Capítulo 29: This is about renewing the promise!
18 December 422
"You did good."
I can't still believe that I was actually saying this to Fourier of all people. The guy was just someone that I would've never expected to see running out of the abundant positiveness that I knew him for. But circumstances were unusual already as they were with the fact he had to outlive his entire family, and I wasn't going to make some stupid scene out of the sadness exuding from Fourier's sagging form.
Just as I had expected, the ceremony hadn't been simple nor quick. There were many dignitaries, both from within the Kingdom's border and outside of it.
The entourage from Kararagi proved to be the 'kindest' in terms of mourning. A large purpureal sheet that was meant to be used to cover the king's body.
Despite the fact this wasn't the very world I had left, the idea of purpure as a noble/imperial color seemed to hold within the traditions of the foreign country. There was some reluctance at first to go through and comply with the polite request, but Miklotov himself accepted the offer. The sheet was folded in half and placed just below the deceased monarch's chest.
When the function started, I was impressed by some words offered by the various members of the Sage Council. The group had always been portrayed as opponents to Randohal's interest to modernize and bring equality in his kingdom, but the speeches offered for this very event held a degree of genuineness in depicting the former king's rule as one of 'fairness, stability, and peace'.
It was odd, but then again the reasoning behind their previous opposition was the fact that the king himself didn't have much knowledge over the state of things within the realm. The Sage Council, albeit 'limited' by the laws of the Dragon Kingdom, were still the ones that had been responsible for many of the acts enacted in the last two years.
Against all odds and differences with one another, both entities had been the true protagonists of the decent few years that had preceded the shitstorm that was Re:Zero's Canon Timeline.
Miklotov was the last one to take the large crowds' attention. As the Prime Minister, his words were meant to represent a change... and a line that the government was going to follow for the next couple of years.
And his words shook the entirety of the world.
"The Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica, as agreed by the Council and Crown Prince Fourier Lugnica in a shared mindset, will no longer consider the old Pact with the Dragon legitimate for the current state of sovereignty," The old man proclaimed with a calm but loud enough voice. The direct spectators, mostly the nobles from within the country, were quick to create chaos out of the 'absurd' development taken in that very day. "The stability of the kingdom can no longer be reassured through the Alliance we once had with Volcanica and we've come to the conclusion that something unusual shall happen to confirm a stable and strong monarchy within this nation."
There was a pause, just enough for the leftovers of the previous upstart to be quelled thanks to the guards' presence.
"It was agreed, under special conditions, that a Royal Election will be indicted to determine a successor to King Randohal," Miklotov resumed with his explanation. "Crown Prince Fourier, as requested by his legitimate status, shall be considered the first candidate to this challenge. I will leave him now to provide more details over his candidacy, his motivations and his plans for this nation's future."
While the young prince was nervous to go out and appear strong as he prepared to read 'correctly' the piece of paper containing little speech I had prepared for him, the pep talks prior to this situation seemed to offer a positive outcome to our collective efforts.
There was still some clear suffering going within his posture, but the mighty stand the blond had managed to achieve before nobles and foreign dignitaries of all kind and nations seemed to gain a decent ovation.
Which was good for the long-term campaign that awaited us. We had been given a tremendous advantage in this occasion by Miklotov's implicit support to the cause, something that not only will offer various steps beyond what our future adversaries could ever imagine to pull off, but also offer to the kingdom a 'particular' look to these elections.
It wasn't much agreed by everyone, Fourier had been forced to accept the conditions of this predicament, and that was a terrible attack on him despite the fact he would be a good ruler.
He was a victim, but not a weak one before the public eye. Someone that had been outmaneuvered by the plans enlisted by people older than him. The sages were all aware of this faux notion but... they were all going to die eventually and they weren't going to care for some negative popularity at the end of their illustrious tenure. Considering their collective old age, it was already a miracle that they were all in good health and flawless sanity.
After Fourier was done, I was called to take the place he had been standing on by Miklotov himself. Once I was standing beside the Prime Minister, the elder resumed his speech momentarily to offer me quite the praises by highlighting my 'good deeds' to the kingdom, how I was improving life-conditions through my model administration... and finally how I was going to be his successor to the role of Prime Minister.
There was surprise among the people looking at this novelty. Plenty of nobles had heard of me, and many were elated by the fact that the one that was meant to replace the wise old man to the important job wasn't someone greedy or corrupt.
