Chapter 11: The Duke's Daughter, Talk of the Town

Chapter 11:
The Duke's Daughter, Talk of the Town

 

PRINCESS LETICIA, known to her intimates as Letty, entered the room with a sigh. As the blood sister of Prince Alfred, she was third in line for the throne. A beautiful girl with blonde hair and soft green eyes the color of peridots, Letty bore a striking resemblance to her late mother, Queen Sharia—though to be honest, Alfred remembered the queen only faintly. Now his sister’s lovely features had sharpened with concern.

“Brother, I can’t take you to task if you’ve already made your move, but wouldn’t it have been wiser to use your brain first?”

“Letty, have you finished?”

“I have. And all while you were busy with your scheming and meeting with your little sweetheart.” A charming smile was plastered on her face, but her eyes held no hint of that expression. She took a step forward and silently placed the documents she was holding on the desk. “This one’s free of charge. I noticed something suspicious about our financial flow.”

Leticia had taken care of Alfred’s business while he was away. His work had continued to pile up since the king’s illness, and he wouldn’t have been able to tear himself away from his desk if not for his sister’s help.

Sadly, even as a child, Leticia had been all too aware of her precarious situation within the palace—that is, that she was right in the center of a power struggle. Yet not only had she received a formal education, she had learned how to conduct all the family business as well. Even Duke Armelia, the prime minister himself, had recognized her political acumen and analytical skill.

“You’ve grown even more efficient at this, Letty. I feel secure knowing I can continue entrusting the work to you.”

“Hmm, I hope you’re not already planning your next trip, Brother?”

Alfred flipped through the report as he listened to Leticia. He couldn’t think of one thing he would add to it. In fact, she had covered the matter so exhaustively that the report included elements Alfred himself wouldn’t have thought to address.

“The Minister of Human Affairs has chosen to side with the second prince. As such, he’s pushed less consequential projects like this one to the side.”

“So it goes…”

The capital’s seven governing bodies ran the kingdom: the Ministries of Finance, Defense, Law, Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure, Human Affairs, and Education. The prime minister oversaw all of those, and above him was the king. The ministries were meant to establish policies for the kingdom as a whole, as well as to manage the territory under direct control of the royal family. They were also in charge of negotiating with the lords of every domain.

The governors held a tremendous amount of power, so negotiating with them took a considerable amount of the ministers’ time—and that was on top of their other duties. That was why Alfred was working to centralize the kingdom’s power. However, the nobility at large was still too influential for his efforts to have made much of an impact.

Count Sagitalia, the Minister of Finance, had sided with Prince Alfred, along with the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs. But the Ministers of Human Affairs and Infrastructure, along with the Minister of Education, had sided with the second prince.

The seventh player, the Ministry of Education, had been mostly taken over by the Darryl Church. Unfortunately, since the recent scandal during which several high-ranking officials were purged, that branch of the government had descended into a state of chaos. It was, at the moment, largely inactive. As such, Alfred was hoping to separate it from the government wholesale.

The prime minister had maintained his neutrality for a long time, just like the Minister of Law. However, in the wake of his daughter’s excommunication, he had decisively thrown his support behind the first prince—or at least, that was how it seemed to those observing the affair.

“The Minister of Human Affairs, guilty of collusion and pocketing funds from the ministry?” Alfred asked as he closed Leticia’s report. “Dreadful behavior for someone in his position.”

“He’s just so fond of jockeying for position with everyone else in the capital.” Leticia smirked, and she began to detail just how the minister had spent the embezzled funds first on himself and then to bribe other officials.

“So, while my little brother and I are effectively playing a game of Capture the Flag, there’s a round of musical chairs for those vying for power just below us, hm? Seems like a lot of fun we’re having.”

“That’s precisely it. Speaking of which, Brother…”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I’d like you to arrange a meeting with me and Duke Armelia’s daughter.” Leticia’s eyes sparkled, but her tone was so forward that Alfred was momentarily caught off guard.

He had to ask. “A bit out of the blue. Where’s this coming from?”

“Well, coming across another woman who works in government is quite rare. I’d love to make her acquaintance. That’s merely an excuse, of course; my real reason is because I know just how precious she is to you.”

“Letty…my relationship with her isn’t what you imagine.”

“Oh, isn’t it? Then why else have you overlooked all those opportunities to prevent Armelia from gaining more power, especially when you could have done so easily?”

