Chapter 31: 31

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When I reach the parlor I see my brothers, Gayle-Sama, Curtis-Sama, and Duke-Sama all sitting inside.

I wonder if they came here together after school had ended.

“Good evening,” I greet them.

As soon as Albert-Oniisama saw me enter the room, he had stood up, and now he is walking over to me.

He’s holding a bag seemingly filled to the brim with something, and after he has finally closed the distance between us, he holds his hands out, offering it to me.

Looking down, I see that the bag is full of Macarons! Which are my absolute favorite!

“Ali, I’m sorry for yesterday,” Albert-Oniisama says looking sincerely apologetic.

“These… Are you giving these to me?”

“Yeah,” Albert-Oniisama says, smiling somewhat hesitantly.

I accept the bag of cookies from him, and gaze at it for a moment. The macarons look so good! Almost like jewels. They’re so colorful and lovely they make my heart throb in anticipation of their tastiness.

“Thank you so much, Albert-Oniisama,” I say, smiling with satisfaction.

At my reaction, Albert-Oniisama’s face shines brilliantly as well.

My feelings become slightly complicated seeing him so happy, since the Albert-Oniisama from the game had wanted to have nothing to do with his little sister….. On the one hand, his smile warms me, but on the other hand…..

Doesn’t this mean that my villainous conduct still has a ways to go?

“Albert-Sama, His Majesty the king is here.”

What!?

The king is coming to our house? What business could he have here I wonder?

And why does no one else look surprised? It’s the king, you know! Don’t tell me, might they already have known that he was coming?

Two knocks are heard and then the door slowly opens into the room.

The king really does have quite the astounding aura.

As he enters the room, I give him a deep bow.

Sneaking a peak up at him, I notice that there seem to be quite a few people following behind him as well.

Could they perhaps be other powerful people of this society? ……It seems that Father is among them as well.

“You may rise,” the king says, his deep and dignified voice resounding throughout the room.

Right in front of me, I see the four men line up to stand beside the king.

And once again I’m reminded that this really is the world of an Otome game, as everyone’s so handsome……. It would have been great if everybody in my previous world had been beautiful like this as well.

Father and these other men should be….. Hmm, it’s on the tip of my tongue…. I’m sure I saw this group of people stand together like this during the game before, but I just can’t quite recall.

“Good evening. I am Johan Evans,” says the the man with the thin silver hair who is standing closest to the king.

Evans? So that means this is Gayle-Sama’s father, right?

“I’m Neville Smith,” says the next man in the line, and just by looking at his blonde hair, I can immediately tell that this must be Finn-Sama’s father.

“Derek Hardson.”

Being tall really does run in the family. The largest man of the bunch of course turned out to be Eric-Sama’s father. They’re spitting images of each other.

The last man standing in the line was father but he didn’t bother to introduce himself.

Doesn’t this mean that this country’s five main elemental powerhouses have all gathered together in one place?

I wonder if something big happened?

“Alicia, I have a few things that I want to ask you,” the king says, looking at me.

……..Ask me? Does that mean I’m about to be interrogated?

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“Do you like this country?”

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The question is so far outside of my expectations that I end up stiffening in confusion and surprise.

Could he be trying to evaluate my loyalty to this country?

The moment that I’m about to say that “I like it,” an image of the impoverished village appears in my mind.

But if I were to profess my opinion honestly, then I would have to expose the fact that I’ve actually been there before.

Seeing me standing there without saying anything, the king once again opens his mouth.

“Then, let me rephrase the question. What is your opinion on the manner in which this country is currently being run?”

I can’t imagine what the king could possibly be trying to gain by asking me these questions.

I’m just a 10-year-old girl, you know?

But for now, I’ll just throw out the thought the just popped into my head.

“I dislike the preferential treatment that this country gives to its nobility.”

“You dislike having preferential treatment?”

“Yes. I detest it.”

At my words, everyone’s expressions turn doubtful.

“And…. why might that be?” Johan-Sama asks me, searchingly.

“Because it is precisely that sort of partiality that has allowed such feeble-minded, unintelligent people to occupy positions of power,” I state, but before I had even finished speaking, the faces of all the men in the room had already become dark and displeased.

Rather than being cowed by their worsening expressions though, I can feel my confidence rising since the fact that I was able to induce such a reaction is one of the most gratifying testaments to my skill as a villainess.

“So you mean to say that you hold all of us in contempt?” Johan-Sama says, glaring furiously at me.

Certainly, to be told something like that by a 10-year-old child would be rather offensive, but I still would appreciate it if he didn’t glare at me like that. If I was a normal 10-year-old, then I would have undoubtedly burst into tears at that look.

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“No. I do not mean to say that everyone is like that. Only that those who are at the top and are running this country aren’t necessarily the wisest nor the ones most suited to the position.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“In other words, the reason that the nobility are currently in power is…… in all likelihood due to them being able to utilize magic.”

“So you are insulting us?”

“No, I’m not,” I start to argue, but my nerves lose out against Johan-Sama’s intimidating glare and I end up falling silent.

As expected of one of the most powerful people in the country. What an unparalleled, coercive pressure.

“Continue,” the king commands. Hearing the king speak up for me, Johan-Sama looks considerably surprised.

Honestly, even I’m a bit surprised though. To think that he would order me to continue when everything I’ve said up until now has been nothing but insulting to the present company.

I take in a small breath, straightening my back and standing with the tallest, most beautiful posture I can muster.

“There are many people out there who are more intelligent than the nobility who currently inhabit the powerful positions in our society. What I was trying to say is that being able to use magic and being able to make wise and intelligent decisions are two very different things. In other words, since we empower the nobility merely on the basis that they are capable of using magic and not due to their intellectual abilities, I’m saying that this country does not operate based on meritocracy.”

“Then, am I to assume that you would have no objections to being stripped of your current title and status?” the king asks, looking at me as if he was trying to read my very thoughts.

I feel my pulse quickening at his serious gaze.

“Being born as the Williams family’s eldest daughter was merely by a stroke of good fortune. It was not by my own power that I was able to obtain this title. Therefore, even if I were to be stripped of it, I would not be in any position to object.”

At my words, the king begins to look at me in wonder. Johan-Sama as well starts staring at me intently, though not with the same glare as before, but rather with a carefully observant, evaluating eye.

“Alicia, you may go back to your room now,” Father says, smiling.

What sort of cross-examination was this?

I really want to ask them all what they could possibly have been thinking, but the current ambiance of the room is not the sort that would invite such questions so I give up on the thought.

Giving them all another deep bow, I bid them farewell and walk out of the room.

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T/N: Lol, I was not expecting another visit from the king to happen this chapter XD Anybody else surprised? Also, I’m super excited to see if another debate on Alicia’s suggested political policies breaks out in the comments section haha. I was amazed by everyone’s knowledge last time!

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