Chapter 23

Why are there still concubine candidates living in the detached palace within the royal castle, even though I am the queen?

The cause of this twisted situation dates back to the founding of the Wolfwald Kingdom.

The royal family to which His Majesty Grenreed belongs has a history spanning several hundred years.

However, the history of the Wolfwald Kingdom is only about a hundred and several decades long.

At that time, there were five small countries in this area, including the one governed by the ancestors of His Majesty Grenreed.

These small countries, being small, were often looked down upon and troubled by external enemies.

To counter the threats from neighboring countries and monsters, they decided to unite as one country, with the ancestor of His Majesty Grenreed, who had the most influence among the small countries, as their common king.

The area where the current capital, where I now reside, is located was the land that the ancestors of His Majesty Grenreed had ruled for generations.

The territories of the former four small countries surround this land, which is situated in the central part of the country, forming the outline of the kingdom.

Although it is now one country, it was once five different countries until about a hundred and several decades ago, and the situation within the country is far from unified.

While the royal family is solely that of His Majesty Grenreed, the descendants of the royal families of the other four small countries still hold significant power as dukes.

This situation has had a clear impact on the selection of queens over the generations.

In principle, the queen is chosen from the ducal families, the descendants of the royal families of the former four small countries.

While the situation is slightly different for concubines, most of the queens throughout history have come from the four ducal families.

Each generation of kings has chosen their official queen from among the candidates proposed by the four ducal families.

Indeed, two years ago, each of the four ducal families presented a queen candidate to His Majesty Grenreed.

At that time, His Majesty Grenreed had just ascended the throne after the sudden death of his father, and it had only been about a year.

Although he was known as the Silver Wolf King and had achieved great feats on the battlefield, his influence within the country was far from solid.

That is why he had no choice but to accept the queen candidates proposed by the four ducal families into the detached palace.

The four queen candidates lived in the detached palace within the royal castle, quietly competing to become the queen.

They also tried to approach His Majesty, but I have heard that he, who dislikes women, was not swayed by them.

... I think His Majesty's dislike of women is also a political convenience.

His Majesty has been on the throne for three years and is currently consolidating his power within the country.

If he were to immediately choose a queen, there would be a high possibility of the queen's family interfering in the government.

To avoid such a future, I was chosen as the white feather.

While he does not want to welcome a queen from the four candidates, leaving the position of queen vacant for too long is also difficult.

Thus, I was selected as a temporary queen, a decorative queen.

To reiterate, it is customary for the queen of this country to be chosen from the four ducal families.

No one in this country, including myself, expects me to remain queen indefinitely.

His Majesty is consolidating his power and will eventually choose a queen to be by his side for life.

My role is nothing more and nothing less than a temporary decorative queen.

If I can maintain a 'white marriage' and spend two years, I will step down from the position of queen.

This is why the four queen candidates are still staying in the detached palace, continuing to aim for the position of future queen.

"Welcome, Lady Letitia, to Lady Natalie's detached palace."

A man dressed in a servant's uniform bowed respectfully.

Lady Natalie is one of the queen candidates and a young lady from the royal family that once ruled the western small country, one of the former four small countries.

Lady Natalie's detached palace is a beautiful stone building with intricate carvings.

It is located a short distance west of the main castle and, to be honest, is several levels better in both location and structure than my detached palace.

There are several reasons why I was given such a remote detached palace, but I have not pursued them as I am not troubled by it.

My detached palace, located in the forest.

That quiet place, with few people, was perfect for a relaxed, laid-back life.

The days of playing with the wolves and freely engaging in cooking were a gift.

Regardless of His Majesty Grenreed's true intentions, I was grateful.

A leisurely life.

But at the same time, I am, after all, the queen, even if only in name.

For about ten days, the four queen candidates have been maneuvering behind the scenes to see who would be the first to make contact with me, and it seems that Lady Natalie ended up inviting me.

Although she is now one of the queen candidates, Lady Natalie might become the official queen in a few years.

I could not simply turn down her invitation, so I left my beloved detached palace, temporarily putting my slow life on hold.

I wanted to meet Lady Natalie in person.

I did, but...

...it is a bit troublesome and depressing, to be honest.

"Please enter, Lady Letitia."

The servant announced, and the door to the dining room opened.

Beyond the door, the dining room, which used a lot of glass, was beautifully decorated.

However, even at this point, a pungent smell of spices was already in the air.

There was no food on the table yet.

It was supposed to be brought in after I sat down, so the smell now was probably a lingering scent.

The smell, even without the food, was enough to deepen my depression.

As I sighed inwardly, a girl with light blue hair turned her gaze toward me.

"Welcome, Lady Letitia. We are all delighted to have you here."

Her voice, beautiful like the ringing of a glass bell, fell from her small lips.

The young lady from the ducal family that governs the western part of the Wolfwald Kingdom.

The youngest of the queen candidates, residing in the western detached palace.

In a place filled with the smell of spices, I met a beautiful young girl with a face as perfect as a doll.