Duchess Hana was conducting one of her popular etiquette classes for a group of noble ladies, discoursing on the subtleties of social behavior, when she noticed the imposing figure of Duke Akiyama standing at the door. He waited with a patience that seemed to presage a storm. With a forced smile, she invited him in, imagining he might have come to appreciate her teaching methods.
The Duke, however, entered the room with a grave posture, his gaze sweeping over the young women present before settling on the duchess.
"My ladies," Akiyama began, his voice calm but laden with unquestionable authority, "I wish to make something perfectly clear. Any display of improper decorum, any act of disrespect or hostility toward Princess Leticia, will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Have I made myself sufficiently clear?"
A murmur of assent rippled through the room, and many of the young women lowered their heads, feeling the weight of the warning. Duchess Hana, however, felt the affront in her very veins. As soon as the students were dismissed, she turned on the counselor, her outrage barely contained.
"Duke Akiyama, with all due respect, how dare you deliver a warning of this nature in my classroom without my prior request?"
"It seems you have forgotten your own position and the purpose for which I entrusted you with Princess Leticia's education," Akiyama retorted, his tone icy. "I invited you to instruct her in the customs of our kingdom, to facilitate her integration, not for her to become the target of intrigue. Do not make me regret my choice."
"Your Grace! You must understand that my daughter, Haruhi, possesses qualifications that make her infinitely more suitable to be Prince Ryuuji's wife! Why should a foreigner from a struggling kingdom usurp a position that by right should belong to a lady of the Autumn Kingdom?"
Akiyama took a deep breath, his patience clearly at its limit.
"Duchess, are you aware of the punishment for contempt of the royal family?"
"Naturally! I diligently teach the norms of respect to my students!" Hana replied with false indignation.
"Yet it seems your teachings do not apply to yourself, do they?" Akiyama's voice was cutting. "The punishment for such acts includes the loss of titles, the confiscation of assets, and exile. Are you truly prepared to bear the consequences of your insubordination?"
The veiled but unequivocal threat made the Duchess hesitate.
"Forgive me, Your Grace..." she murmured, her haughtiness momentarily shaken. "I promise I will... correct my errors."
But the repentance in her words was as false as the smile she attempted to muster. Akiyama observed her, skeptical.
"Your apologies should not be directed to me, but to Princess Leticia. And they must be sincere. As an initial punishment, I am removing you immediately from the post of the princess's instructor."
Duchess Hana felt her blood boil. To be stripped of her position in this manner was a public humiliation. She would not accept such an outcome. Later, she would certainly speak with her husband, Duke Kazeharu, about the affront she had suffered. The war for the position of future queen was far from over.
After the embarrassing incident in the corridor, Leticia composed herself and went to her chambers to change her damp clothes. Despite the incident, she arrived on time for her engagement in the throne room, where Prince Ryuuji was already beginning the audiences.
One of the first to present himself was an emissary from the southern province, bringing news of an unexpected plague that threatened one of the kingdom's vital harvests. After listening attentively to the explanation of the problem and the emissary's concerns, Ryuuji, instead of immediately consulting his counselors, turned to Leticia.
"Princess, your perspective on this matter would be of great value."
Leticia, honored by the trust, offered a considered solution that involved both containment measures for the plague and strategies to diversify local production, minimizing future dependencies. Ryuuji welcomed her ideas with visible approval, ordering Clifford to record the proposals for immediate consideration.
The next audience brought a more familiar figure. Knight Daniel, newly arrived from the Winter Kingdom. He wore the conventional uniform of the Winter Kingdom's royal knights, the same one Aleph had provided him, and a youthful enthusiasm radiated from him in his first official communication as a knight at a foreign court. After a bow that was a bit too formal, even a little extravagant, he addressed Leticia.
"Princess Leticia, I bring news from the Winter Kingdom that I wish to communicate to you." Daniel paused briefly, his gaze seeking Leticia's. "However, due to the nature of the matter, which concerns Prince Laurenn, I believe it would be more appropriate to discuss it in private."
A chill of apprehension ran down Leticia's spine. She turned to Ryuuji, her eyes asking for permission to be excused. The Prince of Autumn, who until then had been observing Daniel with an analytical curiosity, stood up. Instead of granting the request directly, he approached Leticia. With a gesture that silenced the hall, he gently took her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. His voice, though low, carried an icy tone.
"What could you possibly have to hide from me, Princess? There should be no secrets between us. After all... we will soon be married." He paused, his gaze hardening slightly. "And it does not seem appropriate, nor prudent, for you to converse with other men without my company."
The veiled threat in Ryuuji's words hung in the air. Before Leticia could react, Daniel's staff appeared between them, not aggressively, but as a symbolic barrier, forcing a slight retreat from them both.
"With all due respect, Your Highness," Daniel said, his voice firm, though a glint of contained fury sparked in his eyes, "I find your behavior and your insinuations toward Princess Leticia to be profoundly inappropriate."
Ryuuji turned slowly to face Daniel, a cold smile beginning to form on his lips.
"And I could consider your meddling and your posture a grave offense to the crown of Autumn."
The two faced each other, a sparking tension filling the space between them, the silence of the hall broken only by the suspended breath of those present.