Her dad's words echo in Ilina's head almost prophetically.
If it happened once, it can happen again.
There's no escaping the truth of her and Mizuki's relationship. She can tell herself that she befriended him before Nina, that she was the first person he ever voluntarily confessed all his secrets to, that their relationship is special, that he would never pursue another woman without her consent, and that all may very well be true.
Yet, it's also true that Mizuki didn't magically develop feelings for her only once Nina allowed their relationship. Mizuki fell in love with her while he was already with Nina, and...
If it happened once, it can happenagain.
The worst part is, she couldn't even blame Mizuki if he developed unspoken feelings for someone like Cara...or Alto, whose supposedly platonic affection for Mizuki she's always found dubious. Not just because her own relationship with Mizuki relied on such a thing, but also because...she has nothing personal against Cara. Much like Alto, in fact, part of the reason she feels threatened by Cara's relationship with Mizuki is that Cara is so...lovely. Beautiful, intelligent, kind, and powerful...if they were closer in age, she'd have befriended Cara herself.
That said, the very thought of opening up her relationship to another woman makes her want to go track down Jorah and strangle him as a form of stress relief. As a Princess raised in a matriarchal society, and a high elf expected to live ten times as long as any prospective husbands, she never imagined having only one husband in her life, much less sharing that husband. In fact, if she'd loved Mizuki sooner – if her and Nina's positions had been reversed back then – she'd have never given her blessing for Nina to join their relationship.
It was hard enough to even accept and act on her feelings for Mizuki once she knew the truth about Nina. But...she couldn't help but love him despite the frustrations she knew it would cause. Thinking back to those early days together, a smile forces its way to her lips, a little bit of her frustration over her father's Cara ploy fading away.
Even when she thought Mizuki was a no-good human, she respected how clever he was...someone who could challenge her in a way she wasn't used to. She wouldn't have admitted it back then, but she was thrilled by their early game of cat and mouse. Mizuki role playing as an unassuming adventurer, her sensing that he wasn't what he appeared to be, him realizing that she was on to him, her trying to expose him, him scrambling to craft cover stories on the spot when she succeeded, and so on. In a weird way, that strange, adversarial form of mutual respect was how their affection for one another developed.
There was always something about him that made it impossible for her to completely tear him from her thoughts, even before she knew the truth. The pure and unprejudiced way he treated others, his honesty, and the quiet, amused confidence he always carried himself with...it made her want to trust him. And of course, the bastard couldn't stop there.
Calling her the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen without a shred of shame, casually insisting that he'd murder other humans before letting them harm her or Klaus...he even had to go and rescue her enslaved people like it was the most natural thing in the world. The way he'd looked at her that night, right before he set out, the conviction in those green eyes of his as he swore that he'd make sure every elf was safely reunited with her by morning...it's the most trust she's ever felt in someone.
That night, when he came back from rescuing the elves and wolf-kin children, was when she first admitted to herself that she was probably falling in love with him. She watched him win the loyalty of someone like Alto in the span of a few hours, casually speak Elvish, and finally, reveal every secret he had, just to show how earnestly he wanted to be her friend.
That conversation with him, his unreserved goodwill towards her...it made it painfully clear to her how special he was. It pushed her desire to be with him over a ledge she couldn't crawl back from.
She sighs internally, a wry grin threatening to force its way to her face.
'You could have been a little less charming...jerk. I've turned into a possessive mess, and Cara is probably on her way to the same fate. I almost feel bad for her...'
Alas, contrary to popular belief, she's a lot more ruthless than Nina...sympathizing with Cara's feelings changes nothing. Cara will be cozying up to her husband over her dead body.
She directs a knowing look at her father, who is watching her with a warm but expectant expression. Truthfully, she knows he just played her like a book, but it doesn't matter. He isn't entirely wrong, and if nothing else, reminiscing about everything has reminded her how much she'd like to quit being a secret lover.
She shifts her gaze to her mother, who has been watching her and Dargo's exchange with rapt attention. She crosses her arms and fixes her mother with a resigned smirk, causing Elira to raise her eyebrows expectantly. Ilina leans forward and places her hands on the table seriously.
"Alright, Mother...let's discuss the wedding." (Ilina)
Her mother's eyes widen in surprise, before her lips twist into a triumphant smile.
"Wonderful, dear! I knew you'd see reason. So, first-" (Elira)
Ilina raises her hand to cut her mother off, causing Elira to frown disapprovingly. Ilina meets her gaze without flinching, though, and shakes her head.
