Arc-6 Ch-04

“Truly, the men of my family are hopeless. Don’t you think they ought to fulfill their responsibilities before chasing after love and romance?”

“…Sigh.”

“How do they grow up that way, I wonder? Perhaps that irresponsibility is the very trait of the Holfort royal family.”

“…That may be so.”

It was complaining. Mylene-sama’s complaints had gone on without end, and my heart was exhausted. The duty assigned to me was nothing more than to listen endlessly, like a doll, to the Queen’s resentments, and to respond vaguely at suitable moments.

This sort of work ought to have been entrusted to one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting, or to some noblewoman who wished to curry favor with her. Yet, at Mylene-sama’s side, there was not a single person to be found with such indecent ambitions.

Since her first day, Mylene-sama had been renowned as a gifted lady, one who valued ability over birth or connection, a fair and impartial person. No—perhaps it should be said that she had no choice but to be fair and impartial. Even as Queen, having come as a bride from the Kingdom of Lepart, she was still regarded by many Holfort nobles as an outsider.

Except for a small handful of attendants, to marry into another nation and manage the governance of a kingdom required her to raise trustworthy retainers entirely from the ground up. I too had once been meant to become one of those people, but now I was enjoying the carefree position of a feudal lord’s wife, far removed from the royal capital.

Mylene-sama might think that I had grown disillusioned with the royal family and quickly withdrawn to the frontier, but the truth is—the cause of that lies in the son to whom she gave birth. To be honest, I feel as though I am the one who should like to voice a complaint or two.

For the sake of venting Mylene-sama’s frustrations, I had unwillingly served as her conversation partner, and already a full day had passed. That night, a party for the court nobles was to be held at the banquet hall of a luxury inn in the royal capital, and we waited together in one of its chambers.

We had arrived at this early hour, before anyone else, to avoid unnecessary speculation. Even now, at this very moment, the Queen’s resentments had not subsided, and after listening to her, I was already utterly exhausted before the party had even begun. Though I longed to let her words wash past me, at times useful information was hidden within, so I could not relax until the end.

Mylene-sama’s anger was directed chiefly at two men: His Majesty Roland, and His Highness Julius.

“Angie, you must also take care. Men… once children are born, they turn their eyes away from their wives, and believe that doting on the children in their spare time is sufficient parenting.”

“…I will be careful.”

“When we were first married, he was gentle enough, and I was completely deceived. I wanted deeds rather than words, yet the more I applied myself to statecraft, the more I was treated like some troublesome thing. Who do you think is to blame for what I have become?”

That is a matter between you and your husband, and I would appreciate it if you did not equate it with us. The words rose to my throat, but I desperately swallowed them back. Irritatingly enough, I too had reasons to sympathize with her complaints.

Leon, too, had a weakness for the children, and I had admonished him countless times. Each time, I was swayed by his words as he soothed me, and I had allowed it to pass, but perhaps I ought to change that in the future.

After hearing so many grievances about husbands, the fact that I still thought Leon was somewhat better than His Majesty—was that nothing more than a weakness born of love?

Or was His Majesty simply so utterly hopeless as a ruler, a husband, and a father, that the distinction could not be made?

“Entrusting their upbringing to tutors was my mistake. After your engagement with Julius was broken, at least I was able to correct Erika myself. That alone was my one salvation.”

“Was not Princess Erika originally meant to marry into the Fraser family?”

“Yes. The plan was to have her wed as soon as the war with the Fanoss Principality ended. But when the Frampton faction was purged, we had to reexamine whether the Fraser family could truly be trusted. Erika was selfish, and Eriya, heir of a border-count family, lacked all sense of duty—both utterly unfit. It took four years of my effort to reform the two of them.”

Princess Erika was the younger sister of Prince Julius, another child born of Queen Mylene.

Her outward personality was bright and lively, but that was only her façade. In truth, she was the very image of a spoiled, arrogant girl, pampered and puffed up by privilege.

When I visited the inner palace for my queenly education, she greeted me with careful courtesy—but in her eyes there burned a wild gleam.