Merellis, the duchess of Armelia, was a favorite of the queen dowager, and consequently, she and her family enjoyed a great deal of influence. As such, it behooved the royal family to keep an eye on them, out of an abundance of caution. Fortunately, House Armelia was the very definition of a noble family; they protected long-held traditions and always put the needs of their citizens first. For that reason, Alfred had thus far never had a problem with them.

“Am I wrong? Or is it that you think you can use her?” Leticia asked sharply, a stubborn gleam in her eye. That look told Alfred that no matter what he said, she would not change her mind.

He let out a sigh. “Even if I said you could meet her, we couldn’t invite her here. And you’ve barely ever set foot outside the capital, much less the palace.”

“I’d be safe as long as you and Rudy were with me.”

“We’ll see.”

“That means you’re just going to leave me behind again, doesn’t it? You’re so mean. Isn’t he, Rudy?”

Rudy, who had, as ever, been on standby, chuckled at her sudden question. “It’s not my place to say.”

“Honestly! Not you too, Rudy!” Princess Leticia pouted with disapproval. Then she sighed, and her shoulders dropped. The lighthearted mood darkened in the blink of an eye.

Alfred didn’t want to hear what was coming next, but regardless, he held his tongue and listened to what Leticia had to say.

“Enough about Lady Iris. We need to speak, and it’s serious. I must get outside of this palace. I want to walk through the city as a member of the royal family and see how the people live with my own eyes.”

“You still want that, even knowing your position here?” As he asked, Alfred’s tone grew naturally firmer.

There were profound limits on Leticia’s activities, and she was mostly confined to the royal palace and the castle. This wasn’t just because she was a princess and therefore had to be kept cloistered—it was because she so closely resembled their late mother, which had only become more and more apparent as she grew. If the king ever laid eyes on the young woman Leticia had become, he would without a doubt come to dote on her. Therefore, they could not, under any circumstances, allow the king to see her; the more he adored her, the more endangered her life would become.

To say the least, Ellia, the new queen, would not take kindly to seeing the king favor a girl who was the spitting image of the late queen. She regarded both Princess Leticia and Prince Alfred as obstacles. If Leticia ever provoked her, even as a joke, Ellia would doubtless act on the dark feelings she nursed about them both. If that happened, Alfred wasn’t sure he would be able to protect his sister. He couldn’t be by her side twenty-four hours a day, after all.

Furthermore, Alfred didn’t think he could bring himself to trust his own father even in such circumstances. The king had been so heartbroken and lovelorn over their mother…

A wry smile crossed Alfred’s face. Perhaps he was just being selfish, keeping his sister shut away. He was afraid to lose her, yes, but more than that, he never wanted to be as powerless as he had been after their mother’s death.

Perhaps he had become just as broken as their father. Perhaps that was why he wanted to lock his sister away—so he could lock away his fear of losing her.

“I understand my situation,” Leticia said. “And I know that if something dangerous were to happen, I’d just be in the way. But I still want to see the world. If I can’t walk in high society, isn’t this the least I can do?”

Leticia met Alfred’s eyes as she made her case, and he suddenly realized just how much she had grown.

“Please, Brother. I can’t live the rest of my life barely ever stepping outside the castle walls and languishing in the palace—not like that other brother of mine.” The intense light within her eyes spoke to him as well: If you lock me away, sooner or later, I’ll just escape on my own.

Leticia had come to Alfred to ask for his permission, but at this point, he realized it was just a formality.

“Fine, then,” he said.

“What?”

“You want to come have a look around town with me, right? As long as Rudy and I are with you, it should be fine.”

“Thank you so much, Brother!” Leticia grinned happily at him. “In that case, I’ll hurry and finish looking over the documents I have left. Please finish your work soon, too, so that we can go out right away!”

“All right.”

Leticia merrily scooped up a stack of documents that was separate from the ones she had deposited on her brother’s desk—the ones he’d been working on and finished just before she came into the room. She gave him one last smile and then left.

Rudius fussed over her as she went, hurrying in her wake. “Ah, Princess! Please, let me carry that for you…”

 

***

 

“You’re awfully good, Princess Letty.”

“Hm? Whatever do you mean, Rudius?” Leticia asked with a hint of amusement.

You know exactly what I meant, he thought, but he answered her anyway. “That conversation just now. Your goal from the start was to get permission to leave the castle, wasn’t it?”

