about other people, but I’d really love it if the prince hurried up and decided on a fiancée already. All the other girls our age who aren’t engaged yet are all competing to see who will win the prize of being at the prince’s hand. The rivalry between both the men and the women is honestly getting tiring,” Sharia said with a sigh.
“Hmm, I see. And the worst one is Marquis Marea’s daughter, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Lady Ellia. She’s very aggressive with girls who aren’t engaged. Of course, she does it sneakily so the men never see her do it. That makes her even scarier.”
“No wonder she’s the marquis’ daughter. He’s so forceful, he could knock down a bird in flight.”
House Marea… It wasn’t a very prestigious family, historically speaking. They’d only gained prominence in the last generation or so. They formed enough ties with more established families to the point where not even the most powerful families like House Armelia and the royal family could not ignore them.
Naturally, Ellia was the top contender to become the prince’s fiancée, and it seemed that she was incredibly attached to the idea of marrying the prince as well. Because of that, both father and daughter were putting pressure on everyone they could to advance the engagement. I could only imagine how that felt to Sharia, who was still unengaged. And… No. For a moment my thoughts went in another direction, but I stopped myself. I was here with Sharia, so I should make the most out of my visit and not lose myself in my thoughts.
“Well, you may not have time since it’s an official party, but I pray that you’ll find a lovely partner there! After all, you’re such a wonderful girl. Don’t worry; I’m sure you’ll find someone soon.”
Sharia smiled. “It makes me feel better hearing you say that, Merellis.”
After that, we enjoyed chatting about desserts and dresses that had become popular lately. We had such a good time that the hours went by very quickly. After I’d stayed for a while, I eventually left the Telrose manor. I got in the carriage but hopped out before I arrived back home. Anna seemed puzzled by my behavior and followed after me.
I needed to sort through things in my mind, and nothing was better for that than a stroll through town. As I walked down the narrow cobblestone streets, I lost myself in my thoughts, picking up where I had left off during my visit with Sharia. The thing that was weighing on my mind was that the opposition between noble families was going to grow more and more. House Marea was gathering the support of more and more powerful families, and I had a feeling that families with opposing viewpoints would start to band together in response.
None of this was happening on the surface yet, but I’d gotten little inklings of it here and there. That would have an effect on the marriages between nobles because they treated marriage as a political convenience. It was no wonder that girls from each faction were vying to marry the heir to the throne. When both the children and parents of these families saw this happening, it made sense that everyone was anxious to cement an engagement. People who weren’t yet betrothed like Sharia must’ve been having a rough time. The competition and rivalry between girls our age to get the best husband they could was quite intense.
And at the same time, I could imagine just how tired Lord Romello was. We had finally gotten a cease-fire with Tweil, and now there was going to be a power struggle between nobles in our own kingdom. Once the threat of outside danger was gone, it seemed people naturally began to create quarrels within their own circles.
I didn’t want to think that my father risking his life to protect this kingdom had been all for naught. Not only had many people sacrificed their lives, but we had finally gotten peace. But now, there were people who were threatening to fan the flames of strife again. Lord Romello had to waste his precious energy on dealing with infighting among nobles when he should be focusing on running the government. I wondered if he was feeling disillusioned by the whole thing too.
“I wish I could help him…” I murmured. Anna gave me a puzzled look. “No, it’s nothing. I’m just talking to myself.” I pulled myself together and looked around. It was breezy, and the wind shook the trees lining the street. I paused for a moment, then began walking once more, losing myself in thought again.
Talking about it wouldn’t do any good anyway. I once again came to the realization that my next battlefield would be that of high society. Everyone had a limit to their own power. Just as one person was powerless against ten thousand. You needed help from other people to succeed, even in government.
In that case, the best thing I could do was to lessen the burden for Lord Romello—and for Louis who would come after him—by staving off the power struggle between the nobles as much as I could. And to do that, I needed power of my own. I needed to wield the power of persuasion in order to help people, just like when I had commanded the soldiers and guards to fight that day my brother was attacked. They had obeyed me then, even though I had no right to give those orders, because I had been convincing enough.
I needed persuasion, a strong will, and experience. A strong will would come from having no hesitation in my words or actions, based on my experiences. In other words, I needed to have confidence in myself, which would lead me to be able to persuade others.
I wanted to become stronger.
So strong that my will could pierce through the viper pit of the world of high society.
With renewed resolve in my heart, I turned around and made my way back home.