Chapter 296: Taking Action
Normally, when spears are pointed at you from all directions and a demand is made, you’d think you have no choice but to comply.
But…
“Huh? I don’t get it at all, but there’s absolutely no way I’d ever give up on becoming engaged to him.”
Elizalina dismissed the king’s demand outright.
Then she continued.
“Or what, do you think this is supposed to intimidate me? Let me tell you, no matter how many spears you point at me, ones that can’t even take my life aren’t a threat at all.”
“It’s true they cannot take your life, but they can inflict pain without causing a fatal wound.”
The king said this without the slightest sign of agitation in response to Elizalina’s remark.
But Elizalina immediately spoke again.
“You don’t need to tell such obvious lies. You can’t even injure me, let alone take my life, can you, Father? If I were hurt and unable to move for several days, and some major trouble occurred in the country during that time, it would be a huge loss for the nation.”
“…”
When the king fell silent at her words, Elizalina let out a small sigh.
Then she addressed her father once more.
“See? You get that this is pointless now, right? So hurry up and call these soldiers off.”
After that, the king did nothing for a short while.
But after looking into Elizalina’s eyes, perhaps deciding he had no other choice for now, he ordered the soldiers out of the throne room just as she had said.
Then the king spoke.
“Do you truly have no intention of giving up on that man?”
“None at all.”
“…Why are you so fixated on that count’s son?”
“Why? Because I love him.”
Don’t make me say something so obvious this late.
With a tone that clearly conveyed that, Elizalina answered immediately, and the king responded.
“Do you intend to sway the future of this nation over a fleeting emotion? Someone like you should be capable of making a wiser choice—”
“A fleeting emotion…?”
Cutting off the king’s words, Elizalina muttered in a dark voice.
After blinking once…
The next moment, her eyes turned hollow as she spoke.
“Could you stop irritating me any further? Or rather, don’t you remember what I told you before? That if he and I became engaged and could rule this country together, it would become better, so peaceful that I wouldn’t even need to mediate anymore.”
Of course, she didn’t deny that her feelings were strongly involved, but she had made this choice while considering the country’s future as well. She had told the king that before.
But the king replied.
“If you take such nonsense seriously, how could you possibly serve as the ruler of a nation?”
“The ruler of a nation? Huh, do you still think you’re the king who governs this country?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
The king asked with a grave expression…
But…
If he doesn’t understand, I don’t need to bother explaining.
Thinking that, Elizalina ignored his question and continued with what she wanted to say.
“Anyway, I’m going to be busy from now on, so don’t summon me over something like this again.”
“…”
“Well then! I’ll be taking my leave now!”
With that, Elizalina turned her back on the king seated on the throne and left the throne room, heading somewhere else.
And then… in the throne room she had departed from, the king spoke in a heavy voice.
“To think something would appear that could steal Elizalina’s heart to such an extent…”
No, he corrected himself.
“Felisiana, too, has had her heart stolen by that count’s son.”
If both of them are that resolute, then…
“Perhaps it would be better to act not against them, but against the man they are in love with… perhaps.”