But many ambassadors hadn't heard about me. Kararagi's entourage was fascinated by the development, while the small Vollachian group stared at me with 'aggressive impassiveness'. It was the four men from Gusteko that seemed to be 'overjoyed' by this news.
Fanatics, I could tell at first sight. It was like looking at multiple 'slightly saner' Petelgueses trying to celebrate me as some deity. Truly an unpleasant sight for sure from my part.
Still, the mere silent standing wasn't 'accepted' by Miklotov as he soon requested from me a speech to elaborate what my 'promotion' to the role was going to entail. I remember tensing up, holding my breath a little, but still proceeding with what was going to be one of the most important milestones of my career here in this world.
"Citizens of Lugnica, ambassadors from Gusteko, from Kararagi, and from Volacchia... I greet you all with a brave face, a steady heart, and a lucid mind," I started with a loud voice. "Today, we mourn the passing of King Randohal, the last king to the Old Order that has assured a perpetual state of peace within the borders of this kingdom. An era that had plenty of bumps because of internal issues born from reluctance to make small steps forward, but still one that didn't see our livelihood threatened by threats."
I sighed. "I will not delude anyone by saying what will happen from now on. I don't think I'm prepared to make promises that I'm not sure to keep, nor I will attempt to coax people to believe my way is the best one. I refuse to propose this kind of lies..." I took a pause, glancing around and scanning for any skepticism from the crowd. There was none. "But I can affirm with utmost certainty, and with undeniable faith, that my beliefs are for the betterment of the kingdom... with only a reward in mind as a man of truth I always request in my projects."
...
"I want people to be happy," I continued with a sigh. "I want everyone, from those in this room to those that right now are just listening through rumors or other means, to have a chance at being happy. To never see the horror and the dread that are caused by today's problems. To never suffer the chances of being considered 'bad' all because of circumstances beyond their means of influence."
There was some chattering. A couple of dignitaries had already noticed what kind of topic I was highlighting in that situation and I sighed. This was going to be tough to sell.
"But before I continue, I wish to make something clear once and for all. Something that will clear doubts and uncertainties that are currently preventing you all to judge me with a clear thought," I muttered with a nod. "A clarification that stems from the negativity born from the recent conflict within our nation. I wish to state clearly and loudly enough for everyone to understand that... I believe in 'innocence before guilt'. That people should only be judged by their actions, and not by their background. That trials are to do what they were meant to do since the first trial happened. It needs to highlight a crime, to explain the reasons behind the crime and to extract a verdict to condemn said crime while also establishing a precedent for future heinous deeds of the same kind."
...
"You may think that I stand by one side, and that I actually accept the idea of factions within the monarchy and... you would be wrong on both occasions," I resumed sternly. "While some would expect this 'liberalization' to come in and sweep the current order, I can assure you that such process would be more harmful than beneficial to those that merely wish to align their desires to mine. I'm not aiming for a subversion of the nature of this kingdom, but I wish to state what has been obvious for years now. We can't all depend on the status quo, and if there's a need to improvement it has to be for everyone. Not only for the poor people, not only for the merchants, not only for the military, not only for the nobles... not only for the government."
Surprisingly enough, this last bit managed to silence out completely the entire room. I felt a slight panic at the chance that I had fucked up with this ambitious and bold speech, but then I noticed that every single one of the nobles was staring at me... raptly and with extreme interest. I could see some close to drool and... that was a sight I really didn't want to get distracted with.
Speak about improvements for everyone and guarantee the nobility a bright future, the doors of heaven shall open to the daring one.
"Still, just as I've mentioned early on in my speech... this is all part of my beliefs, and not my real plans," I started to make steps to the conclusion of this speech. I wasn't in the mood of stealing the floor for too long. "True plans, those that I will seek to implement, have yet to be truly formulated. The functions and the administrative branch of the kingdom as a whole is still an unknown variable to my knowledge and I plan to correct this by properly learn under the wise advice of Prime Minister Miklotov. I hope that I will not disappoint with my devotion and loyalty to a strong and prosperous Kingdom of Lugnica. Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm glad to be here and... may King Randohal be remembered as one of the greatest kings this nation had ever been blessed with."
I expected more silence as I was gestured to leave by Miklotov, the elder giving me an intrigued but pleased glance as I made my slow retreat back to where Fourier and the others were sitting by.
Much to my immense surprise, the entire room exploded with applause and I could hear some praises erupting from the crowd of people that had listened to my words. I almost tripped when I first heard of that loud reaction, but then I straightened my posture to a calm demeanor and returned to my seat.