She laughed. “Of course it was.”

It left him wondering—did she really want to meet Iris as well? His instinct had told him that Leticia’s true purpose had been to get permission to leave the castle. It seemed he was spot-on.

The princess set down the hefty stack of documents on her desk. Her study was smaller than Prince Alfred’s. Cute little knickknacks decorated the office here and there, but other than those, the sheer amount of dense, complicated tomes piled on the shelves didn’t seem very princess-like at all.

“Don’t you remember what my brother always says?” Leticia asked. “When negotiating, first ask for something that they’re unlikely to agree to; if you do that, then they’re more likely to agree to the thing you really want. And it worked wonderfully!”

Rudius laughed. “So that’s why you started out by asking to meet Iris? You’re a formidable haggler.”

Leticia laughed again. “Please don’t exaggerate. My brother realized what I was doing about halfway through anyway.”

So that was why that complicated look crossed Prince Alfred’s face, Rudius thought. It had been when he realized his sister’s true aim. Even so, his soft spot for his sister’s feelings had led him to play right into her hands.

Leticia took a seat at the beautiful, ornate white desk. In the past, other princesses had probably sat there to write letters. That was the picture the scene painted at first glance, but in the present, the desk was stacked high with official documents.

“Well, I got what I wanted. Surely he can’t complain if I just happen to run into the young lady of Armelia while wandering through the capital?”

“Ah, that’s why you’re in such a hurry.”

Although the inquiry was over and her part in the church’s scandal had come to an end, Iris would likely remain in the capital for a bit longer. Various other incidents had cropped up once the second prince, Edward, insisted on poking his nose into her other affairs.

“Yes. I meant what I said: I want to meet the duke’s daughter.”

“Why are you so fixated? Although I suppose I can understand the fascination, seeing as she’s captured the heart of your beloved brother.”

“That’s precisely why. But it’s not quite the reason you think—I’m not afraid my precious older brother will be taken from me.”

In one fell swoop, Leticia guessed Rudius’s theory and skewered it. There wasn’t much else for him to do but quietly wait for her to continue. Leticia giggled when she saw that she had rendered him speechless.

“Well, of course I’m a tiny bit afraid. But really, I’m more curious about her. Just think about it. My other brother’s world is so very small. He’s been under Queen Ellia’s protection his entire life, surrounded by people who only have good things to say about him. Perhaps that was what led him to break his engagement with the duke’s daughter?”

This “other brother” of whom she spoke so derisively was, of course, Prince Edward. Leticia had always referred to him in that manner.

“But in another way, Alfred’s world is also small. All he’s had is you and me. The only other people he’s surrounded himself with are those whom he knows will benefit him in some way.”

At last, Rudius began to understand where Leticia was going with all this. It was true that Prince Alfred’s world was limited, although in a different way from his younger brother’s. He wasn’t sheltered, but he was highly selective about whom he accepted into his inner circle. If he deemed a person to be of benefit to him, he would let down his guard, seek their opinions, and chat about all manner of things with them. He was, in short, capable of such intimacy. But at present, the only people he trusted to that degree were his own sister, Leticia, and Rudius.

“Perhaps that’s only natural, as a member of the royal family, even if I feel my brother takes it to an extreme. The castle is filled with enemies, and he’s shouldered the burden of my protection ever since he was young.” Leticia sighed. “I won’t dismiss that. He has quite the mercenary point of view, but he’s used those skills to gather the people who work for him. That’s part of his strength. But relying on that power leaves him in a precarious situation. To put it simply…he’s dependent on loyalty to his results. The second he loses that edge or if he truly slips up, they’ll leave him.”

Rudius had to agree with her on that. Right now, the only nobles over whom Prince Alfred had any sway were the recently elevated and the provincial lords. They had seen Alfred produce concrete results and were attracted to them. For anyone for whom natural ability was the deciding factor, Alfred was the obvious choice over his brother. However, if Edward ever demonstrated the same potential as his older brother, the nobility wouldn’t be persuaded to remain in Alfred’s camp because of feelings alone.

“The only reason the neutral faction tipped slightly in Alfred’s favor this time was because of Duke Armelia. But why did he side with my brother? Is it possible he simply wanted people to think he favored Alfred? House Armelia is so influential that the prime minister could afford to ignore this conflict altogether; the duke could quietly watch us struggle and never make a move, don’t you think? Worst-case scenario in this scandal, his daughter would’ve had to abdicate and withdraw from society. Instead, her father publicly throws his support behind my brother. Why?”

