<b>Little Sister’s Strategy II</b>
“…… You’ve really done it, Princess Letty.” (Ludy)
“…… My, Ludy, what might you be talking about?” (Leticia)
Princess Letty, Prince Alfred’s little sister, gave a cheerful grin as she asked me in return.
. She raises a valid point. Currently, there are budding and lesser nobles who are under the influence of Prince Alfred. They have arrived at Prince Alfred’s side after attaining solid achievements themselves. In the end, they will choose to side with the more competent prince… Well, if they pitted him against someone like Prince Edward, naturally, Prince Alfred would emerge as the obvious choice.
Looking at it from a different angle, if we’re talking about an identical but hypothetical scenario where there were those forced to align with a side, had there been an opponent who equaled Prince Alfred in terms of ability and status, they would be indifferent enough to come to the conclusion that “either is fine”.
Initially, when the confrontation with Prince Edwards was highlighted, many of the ones who remained neutral may have come to the same conclusion.
“… This time, the biggest reason as to why the neutral faction is slightly inclined to him is probably accredited to the Duke of Armelia favoring him. So, then, why did Duke Armelia endorse him? Without question, I would have thought that it was just a front. But, could they have kept quiet watch while a prominent house was involved? Worst case scenario, they’ll make use of his daughter’s excommunication as a pretext to leave his post and withdraw to his territory, effectively eluding the turmoil.. Yet he remains the family head, and has even begun publicly cooperating as Prince Alfred’s hands and feet……” (Leticia)
“… Is it because… he felt indebted to him?” (Ludy)
“That’s right. Do you really think that Duke of Armelia would willingly offer his assistance to brother, even with the apparent risk of splitting the country in two should he choose a side, and without any compensation?” (Leticia)
“… Is it something he had acquired unpremeditated…” (Ludy)
“Right. … Then, looking at ‘the aftermath’ of said confrontation, doesn’t it make you think we need to expand the amount of our so called ‘allies’? Ludy.” (Leticia)
“ …… To strengthen the crown’s rule, is it…” (Ludy)
“Right again. In these times of peace, it wouldn’t be impossible to unify the lords with brother’s strength, like all past kings. Well, even at a warring time, it seems he wouldn’t have a problem with taking command of the army as king; he had made splendid connections with many of the military officers, owing to his time posed as Dean.” (Leticia)
…… Surely, as Princess Letty said, only the army, with grandfather as its leader and overseer, would have realized that Dean, who slipped into their training sessions frequently, was Prince Alfred in disguise. He blended in well. There, he acted not as a member of the royalty, but as Dean, as to not build any walls between him and others.
“ … Though the talks have been derailed, brother must first consolidate his own camp in order to accelerate the royalty’s reinforcements, for future’s sake… Or so I believe.” (Leticia)
“I see… Uhm, Princess Letty?” (Ludy)
“ … What is it?” (Leticia)
“ …… Princess Letty, you really never did experience the outside world, right?” (Ludy)
Unprecedentedly, all I’ve done so far was listen to what Princess Letty had to say. Well, usually, you wouldn’t hear this kind of talk from a girl as young as her. Even if you take into account that she was a member of the royalty.
“ …… Something the matter? To so suddenly…” (Leticia)
“Oh, it just seemed as if you could personally relate to these stories..”” (Ludy)
“ …… It’s the other way around. Since I was captive to this cage, I want to know at least a little of the outside world, so all I can do is speculate about it.” (Leticia)
“ …… I suppose it’s something like that.” (Ludy)
It was regrettable, in my opinion. Even from the standpoint of an outsider, considering the aptitude she has displayed thus far, it’s clear that she didn’t have the chance to fully utilize her talents.
“I don’t regret it at all, Ludy. Because, I have never made a connection on my own. Anybody could apply that consideration to the event in question, right?” (Leticia)
… Not just anybody could do that. Just how much does Princess Letty overestimate other people? It’s harmful for a human being to abstain from making any personal connections.
I mean, Princess Letty, weren’t you able to accurately guess what was on my mind just now? I don’t think that you would have a problem in negotiating with such a skill in your arsenal.
Now that I take a closer look, she is smiling.… could she have, yet again, perfectly predicted what’s currently running through my mind? I found the thought amusing and laughed at the notion.