After leaving the guards at the courtyard entrance, I headed to the gazebo where Bertia was seated.
“Tia, what’s the matter?”
At the sound of my voice, Bertia, who had been blankly gazing at the garden, glanced up with a look of surprise.
“Lord Cecil, why are you here?”
“Dinner is almost ready. I heard you were here and came to get you,” I said, deliberately leaving out the fact that Milma had informed me. Milma’s choice to update me stemmed from her concern for Bertia, but I thought Bertia might prefer not to know.
As I spoke, Bertia quickly glanced around, her eyes flickering about. When she saw the darkening sky, she lowered her head. ”Oh, is it that time already? I apologize for being late.”
It was surprising that she had been outside for so long without noticing the darkness until I mentioned it.
This truly indicated how absorbed she had been in her thoughts.
“Come on, let’s―”
“Tia, please sit down,” I cut in, preventing Bertia from quickly rising, attempting to resume her normal behavior, and encouraged her to sit again.
“Lord Cecil?”
I smiled at Bertia, who seemed confused and was perhaps wondering why we weren’t on our way to dinner. Gently, I took a seat next to her and held her hand.
“Hey, Tia. Is something bothering you?”
“Eh?! No, no, not at all! I swear, there’s nothing!”
“Your reaction pretty much indicates there is,” I joked, unable to suppress a smile at her transparent lie.
“It’s really nothing serious. Well, it is serious, but there’s nothing I can do about it… More like, I can only watch from the sidelines…” Bertia murmured quietly, her eyes downcast.
“So, what’s bothering you?” I urged a little more assertively, recognizing her reluctance to share with me.
“Can we keep this just between us?” She gazed up at me with imploring eyes, and I nodded in reassurance.
“Today, I had a… consultation? A venting session? With Lady Lysonna. I can’t delve into specifics as it pertains to her feelings, but…”
“It’s okay. I just want to know what’s on your mind.”
Princess Lysonna is just a princess from another nation, engaged to the crown prince of yet another realm. Her issues do not concern me.
Additionally, if understanding what Princess Lysonna conveyed is essential for addressing Bertia’s worries, I can easily obtain the information from other sources besides Bertia.
“I should have known, but I didn’t understand,” Bertia whispered softly, prompting me to urge her to continue for clarity.
“Recently, Prince Aleis has been attending tea parties more often, bringing along sweets and flowers. In light of the novel, I believed that the future was looking brighter. However, I’ve begun to observe the reactions of others toward Prince Aleis…”
“Ahh, I see…”
I started to understand her concerns. Essentially, Bertia was beginning to grasp the sensitive role Prince Aleis held in this country.
Understanding that someone is in a “delicate position” and witnessing their treatment firsthand are two vastly different experiences.
Knowing about bullying is one thing; seeing it unfold in real time is entirely different.
“In my presence, it’s not as if he’s being openly harassed. Everyone treats Prince Aleis with the respect due to a crown prince and seems to rely on him for his competence. But there’s a subtle distance… as if they’re handling a fragile object,” she explained.
“Indeed, I’ve felt that too.”
Since arriving in the kingdom of Seahealby, I had encountered Prince Aleis on several occasions within the royal palace. He always seemed busy with work, yet the interactions of those around him remained strictly professional.
The kind of casual banter or flattery aimed at gauging moods, which people around me often engaged in, was noticeably absent around him. And, naturally, he didn’t have close aides like Courtgain or Charles for me.
No, that’s not quite right.
There are a few individuals who seem to play such roles, but they too maintain a professional distance that makes any personal closeness hard to discern, blending in with the rest.
I’ve noticed them exchange looks in fleeting moments, so I suppose it’s more about “appearing so on the surface,” and they are actually close.
Likely, it’s a consideration of their positions as nobles. Should Prince Ramtak ascend as crown prince, Prince Aleis could be seen as an inconvenience. Being seen as close to him might be deemed inappropriate, given the circumstances.
Conversely, servants of common birth, who were not directly involved in the noble hierarchy, clearly showed their affection for Prince Aleis.
Given the situation, it was likely that Prince Aleis enjoyed considerable popularity outside the palace walls.
I suspect that many nobles, merely out of respect for Prince Ramtak, restrain themselves. Deep down, they might wish to become closer to Prince Aleis.
