Chapter 197 Summons

After three days in the capital, I headed toward the palace.

Today, the head of each family had been summoned.

I represented Duke Armenia’s family as replacement leader.

Every other attendee was male. I was the only woman present.

Today I wore a top that resembled a banquet overcoat, and a similar gown to match.

Not that I had spent much time picking it out. It was more just a spur of the moment mood.

The large conference room was quite different from a regular waiting room.

All the seats were spaced evenly apart in a circular arrangement surrounding a center, like a parliamentary setup.

This place retained several aspects from the start of this nation.

In the past, this country had sometimes courted the local authorities with gentle tact, sometimes conquering them by force. That was how the nation had been formed. To avoid chaos in the early days of this nation, the powers from each local district gathered here to discuss in a forum moderated by the king, deciding together how the country might develop in the future.

Several nobles clustered together to whisper to each other when I appeared.

Several people frowned, while some gazed at me with contempt.

…To be honest, the obvious stares were annoying me.

Suddenly, I saw Duke Anderson surrounded by a group of people.

He seemed to have seen me as well, smiling at me.

This was enough to dissipate my bad mood somewhat. I greeted him with a smile as well.

The seats had already been decided according to each family’s ranking.

Because I represented a duke’s family, I sat near the very front.

I frowned at Marquis Maelia’s presence beside me. Not just because he was an enemy.

The seating order had been decided in the founding days of this country, with strict rules in place enforcing it.

With the round seating arrangements, there were fewer seats that were closer to the king. In other words, the families that ranked highly were also few in number.

This wasn’t decided by each family’s economic situation. It was just the order of the families…so seats this close to the front were only reserved for other duke’s families.

Marquis Maelia, who was no more than a Marquis, sat in a seat representing the power of a duke as if nothing were amiss.

The fact that no one had pointed this out seemed to symbolize that something was quite off…

Suppressing my headache, I glanced around.

Most of the nobles had showed up this time. Even the first prince’s faction led by the retired Earl Sagittaria had all come.

The only one who was missing was Baron Messi.

With a servant announcing the entrance of the king, the whole room quieted down immediately.

After that, Queen Ellia and Prince Edward walked into the front door, along with Yuri, settling into their seats.

“I summoned everyone here with business concerning the king of this nation.”

Queen Ellia started to speak in a serious tone once she was seated.

“As everyone knows, the country is currently in a difficult period. We need someone with strong leading power. Other than Edward here, who else has that ability?”

Although it was supposed to be a question, the tone that I heard in my head was one of a statement of fact. I’m sure everyone else there heard the same.

“The queen is right! No one else would make a better king than Prince Edward. Shouldn’t everyone else be hastening to celebrate the birth of a new king?!”

Marquis Maelia’s words were enough to trigger everyone in the second prince’s faction to stand and applaud.

In response to them, Prince Edward stood up as well.

“Thank you, everyone. I promise everyone now that I will become an outstanding king befitting of your expectations.”

I was shocked by Queen Ellia and Prince Edward’s words.