Chapter 48

At the National Foundation Day celebration, Litanie’s role was simply to engage in conversation to entertain the guests. Her mother, being a concubine, did not participate, and Kiara, being too young, could not join. Gerald, who had been disinherited, was not even considered. Furthermore, the queen, Gerald’s mother, had already left due to feeling unwell. Normally, the role that the queen would undertake fell to Litanie.

Litanie was currently at the peak of her irritation, and it all started with a conversation with the Queen of Suvania.

Litanie had seen Queen Sisletia interacting with Alvis, and at the time, she did not feel any discomfort with Sisletia’s actions. However, after actually speaking with her, her opinion changed completely.

The conversation, in summary, was about how great the goddess that Suvania worships is.

Litanie is a princess without succession rights. However, it is a well-known fact that she is Alvis’s cousin. In the noble circles of Rubelia, it is common knowledge that Alvis and Litanie are close. Sisletia must have heard this from somewhere.

The ultimate goal, which even a fool could understand, was to use Litanie’s agreement to persuade Alvis. Her smiles and nods were merely social pleasantries. Sisletia’s reign is not short, and she must understand this. So, what does she gain by talking to Litanie? Litanie pondered but could not figure it out.

When Sisletia’s long conversation ended, the guests began to enjoy the party on their own. Litanie considered her duties to be over. She called out to a nearby guard and headed to her reliable uncle.

“Uncle Rakwell?”

“Litanie, is something wrong?”

“I have something I’d like to discuss.”

“Discuss?”

With a furrowed brow, Rakwell listened as Litanie, after checking that no one was around, spoke about her conversation with Sisletia. Rakwell sighed deeply, almost as if he was exasperated.

“Uncle?”

“... Queen Sisletia will not show you what she truly holds inside. She must understand that you felt uncomfortable.”

“Then why...”

“Who knows. I can’t say for sure. But...”

“But?”

While speaking, Rakwell averted his gaze from Litanie. Litanie followed his gaze, which landed on Alvis.

“The goddess is of great importance to Suvania. She might be probing to understand him better.”

“Probing, you say...”

She was trying to figure out how to create a favorable situation for Suvania. That’s what Rakwell was saying. If that’s the case, even if the engagement proposal was rejected, it wouldn’t be a problem for Suvania.

Suvania is a theocratic state. Religion is only one of the pillars for the people. In countries like Rubelia, the cathedral is only used for ceremonial purposes, deliberately avoiding any political entanglements. However, Suvania is the opposite. It is a country closely tied to religion, prioritizing the goddesses over the queen. The religion itself is widely followed in Rubelia, so it cannot be ignored. The response to Suvania had to be cautious.

Even without studying statecraft, Litanie understood this much. She also knew that Alvis did not approve of his contract with the goddess, and the reason the surrounding countries were in an uproar was due to the power of the goddess.

“As a ruler, he’s carrying too much.”

“... Wasn’t that what you and the others did?”

Her voice came out lower than expected. Rakwell was truly reliable, more so than her real father. However, there was one thing she could not accept, and that was regarding Alvis.

The family situation of the Duke of Belfias was not simple, especially concerning her eldest brother, Maglia. The second son, Alvis, was affected by this. Even Litanie felt lonely. The actual person must have felt even more so. Childhood experiences do not easily fade. At the very least, the current way of thinking of Alvis was shaped by the Duke of Belfias. It was not something that could be dismissed as someone else’s problem.

Seeing Litanie’s expression, Rakwell’s lips curved into a smile.

“You really understand that boy.”

“At least, I spent more time with him when we were young than you did.”

“It’s a painful thing to hear. I also regret that.”

“Of course.”

“I think my brother regrets it too. Not facing you, especially after the Gerald incident.”

“It’s too late now.”

Even if they regretted it, Litanie had no demands of the king. She only hoped that he would act more like a father to Kiara.

After the party, Litanie, still preoccupied with her conversation with Suvania, followed Alvis’s back when she saw him. She felt a sense of disgust when he entered her father’s office, but she was curious about his expression when he entered. Despite knowing it was wrong, she gently opened the door to the office and peeked inside.

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