Finley Cai Aies Hall April 17th, 20XX

In the tiny ledge I had taken refuge in I desperately circulated my magic into the invisibility/Magic erasing spell, which quite ironically required a lot of magic to maintain.

Cambridge and the General stood off and Esmarelda laid crumpled onto the ground but I didn't even want to acknowledge her existence at the moment.

On top of having to maintain the spell I had also been slammed with a lot of information and needed to process.

This was a problem….

“But apologies still need to be made to the prince for what happened and punishment still needs to be given-”

“ Of course I have thought of it and am prepared to have my Ruan duchy swear further fealty and alignment with the prince and whoever the queen becomes.. and as for my punishment I will temporarily merge my army with the royal army and join with them. Truly devoting my body to the crown and the people under its protection.”

Her words were a lot more flowery than necessary but the earnestness was loud and clear and no one who heard it would think that she was lying. however, Cambridge didn't let her go.

As the two went back and forth Cambridge's intentions became clear to me and as resistant as I still was I couldn't fault them. The fairy world still needed a Ruler, and it sure wasn't going to be me. Even if I wanted too.

The General finally spat out through gritted teeth,

“ Lieutenant Gagnon remember that my actions were beyond me. I was hardly conscious of what I was doing as I did it”

Ah.

She had mentioned something like that previously with Esmeralda but I would have to do my own research later on.

Cambridge finally dropped the fake considerate act and cut straight to the point.

“ General Ruan that's enough dancing around the situation. I’m sure you know what I mean. the kingdom needs a Queen and you're currently the only one both strong enough in power and status to take up the role. Originally we considered duchess Jaya but-”

She stopped here and continued on another line as if the former had not been said.

“- and the other families are hardly worth mention.”

The general was not a political person, as she had proven over and over again. she let her full range of emotions show across her face as she spat,

“ Lieutenant Gagnon, If I’d had no intentions of marrying his highness would I have even come to the palace? But you are well aware of what happened I'm sure and that was only after a few minutes of being in his presence. If I had to be continuously around him I fear for the worst…... Can’t you have some mercy and let me go?”

Corin finally rolled her eyes and said in a tone of voice far too light for a response to the general's speech.

“ As if your magic perception is any higher than ours… please calm down and think rationally General. My younger sister isn't speaking so ambiguously to have made you miss the point.”

The General’s face fell as she thought through the statement and then rage flashed across her face but it soon settled into resignation.

And this was totally unrelated to the scene but it was only then that I realized how boring the people I hung out with were. Corin and Cambridge would always keep proprietary around me and would have the same expressions all the time, switching between duty bound and over-doting.

Will always had that infernal smile on his face, Jake was always depressed about his girlfriend although he tried to hide it and Theodulus was always angry with me for whatever reason.

“ You wish for me to let the prince seal my powers?”

Corin clapped almost sarcastically but her eyes kept drifting towards my direction as if she somewhat sensed me but she didn't say anything and remained engaged in the scene.

“ Of Course not nearly as severely as ours were done but I can't see any other way.”

“ This way you will be able to get the crown and protect the new duchess from the old.”

“ Don't worry, we’ll give you until the end of the day to consider it, so don't feel pressured”

The General let out a sarcastic laugh at the sister's charade,

“ Even if I tried to reject it now you two have already made up your minds. Even in normal conditions, I wouldn't be able to defend against both of you at once, never mind In the Presence of the Prince himself. ”

She was angry, pretty clearly so, but mayhaps because of last time she didn't dare show it as aggressively as she obviously wanted to.

Meanwhile, I nearly fell out of my spot in the roof when I was addressed so suddenly. At first, I considered pretending to not be there or running away but once I realized that no one in that room was surprised by the General’s words I decided to go down to meet them. After all, It wasn't like I was crouched up in the book because it was comfortable.

But as soon as I started to remove the invisibility spell and descend from my spot all three women in the room screamed.

“ Your Highness doesn't!”

“ Cai!”

“ DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!”

With the most aggressive and almost desperate warning coming from the General herself.

At seeing my confused Cambridge quickly provided an explanation.

“ I'm unsure as to how much you heard already so I’ll try to summarize as much as possible. The closer you get to her right now, the more danger you will be in. As will all of us. So stay there”

I really hadn't heard a lot but I tied it into the general and Esmeralda's conversation earlier, as well as her earlier comment of not having control over her own actions and stayed where I was.

The general finally looked at me, burning her intense metallic eyes into mine and sank down to one knee. She was the second highest ranked person in the room if we went purely by lineage so the others couldn't possibly remain standing. She began to speak slowly and calmly like how one would ask a child an important decision.

She definitely emphasized a few words in her favour but didn't outright try to coerce me. Showing that she would comply with whatever decision I settled on as a form of an apology.

“ Your Highness, I’m really sorry about what happened earlier. Politics and repercussions aside I truly feel that what happened was unacceptable. That, above all other reasons, is why I feel that I cannot take the throne and your hand in marriage. Even if I agree that I'm the most suitable candidate, there are others that can be elevated to the same position and with whom you may feel a bit more comfortable, so at the end, where we go from here if all up to you.”

At first, I gave it more than sufficient thought and really weighed the pros and cons when I realized something exceptionally important.

I had no plans to live in the fairy world either ways so why did I care if I was uncomfortable with her?

There was also the fact that if it wasn't her then we would have to do a whole tournament like in the fairy tales where the most eligible people would compete for my hand.

I almost retched at the thought.

The General stayed kneeled in front of me but she was tense and it was clear that this was more of a formality than anything.

But her efforts did not go unappreciated. In fact, I was sure that if I had been raised here I would have been incredibly taken with her at this point.

Prince or not, my worth couldn't really be compared to a general that had participated in many wars for the queendom and would participate in more in the future.

I spoke from my ledge with more difficulty than I should have been having. Maintaining such a taxing spell and awkward pose really took a toll on one's stamina.

“ The details of what happened earlier are still unclear to me but I can gather that sealing your powers will help prevent it from happening again. So the real question to ask here is are you ready to make such a sacrifice for the queendom?”

Cambridge and Corin exhaled loudly in relief that I had just reflected the decision instead of outright rejecting it and re-trained their eyes onto the General.

Silently pressuring her with their glares.

The General was clearly taken aback by my actions but she said nothing and instead said in a deliberate tone.

“ If that is his highnesses position on the matter then I would be honoured to do so for the queendom.”