“Do you mean…the prime minister felt he owed the prince?”

“Precisely. Alfred knew that if he backed Lady Iris, he might well divide the country, yet he still chose to help her—even though it didn’t directly benefit him to do so.”

“And because it wasn’t part of one of his own schemes, he could have withdrawn at any point?”

“Yes. But if his eyes are on the end of all this struggle, wouldn’t he want to gather as many allies as he could, Rudy?”

“To strengthen the crown, you mean…”

“That’s right. He doesn’t want to stop at unifying the nobility under his rule, like the kings who came before. He wants to go beyond that. It’s a thorny path, but that’s why putting himself out there like this is necessary. He doesn’t want people who will simply walk beside him; he needs people who will spill their blood for him in times of peace and in times of strife. The military has always adored Dean, admittedly, so I’m sure he won’t have trouble on the latter front.”

Case in point, Prince Alfred had the loyalty of Rudius, whose grandfather was General Gazell. The general had always had his eye on Alfred, ever since the prince was a young boy. Their relationship had only grown stronger after Alfred secretly joined the military as “Dean.”

Those three factors added up to Leticia’s hypothesis: The military was incredibly likely to swear allegiance to Prince Alfred once they learned he was Dean.

“To the point, if my brother wants to accelerate the process of strengthening the crown, he also has to strengthen his allegiances. And I was thinking that, in order for that to happen, he needs to step outside of his little world, the one that’s just you and me. That was when I learned about Duke Armelia’s daughter. She’s already expanded Alfred’s world, and that made me extremely curious about what kind of person she is.”

“Ah, I see. Your Highness?”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you haven’t gone outside the castle already?” Rudius couldn’t help but ask. It was hard to believe a member of the royal family could speak so expertly on such things, especially one so young. He smiled wryly. Normally, anyway…

“Whatever do you mean?” asked Leticia.

“It’s only that you speak of all these things as if you’ve seen them firsthand, is all.”

“It’s the opposite, actually. Being kept in this gilded cage, I’m able to describe the state of the outside world so clearly because I so badly want to know about it.”

“Ah, is that how it is?”

“Indeed.”

That’s unfortunate, Rudius thought. Even a dullard could see the potential in Leticia. It was a shame that she hadn’t been given a position where she could use it to its fullest extent.

“I still have a great deal to learn, though,” said Leticia. “I’ve never done anything on my own, after all. You can guess all you want about what you’ll do in a given situation, but there’s really no telling until it actually happens to you.”

Rudy wasn’t sure about that, in her case. But Princess Leticia always thought much more highly of others than she did of herself. If she gave herself more credit, she might have been less naive to her own ability.

“Back to the point, I was terribly surprised when I saw Alfred take an interest in someone, even going so far as to visit them frequently. Suddenly, someone other than you and I broadens his world, and now he’s at her mercy… Rudy?”

“Yes, my lady?”

“Perhaps it’s inappropriate for me to ask, since you’re related to her, but what do you think about Duke Armelia’s daughter? What kind of person is she?”

“A true noble, in both the best and worst senses of the word.”

“What do you mean?”

“She is very proud, and she has the strength to walk on her own two feet. That’s why the broken engagement didn’t destroy her. Instead, she started her own business and began running the duchy.”

“I see. So, she and my brother are quite alike, in a way?”

“They are. Her pride means she doesn’t like to show any weakness, so she doesn’t know how to rely on others. Despite the torment she endured at school, she never lost her composure. She could have done something to retaliate against Lady Yuri’s harassment, and she could have even done so subtly—but she didn’t. Or she could have asked for support from her family and played the role of the tragic heroine. The people would certainly have seen her in a different light if she had.”

Both Rudius and Alfred knew all too well that Lady Yuri had played that card herself, and it had enabled her to boldly cross line after line.

“Lady Iris retains her pride. She has servants who she trusts implicitly, but she still creates boundaries with them. Even if something terrible happens, she refuses to show vulnerability or to cling to them.”

“Oh… She really is like my brother. Although, it sounds like she’s perhaps a more dedicated and kinder person.” Leticia sighed again. “If seeing her close herself off frustrates him to any degree, I hope he takes a good, long look at himself and changes his own ways.”

Rudius laughed quietly. “I think she’s changed him already. We’ve never seen him let anyone else in, after all.”

