From there, the arrangements for Fie and Queen’s marriage flew by at breakneck speed. Rationally speaking, a marriage between a king’s second wife and a promising young squire was next to impossible, but it was Roy’s assertive attitude that made it happen.
First, Roy used part of his war victory speech to announce the truth about Fie and his prejudiced treatment of her. He confirmed that the widespread, groundless rumors about her were his fault and issued her an apology for everything he had done up until now. Then, he explained that Fie did not want to be his queen consort, which Roy had readily accepted.
This part of the speech had not been on the program, and every listener was scandalized, none more so than the chancellor, who spearheaded the dissenting voices. Roy had expected this reaction, but went ahead with the speech anyway, knowing Fie and Queen could not be married otherwise. His people’s objections were fierce, but they were all on the level of, “Take it back right now” or “At least reconsider Her Majesty stepping down as the queen...” Roy failed to notice that all of the opposition stemmed from one primary concern—if Roy let this chance slip away from him, then when in the world would he ever marry?
Nevertheless, Roy stuck to his guns, shot down the opposing arguments, and continued to persuade his subjects to his (in a way, selfishly motivated) side. Compared to how he used to run the government as a dispassionate one-man show, the new Roy who argued for what he wanted and discussed next courses of action with his people was almost like a new man altogether.
As Roy worked his persuasive magic, word spread far and wide that Queen and Fie loved one another and wished to marry with the king’s blessing. Eventually, all of Roy’s most stubborn subjects bent to his will, save for one: the chancellor. As the unintentional spokesperson for those who wanted Fie to be queen, it took all of Roy’s persuasion and all of Fie’s pleading before the chancellor finally folded under their combined onslaught and agreed to approve of the match, on one condition.
Thereafter Roy and his subjects came to an agreement that a sudden divorce would be unhelpful. Therefore, they branded this arrangement as a sort of royal bestowal, allowing the eldest daughter of an aristocrat to remarry someone of lower status. Roy voiced his displeasure at the idea, as this put Fie in a dishonorable position, but she wasn’t overly concerned about that, giving the okay immediately. Besides, she thought, Queen would be happy to be with her no matter what fancy verbiage their wedding came couched in. Then, as was the chancellor’s requirement, Fie was to take up the formal post of queen consort—temporarily, that is.
The date for Fie and Queen’s wedding was set, taking into account various affairs in the kingdom, the requests of the populace, and Fie’s own lackadaisical whims. In the meantime, she would remain married to Roy, up until he bestowed her to Queen as his wife. Incidentally, Queen was a bit too low of rank to receive such a “gift”; the Dober family were merely viscounts before Roy jumped Queen up to the title of a count. This was purely for the marriage’s sake, but due to the combination of the common people’s vulgarity and Fie’s willingness to let the ends justify the means, it was framed as a reward for heroism displayed by this up-and-coming knight in the battles to suppress the duke’s insurrection. As per the chancellor’s wishes, Fie took up the post of queen consort in the interim, which meant that all of Fielle’s former government duties now fell into her lap. As to what, exactly, the purpose of this was, none but the chancellor could say.
As Fie conducted herself as the queen, preparations continued for her wedding, with everyone in the kingdom preparing to celebrate her love when all was said and done. This, at least, was the plan.
The issue was that, after the initial proposal, everyone had collectively forgotten to ask Queen what, exactly, he might think about all this. Fie only learned where he was and what he was doing after she was already swamped in her queen work and wedding preparations. I wonder what he’s up to, she suddenly thought. It turned out that no one in the palace had any idea, so the servants rushed to go find someone who did.
The report came back. “It appears he was injured in the war effort, Your Majesty.”
“Injured?!” she cried, her face twisting in worry.
“Yes, Your Majesty. He was not paying attention and dropped something on his foot.”
Her worried frown immediately shifted to one of displeasure. “Great,” she said. “Perfect timing. And here we are about to get even busier.”