Impossible! Simply impossible! She ridiculed and shook her head. She just wanted her family back… Nothing more.
"Your Highness, the Alzar Kingdom needs you. I can't stabilize the realm by myself. Your family would've wanted this as well."
"Huh?" Elizabeth shouted in a mocking tone. "What do you know about my family? Do you think my mother and father wanted to be killed? Do you think my sister wanted to be vandalized? Do you think my brother wanted to see his sister and fiancée played with as he was helpless? You have quite the nerve to say that!" she screamed with her rage overflowing. All those emotions she carefully bottled up came pouring out.
Korogin's eyebrows twitched as he faced being yelled at. In all these years as monarch, when has anyone dared to do such a thing? He could not help but raise his voice, "Elizabeth, calm down. There's a lot of things I don't want to do either, but I must do it because it is my responsibility. The same goes for you! The fact that you have the Holy Reingolian Medallion means you should help the Alzar Kingdom through these tough times."
"I have to help the Alzar Kingdom?" she laughed manically. "The Xingyuu Empire might have killed my family, but the ones who led them there was the Alzar Kingdom! Now, you expect me to help you freely while disregarding my own wishes? You're awfully selfish!"
"I'm selfish? I have been working tirelessly for the last two years as both monarch and Master of Strategy. Before that, I devoted nearly thirty years of my life to protecting the kingdom. You haven't done a single thing yet you're calling me selfish?" he fiercely shot back. "Don't you understand? The realm will crumble soon or later. We need your help!"
"I haven't done a thing, huh? Tell that to my family. You only need my status, right? You don't actually need me." Seeing Korogin turn deathly quiet, indignation continued to rise in Elizabeth's heart. "Hmph! You put on this big show but in the end, the truth is this!"
"Elizabeth!" Korogin roared, slamming his fist on the table with such force that the documents on top jumped. He was clenching his teeth as blood veins showed from his forehead. "There are millions of people living in the Alzar Kingdom. Do you think you are special because you lost your family? Who hasn't lost someone in this war? Even your father, King Harth, died! But we have a responsibility because we are the only ones who can do so! Without us, the Alzar Kingdom will spiral into destruction! Are you going to abandon everyone because of your pride?"
"Pride? You call that pride? All my life, the only people I ever really knew was my family! You keep talking about the people. All these people in the kingdom… Why should I have to sacrifice myself for people I don't even know?" she shouted back. Even her throat was starting to hurt. "No matter what, I won't be the queen! I won't be your puppet to play with!"
She shot up from her chair and strode towards the door with fury. Sir Winstin was guarding the door and hesitated to let her go, but after seeing Korogin's gesture, he opened the door. Elizabeth paid no attention to either the Royal Guard or her aunt and walked away. Instantly, Korogin's figure deflated in his chair as he visibly aged by several years. His anger disappeared like smoke and his usual composure recovered. He caressed his forehead as he mulled it over silently.
"What is your opinion on the matter, Lady Commander?" he asked after a while.
Christina bit her lip and said, "I believe that Your Majesty's reasons were strong and that you were correct in saying what you did. The Alzar Kingdom is currently in a dire predicament. As the Master of Strategy, you have to think of the overall picture and ensure the stability of the realm." Though she was not privy to secrets from the Royal Assembly, it was not hard to grasp the general situation of the kingdom through her reports.
However, Korogin noticed the hesitation. "But? What is your personal opinion?"
The woman took a deep breath and steeled her nerves. "With all due respect, Elizabeth is not the strong and valiant princess that you want. She isn't like your two sons. She is only a humble and quiet sixteen-year-old girl who lost her family and her way of life. I do not believe this was the correct approach to convincing her."
"I also regret my approach earlier. I hadn't realized she treasured her family that badly," Korogin sighed. He knew what he said was the moment that the conversation failed. Had he known, he would have never tried to gamble like that. "You've known her for many years now. What should be our next step? No matter what, the Alzar Kingdom needs an heir to stabilize. This absolutely cannot be compromised on."
"Right now, she's probably confused, scared, and maybe even hateful."
"Towards the kingdom?"
"The kingdom… The empire… Maybe even us, but most importantly herself. Time will heal her wounds, but she must be willing. We must give her time to think. We must give her space to breath. She isn't a bad girl at heart. I believe that in due time… She will come to terms with this."
"It seems like we can only pray to the goddesses now for the future of the kingdom," Korogin said with complex emotions.
The Second Great Kingdom War, the rebel forces, the shortage of food, the thinning finances, the refugee crisis, the reconstruction efforts, the traitorous nobility households, and the lack of an heir… There were as many problems as there were stars in the sky. But even a single one of them was enough to spell disaster. Korogin stood up and opened the blinds of the window behind his desk, revealing the enormous view of Castle Reinhard, Algard, Corasen, the Sea of the Crystal, and the world beyond. Dark stormy clouds rumbled in the skies overhead, as if laughing at the struggles of man. Korogin felt the massive weight on his shoulders intensifying by dozens of times. The time of judgement was rapidly approaching. Will the Alzar Kingdom be able to stand it? He thought somberly.
The atmosphere in the room was suffocating and depressing. Seeing her cousin like this, Christina said nothing. She was only Lady Commander of a remote fortress in the Dimorin Plains. Though they may be both from the Highguard Household, she had no idea what Korogin was going through. She could offer no words of comfort. Sir Winstin knew a bit more, as he was constantly by Korogin's side as his Protector. Yet because of that, he realized exactly how hard Korogin was working. Every day and night, without a break, and sometimes without sleep, the man strove to protect the realm that his friend King Harth could not. The peak was powerful, but often lonely! Korogin embodied this better than anyone else.
Just as Winstin was about to leave Korogin to think, his sixth sense felt something. This was not a normal sense, but a sense that was developed and refined carefully after decades of experience. Someone was spying on them! Winstin was inwardly surprised, but his body reacted instantly. His five senses burst out with enormous strength as he fully sharpened his perception to seek out the intruder. His mind filled with details as the world was revealed to him. Everything was captured by his senses. This was the strength of a Perception Realm master! A split-second later, he sprinted towards the adjacent room. Normally, it was vacant, but he could clearly sense a presence.
He flew into the room as his hands instinctively reached for his weapon. The glaive that he reserved for threats that required his full attention was in his hands. However, as he scanned the room, he found nothing. No one was here. In fact, everything was exactly as he remembered. Nothing was out of place either… Winstin frowned. His instincts rarely failed him, but the reality betrayed his expectations. The man walked over to the spot where he felt a presence, but as expected, nothing was there. He did not give up. Instead, he let his senses explode out again as he focused them. Details that were normally impossible to see became crystal clear.
"I was not wrong…" A sharp glint flashed through his eyes.
Whoever the intruder was, they were an expert above experts, a true master! They hid their trails nearly perfectly. If it were anyone else, they would not have noticed. Even with Winstin's Perception Realm mastery, he doubted himself. However, he could tell. The layer of dust was very slightly disturbed in this spot, just barely a few specks. Moreover, there was a very faint heat from a person in the air. They were most likely eavesdropping in the earlier conversation, and as soon as they were discovered, they escaped through the window, he thought. Winstin went to the window and reconfirmed his findings. A spy in Castle Reinhard…
Understanding came crashing in as he shouted to the guards outside, "Hurry! Find the girl that left Lord Korogin's quarters just now! Do not let her leave Castle Reinhard!" He hoped his fears were unfounded.