This dynamic probably hinges on Prince Aleis’s position becoming more secure—and his relationship with Prince Ramtak stabilizing—at which point their true sentiments might surface.
“Upon hearing Princess Lysonna’s story, it seems the situation is worse than what I had vaguely sensed,” Bertia shared, a hint of concern coloring her voice.
“What specifically?”
“Well, I can’t say exactly… but it seems there’s quite a bit of harassment happening away from the public eye… mostly from Prince Ramtak.”
“Ah, him. That does sound like something he would do.”
Bertia, despite claiming she couldn’t reveal much, has actually said quite a bit, hasn’t she?
I wonder if she believes it’s acceptable as long as she doesn’t disclose the specific details of the harassment. The distinction isn’t entirely clear to me.
“It appears that in public, a certain decorum is maintained, but in private, there are many disparaging remarks directed at Prince Aleis,” she explained further.
“I see,” I responded, grasping the gravity of the situation.
Indeed, that would be consistent with what I knew.
Although my interactions with Prince Ramtak had been limited, I couldn’t say they had left me with a favorable impression of him.
He often adopted a haughty demeanor toward servants and likely looked down on women as well.
If someone like me, a member of a major nation’s royalty, is involved, he makes an effort to foster good relations and secure cooperation—but his attitude toward others tends to be domineering.
For Prince Ramtak, the existence of Prince Aleis, who currently held a higher position but was seen merely as a placeholder until he turned twenty and inherited the role of crown prince, was problematic.
Even if Prince Aleis loses the title of crown prince, his status as a royal brother demands a certain level of respect.
Yet once Ramtak becomes the crown prince, Aleis will officially be of lower status.
In Prince Ramtak’s view, Aleis is someone he can look down upon from now on, but public scrutiny prevents this. This discrepancy likely fuels his frustration.
Operating under the belief that he won’t be reprimanded if his actions remain unseen and anticipating no retribution from Prince Aleis himself in the future, Ramtak’s hostility is directed at Aleis.
From my perspective, such thinking is foolish.
“Princess Lysonna, hailing from Umyuve, feels unsettled by this treatment and is quite frustrated. Yet, reacting poorly could further complicate Prince Aleis’s situation, so she chooses to endure. Meanwhile, Prince Aleis feigns indifference, though it seems he, too, is struggling,” Bertia elaborated.
“It’s a complex issue. As a royal of Umyuve, she can file a protest through her country, but its effectiveness is uncertain, particularly given that the power dynamics between Seahealby and Umyuve do not vary greatly.”
The scenario would change if it involved Seahealby and Alphasta. Alphasta, being significantly larger than Seahealby, clearly had a superior military strength, leaving Seahealby with little possibility of winning in a conflict. This imbalance could create circumstances that would prompt someone married to an Alphasta citizen to express dissatisfaction to their homeland, which could result in serious issues. Hence, instead of the current tacit acceptance, a quicker response might have been expected, or this kind of harassment could have been entirely avoided.
“Princess Lysonna’s marriage to Prince Aleis will greatly assist him. However, if she manages matters poorly, it could endanger Prince Aleis’s standing. Although their union is generally advantageous, it is crucial for them to consider their actions carefully.”
“Princess Lysonna expressed similar sentiments. She understood the difficult situation Prince Aleis was in, but she hadn’t expected it to be this tough. Prince Ramtak once advised her that ‘being Aleis’s wife is so hard, you’d be better off quitting and going home,’ yet she is determined not to give up, as her feelings for Prince Aleis are deep. Nevertheless, she felt disheartened by the current struggles.”
Bertia’s expression grew serious, likely due to worry for Princess Lysonna.
This difficulty was precisely why Princess Lysonna had been caught off guard.
Although Prince Aleis’s position was unstable, it was an integral part of the country’s system.
For generations, this scenario had occurred without significant problems, as it rarely sparked controversy.
This system follows a defined protocol—no individual can become crown prince until they reach twenty years of age, and the crown prince can be changed when necessary, with this being recognized as standard practice.
Provided no one intentionally causes disruption, operations should continue seamlessly within this structure.
So, why was Prince Aleis’s case particularly troublesome? It wasn’t due to any fault of his own. Regardless of his personal feelings, Prince Aleis had shown no overt attachment to his position thus far.