Chapter 330: Policy
Felisiana’s Side
With Rezamiliana gone, Felisiana found herself alone in the conference room with Elizalina.
She turned to her and spoke.
“You really did it… I never expected you to counter my unprecedented proposal with another unprecedented one, having two royals participate in the Royal Exchange Gathering.”
“Well, your proposal was more thought out than I expected, so I’m a bit frustrated that all I could manage was forcing a draw~”
Something Elizalina couldn’t do.
Something Rezamiliana, who values swordsmanship, would be highly likely to approve.
And something that could potentially keep Floria Florence in check.
She had carefully refined a plan that satisfied those three conditions. Yet Elizalina, through sheer quick thinking, had brought it to a draw.
At that, Felisiana once again acknowledged that, regardless of Elizalina’s personality, her intellect alone was worthy of high regard.
As if brushing that aside, Elizalina continued.
“Felisiana, you didn’t really understand what Rezamiliana-oneesama meant earlier, did you?”
“…”
Earlier… meaning—
“Introducing swords into the Royal Exchange Gathering, and having two royals participate alongside that, are both unprecedented situations… however, I believe that finding something new within this country’s traditional events is especially important now.”
Felisiana immediately recognized those as the words Rezamiliana had spoken.
At the time, she hadn’t grasped their meaning, but it seemed Elizalina had.
“…Yes.”
Letting the sharpness leave her voice, she admitted what Elizalina had pointed out.
Elizalina, clearly amused, said,
“Nice, being honest suits you~! Now, if you’d just say, ‘I didn’t understand what that meant, so please teach me, my cute and beautiful Onee-chan!’ I’d explain it to you—”
“I’m leaving.”
With that, Felisiana turned on her heel and started toward the exit, fully intending to leave the conference room.
“Wait, wait! I’m joking!”
Elizalina stopped her with those words.
Felisiana let out a sigh, then turned back to face her once more.
Elizalina spoke.
“You know about Rezamiliana-oneesama’s gathering with foreign royals the other day, right?”
“I do… it was said to be a place to find a fiancé for Rezamiliana-anesama.”
As she answered, recalling what she had heard from the king, Elizalina nodded.
“Right, right. Then this’ll be quick. Rezamiliana-oneesama didn’t choose a fiancé at that gathering.”
Rather, she continued.
“At that very gathering, she openly rejected Father’s way of thinking, the kind that ignores people’s hearts and only pursues profit.”
Hearing that someone as exemplary as Rezamiliana would do such a thing, as a royal.
Normally, that would be shocking.
However, Felisiana recalled something Rezamiliana had once said.
“This time, I will, for the first time, commit something unbecoming of a royal in a very public way… it is not something I could ever urge you all to imitate… but I truly believe that this choice will, in the end, benefit both myself and the future of this country.”
Remembering those words, rather than being surprised, Felisiana found it made sense, and she accepted what Elizalina had just told her.
And based on all of that, the meaning behind Rezamiliana’s words was—
“Now you get what Rezamiliana-oneesama meant, right?”
Just as Felisiana arrived at her answer.
Elizalina asked that, and Felisiana voiced her conclusion.
“Yes, in other words… from here on, we must consider governing this country without being bound by Father’s existence.”