"I suspect the Crown Prince."
Elira's answer was almost instantaneous.
Kael tilted his head in confusion.
With how quickly the woman answered, rather than a suspicion, it looked like she was certain that the person behind it all was the Crown Prince.
Elira took another name.
"You must have heard about him already."
He was the only son of the King, which, apparently, was a lie.
"Why do you think it is him?"
"Everything ended too well for him."
Elira paused for a moment, as if she was trying to think of what to say, and once she had brainstormed enough, she started,
"Prince Edric was the firstborn, so naturally, he was expected to become the next King. However, when the Princess was born, things changed.
While the King didn't say anything, his love for his daughter wasn't hidden.
Do you remember when I said that the advisers were worried about how the King would react when his daughter gets married?"
Elira questioned, and Kael nodded.
"Some advisers came up with a theory that the King would make the Princess the next ruler of the Kingdom.
Of course, it was absurd to think about it. Not only was the Princess the second-born, but she was also a woman.
The more people thought about this theory, the more plausible it seemed. After all, this wouldn't be the first time the King would change policies for the sake of his daughter.
And it wasn't just that.
The Princess was extremely talented, gentle, and loved by all. If the King introduced a policy where the Princess could become the next ruler, everyone could tell it would be widely supported.
It wouldn't just be the nobles who would stand on her side but commoners too.
Not to mention the rate at which the Princess's strength grew. They also said she would eventually become the strongest being throughout Nerathis, even surpassing the Grand Marshal.
Having a person like that sitting on Drakthar's Throne was good for the Kingdom's image and would only lead it to glory."
Kael raised his eyebrow, somewhat agreeing with that. Elira however, wasn't done yet.
"And it wasn't just about her strength either. Lavinia was an excellent diplomat, a strong leader, and had the ability to understand what was happening around her.
She had the qualities to be a perfect King,
A King who would have taken the Kingdom to a new path of glory.
The more people thought about it, the more they started to accept it.
This theory became more and more prominent, many even started openly supporting the Princess, and all this happened when the King hadn't even said anything."
Elira explained as she then stared at Kael,
"Who do you think would be most affected by it?"
Even a child who understood nothing about politics would be able to answer that.
Elira nodded at those words.
"Prince Edric was born to be the next King, and mind you, he wasn't an incompetent fool either. He was excellent.
Ever since he was a child, he worked hard to get stronger, learned diplomacy and all other skills required to be the perfect King.
He aimed for perfection and worked for it every single day without breaks.
Everyone appreciated his efforts. This was the reason many supported him in his journey to be the next King. He was kind, strong, knowledgeable, and compassionate, but…"
The Mage's face turned solemn and,
"He lived in a shadow."
Kael narrowed his eyes when he heard those words.
"Yes, Prince Edric was excellent. Because of his hard work, he was better than almost everyone around him, but…
There was a limit to how far hard work could take you.
Even with everything he did, he could never outshine Lord Feraos' favored child."
Kael muttered, and Elira nodded.
"Lavinia was better than Prince Edric in every possible way.
It was almost pitiful.
She was never arrogant about it and always greeted her brother with a gentle smile despite knowing he was jealous of her.
'It is natural to feel jealous when you work as hard as him. I don't see it in a negative light. After all, this is what pushes my brother to always try and overcome his limits. This is the reason I like him. My brother never gives up, and I won't either.'
This is what she said to me when I asked her about it."
Elira just smiled at those words.
"So what you are saying is the Prince was jealous of the Princess and arranged her fall. Is that it?"
"I am saying it is one possible way to look at it."
"You seem quite certain about it."
Elira turned silent for a while and then,
"I want to believe it."
"You don't seem to like Prince Edric very much."
Elira, however, shook her head.
"That's not it. He has always been kind to me, but…"
"You just like Princess Lavinia."
"She was… my friend."
Elira nodded in a weak voice.
"And now I can't even talk about her. I feel like… I just want to blame someone."
The Court Mage then shook her head and exhaled self-deprecatingly, realizing how foolish her words and suspicions sound.
"Don't take my words seriously.
It was foolish of me to come here and say all this. I just…
When I realized you were trying to look into the Royal Family's situation, I thought you might know something, but it doesn't make sense. You just came here.
I guess you were just curious and wanted to know more about the Royal Family.
You probably didn't even know Lavinia existed because there was no way for you to know.
I was just… too hopeful.
I let my fantasies get the better of me."
Elira then stared at Kael and,
"Please act conversation never happened. I could… get in trouble if someone finds out that I told you about Lavinia."
"So if I tell on you, you will be executed?"
Kael questioned with a playful smile on his face, and seeing that annoying smirk, Elira's mouth twitched.
"I am telling you, you brat. If you dare rat me out, I'll burn you.
I'll take you down with me."
"Then who will save Nerathis?"
"I'll burn you after you save Nerathis!"
Elira answered without thinking.
"Won't I be too strong to be defeated by you by th—"
"I will burn you in my next life!"
Kael laughed out loud.
He didn't know why, but teasing the Court Mage was always so much fun~