Behind my back she spread slanders, and she tormented me with petty malice too many times to count.

In fact, the severity of my queenly education was partly because I had to make up for the deficiencies left by Princess Erika’s refusal to undergo proper training.

Even had I not been cast aside, even had I become Queen, she was never someone I wished to involve myself with.

On the contrary, there were times—not once or twice, but many—when I thought, if only the opportunity arose, I would gladly see the powerful Fraser family destroyed along with her.

That such a Princess Erika would obediently submit to Mylene-sama’s instruction was utterly inconceivable.

“Of course she resisted with all her might. She pleaded with His Majesty, used her maids as substitutes, even threatened her tutors. In the end, it became clear she would obey no one but me. Whenever statecraft left me free, I personally took her in hand.”

“Did she obey meekly?”

“When I threatened to strip her of her royal status and have her executed, it was instantly effective. It helped that it was during the purge of the marquess’s faction. I brought her to the execution grounds, and from the very next day she became docile. Eriya was with us as well, and he threw himself into physical training. Now he has slimmed down so much that he is hardly recognizable.”

Naturally.

What normal person, told, “Even a princess will be beheaded if she refuses her education,” while shown severed heads with their own eyes, would not think themselves next and immediately yield?

Especially when among those executed for treason had been many who held high office.

An heir who had not yet inherited his title, or a royal useless in statecraft, was effectively no better than nonexistent. Indeed, it was thought cleaner to erase such burdens before they left behind any seeds of trouble.

No wonder those two threw themselves desperately into their studies.

“Education must not be neglected for any but the exceptionally gifted. No—even the gifted must be watched carefully, or they will stray. Only now, at this age, do I finally feel what it means to be a mother. You must take care as well.”

“I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty’s instruction.”

“Whether the royal house endures, or the ducal house rules, unless we reform the thinking of noble sons and daughters, nothing will change from before the war. Why is it that raising children never goes as one wishes?”

The wry smile on Mylene-sama’s lips seemed, somehow, almost joyous. For all her words of complaint, the children she bore must yet be dear to her. I felt the same.

Just two years ago, I myself had been struggling, unable to manage as I raised Lionel and Ariel, my newborn twins, with nothing going as I wished.

Why were they crying?

Was it hunger, or sleepiness, or a soiled diaper, or something else entirely?

Among nobles, childcare was generally entrusted to wet nurses and tutors, but in the lowest of noble houses, the Bartfort family, we had no such custom.

With the determination of a first-time mother, I tried to care for them entirely myself, only to stumble and fail. Many were the nights Leon and I spent sleepless, carrying our crying twins in our arms.

When at last the twins grew strong enough that some of their care could be entrusted to the servants, we finally found a measure of ease.

Though I swore I never wished to suffer so again, I yet looked forward to the birth of another child. What a contradiction I am.

“Before reopening the academy, we should first strengthen elementary education. Perhaps we ought to create a uniform system, so that rank or domain does not cause disparities in the quality of education.”

“But if heirs are taught in advance the knowledge specific to their territories and titles, would that not ensure a smoother succession?”

“That would suffice, if titles and lands were unchanging. But in today’s kingdom, that is no longer possible. Values themselves have transformed. Nobility must change with the times.”

“Would you say the war is the cause of this?”

“It certainly hastened it. But the truest cause lies elsewhere.”

“And what is that?”

“You are perceptive enough. Surely you already know. She… was only able to enroll in the academy because we arranged it in secret.”

I did not wish to know. For once I knew, I could never escape. Yet at the same time, somewhere in my heart, I already understood. Why was she, raised in the frontier, welcomed into the academy?

Why was she admitted as a special student into the advanced class?

Had I thought just a little at the time, even I could have realized. But I did not—for as Prince Julius’s fiancée, I saw her only as an enemy. Anger clouds vision, and makes one err in judgment. Truly, at that time, I was unworthy of being a future Queen.

That losing the supreme station of Queen through the annulment of my engagement led me instead to days of happiness—how very ironic that is.

