In all the years I’d been alive, I had never been as angry as I was then. I’d always lived the part of the perfect successor, just as my Father wanted. I did my duties indifferently, being the perfect “Crown Prince.” Twenty years of my life was spent thinking my father was always right — never questioning anything.
But that was a mistake.
The first time I questioned his judgment was when he ordered Maria’s death. I’d always thought of things in the sense of “what’s best for the country” or “what I should do as a royal,” but I just couldn’t accept his order. I understood that the “Sacred Maiden” would be a wonderful card for our country to have. I also understood that having her marry me would allow us to keep her close. Maria was an interesting girl, like a rare gem to me after living so bound by obligation. I thought that it could be fun to live with her. But I couldn’t understand the idea of killing her once she was of no use to us. I’d heard that the past Sacred Maiden was sent back to her own world, so why couldn’t we send Maria back to hers instead?
I spoke with Fernando, who my Father had sent along as my aide, about how we could send Maria home. And as we worked alongside our companions, we succeeded in our journey. We had almost everything ready to send her back to her world — even though I, personally, didn’t want to see her go — and all that was left was to try.
But then, Lucia died.
The girl I’d originally thought had been sent to be the Sacred Maiden Maria’s attendant was a strange girl, just like Maria. Never did I consider that there could already be a “Sacred Maiden” in my own country, but her miracles made me think differently. If Maria was a Sacred Maiden, though her magic may have been different, Lucia was also one, able to cleanse the Cristallo Sacro on her own.
Having purified the last tree with Maria, Lucia should have come home to have a happy life, marrying her sweetheart. But my father’s ruthless order stole her life away. Hearing the reason from the man who killed her made my blood boil for the first time. It was ridiculous. She was disposed of because they couldn’t use her anymore. On top of using his own knights as pawns, he wouldn’t even allow Lucia to marry Celestino, who was also a commoner, just because he had a Mage in his bloodline while she had lost her powers with no others in her family. He wasn’t even treating them as people.
This all might have been avoided if she hadn’t lost her powers in exchange for purifying the last tree. Father would have gladly allowed the Hero of Salvation Celestino to marry a Sacred Maiden. But even though she lost her powers, it didn’t change the fact that she had saved our world — and my Father was trying to erase even that fact. Her life and future were stolen, and he’d lie and say that there was only ever one “Sacred Maiden.” What an unworthy man for a king.
“My father is wrong.”
“Prince Edoardo. A king is absolute. Don’t forget that.”
After I flew out of my room intent on seeing my father, Fernando, who was going along with me, criticized me. I was already angry, but his words made me snap. Granted, he was originally my Father’s retainer. He’d become the Knight Commander due to my father’s trust in him. It was practically expected he’d take Father’s side.
“What are you trying to say!?”
I turned around in a rage, only to see that my judgment had been clouded. Fernando was just as angry as I was. Though he usually took everything calmly, his green eyes were filled with unmistakably fiery fury.
Looking at me with those night-glowing eyes, he warned me in his usual quiet voice, “If you are to become king, you must always remember the tragedies that a king can cause.”
Ferdinand closed his eyes for a moment, before looking at me again.
“A king can destroy or steal a person’s life with a single word. Please don’t make the same mistakes. I don’t want to either. I will become a shield to protect you, so please, become a king who considers his subjects.”
I shut my own eyes at his words. There was only one thing I could do.
My father had always been coldhearted. I didn’t have very many memories of him, since he was busy ruling. And after Mother died, I had even fewer. We weren’t father and son, but king and successor. I had never wanted to become like my father. I had only worked so hard because I was the Crown Prince. Lucia had followed the King’s orders and lost her powers for the sake of the world. It was wrong for the King to take her life instead of rewarding her efforts.
In order to stop any more tragedies like hers — and in order to find her body — I made up my mind to drag my father off the throne.