Chapter 29

Prince Leonhardt's proposal to add the selection of a fiancée to the princess's education was presented to His Majesty by Father and Brother, who went to the palace together. It is currently under deliberation and negotiation.

Duke Roderick is not one to sit idly by, so things won't go smoothly according to our plans. After all, for Duke Roderick, it's simply a matter of Lady Sandika being chosen as Prince Leonhardt's fiancée.

Naturally, he will obstruct or oppose it.

To involve Steizen in the selection of the prince's fiancée, Brother Carlos is being put forward as a kind of 'offer.' This gives even a 'leftover' young lady the chance to become a duchess. If this proposal goes through, it also means that Lady Schlegel, whom Prince Leonhardt admires, could receive princess education. Whether a family will come forward to be her guardian depends on what happens next.

Since this proposal comes from Steizen, it will be seen as 'If this goes through, there's a possibility for us too' by those outside Roderick and his faction, making it a beneficial proposal. Even if it doesn't go through, it won't be a significant negative for Steizen.

However, the crucial issue is that if the royal family intended to choose Lady Sandika from the Roderick family, wouldn't they have chosen her long ago?

...Yes.

At this point, the royal family has not chosen the Roderick family. This is a sore point for Roderick. They might be told, "If Roderick were satisfactory, wouldn't Lady Sandika already be named as the prince's fiancée?" This is why we are making such a proposal now. I, too, was in a position to be chosen. I feel sympathy for Lady Sandika.

Regarding this matter, it's unclear what Brother Carlos's intentions are, but Father is presenting it as a statement of dissatisfaction with the royal family. Or rather, the current situation. At this point, the royal family could choose the Roderick family. They just want to decide the crown prince's fiancée quickly. From Steizen's perspective.

Previously, they pressured me into an engagement. So, "I wonder if they are still toying with Angelina, who is supposed to marry a border baron?" If that happens, the country will inevitably be in turmoil. Are they planning to make Baltsline, the kingdom's strongest military power, their enemy? ...I suspect the discussions between the royal family, the two great ducal families, and other noble families and ministers are tense and chaotic.

All of this is because Prince Leonhardt hasn't decided on a fiancée quickly. No, he has likely chosen someone in his heart. However, the treatment of that person is difficult. He needs to decide on a guardian for her, and the selection of that guardian is time-consuming.

With Lady Sandika present, it would be strange for the Roderick family to become Lady Schlegel's guardian. If that were the case, they would choose Lady Sandika.

I don't think Steizen will become her guardian. Although I didn't want it, I can say, "Didn't the royal family already cancel my engagement to Angelina?" It would be unreasonable to refuse an engagement with a direct noble daughter and then ask the same family to be the guardian of the prince's favorite young lady. Of course, we quickly formed an alliance with Baltsline while the royal family was dragging their feet.

By elimination, I assume they are asking one of the marquess families to be Lady Schlegel's guardian. If they are not lazy or if Prince Leonhardt is serious about Lady Schlegel, he should already be taking action.

I'm not sure which marquess family it is, but they might not find this proposal interesting. After all, they were planning to welcome the prince's favorite young lady into their family.

However, there are also benefits for that family. ...It allows them to assess Lady Schlegel. If she is the ultimate winner, a guardian is necessary anyway. It's just a matter of order.

But at this stage, while Lady Schlegel's academic performance is not bad, her 'other' aspects are unknown. If this proposal goes through, they can thoroughly assess her before becoming her guardian. Especially, the educational and selection content proposed by Brother Carlos emphasizes non-academic aspects. For the unknown marquess family, this is information they want to assess and know.

"In summary, the benefits of this proposal are..."

First, the benefit for the Steizen family is that they can welcome an excellent young lady as the heir's fiancée. The excellence that will be publicly disclosed will also enhance the prestige of the duchess. It will also be a favor to the royal family, as this situation is due to Prince Leonhardt's whims.

For Prince Leonhardt and Lady Schlegel, the benefit is that she can start her princess education early. We can't let them complain about this point. We can only say, "What do you intend to do?" especially to the prince. Of course, some marquess family might object.

However, there are also benefits for that marquess family. They can assess Lady Schlegel's qualities before officially becoming her guardian. They can determine if she will benefit their family.

Since she is not their own daughter, they should want to fully understand Lady Schlegel's character. However, it would be difficult to accept her guardianship just because the future king, the prince, has requested it. If the crown prince were to force this, it would raise concerns about his future. They are not taking on the guardianship to be exploited by the royal family.

There are also benefits for the Roderick family. The benefit is based on the fact that "Roderick has not been chosen by the royal family at this point." If this proposal is accepted, Lady Sandika can officially take a seat as a candidate for Prince Leonhardt's fiancée. She can finally start from the starting line. From there, it depends on her abilities.

If her qualities are assessed, even if Prince Leonhardt causes trouble, she might be chosen as the prince's fiancée by the king's will. Even if she is not chosen by Prince Leonhardt, Lady Sandika can aim for the duchess position. It's much better than just waiting as she is now. She can also proceed with princess education.

The benefits for other noble families are self-evident. And... by publicly assessing the qualities, the nobles and ministers can strongly assert, "If there is a young lady with the qualities to be the future queen, she should be the queen!" This can avoid the meaningless stagnation of the past.

...I don't know the benefits for the royal family. I feel like giving up because I can't see what they are thinking.

Why did they cancel the engagement with Steizen? Why don't they choose Roderick? Why do they let the prince freely love a baron's daughter?

I want to hear the answers to these questions from the Bertzurian royal family soon.

"Miss, a letter has arrived."

"Letter? Thank you."

I received the letter from the maid.

"Oh, this is..."

The letter was an invitation from Viscount Milanchetta.

...My engagement to Lord Ash. The Steizen ducal family and the Baltsline border baron family decided to improve the 'road' connecting the duchy and the border. Geographically, it is a place that one passes through when traveling from the capital to Baltsline. The territory is managed by Viscount Milanchetta.

In short, we used to take a detour to travel between the capital and Baltsline, which took two weeks. With the road improvements in the Milanchetta territory, it will be possible to travel 'straight' by carriage. This should reduce the travel time to about a week.

Strictly speaking, the route is more complex, but in simple terms, it's like this. In addition to improving the road, they are building 'post towns' in the Milanchetta territory. Of course, this is a joint project funded by Steizen and Baltsline. If it functions, there will be no need to stay at other locations, making travel to the border smoother.

The road improvements and post town construction in the Milanchetta territory have been completed. The letter I received is a report of their completion and an invitation to a festival celebrating the new town.

It has been a year since my engagement to Lord Ash was decided. Despite the issues around the royal family, good things continue to happen to Angelina Steizen.

I think it will take about 8 more episodes to conclude.

I would be grateful if you could stay with me until the end.