Chapter 212: For Which Citizens?

Translator: Blushy

Editor: Sam

By the time we finished eating while saying it was delicious, Chris was really tired and fell asleep.

I thought it was my role to sleep, but sometimes it’s okay to let others sleep too.

There was a knock on the door by the time the table was cleared, and tea was ready. Stan-ojisama, Julia-obasama and the two Moleseys arrived. All the bloodlines of the Four Marquises are now in this room.

“Where’sh Nii-syama and Giww.”

“There’ll be a big uproar if we call the two of them. They can wait.” Otou-sama answered the curious me.

“Felicia!”

Julia-obasama immediately went to sit next to Felicia; she pulled her closer to reassure her. By the way, Chris had fallen asleep, so I was clinging to the other side of Felicia.

Felicia froze for a moment when Julia-obasama hugged her, but she finally relaxed when I hugged her tightly.

I knew someone who would freeze like this. It was Nii-sama. You’ll freeze if you’re not used to people touching and hugging you.

I remembered when I was a baby and we weren’t truly a family in the true sense of the word yet. There are some families where it’s normal to not show affection.

Julia-obasama is a good adult for Felicia since she has a relationship with the Four Marquises.

“I know you’re tired Felicia, but can I ask what happened?”

“Yes.”

Felicia nodded quietly at the sound of Otou-sama’s voice.

“We were told that we would be leaving Kingdom when we visited the town near the border. I knew she had planned something, but I didn’t expect that it would be that, and of course I was very much against it.”

“So, it was Ange…” Otou-sama’s words represented everyone’s thoughts. Julia-obasama confirmed just to be sure, “So you weren’t threatened by Easter or anything?”

Felicia shook her head feebly.

“It seemed like she was really looking forward to it. I asked her what the people of Kingdom would think, and I believe she had already thought that through and made her plans and decisions long ago. She never wavered no matter what I said.”

Felicia is 16 years old. No matter what she says, she’s still at an age where she has no choice but to obey her parents. No one can blame her.

“I told her that I would stay in Kingdom then. I told her that if she wanted to think about the people in Frontier, then I will think of the people in Kingdom as the heir of the Four Marquises. If Okaa-sama wants to decide who she wants to live for then I should be able to do the same.”

“Why did Ange burden a child with such an important decision?”

Julia-obasama’s hands were still around Felicia’s waist as if to support her.

“Then Okaa-sama said that I can do that if that’s what I want, but she will be taking Chris with her. Chris was thrilled that Okaa-sama said she would be less busy when we moved to Easter and would be able to play with her more. Of course, she would be. But I didn’t want to leave Chris with Okaa-sama, so I went with them to Easter.”

“Chrish ish happy tho be withh Okaa-syama.”

I wanted to praise Felicia’s decision. But Felicia shook her head and clasped her hands on her lap.

“She’s the kind of person who finds it a hassle to even have lunch with Chris and I in the castle. There’s no way she would make time for us just because she had free time.”

I thought that might be the case. If I hadn’t fixed the bonds with Nii-sama and Otou-sama when I was a baby, then I’m sure Otou-sama would act the same way.

“Chris and I would always have guests over to socialise with people our age. Even though Chris is more accustomed to people now, it’s still confusing to see the friends she’s supposed to play with change all the time. Even more so when they’re five or six year old nobles, all of whom are to a large extent, selfish. I couldn’t pay attention to Chris because I was dealing with my own guests, and she became tired and expressionless… Of course, she didn’t get anytime to spend with Okaa-sama.”

No one in the room could say anything.

“And then it was Chris’s sixth birthday. Okaa-sama wanted to make it big since it was finally her birthday and invited a lot of guests. People complimented Chris for being a quiet and refined girl which made Okaa-sama proud. She said that it was a good idea to bring Chris to Easter. Say, Lei.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you think it’s weird? Don’t you think it’s weird for Chris to sit quietly with glassy eyes while people greet her even though she’s usually lively, naughty and energetic?”

“Ith’sh weird. Chrish ish fuww of energy.”

“Right? But now that I think about it, I can see that it was because she couldn’t adjust her magic. I couldn’t take it anymore. Then we…”

Chris didn’t know what to do because of her sudden change in environment and Felicia was too busy to do anything about it.

“But it’s impossible for children to run away.”

“Otou-sama helped.”

Otou-sama. He’s someone who rarely gets bought up when people talk about the Remingtons.

“Broad’s finally acting. I was wondering what he was up to,” Stan-ojisama blurted out. Broad is probably the name of Felicia and Chris’s father.

“Otou-sama basically doesn’t object to what Okaa-sama does. He let her do what she wanted this time as well. But he couldn’t take it anymore when he saw Chris at the birthday party.”

“Mothers don’t have to be the people who show you love. It wouldn’t have mattered if Broad loved you two instead.”

Otou-sama probably thought that Chris’s Otou-sama should do this because he was doing it. Felicia laughed a little for the first time. It was a resigned laugh that said she had given up.

“Otou-sama has his hands full with Okaa-sama.”

“Felicia…”

“Otou-sama said that Okaa-sama also never had any freedom since she was little, so the least he could do as her lover and husband was to let her do as she pleased.”

I don’t believe that Ange-obasama has ever suffered since she’s so free. Well, even the carefree Mark can suffer, so something must have happened.

“‘But if Ange wants freedom, then Chris and I, as children, should be free to do what we want.’ He said sadly that she was restricting our movements because she was forcing us to do what she didn’t want to do when she was little. Otou-sama asked me what I wanted to do.”

It’s too late to ask, I thought.