"Before that – two things. One, since you talked me into this by stressing the urgency of it, I want you to announce my engagement and schedule the wedding as soon as possible. I don't want to drag this process out, so let's do what we have to and get me married." (Ilina)
Her mother's face contorts indignantly, her voice raising incredulously.
"Are you insisting that we rush a royal marriage!? Absolutely not! This is a once in a millennia event...sometimes rarer, and it will announce our people's next King. An unprecedented King, mind you – a nigh-immortal being of legend who represents a turning point in our people's history! It is absolutely crucial that the preparations for this event are given the time and care they deserve! Do you have any idea how many arrangements need to be made for something of this scale!?" (Elira)
Ilina cocks her eyebrow skeptically, making it clear that she's unmoved by her mother's indignation.
"Everyone knows that almost everything about this wedding has already been decided by tradition, and you've probably been planning the remaining details since Alara was a teenager. All you have to do is tell me what's already expected of me for the wedding, and I'll make sure to prepare for it.
"I recognize that physical preparations will still take time, and that's fine. Even if the wedding itself doesn't happen for a year or longer, I won't mind. All I'm asking is for you to quickly announce my engagement and a tentative wedding date to the public. That covers what I care about – everyone will know what Mizuki and I are to each other, and there won't be anything left holding our relationship back." (Ilina)
She feels a rush of excitement at the concept...moving forward in her life. Since she met Mizuki, it feels like she's been derailed by one inconvenience after another, the latest of which are these impediments to their relationship. Once those are gone, she'll be able to focus on her future again...her ambitions, and Mizuki can be incorporated into them without reservation.
She'll have someone by her side who makes her happy, who she can take pride in, who she never has to worry about losing...who she can trust. She'll be Queen, he'll be King, and with the two of them working together, her people will be prosperous and protected like they never have.
As soon as she can clear this one, final hurdle.
She watches as her mother digests her words, clearly unenthusiastic about the idea of expediting anything of importance. That's within Ilina's expectations as well...her mother is over seven thousand years old, a Queen, and plagued by the cautiousness typical of elves. Elira purses her lips.
"We can't simply announce your engagement...we need to consider the people's reaction to the news, especially if it's sudden. We need to make sure they're comfortable with, not just Mizuki himself, but his friendliness with their Princess." (Elira)
Ilina nods.
"Fine, let's help that along then. A week from now, Mizuki should have earned quite a bit of goodwill from the Royal Announcement due to his status as a Nephilim, his gifting of the trains, and his promise to keep the Empire at bay. In the week following that, before his meeting with the Empire's leadership, him and I can make a tour of all the nobles' capital cities together...alone.
"Officially, we can say that it's to let the people get to know Mizuki better and vice versa, while demonstrating how much we trust him with even the Princess's safety. You can share these plans at the Royal Announcement, encouraging people to congregate in their local capitals for our visit. Then, while we're in each capital, I'll make sure Mizuki and I are seen together in public performing acts of service for the residents...with a level of friendliness that is just enough to start rumors.
"From there, it shouldn't take much to sway public opinion as needed until there's support for our rumored relationship. After all, Mizuki's quite popular with the elves that have gotten to know him, and that's while they thought he was human. Done correctly, we should be able to safely publicize our engagement through written announcements within a month." (Ilina)
Elira narrows her eyes, seeming to think it over carefully. Eventually, her mother gives her a questioning look, her tone contentious.
"And if our information networks suggest that the majority of our people aren't responding well to these rumors?" (Elira)
Ilina smiles confidently, meeting her mother's gaze directly.
"Then we'll develop a plan of action accordingly, and I'll agree to postponing the announcement until the situation is resolved. But...that's not going to be necessary." (Ilina)
Elira purses her lips, falling silent with a contemplate expression on her face. Several tense moments later, she looks at Dargo.
"What do you think of all this, dear?" (Elira)
Hearing the question, Dargo glances back to his daughter. Ilina meets his gaze, her expression exuding an infectious confidence. His lips twist into a small smile, a flicker of pride in his eyes as he quickly looks back to Elira.
"I think...our daughter has grown quite a lot since she snuck out of our kingdom all those months ago. We should trust her judgement." (Dargo)
Elira's lip twitches, but she nods. She lets out a resigned sigh as she levels her gaze at Ilina again.
"Very well, Ilina...you have our support on this matter. What was the second condition you alluded to?" (Elira)
Ilina smiles sweetly, but there's a glint of mischief in her eyes.
"Oh that? Nothing as dramatic. Just that while I'm happy to start the wedding planning now, I'll be leaving promptly in an hour and a half. It's been a long day, and...
"I'm ready to go see my fiancé." (Ilina)