Volume 5, Chapter 14 – The Queen Who Wants to Be an Ordinary Person

The entire council was silent as the grave.

The first to react was Edith.

Edith slammed both hands on the conference table and shot up from her seat, her expression fierce.

“I do not agree.” Her face was filled with suspicion and refusal. “Yisi belongs to my Pescia Territory.”

“Before that, Yisi was a suspected member of the royal bloodline. If Lord Loiswell does not trust me, I can verify it for all of you on the spot.”

But Edith was not the only one who objected.

Boris also frowned slightly and spoke up.

“Your Majesty, I believe this matter requires long-term deliberation, at least until after the war is over. It is not that I doubt your decision, but I believe that rashly announcing the discovery of a new royal family member at this time will have an unpredictable impact on the current situation.”

“Th-That’s right. There is currently no territory worthy of a Duchess to be granted.”

“Even if she is a member of the royal family, there is no need to grant her a rank as high as the Duchess.”

Rеαԁ оո KαtRеadinɡСаfе

“We beseech Your Majesty to reconsider.”

All spears were pointed at Andrea, but she simply waved her hand.

“I have already said, the title of Duchess is Yisi Fred Alvier’s current rank. After I have traced the origin of her royal bloodline, I will then, in accordance with the law, grant her an official territory and title. In the end, I am the only member of the entire royal family. Such a situation is exceptionally dangerous in any era. You all should understand what I mean by this. Today’s meeting ends here. Boris will handle the remaining matters on my behalf.”

Although he still wanted to say something, Boris ultimately nodded slowly.

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

After receiving Boris’s reply, Andrea took Yisi’s hand and left the hall. Edith chose to follow behind them.

“Yisi is the one I brought here. I must take her with me when I leave.”

Andrea stopped, though she did not turn around. “I understand. Lord Loiswell is permitted to follow.”

◇

Led by Andrea, the trio of Yisi, Edith, and Refina arrived at a room that was not particularly large. Andrea first had Edith and Refina wait outside for a moment, then remained in the room alone with Yisi.

Rеаԁ оո КαtRеaԁіngСаfe

Yisi, who had been silent the whole time, finally relaxed her expression. She looked at Andrea with a troubled face. When Andrea had taken her hand and walked to the head of the conference table, she had mouthed the words “play along with me” to Yisi, which was why she hadn’t said anything.

“Your Majesty didn’t declare me a Duchess just to divert the nobles’ attention, did you?”

Her point having been hit directly, Andrea, who had also relaxed, froze for a moment. Like a child who had done something wrong, she stiffly lowered her head and bowed to Yisi in apology.

“I am so sorry! To arbitrarily place such a heavy burden on you, Lady Yisi! If there is anything I can do to appease your anger, please, you must tell me. I will do everything in my power to accomplish it!”

Squeezing her eyes shut in a >_< expression, Andrea didn’t even dare to look at Yisi’s face.

“Hah, it’s not to the extent of needing to appease my anger. Since it’s already happened, I can only hope you won’t actually saddle me with any substantive work, Andrea. Also, you need to explain this clearly to Edith, otherwise she won’t let you off the hook so easily.” Yisi threw up her hands.

She had originally wanted to ask Andrea about the necklace, but if Andrea were to ask back, “Why do you know the necklace is missing?” she would have been caught in her own trap.

Yisi’s forgiveness made Andrea let out a huge sigh of relief. She wiped her eyes, which were on the verge of tears from anxiety, and nodded vigorously.

“Of course! I will absolutely not let you bear any burdens because of the Duchess title, Lady Yisi. I am truly sorry for dragging you into the life of the nobility! I will definitely let you return to the life of an ordinary person later!”

No, no, generally speaking, shouldn’t an ordinary person be happy to be granted the title of Duchess?

Reαԁ οn ΚatRеαdіոɡСаfe

If it weren’t for her own Level 427 strength, which made the title of Duchess seem like nothing, she would probably be so happy right now that she’d be running laps around the city walls. On the continent of Alexia, the title of Duke or Duchess was only granted to the king’s siblings. For example, if Andrea had a younger sister and Andrea inherited the throne, then her sister would become a Duchess.

The title of Duchess was impossible for an ordinary person to obtain and was second in status only to the Queen.

And yet, Andrea was acting as if the title were a hot potato, which was truly strange. Even if she was forcing it on someone, Andrea should know that a noble title is a reward, not a burden.

After Yisi voiced her thoughts, the happiness on Andrea’s face was gradually replaced by an indescribable complexity. Her hands fell to her sides, and she bit her lip lightly.

“If the title of Duchess suits your wishes, Lady Yisi, it’s fine if you keep it in the future…”

“That’s not what I meant just now. What I meant was, normally, you should feel that granting me the title of Duchess is a reward for me, Andrea. But your words just now didn’t convey that feeling at all. It was as if you thought from the very beginning that the title of Duchess was a heavy burden.”

When a person granted the title of Duchess shows refusal, a normal person would at least raise an eyebrow and ask back, “You’re not satisfied with being given the title of Duchess?” But Andrea did not.

Andrea’s eyes first lit up at Yisi’s words, then, as if she had thought of something, they gradually grew downcast. She walked step by step from the table to the window and looked down at the entire Royal Capital of Alvier.

It was that melancholic expression again.

Although Yisi and Andrea had not spoken much, Yisi often saw this kind of deep-seated sorrow on Andrea’s face.

Reаⅾ оո ΚαtRеαԁіոgСafе

“…You may scoff at me, Lady Yisi, but that is truly what I think.” Andrea paused for a moment, reaching out to touch the glass window as if stroking her own face. “I am not suited to be Queen. If I could choose, I think I would choose to be born into an ordinary family. That is why I subconsciously thought just now that the title was a burden for you. If it were someone else standing here and not you, I would have said the same thing.”

Naturally, Yisi was bewildered by Andrea’s sudden statement.

“Why? Is the life of a queen difficult?”

“Difficult… it can’t be described that way. I’m just not good at making decisions. You must be very puzzled, Lady Yisi, as to why I still haven’t declared Count Hillary a traitor.”

“Isn’t it because you have your own difficulties? Like how declaring it would escalate the conflict…”

Escalate the conflict? It was already irreconcilable, so what was there to escalate? Throughout history, a rebel leader has only two outcomes—win and become the new king, or suffer a crushing defeat and be exiled or sent to the gallows. Given the situation with the Blood Clan, from the moment Count Hillary marched his troops toward the capital, it was destined that a winner and loser had to be decided. There was absolutely no possibility of a north-south divide.

Realizing her mistake, Yisi changed her tack and asked the question to Andrea’s back. “Then why?”

Andrea’s mouth opened slightly, but she quickly fell silent again. In the end, she just shook her head and turned back to Yisi with a forced smile.

“It’s nothing. You don’t need to worry about my affairs, Lady Yisi. Ah—I almost forgot about Lord Loiswell.”