Chapter 354: Weakness
“A-asleep… you say? W-what are you talking about!?”
As the king raised his voice to mask his agitation, the royal affiliate hurried to respond.
“O-of course, it’s not that we dozed off in the middle of the duty you entrusted to us, Your Majesty… however, both of us have unclear memories regarding the time before and after the Royal Exchange Gathering.”
“Both of you…?”
When the king turned his gaze to the other royal affiliate, that one nodded as well.
“Impossible…”
Faced with this unexpected situation, that was all the king could manage.
He had been convinced that the moment this Royal Exchange Gathering ended, Elizalina and Felisiana would come to him in tears.
And now, it felt as though a sudden pitfall had opened beneath him, sending him plunging down.
“Most likely, I believe this was done intentionally by someone.”
“By someone…!”
The one who interfered with the surveillance of Elizalina and Felisiana.
In other words, someone who would find it inconvenient for them to be monitored.
That left no possibility other than the parties themselves.
The king’s move had been anticipated, or perhaps countered before it even needed to be.
“Insolent wretches…!”
The king let his anger show openly.
He would not admit defeat, but Elizalina and Felisiana were indeed capable.
Precisely because of that,
“I cannot allow them to be given to some mere count’s family!!”
After steadying his ragged breathing, the king curled his lips into a smile.
“If it’s come to this, I have no choice but to use that method…”
“…That method?”
“Up until now, I’ve taken Elizalina’s bait and fixated on her, but to punish her as well, I’ll start with Felisiana.”
“…However, wouldn’t it be difficult to make Princess Felisiana obey so easily…?”
“…It’s simple.”
Declaring that, the king continued in a self-satisfied tone.
“Indeed, she is capable… intelligent, skilled with the sword, and aside from the man she fancies, everything about her could be said to be fitting of royalty… however, she has a major weakness.”
“A weakness…?”
“Yes… if I use that weakness, I may be able to turn her to our side and make her abandon the foolish choice of becoming engaged to a man from a count’s family.”
“Oh…!”
“Such a method exists…!”
These two wished to preserve the current order where noble rank was absolute.
Hearing the king’s words, their expressions brightened.
“I thought it would be unbecoming to go all out against someone who is still just a child, so I refrained from using this method until now… but it seems I can no longer afford such restraint… in the coming days, I will summon a certain individual here… and from there, all problems should be resolved one after another.”
The king, who never doubted his own thinking, let out a loud laugh that echoed through the throne room.
This was a method that could be called the king’s final measure against Felisiana.
And precisely because of that, he was convinced it would bring her to his side.
He was convinced…
Felisiana’s Side
“…!? …What did you just say?”
After the Royal Exchange Gathering ended, Felisiana returned to her room in Count Rodwell’s mansion.
Upon hearing Violet’s report about what had occurred during the gathering, she doubted her own ears.
“Yes, His Majesty used two royal affiliates in an attempt to monitor you and Elizalina-sama…”
“That doesn’t matter!”
To Felisiana, that was irrelevant right now.
“I’m asking about the other thing!”
“That matter… very well, I will repeat it… during today’s Fourth Royal Exchange Gathering, I was able to confirm Rodwell-sama and Florence-sama walking arm in arm.”