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Felt never expected that her true identity would be that of a surviving member of the royal family, thought to have been extinct.
Before this revelation, Felt was just an orphan from the slums. Now, she has suddenly been catapulted to the highest status, as a member of the surviving bloodline of the royal family.
This drastic change in her life would be difficult for anyone to accept immediately, especially considering Felt's prior disdain for the opulent lifestyle of the wealthy elite.
Moreover, Reinhard's decision to confine Felt in this mansion against her will has only intensified her feelings of rebellion. The last thing Felt would do is comply obediently.
Meanwhile, Natsuki Subaru, as always, failed to grasp the seriousness of the situation and rose from the ground with a sour attitude while rubbing his bruised face.
"If you have such an amazing heritage, why not accept it? Don't you want to live a better life?" He grumbled.
Despite the suddenness of the situation, Felt's heritage is something many would consider a dream come true.
For a street orphan, ascending to the status of the royal family would be an unimaginable stroke of luck.
Thus, Natsuki Subaru's perspective is a common one, but Felt's response reflects her own values.
"Don't confuse me with those who dream of getting rich quick," Felt retorted firmly, her red eyes reflecting her strong-willed determination.
"I don't want those benefits for no reason. I want to live my life on my own terms."
Because of her upbringing in the slums, Felt understands the importance of maintaining dignity while living.
Therefore, she rejects the idea of relying on easy gains and would rather continue her life as a thief.
Of course, Felt refuses to settle for mediocrity. Instead, she aims to create her own path and achieve her goals through her efforts.
Natsuki Subaru might have grasped Felt's point, but his response lacked tact.
"If that's how you feel, maybe you should change your methods of making money," He commented carelessly. "If you want to achieve your goals on your own, relying on stealing might not be the best approach."
"…Do you think I want to?" Felt's response was cold and displeased. "In those circumstances, without stealing, I would've had to sell my body. You people living in luxury wouldn't understand."
"Ugh…" Natsuki Subaru was left speechless.
Meanwhile, Fang Li remained indifferent and straightforward, addressing Felt.
"Does that mean you're not going to participate in the upcoming Royal Selection?"
As the last bloodline of the royal family, Felt was chosen by the dragon as the fifth Dragon Priestess.
Therefore, after Reinhard found Felt, the Royal Selection could finally proceed. This led to the earlier visit of a royal envoy to Roswaal's mansion to notify Emilia and Roswaal to come to the Royal Capital to begin the Royal Selection.
Unfortunately, Reinhard's single-minded pursuit of duty ignored Felt's own wishes.
"Royal Selection?" Felt scoffed. "I'm not interested in being a queen."
This is where the problem lies.
If Felt herself does not wish to participate in the Royal Selection, even if Reinhard forces her to, it is likely to cause conflict.
Fang Li spread out his hands and spoke again.
"In other words, do you plan to return to the slums?"
Felt fell silent at that.
In reality, Felt did not want to stay in the slums at all.
It was not because she hated the slums, but because she wanted to improve her life through her own efforts and escape poverty.
Only, as Felt mentioned, as an orphan from the slums, escaping poverty wasn't easy.
Moreover, Felt's only exceptional talent was her speed, so she had to reluctantly choose a life of thievery.
If given a choice, Felt would certainly prefer not to return to the slums.
However, Felt was also unwilling to accept wealth that seemed to fall from the sky.
As Felt was about to respond to Fang Li, he spoke first.
"Don't be so quick to answer," Fang Li said to Felt. "I think your current emotions are too rash. Making decisions in such a state would be too reckless."
"...What's this?" Felt glared at Fang Li and asked, "Are you acting as Reinhard's messenger?"
"I'm not that bored nor that free," Fang Li said bluntly. "This is just a piece of advice from an older person. Even if I were to intervene in the Royal Selection, the person I would support wouldn't be someone I've only met once."
"Who knows?" Felt said disapprovingly. "So, what do you want?"
"As I said, just a casual piece of advice," Fang Li looked at Felt and smiled slightly.
"As far as I know, the candidates for the Royal Selection include, besides yourself, a silver-haired half-spirit, a widow who killed seven husbands, a greedy merchant, and a woman in military uniform with no femininity. In that context, having a slum girl like you doesn't mean much."
"So don't let your royal family bloodline hold you back. Even if you're just a slum girl, since the dragon acknowledged your eligibility for the throne, the royal guard will push you onto the stage of the Royal Selection."
"Maybe you see it as a windfall from the sky and resist it because you value your dignity, but the Royal Selection is just an opportunity."
"If you end up losing in the Royal Selection, you'll still be the slum girl you are now."
"If you end up winning the Royal Selection, it's all because of your own effort."
"Given that, don't resist it. It's not a windfall from the sky; it's an opportunity to prove yourself."
"Whether you seize this opportunity is up to you."
Leaving these words, Fang Li waved his hand at Felt and left the room.
"W-wait!"
Natsuki Subaru hastily followed.
Felt was left alone, frowning and lost in thought, her eyes flashing with contemplation.
No one noticed.
By the doorway, a knight leaned against the wall with a smile on his face.
"Looks like I owe Fang Li a thank you."
...