Chapter One: The Exchange Students
THREE students were going to come from the kingdom of Rienbul to study in Astra.
“I don’t see why that means I have to look after them.”
My father, Art, had returned to the manor for the first time in a long time, immediately called me to the sitting room, and forced an incredibly tedious job onto me.
“It’s a request from His Majesty,” he said. “And there is no greater honor for the Violette family than to forge a closer relationship with the royal family of Rienbul.”
It doesn’t matter if they’re royalty; making a new relationship with another human being isn’t about whether it’s an honor or not. It’s only about whether it’s profitable or not. What is Art aiming at dressing this whole thing up with a sham about honor?
“I’m not actually meant to look after them, am I?” I asked.
“Hm?”
Of the three students coming from Rienbul, two were allowed to live in the royal palace but weren’t recognized by the current king as members of the royal family, and their mother wasn’t given the title of princess consort.
“Only Prince Shaghad, son of former Princess Consort Shahrnaz, is officially recognized as royalty and allowed to carry on the surname Rienbul,” I continued. “The other two, Master Ismail and Miss Aisha, use their mother’s surname. They are not royalty.”
According to the information I gathered in advance:
They shared the same father, Prince Raheem, the sole legitimate child of King Rashid, who married the former Princess Consort Shahrnaz, the daughter of a duke. The marriage caused quite an uproar. It was seen as a true marriage of love, rare amongst nobles and royals, and the union resulted in First Prince Shaghad’s birth.
However, Prince Raheem had already tired of his relationship with Princess Consort Shahrnaz by then and had taken on a lover named Lady Anita, the daughter of a viscount.
Unable to bear the situation, Princess Consort Shahrnaz fled the royal palace, leaving behind six-year-old Prince Shaghad. When she did, Prince Raheem brought Anita and her two children into the palace and treated them like his princess consort, prince, and princess.
King Rashid couldn’t stop that outrageous behavior because he was away on distant duties at the time. His fury was great when he returned and learned of what happened in his absence. He removed Prince Raheem from the succession line, refused to acknowledge Anita as princess consort, and wouldn’t even allow them to marry. Ismail and Aisha both had royal blood but weren’t acknowledged as royalty.
The one mercy, perhaps born of a father’s weak heart, was that the king allowed the three of them to reside in the palace.
“It is true that Prince Shaghad is the only one currently recognized as a legitimate heir to the throne,” said Art. “But there will be three students coming. I believe it is too early to solidify how we should engage with them. You never know what may happen.”
King Rashid was currently fifty-five, though still active as king. Prince Shaghad and his half siblings were the same age, seventeen—Ismail and Aisha were twins. If something happened to King Rashid before Prince Shaghad could develop a strong foundation, nobles who wanted to manipulate Prince Raheem might interfere.
The greedy don’t tend to find the legitimate rulers to be the most convenient pawns.
And if something were to happen to Prince Shaghad, then Prince Raheem’s faction would be in a superior position.
In addition, it wasn’t entirely clear why Rienbul and Astra agreed to have not only Prince Shaghad but also the other two come as exchange students, nor what the twins’ goals were.
Art was trying to say it would be best to treat the twins with a certain amount of respect in case something unexpected happened.
Sigh, I shouldn’t’ve been reborn as a noble. I have to deal with all these pains, and none of it even fills your belly.
“I understand, Father,” I said. “May I ask another question while we’re discussing this?”
“What is it?”
“Why our family? We’re not the only high-ranking nobles in the kingdom. There are plenty of other people capable of looking after those three. Why was our family chosen?”
Why was this annoying job hoisted on me? It wasn’t because Evan pulled some strings for some plan, right?
Because if so, I’ll strangle him.
“There are two reasons. One: Of all the high-ranking nobles, our house is the only one that is not part of a political faction. Which doesn’t mean we’re low in rank,” said Art.
Just a short while ago, the Astra nobility had been divided into three factions: the Queen’s faction backing First Prince Evan, the Royal Consort’s faction backing Second Prince Heinrich, and a neutral faction.
In the end, Heinrich failed, and the Royal Consort was assassinated by someone, leading to the dissolution of the factions.
It was me. I assassinated her.
Even though one side had been destroyed, that didn’t mean everyone could get along factionless like nothing happened. With only one prince now, the nobles formerly in the Royal Consort’s faction were scrambling to earn Evan’s favor, as were those in the neutral faction.
Our family was the only one who stood back from the whole thing. Which, I suppose, meant we were the only family they could trust.
“While Rienbul may look fine on the surface, several issues are playing out behind the scenes,” explained Art. “Even though King Rashid’s intentions are clear, there is still a struggle for the throne.”
If some clumsy nobles came too close and helped one of the three students, the entire kingdom of Astra might end up embroiled in Rienbul’s succession strife, but Astra couldn’t refuse to accept them since we were allied nations. The two kings likely had some sort of agreement regarding the three that would benefit both sides.
“The second reason is you, Selena,” said Art.
“Me?”
“You should be able to handle problems if they should arise. Partially because of your intelligence, of course, but also because many nobles saw how you handled yourself better than most unskilled knights at the Festival of Hunting.”
Royal Consort Hera had tried to end the life of the Queen’s son, First Prince Evan, during the Festival of Hunting in the middle of the struggle for the throne by drawing monsters to the festival. I found myself eliminating monsters during that crisis as the horde attacked an area filled with noble children, as well as the prince. While the place was utterly chaotic, so many people were participating in the festival that many also saw what I did.
I bet Scarlanette was enthused to tell of it. I should have let her die.
Art never once asked me why I could fight. Maybe he wasn’t interested or just decided it wasn’t a significant issue. I wasn’t sure why.
I’ve always had a hard time guessing what he was thinking anyway. I originally thought it was because we interacted so little, but I was wrong. It’s because he hides it, carefully concealing his thoughts and emotions.
“Do you mean something will happen that requires combat skills?” I asked.
“I’m just saying the possibility is there.” He smiled pleasantly, and I couldn’t read his true thoughts. “Oh, and that boy, Tiegel, was it? You may take him to the Academy with you. You’ve been given special permission. There are many things a lady such as yourself wouldn’t be able to assist with, and Prince Evan has his official duties and may be unable to handle everything. This special arrangement is only while the exchange students are here.”
Art smiled, adding, “This issue is not up for debate.”
While all of noble society was a pain to deal with, he was particularly annoying. “Yes, Father.”
I could only pray I wouldn’t have a lot of annoying issues to deal with.