“Olivia—who exactly is she?”

“She is the heroine. Though the story surrounding her has strayed so far from the script I conceived that it cannot be corrected.”

Mylene-sama’s words were incoherent.

It was true enough that Olivia possessed both a keen intellect and the rare gift of healing magic.

As a special student, she entered the academy, grew close with the princes and heirs of great houses, accomplished much through countless adventures, and was raised to the rank of Saint.

She revealed the treachery of the nobles who conspired with the Fanoss Principality, twice repelled their invasions, and now commanded greater reverence than the royal house itself.

If such a thing, like the delusion of a madwoman’s script, could truly be brought into reality, then it must be nothing less than divine work.

And yet, even for Olivia herself, this was by no means a situation to be rejoiced in.

Everything is disjointed—actors, script, and direction—all of it filled with spur-of-the-moment improvisation, and only by some miracle does it manage to fit together.

I do not wish to ask what purpose could have given birth to such a deranged opera, but neither can I flee from it. For I, too, bear an important role within this opera.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

“Then let us begin. Do you know why the Academy was founded?”

“The founding of the Academy goes back to the independence of the Principality. At that time, the Holfort royal family regarded the unprecedented rebellion of the Grand Duke with the utmost gravity. The establishment of an educational institution became an urgent necessity, intended to strengthen unity within the kingdom, to unify standards of value, and to foster the training of young nobles. Thus, as the kingdom’s sole educational institution, it was founded under the direct initiative of the royal family.”

“Very good. But that is only the official reason. Do you know the true reason it was founded?”

“…I do not understand what you mean.”

“Then let me put it another way. How much of the truth has Duke Vince revealed to you?”

Before I noticed it, Lady Mylene’s gentle tone had transformed into one of cross-examination.

Her once childlike gaze had become the eyes of a sovereign ruler fixed upon me—filled with a presence that would condemn without mercy the moment she detected anything suspicious in my words or conduct.

Perhaps the conversation up to this point had itself been staged, designed from the start to draw information out of me.

Whether the education of Princess Erika was genuine or not, Lady Mylene was not a woman to show leniency, even to her own kin.

All the more so, she was the kind of sovereign who could, with a calm expression, order that the daughter of a ducal house vying with the crown for control of the realm be taken hostage.

That she had not done so was only because an alliance served both sides better.

Rather than frustration at having been ensnared, I felt admiration at Lady Mylene’s resolve to go so far.

“…From my father, I have heard that the Academy’s purpose is to select nobles gathered from across the land, to cultivate those who will bear the responsibility of future governance, and to prune away the hollowed shells of corrupt nobility. Enrolling the heirs and their younger siblings is meant to serve as an easily understood miniature of the kingdom’s balance of power.”

“Yes, that too is indeed one of the true purposes. But what I am asking lies beyond that.”

I cannot understand Lady Mylene’s true intent—no, I do not want to understand it. For to know would be to stare directly into the darkness the Holfort Kingdom harbors.

And to stare into that darkness would mean that my own life henceforth—and by extension the Baltfalt house itself—would be drawn into the very roots of the kingdom.

Yet there is no longer any path back.

No, perhaps from the moment I was born into a ducal family and chosen as the fiancée of the First Prince, I had already been standing in a place of no return.

What would Leon do at a time like this?

No doubt he would say he wanted to run away, yet in the end he would stay until the very last—that is the husband I so dearly love.

Then I too shall not run away.

I will strive, however slightly, to steer matters toward a path where blood need not be spilled, to lessen even a little the roots of calamity for the age in which our children will live.

It is the way of the world that things do not go as one wishes. What I must do now is perceive with precision the darkness of the Holfort Kingdom and act upon what must be done.

At this moment, all I can offer are small proposals to slightly improve the situation.

