Chapter 9 - Doom avoidance strategy: 1

"Ummm.... Mother, I don't think I am a suitable candidate for the first prince." "Please try to understand woman! this is not an engagement its a death sentence. Don't you get it I will die and you guys will lose everything.... How hard is it to understand that?" She thought to herself. Clearly she was flustered and was twisting and tweaking her eyebrows. She was not ready to accept her fate. This was her first strategy to avoid ruins. She came to believe that her engagement with the crown prince in later years will become the root cause of her doom because being the crown prince's fiancé means she will become a thorn on the side of the heroine and her capture target. So not getting engaged is the better option. But she was still weary about the power her father has in the country and is already seen suspiciously among the nobility and there are no lack of people speaking ill on the king's ears about him. So if she now refuses this engagement very strictly, things will go very bad very fast. At worse she will have to use the arms she created until now with her father's territorial knights. Which is something that may cause catastrophe. So she decided to be polite. Of course the real villainess Erika Raubenbraum was all too happy to be engaged to the potential future king. But this gave our Erika even more reasons to simply loathe the idea. Her mother broke in on her thoughts. "Why my dear, you know he can be the future king. You will become a real princess and the future queen of the country and just between mother and daughter, if you can be good enough then you may even be able to make the prince act as you like." She said the last sentence with a shrewd laugh while blinking at her daughter. "You know I have done the same with your father, maybe not the extent of controlling him but you know he can't even look at other women and if I object to something he will listen." "Jeez mother. I don't need to hear that. And I don't want to control anyone." She just tried to push away the unwanted words she heard with more serious talk but her face was blushing red. "You are blush dear. Are thinking something like that?" "No, no, its just..." Erika stopped for a while and started to figure what how to refuse. Her tone became serious. The playful talk just now was gone and with a stiff face Erika spoke out her facts. "You know mom, he is not the crown prince yet. Its just as the first prince he is entitled to be the crown prince but future is not certain. Also being a princess is a lot of work. I will have less and lesser time to spend with you or father and I don't believe I am prepared for that and being the queen means that I will have to go through harsh training and I don't feel like I will be able to do my duty to the people as a queen very well." As she said all this her face which stiff became more relaxed and she had a look of guilt and shyness as if admitting her own shortcomings and also to win over her mother's heart. Her mother was surprised how well organised her daughter was and how she processed the information she was provided. But looking at the practical side of things she believed that it was the best possible solution for everyone if her daughter was to be engaged to the prince. So she countered Erika's arguments with two hands on the table and a stern but caring look on her face and eyes towards her daughter, she said, "I know it maybe a bit early for you but don't worry your education as the princess or even the queen won't start until the prince has been officially declared as the crown prince. Plus even after that, at most it will be just a few extra lessons after class once you start going to the Royal Magic Academy when you are 15. And even if he doesn't become the king you will still be a royal princess and will have all the happiness you deserve. Also Erika I personally think that you will become a fine queen for this kingdom, don't worry about it. You are thinking like this because you are still a child. Over time you will come to like this position. What's more, the prince will pay us a visit to confirm the engagement next week. Who knows you may even come to like him. Don't take too much pressure and enjoy your life for now. You have only recently recovered from a grave illness so I won't push you too much." Erika who looked grim because all her arguments were failing suddenly became more excited. She thought to herself, "THAT'S Right! Why didn't I think of that before." With this she almost jumped out of her chair and exclaimed, "That's right mother, I was sick and almost died. So what if that illness strikes back again? What if I can't take the pressure that comes with the position?" Her eyes were brightened as if she saw a counter-offensive as big as the on at Ardennes in 1944. But just like the Ardennes her offensive was dead on the track when her mother countered it. "Don't worry your father has talked to the king and he has ensured that if anything happens you will receive the best treatment available not in this kingdom but also from the foreign lands and you will be well taken care off and the king even went on to promise that your education will be kept lighter under the current circumstances." With this her last attempt at stopping the engagement had failed. She was flustered and was clenching her clothes under the table. But before she could say anything more her mother cut their conversation short. Now lying on her giant bed she started to strategise her future course of actions.