The ceremony was now over, and with nothing else left to be done, we were making our way back to the living quarters.
Patting my at his shoulder, Fourier managed let out a reluctant but agreeing sigh at my little comment. The young man was finally free from the 'strong' facade that he had been forced to wear in front of so many individuals, and he wasn't restraining himself in showing his melancholy. Crusch was walking beside us, keeping by Fourier's free side and trying her best to appear comforting to the uneasy-looking blond.
Since she had never experienced the dreadful emotion of a close relative's death, the young woman was absolutely clueless in what good approach to take. Instead of daring in making something unique, she decided, rightfully so, to stick by a pattern close to what I was doing. Quick praises that were to highlight his 'bravery', and to coax him to lessen up his broody self.
Felix was a couple of steps behind us, still keeping close as we all were quickly trying to get through the various halls of the castle without getting stopped by anyone along the way.
Truly an interesting task, but one that had yet to find any issues with the lack of major figures standing in our way.
Still, the stroll wasn't a completely silent one as Fourier wasn't planning to keep quiet during the trip. He sighed, straightening his shoulder and offering me a calm look.
I glanced back at him with a quizzical glint, waiting for him to react as I tried to get a glimpse of what he was planning to talk about from his red eyes.
Truly a difficult task, especially with how well the blond had mastered the sublime art of poker face. Now I needed to teach him how to play some serious card game and he will be robbing casinos left and right in no time- Oh right, there are no casinos in Lugnica... yet.
"How are you... so good with speeches?"
The question was delivered in a quiet and slow manner, but I took a moment to properly digest it as it was fairly... unexpected.
"You mean, how do I know what to say at the right time?"
He nodded, and I sighed in return.
"I studied. A lot. For a long time."
The blond frowned at my response. "I was aware of that- but what did you study to know how to do this so flawlessly?"
Aw, that's a nice compliment... but not the bit of the query I should stop to think about.
"I would say that it wasn't a single subject. My knowledge comes from studying various things and... this knowledge in turn allows me to do this kind of stuff independently."
"What if I... wanted to learn about these subjects?"
...Oh? That's... an interesting development. I mean, I had seen Fourier being rather dutiful with his role but... I hadn't seem him so much-
Determined? No, he was desperate for answers. Answers about the inability that Miklotov had been pointing out for so long. And answers about why I could do so much without having a royal pedigree to back up my lexical capacity.
"Then I wouldn't mind teaching you about Dialectic," I replied with a curious look directed at him. "Which I can assure will be more than enough to help you with these speeches."
He raised a confused eyebrow. "Only that?"
"Oh no," I said while shaking my head. "That might help in talking with people, making speeches, and working with dignitaries... but then there are the economic subjects and the ones about diplomacy."
The young man grimaced a little... but then he gave a solid nod. "I will take these on too."
I frowned at that. "Fourier, I can do that for you, but I hope you understand that it has a price to it."
...
He stopped, surprised by my words as I stopped myself to stare at him with a serious look. He looked shocked, but his face quickly regained from what I had just said.
"What? Why?"
"Consider it more of an important things I need you to do for me. Something I really want you to do for me as a friend."
The blond blinked in surprise. "And that is?"
"I want you to... tell me how you're feeling right now," I replied earnestly. "I want you to tell me what you're keeping bottled up right now, without restriction nor hesitation."
Felix hummed as he moved closer and between Fourier and I.
"Isn't that a little bit too direct, Johnyah?"
I glanced at the cat-eared knight with a sad look and then sighed.
"I can understand what you're trying to say and... I can't just let him keep with this torture," I answered with a tense tone. "I know that he's trying his best to not give this impression, but now I can pick up when you're lying, Fourier."
He snorted. "I'm not."
"Another lie," I muttered and I saw the prince's face show a scowl at that.
"As if you're unable to lie-"
"Never made that assumption," I swiftly interjected. "I'm still human after all."
"But you're still a prodigy to Miklotov," He commented back. "And... and dad gave you so much political power-"
"Miklotov never said that. He just mentioned I was the best choice to replace him, not the smartest," I interrupted again, this time my voice growing tired of this charade. "People around him are running on stagnation. They wallow in people's sorrow to survive in the political landscape. And do you really want to know why your father, King Randohal, decided to give me this much trust?"
...
"I thought about it myself the very night he gave me this much prestige and title, and I got an answer when I started to evaluate what would've happened to you once he was gone," I ranted, my irritation swelling for some reason. "People want you dead, Fourier. And not just for the crown you might end up inheriting."