“In other words, it is the seizure of control over appointments. Within an academy operated by the crown, selections of personnel are made. Promising talents are gathered close, inferior ones are branded with faults and crushed. Repeat this, and the power of the crown only grows stronger, while the nobles are left with no choice but to submit. Even the defiant will, in time, have their rebellious spirit broken and swear loyalty from the heart. It may require vast time and treasure, but if it ensures the survival of the royal line, then the cost is a reasonable one.”

Perhaps close, but not quite.

Once the Grand Duke had rebelled and declared independence, there was no way the royal house of the time would have failed to take countermeasures.

Those measures must surely have included the suppression of rebels and a rule imposed through overwhelming force.

Even in the recent war with the Fanoss Principality, purges and abolitions were carried out with excessive severity.

It was an age with little regard for human rights—punish the suspect was the spirit of the time, and surely countless innocents were swept away in the process.

The records from around the Principality’s founding are riddled with contradictions and unreliable accounts.

Most likely, inconvenient truths for the royal family were deliberately hidden, the facts buried in darkness.

“Amazing, Angie. To have reasoned this far… perhaps there is an air only those raised in the kingdom can perceive.”

“I am honored by your praise. Then, is my answer correct?”

“But I cannot give you full marks. The true intent of the Holfort Kingdom is far more violent, far more self-serving.”

Such harsh words were proof that Lady Mylene herself was not reconciled to them.

Even so, this still was not the right answer? Yet what I had given was already an answer so convenient for the crown that it bordered on absurdity.

“The reason the Holfort royal family founded the Academy was this: to erase the nobility itself, and make the existence of the royal house unshakable.”

At those words, it felt as if my head had been struck with a heavy blow. And yet, within me, there was also a sense of reluctant agreement.

Ah, so that is how it is.

A logic simple and clear—and for that very reason, wholly self-serving and ugly.

The lost item secretly kept by the royal family was indeed extraordinary.

That Olivia and the royal ship could repel colossal monsters was largely due to its hidden powers.

Yet even that was only possible thanks to the efforts of the kingdom’s soldiers and nobles.

And still, the crown ignored such service entirely, and denied the nobility’s very existence from its roots.

Too outrageous, too self-indulgent.

Were this to be heard, every noble would be justified in rising in revolt against the crown.

I too ought to feel anger.

But I cannot fully summon it—because I was born into the foremost of the domain-holding noble houses, the Redgrave family; because through queenly education I learned much of royal history; and because, through marriage to Leon, I have experienced the reality of domain governance.

“So the greatest obstacle to royal rule of the Holfort Kingdom is the nobility itself?”

“The kingdom’s nobles—especially the domain lords—if you trace their bloodlines, almost all descend from the great clans who once ruled their floating islands. In terms of legitimacy of rule, they could even be said to surpass the royal family.”

The origins of the Holfort Kingdom go back to a band of adventurers who rose to prominence and annexed nearby floating islands.

Through lost items—an overwhelming force overturning all differences in strength—they imposed subjugation.

Vagabonds of unknown origin who had happened upon power by chance became kings.

History is always born of blood and desire; no matter how much fine rhetoric adorns it, the stench of blood remains.

And nobles who had once bowed to royal might and entered its service—there was no guarantee their hearts were truly loyal.

On the contrary, hidden treachery festers with the years, becoming ever more grim.

From the founding onward, the existence of the domain-holding nobility has been an enduring torment to the royal house, an undeniable fact preserved in the histories.

“It was an age when airships and armor were far easier to produce than today. Though their performance was poor, nobles could easily expand their military power. And the combined forces of the domain lords actually exceeded that of the royal family. It’s only natural the royal house felt a sense of crisis back then.”

“That’s why they established the academy—to govern the nation not through force of arms, but through civil rule. The royal family and their close allies among the court nobles held control over national politics, while the domain lords were allowed to govern their own territories but were restricted in both interference with the state and in noble rank. Is that correct?”

“Exactly. Well done~♪”

Lady Mylene clapped lightly with both hands together, a playful gesture that wasn’t amusing in the least.

This was the history of kingdom nobles being continually mistreated by the royal house.

