Volume 4, Chapter 48 – Interlude

After a simple breakfast of buttered bread, fried bacon, and hot milk was served at Fia’s table, everything unfolded as she had predicted. The news of Claire’s arrival reached her ears via a maid’s hurried report.

“Claire? A familiar name.”

Standing behind Fia, Anastasia, her long golden hair swaying slightly, wore a thoughtful expression.

In the past, Anastasia’s forgetting would have filled Fia with helplessness and anxiety. But now that she knew Claire had arrived in Blossom, Fia felt no negative emotions at all. She patiently explained as she stirred her spoon.

“Claire is a girl we met in Aurora City. You and she were good friends.”

“Now that you say that, I seem to remember some of it… I remember silver hair, and that she destroyed the Unsinkable Moon?”

“Mhm, that’s her.”

“Strange. How could I forget someone so important?”

With an expression of self-doubt, Anastasia frowned deeply.

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Fia couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s because she has a curse on her that makes people forget. If you’re away from her for a while, you slowly forget things about her. By the way, before we parted, you said you would absolutely not forget her.”

“My deepest apologies. I can’t even remember the impression of that promise. Please, Your Highness, tell me what happened back then.”

“You should be apologizing to Claire. Although I don’t think she’ll mind, since it’s not like you wanted to forget. And to still have an impression of her after more than a month is already quite remarkable. Colita, please go to the castle gate and bring her here. Also, she has a curse that makes people fear her. She gives off a terrifying feeling at first meeting, so be prepared. She’s not a bad person.”

“A terrifying feeling? Do you mean like Miss Milu?”

Colita looked at Milu, who was sitting opposite Fia. Upon hearing that Claire was coming, Milu had started eating faster, as if she wanted to be in her best condition to greet her.

A wry smile appeared in Fia’s ruby-like eyes.

“No, Milu is frightening simply because of her eyes. Claire is feared because she bears a curse. Even just standing near her without seeing her will make you feel uncomfortable. She is my… hmm…” Fia hesitated for a moment. “She is the future royal consort, so you must be respectful.”

The moment her words fell, Fia felt the atmosphere in the dining room suddenly change, as if time had frozen. She couldn’t help but look back at the maids standing behind her, but whether it was Anastasia, Colita, or the maids whose names she didn’t know, they all acted as if nothing was wrong, so much so that Fia thought she had imagined it.

With a very warm smile, Colita, her short golden hair tied in a side ponytail, gave a maid’s smile and bowed.

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“I understand. Please leave it to me. However, it would be best if Your Highness did not casually refer to Miss Claire as a royal consort outside. One, His Majesty is in good health. For you to arbitrarily call her your consort could easily be misunderstood. Two, you informed me that she is human. With your prestige, if she were just a concubine, it wouldn’t be a major issue, but for the first wife…”

“Hurry and go, Colita. Don’t keep Claire waiting too long.”

“Understood.”

After bowing in agreement, Colita gave Fia another salute and left the dining room.

As for Colita’s advice, Fia did not deny it outright.

The rule that elf royalty could not be with humans was negotiable, but her first reason was indeed valid. As a daughter, she really shouldn’t say things that were unlucky for her Father. The amount of power one had was unrelated to the respect one should show. Her power was greater than the Elf King’s, but there was no logic in the world that said just because you were stronger than your parents, you could talk down to them. Of course, this was based on the premise that one party had not made a mistake.

Besides, she had no intention of taking the throne, so the title of “royal consort” was not very appropriate. As for why she didn’t want the throne, one, the position held no appeal, and two, inheriting the position meant sacrificing her personal time for royal duties.

One only had to look at the current Yelido to know that the life of a king was not as free as one might imagine. It was true that he did not interact with the other consorts because his heart was with Veronica, but the fact was, even if it weren’t, it would be impossible for him to attend to all sixteen of them. Not to mention, he was now personally leading the army because of the disaster in the south, with no time to be with the person he loved.

To have the position of king, one must fulfill the duties of a king. Fia was not ignorant of the Sword of Damocles. But if she had to be separated from Claire for so long, then it was better not to have the throne at all. Compared to things like power and money, she cherished kinship, friendship, and love more. These were treasures she had never possessed before.

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It should be said that when she had first made this decision, she had felt a little troubled. Liti’s ability was not sufficient to be queen. At that time, even if she didn’t want to, she would have had to fulfill her royal duty. However, after seeing the ability displayed by her younger brother, the Second Prince Kalsey, at the noble council, she was much more relieved.

Kalsey might not have enough strength to awe the high nobles, but he was not lacking in administrative ability. As long as he slowly accumulated experience with her backing him, he could also become a qualified king. Then she would have plenty of personal time, and could also ensure that Silvar would not fall into chaos, thus fulfilling her royal duty. It was the best of both worlds.

While fantasizing about the future, Fia instructed the maids on standby.

“Please make another breakfast. The portion can be about the same as mine.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Wait, Milu, don’t move.”

“Hm?”

At Fia’s sudden request, Milu, who had just finished her breakfast, tilted her head. Fia stood up, took out a handkerchief, and reached across the table to wipe the corner of her mouth.

“Claire will be here soon. You haven’t met her yet, so you have to pay attention to your image.”

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“…I’m not a child.”

“Didn’t you want to know about Claire? Why do you seem unhappy?”

Milu was very similar to Claire in some ways. If Claire were to meet her, she would surely like her very much.

“I’m not unhappy.”

“No, no, that expression is already unhappy.”

As usual, Milu’s inner thoughts were impossible to guess.

Fia didn’t spend too much time on this. She soon began to explain to Anastasia what had happened in Aurora City. In addition, although she really wanted to call Liti over as well, considering that the current time was rather critical, and that calling her over might drag her into events she shouldn’t be involved in, and also whether the Third Consort would be willing to let her go was another matter, Fia gave up on the idea.

I wish Prince Schain would hurry up and rebel. Then I wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble.

Praying in her heart, Fia happily recounted the past events with Claire to the others.