War of Papers

Alicia’s Perspective

While Sacula prepared for battle against Viscount Yanga, we in the capital were working on our own preparations. While we had no need to worry about any military force, we still needed to lay out the groundwork for our plans with the king. Before entering into an all-out battle with the House of Yanga, Sacula first needed to adhere to a few protocols. First, we had to present the king with a general outline of the war between the regions. This included details like: “Who is in the wrong and who caused the conflict?” and “How do we plan to resolve it?” If we hadn’t done this much, there’d be an uproar. It’d give reason for a third party to discredit the both of us and claim that we were both betraying His Majesty.

Count Gentoh, while reluctant to be in the palace, was walking through its halls to avoid that exact outcome.

“Datara’s lot sure are giving us a lot of trouble,” Count Gentoh grumbled as we headed toward the lounge room.

“Please do your best. Everyone in Sacula is working so hard, so it’s important that you support them as their count,” I said in an attempt to encourage him.

“I understand, Your Highness. I understand that completely. That’s why I’m here walking through this awful palace.”

Yes, you certainly are trying your best. The count was acting like a petulant child being made to drink bitter medicine, but, with me placating him along the way, we eventually arrived at our destination.

I gave a nod to the royal knight standing guard at the door. He then closely scrutinized our documents before asking us the reason for our visit. If we were central nobles, we probably wouldn’t have had to waste time following these unnecessary formalities. Feeling he was still not taking us seriously, I answered with a smile befitting a princess conducting royal business.

“I have an appointment today with His Majesty the King. I am Princess Alicia, and this is Count Gentoh of Sacula.”

“Of course, this was written in His Majesty’s agenda for today. He has yet to arrive, so please wait inside.”

While he had wasted our time with protocol, there seemed to be no ill will beyond that. When we’d first arrived at the palace, we weren’t permitted to arrange a meeting with the king at all, so this could be considered as us climbing up the ranks. It was the result of my gaining the support of the Church and the Frontier Alliance following the Royal Sword Fighting tournament. At the very least, I was now able to meet the king in my role as princess. If I weren’t in this position, it would have been difficult to support the House of Sacula and fulfill my role of making the king aware of our intentions.

The guard opened the door and I headed through, overjoyed to have this opportunity to help Ash. But the sight before me quickly turned my joy into bitter despair. For some reason, in the common room stood my elder brother, the king’s firstborn son, Prince Albert. Ever since Viscount Datara lost his position, it seemed that Albert had seized control of power in the palace. With that in mind, it wasn’t odd that the prince had taken an interest and was attempting to intervene, but it was still an obvious hindrance.

“How do you do, dear brother?” I gave a polite bow to try and disguise my dissatisfaction, but my brother remained seated and responded with a simple nod. He seemed to be convinced that he was of a higher rank than me.

“Oh, Prince Albert, I didn’t expect you would be here. I suppose you had nothing else to do today?” responded Count Gentoh, skipping any form of pleasantries.

“Not at all. I thought that today’s discussion would be beneficial for my future studies, so I made some time.”

“I see, that’s very diligent of you. An admirable trait, not something I enjoyed much myself.”

My brother had come here as a display of power, demonstrating the fact that he was next in line for the throne; however, it didn’t seem to faze Count Gentoh. Naturally, I had no interest in the throne and Count Gentoh also had no intention of using me as a way to gain power in the central regions. Albert had wasted his time coming here, and I was appalled by his unwarranted suspicion. The count was also quite obviously unimpressed, choosing to directly comment on it.

“I’m jealous you have so much time to dedicate to your studies. Since it’s so laid back here in the central regions, I ought to take it easy myself.” Count Gentoh’s noble upbringing shone through his arguments and thinly veiled sarcasm. I was oddly impressed.

Albert, as one could expect, was here to simply make a statement; however, I wondered if the king was also partly responsible for this—he may have just neglected to tell us the prince would be present as well. Sitting opposite my brother on the sofa, I tried to work out the meaning behind all of this. Although the king was my father, I very rarely interacted with him, so I was unable to discern his real intentions. If it were Ash before me, I’d be able to say right away, “That’s something Ash would do.”

While I pondered on what they could possibly be up to, there was some commotion on the other side of the door, followed by a knock.

“His Majesty has arrived.”

Albert sprung to his feet, while I stood up calmly, and Count Gentoh sluggishly lifted himself up.

We all greeted the king, which he returned with a light nod.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting. Please, relax and take your seats.”

“Before that, Your Majesty, may I ask what’s going on here?” Count Gentoh asked before we moved on to the discussion at hand, glancing in the direction of my brother.

“Very well. Just like yourself, I’m not getting any younger. With the future in mind, I thought it was about time to start building up the prince’s experience and broaden his horizons.”

“That’s certainly important in regards to his education as a royal. That, I understand. However, I wish to know why there were no objections to the prince being in attendance today.”

“This isn’t an official meeting. I was told that this is just a preliminary inquiry.”

It seems they thought this was an informal meeting and thus didn’t feel the need to seek Sacula’s approval beforehand. I had heard that Count Gentoh was on good terms with the king, but even then, that didn’t make this any less inconsiderate. I was unimpressed with this so-called father of mine, but brother Albert was even more discourteous.

“It seems me being here in attendance is an inconvenience to Count Sacula.”

“It’s past being an inconvenience,” said Count Gentoh shortly. He shot a disapproving glance at the disruptive prince.

“It seems that Count Sacula is just as bold as they say.”

Count Gentoh had already turned away from Albert, but the expression on his face looked like he wanted to spit out the words, “rude brat.” At this point, I had to intervene.

“Prince Albert, the king and the count are in the middle of a conversation. Although we may be members of the royal family, I think it best if you do not interrupt. Of course, that goes for me too.”

“Unlike you, I’m actually involved in the affairs of the palace. I should have the right to have my say in a conversation between the king and a noble representative,” Albert snapped back.

“According to His Highness, His Majesty is allowing Prince Albert to be here as a part of his studies as a member of the royal family. If he is joining us as a part of his palace duties, then that changes the premise of this meeting,” stated Count Gentoh.

This was why Count Gentoh was questioning His Majesty so persistently. It was true that we were here for a preliminary inquiry, but this wasn’t a personal catchup; we were here on official business. If this were just useless small talk over tea, a sudden unexpected guest wouldn’t be that much of an issue.

However, there’s no way we would be okay with it in a meeting where we would be discussing private matters. Even more so when the party we were holding the meeting with wasn’t the most amicable. The king who allowed this, and the prince now proudly sitting here, were prime examples of the fact that the apple really doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Count Gentoh understandably let out a sigh.

“I have established a good relationship with you, Your Majesty. I believe that is due to the fact that I have no interest in the central regions, and that the central regions have rarely imposed on our humble city. Thus we’ve rarely had much in the way of political discussions.”

He didn’t say that they had never imposed on Sacula at all. He was indirectly alluding to the fact that we had been given some trouble and had not been appropriately accommodated for it.

“Thus, I am honored that you thought to be at ease with me and think this an informal meeting. However, I would like you to recognize that I am here with permission from Her Highness the Princess as an intermediary for the interests of the frontier regions and the Frontier Alliance. I am not just here as Gentoh.”

I could easily tell that Count Gentoh was being very careful with his words and trying not to break formality. Internally, he was probably screaming with rage. Or, rather, at a point of complete despair and at an absolute loss for...