I woke up early for the feast planned by my mother yesterday, a feast for all the guests at my wedding. Marco came into my chambers earlier to ask if I needed help with anything, but I just woke up the moment he came, so he left afterwards.

I wondered around to check whether the guests were fine and having fun.

"Alexandra!"

I glanced back from where the voice came from and saw that it was Princess Claude, so I ran to her and asked how she was and how her relationship with Luc was going.

"Aunt Claude! I missed you! It seems like you sort of fixed your problem"

"Yes, sort of... W-We managed to talk things out and identify all the problems. Of course, it includes the issue of Leith. "

"But he's dead already. Couldn't he just drop his issues with him already?"

"He did. He did... That's fantastic, but

"But what?"

"I was going to say that I broke off the agreement between us. "

"Which is what?

"About getting pregnant"

"So what do you mean?"

"I mean that I am ready to love him and see if we'll work out to bear a child"

"That's great!"

"Wait, I almost forgot the reason why I called you."

"What's wrong?"

"Did Charles tell you about the succession?"

"He did."

"I just want to say that I agree with his decision"

"Did he-"

"No, he didn't bribe me or anything." Claude laughed.

"Why are you agreeing to this?"

"Why? Don't you want to be the Queen of France? Because I don't"

"I want to be his successor, but his decision to not get married?! Grandmother wouldn't agree to that. "

"She will, because it's you. She will just say that it's better to be you than Charles' children. Who knows what kind of woman will come into Charles' life? " We both laughed.

Queen Mary came to us after seeing us talking to each other.

"Claude!" She said

"Mary" Claude smiled.

"It's nice to see you again"

"So formal, Mary! Can I hug you? I missed my sister-in-law! You're more like my sister than my real sister. " She joked

"Of course! I missed you too. " Mary giggled. "So what are you ladies talking about?" she asked.

"Did Charles mention it to you?" Claude asked.

"Mention what? Claude? "

"About his decision to name Alex as his successor?"

"Yes, apparently, he did, and I thought it was a surprise. After her wedding? "

"It's supposed to be," I joked.

"What do you say about that, Mary?"

"Actually, I told Charles that it's his decision and that making a new law will take a lot of time-meetings for formality's sake, even if it's only for his term."

Claude nodded.

"I'm glad that he cares enough about Alexandra, but as I said, it will be his and Alex's decision if she accepts it."

"We said the same thing, and I accepted it. Plus, if I didn't, I wouldn't have any choice because he would still name me as his successor, whether I liked it or not. "

"You do have a blood claim to the throne, we all know that, but since Charles is a king, it is expected for him to have children and to have a queen by his side. So I don't actually know what'll happen if the council already knows it. "

"They do." Claude said.

"They know?"

"What did they say?" I asked out of curiosity.

"They agreed to it. Well, at least almost all of them agreed to it. Most members of the council are still from Francis and Mary's reign. They are loyal to your parents, and since you're the only child of the late King of France, you are still French. They will support you, and they did! " Claude explained

"I'm thankful that they are loyal to my family." I said

I saw Grandma looking at us. I called for her to join us and she did.

"What's with the chitchat?" She asked

"Did Charles mention anything to you?" Claude asked.

"About what? All that he mentioned to me was about his wanting to stay single for the rest of his life."

"That's all?" I asked.

"Yes, dear. Why? "

"Nothing" I said.

"Anything I should know about? Mary?"

"What? I don't know anything about whatever that is. " She said this while sipping her wine.

"All right, you two seem suspicious. What's with Charles? " Catherine kept interrogating me and Claude.

"What do you say about Charles? About not getting wed?" Mother interrupted

"Well, of course, I disagreed. I will get him a woman, whether he likes it or not. I will force him. " Catherine insisted.

"Force who?" Uncle Charles overheard our conversation and decided to join in.

"Charles!" His mother wasn't expecting his arrival.

"Whom are you forcing, mother?" He asked.

Grandma said, "You."

"What? If this is about what I said about not marrying, I wasn't finished explaining it to you yet. " He explained

"What?" She said

"As I said, I don't want to get married to someone, and because of that, I am naming Alex as my successor instead." He told her

"For real, Charles? Do they know? I mean, before you told me this now? " Catherine asked, shocked.

"Yes" Aunt Claude and I said,

"Mary?" She asked

"Well, yes, he told me that already." Mother said

"And you agreed?"

"I said that it was his decision and Alex's. Whatever their decision is, I will support it. " Mother explained everything to grandmother.

"Wouldn't you agree?" Claude asked.

My grandmother didn't answer.

"Well, mother?" Charles asked.

"As long as it is Alexandra, I will agree." She sighed.

"Of course, it'll be her."

"Do you accept it, Alexandra?" Catherine asked.

"Yes, of course." I nodded.

"Then I agree as well."

"I will help you get that law approved."

"Yes! Finally! " He smiled like a champion.