Moreover, this was the first time that Prince Alfred had acted in a risky situation without exhaustively weighing the pros and cons. He had even offered himself up as collateral to Father Rafsimons.

“That’s true. Say, how far do you think their relationship has progressed?”

“Well, he’s only just realized his feelings, and honestly, I’m not entirely sure she reciprocates.”

“Oh, my! And has my brother done anything about it?”

“No, I don’t think—”

“Honestly, he’s just so clueless when it comes to love. Lady Iris seems a bit dense about it as well.”

Rudius was about to agree with her but thought better of it. “Well, you have to understand that she has her own reasons for not wanting to open up.”

“If my dear brother wants something badly enough, he’ll take action. There’s no sense covering for him with pretty words.”

She was so blunt about it, Rudius didn’t quite know what to say.

“It would benefit me greatly if my brother made a move alr—ah, never mind. As his little sister, I support him wholeheartedly.”

Rudius pretended he didn’t hear her mumble that first part. Sometimes there was safety in silence.

Leticia quietly rose from her chair and walked over to the window, where she looked down at the view below. “Do you remember the first time we met?”

“Yes, of course. Prince Alfred brought me to the castle, and you were hiding behind his back. You were so shy you wouldn’t even show me your face.”

“That’s right,” she agreed, an echo of that shyness in her voice. A fond smile crossed her face. “It was so fun… Those days truly were just full of delight. We used to play in the garden together, remember? Ever since I was little, I’ve never been allowed outside the palace walls. I’d barely been outside of the castle, much less into town. So I always looked forward to when Alfred brought you home. He and my grandmother were my entire world…and then you were, too.”

“Princess Leticia…”

“Oh, don’t make that face. I’m happy. Of course, I wonder what it’s like to be part of high society, or what it’s like to go to school, or what other young people my age like to chat about. There are quite a lot of things I’d love to know more of…”

The official explanation for Leticia’s absence from the public eye had always been that she was sickly. Although she had interacted with a few other children her age, she had never been allowed to attend school. She really had lived her life like a bird in a gilded cage.

“But I understand that all of this was done to protect me. I’m not always sure about Grandmother…but I know that my brother doesn’t think of me as a tool. He would never, under any circumstances, try to marry me off against my will. Although I’m sure that’s partly because if I had a child, it would complicate things for him.”

In truth, Prince Alfred was holding the queen dowager in check from getting Princess Leticia engaged. Even though Prince Edward had successfully kept Prince Alfred away from court, if Princess Leticia had a child, the line of succession would be thrown into even more chaos.

At present, there were only three real candidates in line for the crown: the Princes Alfred and Edward, and the Princess Leticia. The two princes were engaged in battle for that throne, and if Alfred lost, he expected he would die. No one believed that Queen Ellia would settle for something as lenient as his imprisonment.

That was why Prince Alfred couldn’t back down from this fight.

On the other hand, if he won, and if Princess Leticia were to wed and have a child, the family of the man she married would almost surely have troublesome thoughts. What if “something” were to happen to Prince Alfred? The next king would come from their family…

With that, a new struggle for the throne would begin.

That was why Prince Alfred strove to keep the queen dowager from marrying off his sister.

“Even so, I’m sure his primary reason for keeping me cooped up is to protect me from Queen Ellia’s supporters. Once I leave, it will quickly become more difficult to maintain the story of my illness. And if I enter high society, well…my face alone will provoke her, I’m sure. My brother really is protecting me.”

“You’re that important to him.”

Leticia laughed. “So I am. In that case, my marriage will have to wait until after he secures his victory. Ah, although I’m sure if he loses, my other brother will marry me off to another country or some such.”

A faint flicker of pain raced through Rudius’s chest when he heard the princess speak of such a fate. It was only a brief, fleeting ache. Perhaps it was his imagination? He quickly refocused his attention back on the conversation.

“Anyway…whenever I feel anxious or lonely, I just think back on when we were children. It was truly when I was the happiest,” Leticia said with a sad smile. It didn’t last long before it was replaced with a determined, serious expression. “Rudy, we must win. For my brother, and for myself. And for Lady Iris as well.”

“I agree.”

“For starters, we need to come up with a countermeasure for the trade sanctions against Armelia. Knowing my brother, I’m sure he already has some ideas up his sleeve?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

Leticia gave him a smile. “I’ll help in any way I can.”