While I was sheltered in Princess Consort Janeâs hideaway, I received severe training from her. I paid dearly for all the time I slacked off until then, I was up to my neck with the lessons. Moreover, the first thing in the list was to call Princess Consort Jane as âMotherâ. I got so shy to call her that, so when I was all fidgety, Mother hugged me tight onto her well-endowed chest; I was suffocated and I thought I was going to die.
In a way, I risked my life during the consort training.
Since I came here, I hadnât attended the academy. I was hiding from my father so that was a given. I also hadnât contacted Sara. I was curious about what happened to the otome game, but since the MC, herself, was not interested in it, I guessed there was no progress whatsoever.
And then, I also had no contact with Al. This was to avoid Mother, who was together with me, being implicated if I was exposed during my communication with Al. I hadnât met him for months, neither had I heard his voice. I missed him so bad I nearly teared up.
âFania-chan, why donât we have some tea?â
âYes, Mother.â
The afternoon lesson was just over, now we were taking a break. I learned etiquettes, eating manners, foreign languages, politics and economy, embroidery and dance from Mother. She instructed on practically everything. Truly, someone who became a consort to the King was incredible.
By the way, Mother didnât get divorced from the King. It could be that they wanted to avoid a discord with her motherland, Sotis Kingdom, or to avoid tarnishing the Kingâs reputation, so there was no divorce. Instead, they deemed mother to be deceased. They fabricated a fact that Mother collapsed from a sudden illness and passed away.
When I read the newspaper about that, it was so beyond me that my sights went dark.
âMo-mother! Mother has passed away!â
âThere, there, Fania-chan, calm down. Iâm here, you see.â
âB-but, the newspaper!â
âUfufufu, itâs alright. Divorce doesnât give a good reputation, so they probably turned me into a deceased instead. That way, they could face the Sotis Kingdom without shame. Although Iâm nothing but a princess who has long had no relation with my motherland, the matter of a divorce sure is offensive diplomatically. Isnât this great? Now Iâm a completely free person.â
When she put it in such a refreshing way, I could say nothing more.
âOh, my mourning period will end in March.â hearing she said that, I felt a pang in my heart.
In our country, Frialist, when a king or his queen passed away, the whole country would go into mourning. All citizens would wear dark and dull colours, while gambling and musical performances were refrained.
As a result, celebratory events like weddings couldnât be held and this would inevitably cause stress and disgruntlement among the masses. Therefore, the mourning period was only for a duration of three months.
Royal families, nobilities, commoners, all would be mourning for three months. It was not possible to stretch it any longer than that.
The mourning period for Mother would end in March. Once it ended, Alâs engagement would probably be announced. The news that the princess from Agrid country would be coming for studying was just under the announcement of Motherâs death in the newspaper. And the article was concluded by saying there was a rumour that the princess and Al would be engaged.
âUrm⌠What happened to my father?â
I was hiding by Motherâs side due to my fatherâs rash movement, so I didnât know how my father was doing.
âIt seems like heâs searching for you all he can.â Mother had a troubled expression as she answered.
What my father, who belonged to the second prince faction, had in mind was to make Al the King and he wished to be the leading Duke. If I were to get married to Al, there would be no children. Not being able to have offspring would be a great disadvantage for succeeding the throne. That was why he thought of eliminating me.
However, my engagement to Al was annulled and the princess from Agrid was coming soon. It was also told that she and Al would get engaged. Then, there was no reason for him to eliminate me anymore, was there? Why was he looking for me?
I reckoned Mother also sheltered me here for that reason, but I wondered until when should I hide here. Because I was here, Mother couldnât leave this house carefreely despite finally being liberated from the royal family. She mentioned that she wanted to go travelling, but it still hadnât been realized.
She passionately trained me on being a consort, but I couldnât help feeling sorry to her for stalling her for so long just so I could receive her coaching.
ââŚItâs difficult for me to say this, but Duke Arginia is trying to get a divorce.â
âHUAH!!â I thought my jaw would dislocate upon hearing what Mother said.
My father and mother were of course married for political reasons. It might be possible for marriage out of love, but normally it was impossible for a daughter of a viscount to marry into a ducal family. The status disparity was too big. I heard this was made possible by His Majesty arm-twisting.
At the time, despite having Mother as his main consort and other side consorts, there were still specious rumours regarding the relationship between His Majesty and my birth mother. His Majesty then forced his own cousin who most likely did not have any suitor onto Duke Arginia, his close aide who was still single.
As a compensation, my father became His Majestyâs favouriteâamong the close aides, he worked the closest to His Majesty. House of Arginia who originally positioned at sixth among the Dukes leaped up to be the second in rank.
Nevertheless, that glory only applied to the current Duke at that time, while my father only had the rumoured noble daughter forced on him. I was soon born and simultaneously the Duke passed the title to his sonâmy fatherâand he and his wife retired to the countryside.
I didnât know about the relationship between my father and my mother. After the incident that affected my body, the title couldnât be passed onto me. I guessed people around us mustâve urged them to make a new heir. I was the only child, so if things went on like that, the House of Arginia would die out.
I wondered why my father thought of divorcing my mother after all these times? It was obvious that by divorcing my mother, it would raise His Majestyâs ire. His Duke ranking might be lowered, or he could even be expelled from the second prince faction.
He might have someone he liked aside from my mother and intended to have a child with that woman to be the heir, but if His Majesty was provoked by it, I couldnât predict what would happen.
I knew nothing about what was inside my fatherâs heart. Why would he persistently search for me? Why would he divorce my mother?
I should not only run away, I should look for the truth of the matter. There was a need for me to meet my father.