Duke Huguenot’s words were uttered with a sincere urgency. His strong determination and refusal to back down easily could be glimpsed.
Father...
Stewart gazed at his father’s back in wonder. The topic was much more serious than he had been expecting.
“Of course, I know.”
“It isn’t just a lack of personnel or finances. We have no hope. No future. We’ve lost Rodania, and the evacuees separated from their family are filled with fear. I don’t want to fear the worst, but if this situation drags on, people may be tempted to defect. The survival of our organization is at risk.”
“I know that. That’s why I declared my accession earlier than planned.”
In reality, Christina’s declaration to ascend the throne had received favorable reactions from the members of the Restoration. However...
“It’s true that your declaration helped relieve some of the members’ worries. But it only bought us a little more time. At this rate, your legitimacy will be denied at the coronation. When that happens, the situation I fear will come true.”
The declaration made with the regalia should never have been used as a stopgap. It had been their trump card—a hand they should have saved to use at the most effective moment to defeat the Arbor faction.
“I know we need a plan to improve the situation... Our people need hope,” Christina agreed, but her face still looked reluctant. Using their trump card meant they had no more effective hands they could play.
“Indeed, we need hope—a tangible hope that can be seen with our own eyes. A strong hope that can create a path for us through the darkness.”
“And you want Sir Amakawa to be that hope.”
“Word of his valor has already spread far. Even without being on the rooftop garden, many witnessed yesterday’s fight from afar. The entire castle knows that Sir Amakawa was the one who defeated the monsters. He’s also renowned for beating the King’s Sword, Alfred, which has great meaning for us. Now imagine if he assisted the Restoration.”
Naturally, the members would feel hope again. They would place their expectations on Rio.
“...”
Duke Huguenot’s desire to cling to Rio was understandable. His point was convincing. But Christina remained silent. It was apparent that she was passive about—or rather, flat out refusing—to invite Rio.
But even then, Duke Huguenot stayed firm.
“The members of the organization will have hope. I believe he could be able to retake Rodania for us all by himself. He could lead our way,” he said, speaking eloquently.
“You wish to entrust our future to someone unrelated to us?”
“We merely need to create a relationship with him.”
“Another marriage of convenience? You know he has no interest,” Christina said, tired of repeating this conversation.
Rio was already surrounded by attractive members of the opposite sex. There was no room for the noble ladies of the Restoration to cut in line. The only one who had a chance—and probably the best chance at that—was...
“There’s Celia, no?”
“Even so, it’s not our place to say anything.” Christina maintained her passive position with a frown.
At that, Duke Huguenot finally showed signs of impatience. “We don’t have the leisure in this situation. Celia is a member of the Restoration. It doesn’t have to be marriage either—she just needs to appeal to Sir Amakawa for his assistance. The fact that she isn’t doing that already is one problem, but the fact that you won’t order her to do so is another,” Duke Huguenot argued emotionally.
“I would never do such a thing,” Christina said, brows furrowing in clear disapproval.
“Why not?”
“What does Sir Amakawa have to gain from helping us? It would be shameless of us not to offer an appropriate reward.”
“We can ask him what kind of reward he wants, no? Why don’t you do that?”
“I’ve tried to probe into it before. As a result, I realized there was nothing we could offer him. He doesn’t have many desires—you should know that too.”
“Nevertheless, we’ve never invited him to formal negotiations as an organization. Even if it fails, it’s worth a try. We should at least approach him and ask for his cooperation.”
Both sides presented firm arguments as they debated. Although he was up against his direct superior, Duke Huguenot wasn’t showing any reserve today.
I had no idea father could be so zealous...
Stewart quietly held his breath as he watched his father argue with Christina.
Are our prospects really that bad?
Of course, he was aware of the Restoration’s precarious situation as well. But his vague impression was made much more real by the sight of his father—the organization’s number two—arguing so heatedly.
Christina, who had been so passive about requesting Rio’s assistance, fell silent in thought with a troubled look. She could imagine the situation improving dramatically with Rio’s assistance. It was true she didn’t have any better ideas either.
Duke Huguenot grew tired of Christina’s silence and pressed her for an answer. “Your Majesty, I wouldn’t be urging you this much if there were other ideas. We don’t have the time to be considering nonexistent options. Is there a reason we cannot even ask Sir Amakawa for his assistance?”
“Sir Amakawa is still suffering from the effects of his curse. Even if we were to receive his assistance, we will forget him as soon as we leave the barrier,” Christina argued bitterly.
“But that shouldn’t be a hindrance to receiving his help. We’ll remember him again if we return to the barrier, no?”
The downside was an inability to coordinate with their own army outside of the barrier, but their strategy wouldn’t have involved using Rio in a group anyway. They wanted him for his outrageous power as an individual. If he could use that power for their army, it wouldn’t matter if they couldn’t coordinate with him during the mission.
“There is another reason. You saw how he wore a mask when he was fighting, right?”
“Yes.”
“Without that mask, Sir Amakawa is unable to fight outside this barrier.”
“Is that another part of the curse?”
“Yes. If he fights without the mask, he’ll lose his memories of himself,” Christina said, explaining the reason for her reluctance.
“That does sound like a problem...”
But Duke Huguenot hummed, not looking entirely convinced.
“The masks break as he’s fighting due to the effects of the curse. And he only has a limited number of them.”
“It sounds like we should be able to receive his assistance if we offer a reward on par with the mask he has to use up.”
“Theoretically, yes.”
“Is there another perspective I’m missing?”
Duke Huguenot didn’t let up on his questioning. With the future of the organization on the line, he spoke his mind frankly.
Christina was unable to reply immediately, falling into an unsettled silence.
“I can’t help but feel like you’re keeping something from me. It’s a feeling I’ve had for some time now. Whenever Sir Amakawa is the topic, you seem to draw an emotional conclusion first and make up a logical excuse afterward.”
Duke Huguenot pressed the matter further, cutting off any chance of her dodging the question.
“I just don’t want to cause him trouble.”
The look in Christina’s eyes darkened out of guilt over Rio.
“Is that really the only reason?”
For some reason, Duke Huguenot sounded nervous after coming this far. He showed the first sign of hesitance since the meeting started.
“What do you mean?” Christina asked, tilting her head dubiously.
“You don’t want to cause him trouble. I see, I understand. But that doesn’t seem like the only reason to me.”
“So what is it?”
“That’s what I’d like to know...”
Duke Huguenot looked down and muttered to himself bitterly. He then noticed Stewart standing behind himself and almost looked like he was about to turn around.
Father? Stewart wondered to himself.
Just then, the hourly ringing of the castle chimed.
“Your Majesty, it’s almost time for your meeting with King Francois,” Vanessa whispered in Christina’s ear.
“Sorry, but as I said in the beginning, I have an appointment with King Francois. Sir Hiroaki will also be in attendance, so we’ll have to continue this conversation another time.” Christina sighed as she wrapped up their talk.
“I will visit again in a few days.” Duke Huguenot sighed heavily as well and left the room.