"W-What?"
"John, perhaps you're being too harsh about it and-"
"I can still treat him like a pampered child, but the truth is the truth," I interjected, glancing at Crusch with a tired look. "If someone wanted him dead, they can remove everyone he cares and trust from his proximity and have him vanish in mere instance. Or that would've been the case if I wasn't there to keep a watch over you."
"What do you mean, Johnyah?" Felix quipped with a frown. "I'm quite sure that Reinhard would've-"
"Been sent to a mission. Perhaps a diplomatic one with you and Julius as part of the attaché," I concluded for him. "Crusch can be forced to return to her home if some of her neighbors decide to move troops near to her land's border."
"And why are you the only choice for that? Wouldn't you fear for Erindor to fall if someone decided to move troops at it?"
"Nope," I answered while shrugging. "I've two reasons to not worry for any of that. First, my only neighbor is someone that I've come to trust to not try anything foul of that kind on me."
Priscilla would've never dared to pull a backstab of that caliber. We would still engage in some shouting contest once in a while when we would visit each other's domains, but I was sure enough to say that she considered me a friend. Or a good ally to not use as cannon fodder for more fame and power.
There's so much wrong between the young woman and me. But it was the wrong that made things right, like the fact that she had slowly lost faith in getting me to address her by her title.
Small progress was still progress in my eyes.
"Second thing is... I have a big army garrisoning the city," I admitted without hesitation. "After what happened with that crazy prince, I've made sure to leave a substantial and 'beyond sufficient' garrison within the walls and some divisions well spread out in military encampments around Erindor."
Once I was done with that explanation, I returned my attention on Fourier.
"I should be angry," I muttered quietly. "I should feel so furious at the fact that you truly believed I would've accepted this kind of deflection to avoid answering my questions."
There was an awkward silence at my accusation. Crusch was the first one to recover from my last words.
"What?"
Yep, we're reaching that kind of utter insanity. Only when I'm dealing with Fourier's emotions I end up facing these situations.
"I don't know what you're-"
"You were there when your father first spoke to me. Miklotov also alluded to you about this situation multiple times now and I know you're goofy, but not stupid," I interjected fiercely. "That might've worked if I wasn't seriously invested in really pulling your head out of the ground, but right now I'm too much interested in getting you back to healthy shape."
"Then you can help me with the subjects and... yeah, that would work."
"No. No, it wouldn't," I muttered back with a sigh. "We've been about this since-"
"W-Wait, Johnyah. I think I might have misunderstood but..." Felix looked incredibly unsure what he could truly say about this mess unraveling so quickly before his eyes. "But did you just call your highness out for trying to lie his way out of your request?"
"I-It wasn't a lie. I just thought that it would've been correct to... bring these matters up to you two," The blond blurted out suddenly, nodding at his own BS. "Y-Yeah, that's what it is."
"Fourier," I stated blankly. "It really doesn't work on me."
He tensed up at the newest call out and, just as he prepared another excuse, I decided to spring into action and pull him in a hug.
The prince didn't mind, in fact his arms moved quickly to wrap around my waist as I dived his head by my chest. I started ruffling his hair.
"You're a moron," I commented with some conviction in my words. "But a good-hearted moron. Which is why I don't mind babying you from time to time, like a little brother you are."
Seriously, first it was Edna with her bouts of reluctance to speak with me when I wanted to not deal with Ivan's crazy moments through her recounting, then it's Sphinx and her voracious craving for more books to read and re-read. Then there was the Witch of Envy trying to make contact through tapping at the shield I used to go and visit Satella with.
Since when did I became the caretaker of most of this world's most important individuals?
I wasn't minding that but... the burden was starting to strain at my poor psyche.
The blond snorted at my comment, yet he seemed unwilling to part away from that hug. I saw Crusch look at the scene with mild surprise and I expected Ferris to have a similar reaction. But then again the Demihuman was not someone that liked to be excluded from embraces.
The young Duchess turned perplexed at the growing hug and... I gestured her to join in. There was some hesitation as she wasn't truly much of a hugger... still, the drastic issue called for drastic solutions and she went on with it.
Fourier was literally caged in that hug box and, despite his little protests of being 'unwilling to be subjected to this much affection', the young prince had completely surrendered at the embrace, almost growing limper in our hold.
It sounded like the usual resolution to this kind of maddening scenes and I felt mostly sure that this new situation was going to be concluded once we were back in a more private setting to discuss about the young man's problems.
