Interlude: Tremor
In the living room of the guest suite at the Galarc Castle.
Lilianna was seated on a sofa, waiting for the arrival of the male noble representing the Centostella Kingdom.
An important matter regarding the hero, huh...
Lilianna sighed listlessly as she gazed out the window. She had a bad feeling about the topic they were about to discuss.
Until recently, the only hero of the Centostella Kingdom was Takahisa. But now Takahisa’s little brother Masato was a hero as well. That’s why whatever they were about to discuss had to involve one of the two Sendo siblings.
But what really bothered her was how so many days had passed since the Centostella Kingdom’s delegation arrived in the Galarc Kingdom. If it was such an important matter, they would have met her as soon as they arrived.
Yet they had only just requested a discussion with her. The leader of the delegation was the same capable man who served as the prime minister of Centostella, and she couldn’t imagine him saying that something was important on a whim.
Which meant...
They must have been comparing Sir Masato and Sir Takahisa, Lilianna guessed.
It was still undecided where Masato would belong, but there was currently a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for either Centostella or Galarc to come into the possession of two heroes at once.
And normally, if there were two people suitable for one position, they would naturally be compared with each other. Takahisa had caused enough trouble for the kingdom until now. If the higher-ups of Centostella found Masato to be easier to handle than Takahisa, they would naturally want him for their kingdom.
As the first princess of Centostella, Lilianna was also obliged to think of her nation’s interests first. And an intelligent woman like her naturally understood that Masato was someone they had to keep.
Indeed, she knew what she had to do. However...
“...” Her expression as she gazed out the window was one of indecision.
“Princess Lilianna.”
Someone called her name.
“Princess Lilianna.”
Once again, someone called her name.
“Princess Lilianna...?”
This time, the tone of voice sounded concerned for Lilianna’s health. That was what brought Lilianna out of the depths of her thoughts.
“Excuse me. I was rather out of it,” she replied, standing up from the sofa.
“You seem tired,” the man standing before her replied. This was the prime minister of the Centostella Kingdom and leader of the delegation in Galarc, Duke Libelt Toscana. He appeared to be around his forties. Beside him was the girl who served as Lilianna’s guard, Alice. She appeared to be the same age as Aki or Latifa.
Lilianna had ordered Alice to let the duke through as soon as he arrived, and it seemed she had done just that.
“I was just thinking. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Has my daughter caused troubles for Your Highness again?” Duke Toscana asked worriedly, glancing at Alice. Indeed, Alice was the duke’s daughter.
“P-Papa! I have not!” Alice objected in horror.
“That’s ‘father’ to you. And I’ve told you to speak more politely.”
“Yes sir,” Alice replied sarcastically, causing Duke Toscana to touch his forehead with a pained look.
“Alice...can be a little inattentive at times, but she’s doing her best. She’s my childhood friend, so it’s very relaxing to have her around. Please praise her more,” Lilianna said, complimenting Alice.
“See!” Alice beamed proudly, but a cold glare from her father quickly caused her to stand at attention.
“It seems like she’s causing more trouble for you, Duke Toscana,” Lilianna pointed out in amusement.
“I have no excuse. It seems I’ve spoiled her a little too much as the youngest child.”
Duke Toscana sighed tiredly. He then pulled himself together and turned to his daughter. “Alice. I have an important matter to discuss with Princess Lilianna. Unless someone of high status arrives, do not let anyone enter.”
“Yes sir!” Alice saluted him and left the room.
“Please have a seat first.”
“If you don’t mind.” At Lilianna’s prompting, Duke Toscana took a seat on the sofa opposite her.
“Here you are.”
Lilianna’s personal attendant, Frill, immediately brought tea to the table.
“Frill, you may wait in the room next door.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Frill bowed and exited the room quietly, leaving Lilianna and Duke Toscana alone in the room.
“So what did you wish to discuss regarding the heroes?” Lilianna asked, cutting straight to the chase.
“This is a message—or rather, an order from His Majesty... I was told to observe the situation before informing you, and I believe it’s about time.”
“I see. So father did have orders...”
This meant what Duke Toscana was about to say weren’t the words of the prime minister, but of the king himself.
“Did you predict this already? I would have expected nothing less of Your Highness.”
“It has something to do with Sir Masato, I’m guessing.”
“Yes. And you as well, Princess Lilianna.”
“This may sound repetitive, but I cannot rush Sir Masato into deciding which kingdom to associate with, you know?” Lilianna said in warning. If it was an order from the king, then it had to be something for her to do in regards to Masato. The first thing that came to Lilianna’s mind was for her to personally ask Masato to stay in their kingdom.
“Of course. His Majesty has no objections to that.”
“Then what does father want me to do?”
“Nothing immediately. This is just a discussion of the future of our nation.”
“Of the future of the nation? That’s a rather roundabout way of saying things.”
Lilianna couldn’t hold herself back from smiling wryly.
“It’s that difficult of a matter to discuss, please understand.”
Duke Toscana was the same.
“I don’t mind. Just say it.”
“Very well. To put it bluntly,” Duke Toscana said solemnly, “His Majesty is thinking of an engagement between Your Highness and Sir Masato.”
There was a long pause before Lilianna replied. “Is that so...” she eventually mumbled.
“If you have no objections, you are to make contact with Sir Masato with that in mind in the future.”
“...” Lilianna fell silent. While she didn’t voice any objections, she didn’t nod either.
“Does that mean you have objections?” Duke Toscana asked, seeing through her thoughts. He sounded extremely calm, as though he had predicted her hesitation.
“I have no objections. My marriage was never for me to decide, so if this is what His Majesty has decided, it is my duty to fulfill that. However...”
“Do you have concerns?”