For the domain lords who took pride in their lineage, it was humiliation. For the court nobles who had abandoned pride and dignity to curry favor with the royal family, it was something they could only listen to with bitter regret.

“The so-called matriarchy policy was created as yet another shackle for the domain lords. It was designed to weaken them by marrying daughters of court nobles into their houses. Most domain lords held lower ranks and thus were inevitably forced to yield to court nobles who managed national affairs. On top of that, by compelling them to follow the customs of the royal court, the plan further drove them into submission and stripped away their power. And it actually worked—up to a point. But then, an error arose… no, rather, it might be better to call it inevitable.”

To think they would go this far in relentlessly oppressing the domain nobles.

That alone proved how deeply the Holfort royal family feared their existence at the time.

Human beings have a tendency to reject what they cannot understand, to attack it mercilessly as a way of dispelling fear.

Disease, religion, ideology, race, nation…

How much blood has humanity shed merely to preserve its claim to the throne?

“In truth, the Holfort royal family and a very small circle of court nobles aware of the real plan had intended, over the course of centuries, to transform the very system of rule. Had it succeeded, the royal family would today reign as absolute monarchs.”

“But it didn’t turn out that way.”

“Yes. I only heard this second-hand, but the plan ran into trouble within just a few decades.”

“Because of resistance from the domain lords?”

“The reality was worse. Before the domain lords could be weakened, the court nobles themselves began to decay.”

“…That is unfortunate.”

“Those in power will inevitably corrupt—no matter what lofty ideals they once pursued, no matter how upright their ancestors were. There are no exceptions. After all, the entire plan placed the survival of the Holfort royal family above all else. And under the pretext of ‘royal command,’ the arbitrariness of the court nobles worsened with every passing generation.”

It was the arrogance of those entrusted with governing.

Court nobles imposed taxes under the guise of protecting the royal house. And should one protest, one was branded a traitor and crushed.

This cycle repeated, until even the original purpose was forgotten.

What remained were corrupt court nobles and resentful domain lords.

In their attempt to build a firm foundation of power, they ended up with rotten limbs and rebellious vassals.

If this was the outcome of prioritizing the royal family’s survival, then surely it was nothing short of a cruel twist of fate.

“The matriarchy policy also fueled the corruption. When the wife held more authority than the lord, the domain lords’ decline became even more pronounced. Indulging them in luxury at the academy in the royal capital further impoverished the domain lords while enriching the royal treasury. The royal house had no reason to put a stop to it. And so, left unchecked, the situation spiraled beyond repair.”

“I can now understand why the royal family tolerated the academy’s dreadful state. The reason they never curbed the arrogance of the young nobles was because they themselves allowed it.”

“…Forgive me. I should have told you earlier. If I had, perhaps your engagement with Julius would never have been annulled.”

The academy I once attended truly was in a deplorable state.

Students who relied solely on their lineage, neglecting their own efforts, pouring themselves instead into dragging others down with base and petty behavior.

Looking back, those with proper sensibilities—including myself—seemed to come mostly from count-level families and above. Likely the sharper nobles had already realized the truth.

Court nobles, careful not to be cast aside by the royal family.

Domain nobles, careful not to leave any weakness to be exploited.

“But then, why is Olivia involved in this? She’s still just a commoner. A remarkable talent, yes, but she has no backing to take part in state affairs.”

“That too has a simple reason. The royal family sought to create a new class to replace the nobility. Subordinates more capable and more obedient than nobles—strong, intelligent, diligent, and free of character flaws.”

“…Which is why Olivia was transferred into the advanced class?”

“Yes. It was the Chancellor who chose her. I merely gave approval. She was deemed the ideal candidate for the first of the Holfort royal family’s loyal new retainers.”

A wave of nausea welled up, and I clenched my fists to suppress the urge to strike Lady Mylene and call her vile, even at risk of being charged with lèse-majesté.

I knew—Lady Mylene herself was only caught up in this.

A foreign princess, married off in her teens, could never have executed such a plan from the ground up.

The architects of this scheme were long since dead, their bones rotting in their graves.