But just as I got more distracted in that embrace, I felt a strange pressure develop behind me. It was soft at first, but then it grew a little more... difficult to ignore. Arms were wrapped around my lower waist and I could feel a head tentatively pressing under Fourier's arms.
Confusion swelled well within my chest as the embrace came to an end and I addressed the strange sensation. I glanced behind and froze at the sight of a certain individual giving me a sneaky hug.
My jaws dropped at the close-eyed crouched form of a certain white-haired half-elf seemingly too distracted by that one-sided situation. I blinked, and soon the rest of the group took notice of the reason why I looked that much tense and incredibly confused.
"Uh..."
My little confused noise seemed to get the girl's attention, and I saw Emilia slowly turn up with her violet eyes open and looking in slight panic at my face.
"Hi."
She eeped and pushed me off before bolting out of the hallway with quite the swift pace. I stared in shock at the scene, almost failing to stabilize myself after that shoving and... I frowned.
"Did she just..."
"I don't know."
...
What the fuck did I just see there?
Afterthoughts: What in the heck is- Omake, I need answers!
Yes, boss!
Omake 8: Innocent Must
"I'm still confused about why you decided to do that, Lia."
Puck's tone felt incredibly confused. No, it sounded terribly surprised by the lack of reasoning behind his contractor's sudden action...
And Emilia couldn't exactly answer that very strange urge without ending up getting teased because of it.
It wasn't like she had any reason to go around and hug people she didn't know much about. Especially if said stranger was actually someone she admired for his interesting ideas about good governance.
John Bukharin was a... model administrator. Or at least she could see him working well as one with how well Erindor had fared in the last few months under his care.
A man with seemingly no fear for the burdens of being the mayor of a major city like the one he ruled over, but also a benevolent aura that just made people feel at peace around him.
It was difficult to just ignore the magical trace that promised genuine trust and warmth. His gate was releasing just a careful amount of energy, just enough to keep it working and... it was quick to affect her. As a half-elf, Emilia was susceptible to particular magical patterns.
Sometimes those would leave her terrified, while others, rarely, would offer her solace and a trustworthy outline.
John's energy was... sublime. It was alluring to a painful degree for her, to the point where she just had to move and catch a quick hug.
The result of that hasty? It had been just as perfect as the allure had felt to her. Then the embarrassment had peeled her off from the shocked-looking young man.
This had been the first time in a long while since she had the chance of hugging someone that wasn't Puck. Sure, the spirit was someone that she trusted to be her surrogate step-father... but hugging a spirit was more complicated than hugging a normal human being. It didn't help that Puck had a specialization in Ice just like her and... it made any embraces feel like she was hugging herself.
It was just plain odd. Just like she had done with the probably angry mayor. She almost hoped to not be caught- she needed to find Roswaal.
Still, the girl couldn't help but ponder over the reason that had her wandering alone in the castle, away from Rem's and Ram's attentive watch, and right to where the Prince and his little group had started with that unexpected discussion. Emilia had just wanted to get to talk with the mayor, and maybe hope for some advice with her own plans for the kingdom.
It would've left her sad if someone of his mind and morality just abandoned the post because his favorite candidate wasn't elected, so she knew that she needed to be ready to take that complicated job on her own.
At first she had expected for John to be just a big delusion. His early intervention feeling rather cruel, if not despicable with how unwell the prince had looked back at that point.
But then the twist had come and her mind had felt going blank at the unexpected turn of events. Rather confusing, but also educative since she was given a glimpse of who the prince was.
Fourier Lugnica. Roswaal had told her that the blond was quite pampered and incredibly silly, but upon closer inspection through that unexpected situation, Emilia could easily say that the Margrave's comment was mostly outdated.
While the prince wasn't shy from being naturally silly before his friends, the strange twist that had ensued quickly highlighted how difficult it was to decipher whenever Fourier was telling the truth or not.
She continued to muse over this matter until she eventually ended up finding someone she was familiar with. Ram looked quite surprised when she turned the umpteenth corner and found Emilia looking at her with a surprised look.
"Lady Emilia?" The pink-haired maid increased her pace to meet up with the fellow girl. "Where were you? We couldn't find you and-"
"S-Sorry, I had to use the bathroom and... I kind of got lost for a while."
The young woman granted her a confused look hinting to some suspicions too, but the girl relented and merely decided to take her ward back to her master.
Things sure are going odd during this visit at the castle.
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