CATB Chapter 40

"Alexa, who did you go with?"

"......"

"I asked who you went with!"

"Sister, please speak quickly. Who took you there? Only then will Father calm his anger toward you, won't he?"

Wilhelm's face, full of artificial smiles as he pretended to care for me, proved that both the king and he already knew the answer. Since they regarded the Grand Duke as a thorn in their side, they were probably seizing this opportunity to attack. I maintained my silence.

"Alexa!!!!"

The king shouted at me for not answering.

"Don't my words sound like words to you! Answer! I asked who you went with!!"

"....."

"You really won't speak? Fine. Seeing as you dare to keep your mouth shut even when I, the Supreme One of Pellipe, am asking, your recent presumptuous behavior is truly unspeakable. Ha! The ministers know this and still want to promote you as Military Commander? A bunch of idiots gathering together and thinking!"

I stared at them steadily. The king seemed momentarily flustered by my calm demeanor despite his shouting, then became even angrier at that fact and finally exploded in rage.

"You still don't know to fear your father. Fine. Guards! Throw Princess Alexa in prison immediately!"

"Father."

"Father, please reconsider. Isn't that too harsh a punishment? Sister is still a Princess of Pellipe."

"Even if she's a princess, she's still clearly a citizen of Pellipe. If a citizen doesn't fear the monarch, should I just watch such insolent behavior?"

"Father, but that's something you should reconsider..."

"Look! Look! See how she doesn't even blink an eye despite my going this far! If she doesn't consider her father a scarecrow, how could she act like that!"

Those gathered here each had different goals.

The king was angry that with my changed appearance and power, I was no longer his obedient servant, and he was wary that his position might be threatened. Yet even in this situation, he didn't point out the abnormal mana and power I possessed. The moment he voiced that, the instinctive power dynamic would shift, and both he and I knew it.

That's why he was bringing up this formal relationship of father and daughter, monarch and citizen. In this traditional relationship, he was certainly my superior. As long as I had no ambition to push the king aside and take his place, I had no intention of refusing this and fighting him head-on. That's why I had overlooked him treating me like a ridiculous daughter and using me until now.

The king saw today's incident as a good opportunity to break my spirit for defying him. If I mentioned Belkellion, the Grand Duke was also one of the main causes of his inferiority complex, so he could go after the Grand Duke. If I didn't speak, well, he'd put me in prison to make me come to my senses, as he said. Since I had refused the subjugation, he hadn't had a chance to find fault with me, but this incident would let him put me in prison for a few days, then release me and push another subjugation or task on me.

Did he really think this through? Did he think a beast would be afraid of prison? From their perspective of living in luxury and eating only the finest things, a dark prison crawling with rats would seem like good punishment for a princess, but I was a hollow princess who had spent most of my life as a beast, cut off from the world, and originally a human with a strong stomach who could survive in spaces more unsanitary than prison. For reference, clean and luxurious places weren't exactly provided to the poor. Quite the opposite.

As for Alexa, well, she had lived her whole life only in Conetti, so she might be a bit afraid of dirty, smelly places. Since she was already a dark child, the darkness of prison wouldn't be that much of a problem for her. From my perspective, what I could think of was the psychological damage she might receive from the fact that her father - one of the objects of affection she so desired - had sentenced her to prison, and that her siblings were watching this miserable situation.

And from the king's satisfied gaze as he looked down at me and pronounced punishment, I could tell he had expected even that part when he said those words. Including the fact that she wasn't brave enough to be indignant about the king's excessive punishment for something as minor as a brief outing.

Yes, this person was someone who could effectively manipulate others' emotions.

I looked around the audience chamber.

The king wanted to suppress me, Ariel's target was me, Wilhelm's target was the Grand Duke. The Queen sitting quietly over there observing the situation was... yes, just an indifferent bystander. How efficient a family they were, each performing their roles so distinctly.

"Is no one there! Take the princess away quickly. Don't even go near the underground prison until I say so!"

"Father, the underground prison is where serious criminals are punished. How could you put sister there..."

"What are you doing! I said take her away!!"