They had acted on greed, dumped the debt on their descendants, and then drifted smugly into eternal sleep.

Too grotesque. Too arrogant. Too selfish.

And such people had reigned upon this throne for generations.

The very foundation of this kingdom was rotten—the royal family’s inhuman monstrosity defied description.

“Originally, Olivia was only the beginning. The plan was to admit other talented commoners with royal backing. Within twenty years, commoners would hold high offices. Arrogant, incompetent nobles would be discarded. The reform was to proceed gradually, and within a century the Holfort royal family would control everything.”

“But it did not happen that way. Olivia proved too exceptional. So exceptional that now she commands influence that surpasses the royal family itself.”

“This is the price for ignoring both nobles and commoners alike. Now the royal family is being abandoned on both sides. They prioritized a future servant over the ducal house they intended to discard, only to find themselves targeted by that very ducal house and betrayed by the saint they had fostered. The result? Like the ending of some third-rate farce—everything collapsing because every actor ignored the script and began improvising as they pleased.”

Lady Mylene’s dry laugh—who was it directed at?

Her indolent husband, the king?

Her son, the prince who annulled his betrothal?

The duke, her vassal yet secretly traitorous?

Or me—the foolish duke’s daughter who challenged the prince and the saintess to a duel out of emotion?

The Redgrave house had originally been a cadet branch of the Holfort royal family.

That I knew of such state secrets was no surprise.

Perhaps this explained why Father had been so unyielding toward the royal family of late.

Had my engagement remained intact, and Prince Julius ascended to the throne, our house could have gained tremendous influence as his in-laws.

How much resistance we could muster alone was unclear—but many domain lords harbored resentment toward the royal family.

Had it stopped the royal house’s scheme, Father would surely have pledged fealty.

But that annulment changed everything.

And with Holfort weakened by war against the Fanoss Principality, every means would now be used to shatter this deranged script.

“What outcome is it that you, Lady Mylene, seek?”

It slipped from my lips, a small question.

She had married young into Holfort, played the role of a loveless wife, and borne the burden of governance.

She owed no obligation to partake in this farcical play.

She could have walked away, returned to the Republic of Repalt, and remarried.

Yet she continued to struggle still.

What compelled her so?

Pure curiosity welled within me.

“I’ve said it before, haven’t I? All I want is to protect my husband and my children. I may be a poor wife and mother, but even so, I just want my family to live.”

The smile that accompanied her words was pure and innocent, like that of a young girl.

Ah, I see now.

She is the same as me.

We both stake ourselves only for the sake of our loved ones.

Realizing this at last, it all made sense.

The decline of the Holfort royal family doesn’t matter to me.

Nor does the prosperity of the Redgrave dukedom.

I only love my husband and my children, and want them to live happy lives.

That is selfless love.

And for the first time, I felt I truly understood Lady Mylene.

“Having a useless husband is hard, isn’t it?”

“Indeed it is.”

We laughed together.

Laughed like friends whose hearts had finally connected.

Knock, knock.

The door to the room was rapped upon, and we were informed the banquet preparations were complete.

Outside, night had already fallen.

“That concludes our talk. From here on, we each do what we must.”

“Don’t expect much from me—I care only for my family.”

I tossed the remark as I left the room, where the inn’s servants bowed respectfully.

Now begins the battlefield—to win the future we seek, by gathering as many allies as possible.

Bathed in the intoxication of rising resolve, we strode toward the banquet hall.

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Authors Note

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This story is told from Angelica’s perspective, a reconstruction based on volume 3 of the original novel. Lady Mylene may come across a bit ruthless here—that’s intentional. I adore the sweet side of Mylene, but I also love her as a politician.

Next time will be the evening party, where a certain character will make their entrance.

Postscript: By request of the client, the adult-content illustrator Ero Daisuki-sama kindly drew an illustration for this chapter. Thank you very much.

 Ero Daisuki’s- Pixiv(R18 warning)

I’d be grateful for your impressions or feedback—it will encourage me to keep writing.