“Several.” Lilianna nodded.
“Go ahead.” Duke Toscana urged her to speak with a wave of his right hand.
“The first is the age gap between Sir Masato and myself. This entire discussion is built on the assumption that Sir Masato doesn’t reject the proposal, and I’m afraid I won’t be a desirable partner because of this.”
“There’s less than a five-year age gap between you, no?”
Masato was twelve, and Lilianna was sixteen; it was a four-year age gap.
“I’ve heard that even four years is undesirable if the woman is the older one.”
“I won’t deny that such a trend exists among male nobility, but I personally do not agree with it. My own wife is four years older than me, and I love her from the bottom of my heart. We even have five children together. Besides...”
Duke Toscana started rambling passionately about his own family, but suddenly trailed off and stared at Lilianna.
“Besides?”
“Just between you and me, it seems to me that Sir Masato has affectionate feelings towards you.”
“That’s just your wishful thinking, Duke Toscana.”
Lilianna’s eyes widened briefly but she brushed him off with a laugh.
“What makes you say that? I’ve been in the presence of both of you numerous times, and it has always seemed to me that Sir Masato feels a certain level of affection towards you.”
“You truly are mistaken. Sir Masato is a polite gentleman.”
“I didn’t think of all people, you would be one to miss the signs of his affection...” Duke Toscana said, emphasizing his point.
“That makes me sound like some kind of enchantress,” Lilianna dismissed jokingly.
“Pardon me. At any rate, I understand your first concern, but I do not believe it will be an issue for your engagement. It all depends on your efforts.”
“Right.”
“So what were your other concerns?”
While Duke Toscana had started the conversation from a place of consideration for Lilianna’s position and mental state, he wasn’t the prime minister for nothing. Once they started discussing the actual matter at hand, he switched to his professional mode and started expressing his opinions without reservation.
“I thought Sir Takahisa was supposed to be my marriage partner. I have interacted with him until today with that intention. Is that now off the table?” Lilianna asked with a sigh.
“Yes, you may think of it like that.”
“Then my next concern is regarding the decision to change my partner to Sir Masato. Wouldn’t my little sister also be an option for him?”
“Surely you know the answer to that yourself, Princess Lilianna. The standards of our kingdom’s royal family have to be considered when selecting your marriage partner.”
The Centostella Kingdom was one of the more traditional, closed countries of the Strahl region. Thus, when it came to the First Princess Lilianna and her little sister, there was a distinct difference in social status between them. That status applied to their marriage partners as well, and would affect how they were treated by the kingdom.
That was why Lilianna’s little sister was not permitted to have a marriage partner of higher importance than Lilianna’s. The partner with better circumstances was to be paired with Lilianna. This was what Duke Toscana was referring to.
“His Majesty has given up on Sir Takahisa. That, or he has decided Sir Masato should be favored over Sir Takahisa. Is that what you’re saying?” This was the natural conclusion that Lilianna had come to.
“He hasn’t given up. As long as Sir Takahisa is a hero, he will always be an important figure of our kingdom. But...”
“But what?”
“Sir Takahisa is already in love with the girl named Miharu, no? He has been visiting her at her mansion for multiple days in a row,” Duke Toscana pointed out.
Lilianna nodded with a slightly crestfallen look. “Yes, he has...”
“In which case, it is only appropriate to select the hero you have a higher chance with for your partner. Under the current circumstances, Sir Masato is more worthy of being your marriage partner. However, there is still leeway for this to change in the unlikely event of Sir Takahisa shifting his feelings towards you.” Duke Toscana seemed to have already determined that the chance was low.
“Right...” In fact, Lilianna, being as intelligent as she was, had realized that too. Yet her movements as she nodded were oddly slow.
“Besides,” Duke Toscana added, observing Lilianna’s expression carefully to glean her thoughts. “Hmm, how should I put this...”
“There’s no need to hold back,” Lilianna said, urging him to continue.
“I feel terrible for saying this, but Sir Takahisa’s mind doesn’t seem to be in the most stable place. His antiwar sentiments lean to the extreme side, and the balance of that makes it rather difficult to place him in a position of leadership in the nation...”
“Unlike Sir Masato, you mean.”
“Yes. Well, the reason for his instability is rather evident, and his antiwar ideology could be improved with proper education, but...”
Unless those factors were corrected, Takahisa would have no chance of being reconsidered as Lilianna’s marriage partner. That was what Duke Toscana was implying.
“I understand.” Lilianna nodded hesitantly.
“Is there something else?”
“Regarding marriage to Sir Masato... If that is what my father—what His Majesty wants, then I will endeavor to gain his affection. However, there may be a chance of my leaving a bad impression on him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Until today, I have served as Sir Takahisa’s caretaker. Blatantly shifting my interests to Masato just because he became a hero may be unpleasant to him...” Lilianna frowned with guilt at how selfish her actions would be.
“His Majesty was also concerned with that. His order was for you to use your own judgment to slowly and unobtrusively make the transition with that intention.”
“He sure makes it sound easy...” Lilianna said with a self-deprecating smile.
Her complaint was most reasonable. The order to interact with Masato with the intention of marriage was the same as telling her to love him. Until just moments ago, she had been trying to love Takahisa with the intention of marrying him. Without any freedom in whom she could marry, he was as good as Lilianna’s first love.
People weren’t built to immediately switch whom they loved upon command. But even so...
“I understand your emotions may not have caught up yet, but it’s for the sake of the nation,” Duke Toscana emphasized. Lilianna Centostella was royalty, after all; she was born to sacrifice herself for the sake of the kingdom.
“Understood.” Lilianna nodded.
Whether it was towards Masato or Takahisa, the guilty expression on her face lingered.
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