At the king's angry voice, two servants who had been hesitating outside the audience chamber approached me reluctantly. When I turned to glare at them, they were startled and stopped. Even with my changed body, the remnants of the fierce beast were still effective against the palace employees.

"What! Are you now watching the princess's mood in front of my eyes! I can't let these guys be either!"

The king suddenly stood up and raised his hand.

"Head Servant! Take these guys away too. Put them in the underground prison..."

"Your Majesty."

I finally opened my mouth.

"Sister! You'll speak now, won't you? You've thought well. Even now, please speak quickly and beg Father's forgiveness."

When Wilhelm approached me with a welcoming expression, I raised my hand to stop him.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say."

When I spoke in a respectful tone, opening the mouth I had kept firmly shut, the king stopped speaking.

"Hmm."

"I deeply apologize from my heart for the trouble my actions today have caused Your Majesty and this royal family."

"Hmm, hmm."

"How could I possibly make light of Your Majesty, the Supreme One of Pellipe? A monarch as wise and great as Your Majesty cannot be found even in Pellipe's long and traditional history."

I'd like to emphasize once again that I too have great talent when it comes to running my mouth.

"Having come to the capital after spending a long period recuperating, everything was new and exciting, leading to hasty mistakes from short-sighted thinking that disturbed Your Majesty's great heart - this young girl is so ashamed she doesn't know what to do with herself."

When I bowed my head as if truly sorry, the king quietly sat down.

"If Your Majesty orders punishment, I will gladly accept it. If you tell me to stay in prison, I'll stay in prison; if you tell me to be beaten, I'll be beaten."

"Hmm, it's fortunate that you know your wrong."

"But Your Majesty, may I ask one thing before that?"

"...Speak."

"The punishment Your Majesty is imposing - is it punishment you're giving as my father, or punishment you're giving as the monarch of Pellipe?"

The king suddenly narrowed his eyes at my question, trying to gauge my intentions. He probably wondered why I was asking this.

"Why do you ask that? Whether I give it as a father or as a monarch, I'm giving appropriate punishment for your wrong - is that important?"

"It is indeed important. Shouldn't we clarify the foundation of my punishment?"

"Foundation and such..."

The king tried to continue, but I stepped forward and cut him off. I'm getting addicted to interrupting people lately - this is trouble.

"First, if Your Majesty is giving orders as my father, after sending me to prison, how will you restore the royal family's fallen dignity? Won't there be many doubts about Your Majesty's mercy when you abandon a young princess who doesn't know the ways of the world alone in a prison where vicious criminals reside? If the circumstances have to be explained, many nobles will become suspicious - whether my single transgression truly warrants punishment comparable to imprisoning royalty."

"What are you saying?"

"Also, am I not currently of princess status? If rumors spread that Your Majesty punished an actual royal woman in this manner without proper procedure just for going out once privately, no one will want to marry into the royal family - what will you do about Wilhelm, who is of marriageable age?"

"Private? How is this a private matter! You have disrupted the royal family's dignity and are even now undermining my authority with nonsensical sophistry - as Pellipe's monarch, should I just watch this happen?"

"Then are you punishing me as a monarch?"

"Yes! Just because you're a princess doesn't mean you get special treatment. Pellipe's law is equal for everyone."

The king seemed satisfied with his own words and observed my reaction.

"I understand."

I stepped back. Unlike the speech I had just given, when I stepped back, the king looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask, "Did I win?"

No, not yet.

"Then Your Majesty, please handle this according to national law."

"What? What?"

"Didn't you say that as a monarch, you would punish me not as a princess but as a citizen? As Your Majesty said, if my leaving the palace on my own is not a private matter and deserves punishment of indefinite imprisonment in an underground prison where only serious criminals are held, then you should handle it strictly according to Pellipe's national law and follow all procedures. Why would you make an exception only for me? You said there are no exceptions when giving punishment."

"Alexa, you... you dare!!!"

"I too, as a citizen of Pellipe, request a fair trial and proper procedure. Let's hold a trial and discuss once more the wrong I committed today in the presence of jurors and a judge. I'm deeply curious whether the same result as Your Majesty's will come out."