Mariabelle’s sudden violence left her stunned, but Alicia reacted at once.
“I beg your pardon. To make such an unseemly display before Her Majesty…”
She bowed deeply.
As if sensing the shift in the air, Mariabelle hurriedly followed her lead and bowed to the queen as well.
“And what, exactly, are you bowing for, Mariabelle?” the queen asked coolly.
“Eh?”
Mariabelle looked up at her in surprise.
“Why, of course, for my discourtesy before Your Majesty.”
Alicia could not help but think how very Mariabelle she was. Everything now depended on whether the queen chose to pursue the matter further or let it drop.
“Who, precisely, was discourteous to whom?” the queen pressed.
“Well… my sister and I quarreled before Your Majesty…”
Mariabelle answered in a trembling voice.
“Oh my, what seems to be the commotion here?”
The voice that cut in belonged to Thomas, syrupy sweet to the point of revulsion. Alicia felt a chill run through her.
This, she was certain, was Thomas’s doing.
“Your Majesty, I am Thomas Wellston. Might I ask whether my eldest daughter has caused you some offense?”
“Yes,” the queen replied calmly. “Perhaps she should cool her head in a cell overnight.”
Alicia saw it then, just for an instant: the flicker of delight that crossed Thomas’s eyes.
“Mariabelle is barred from entering the palace for one year.”
“What?! You mean Mariabelle, not Alicia? What on earth has Mariabelle done? Alicia, what were you doing as her elder sister?!”
Thomas turned a gaze full of hatred on Alicia.
The queen rose, clapping her hands sharply. At the signal, guards appeared.
“Escort Lord Wellston out. And Mariabelle is to spend the night in a cell.”
“Your Majesty, please, I beg you, spare Mariabelle at least!”
Thomas pleaded desperately.
“Mariabelle publicly demeaned the Crown Prince’s fiancée and struck her,” the queen said icily. “From the moment Alicia became engaged to Joshua, she has been under royal protection. Do not forget that.”
“Mariabelle is merely innocent and free-spirited. I spoiled her, it’s true. No doubt she was ensnared by Alicia’s cunning!”
“Take her away.”
The queen gave the order, then sat back down as if she had lost all interest, resuming her tea.
“Alicia, sit. Joshua, you as well.”
Obeying her command, they took their seats.
“Alicia, I hear you have transferred to the magic department. See that it does not interfere with your public duties. That is all. You two should deepen your bond as fiancés.”
With that, the queen departed.
Only then did Alicia finally release the breath she had been holding.
Being toyed with by the queen’s whims was exhausting.
“Mariabelle does not seem suited to the royal family,” Joshua remarked.
Alicia almost doubted her ears.
If so, then what of the queen herself? she wanted to ask.
“Mariabelle is very adaptable,” Alicia said honestly. “I believe she will soon get along well with Her Majesty.”
That was truly what she thought.
After this exchange, Mariabelle would surely have learned how to handle the queen. Alicia had struggled to reach this point, but Mariabelle, with her social agility, was different.
“Getting along with my mother is not the only requirement of a future crown princess,” Joshua said. “That aside, Alicia, why did you transfer to the magic department? You could have told me first.”
As his fiancée, perhaps she should have. But the palace already monitored her through other channels.
And yet no one had lifted a finger to help her with her family.
Did he truly have no idea what went on in that house?
“I suppose so. I transferred because my late mother was a graduate of the magic department, and I was interested,” Alicia replied.
“I didn’t know. This is the first I’ve heard of it. You never spoke of magic before.”
“I enjoy studying. Of all subjects, magic interests me the most.”
“You’re unusual.”
“What? Do you dislike studying, Your Highness?”
Since childhood, their only common topic had been their lessons.
“I fulfill my duties as crown prince. Still, there are times I wish for a diversion. But such things are not permitted to me.”
For the first time, Alicia thought him pitiable.
“Surely a little respite would be allowed?”
“With guards in tow? Every action I take is reported upward.”
The conversation felt stifling. There was no exit in sight.
Yet Alicia herself was also monitored, precisely because she was the crown prince’s fiancée.
She truly thought someone bright like Mariabelle suited Joshua better.
“Does it not feel suffocating, being bound by duty?” she asked.
“Do I appear suffocated to you?”
Answering a question with a question. He had no intention of revealing his true feelings.
“I do not know Your Highness well. Only that I do not believe your heart finds peace at my side.”
“What are you trying to say?”
A trace of irritation entered his voice.
“It would be nice if you could choose your life partner for yourself.”
“If you have complaints, say them plainly.”
His anger was clear now.
“You never smile when you are with me, but you do smile with Mariabelle.”
“Jealousy?”
Perhaps it was, Alicia admitted to herself.
“Perhaps. Even so, I wish for Your Highness’s happiness.”
“I was born crown prince. From the moment of my birth, I have lived on the taxes of the people. I cannot live selfishly.”
“A most admirable resolve. I respect that.”
(Yes… this is what I fell in love with.)
With a faintly nostalgic feeling, Alicia recalled her first love.
When she left the palace and parted from Joshua, her shoulders finally relaxed.
“I don’t want to be crown princess. Though… in my case, I won’t become one anyway. I’ll be executed.”
More than power, Alicia wanted freedom.
Desperately so.
