The Kingdom of Ulmaria, commonly known as the country of elves, was an intensely female state.
Starting from the queen that ruled it, most of the elves occupying important positions in its government were female.
Frederica, their prime minister, was no exception. With her beautiful appearance, dignified demeanor, and perfect working manner, she was very popular, and called ‘cool-headed prince’ by commoners, mostly women.
Her job was wide-ranging.
From something as important as managing the country’s finances, to waking up the queen, who had trouble getting out of bed, it was safe to say that everything passed by her at least once. The pile of documents that was sent to her office every day for her to check was nothing but a small piece of the work she took on.
“Your majesty, a letter has arrived from the imperial capital.”
Frederica felt if the queen checked letters addressed to her, that would be one less thing she had to do, but still figured they should stop by her place.
Most letters addressed to the royal family were about complex contracts between countries and internal politics, and the moment the queen heard about any of that, she would brush them off saying Frederica should handle them.
That or she would respond with ‘Frederica, what is this all about’, ‘I don’t understand this at all’, and other similar phrases. Frederica had already tasted the bitter experience of having to explain in a calm and gentle manner things she knew she would have to deal with herself in the end. It did nothing more than waste her time.
From that point forward, Frederica handled most letters addressed to the queen, but… This time, she stopped when she saw the sender’s name.
The name she saw was one from back when the queen was a princess. One from eight years ago, the name of the man the first princess fell in love with.
“Oh, a letter? Who could it be from?”
The queen, Astrea De Ulmaria, elegantly carried a teacup to her mouth, as she peeked towards Frederica.
She sat in the garden having her afternoon tea, and was not bothered by the fact that Frederica was bringing work into her break, and simply received the letter. Astrea’s boundless, sincere, and cheerful gentleness was her biggest and only strong point.
She had almost no talent for politics, but was assisted by her immense power to unite people… Basically, the way she made people want to help her made this period of the Kingdom of Ulmaria’s history the most stable it had seen yet.
Even when Astrea went out on official business to observe the city, her friendly attitude meant her people saw her very favorably. But she knew that behind all this stood a lot of talented and hard-working people, not the least of which Frederica. And so, precisely because she knew this, she never made a sour face when Frederica wished to speak to her.
Astrea looked at the name in the back of the letter with nostalgia, and let out a happy voice.
“Oh my, it’s from Weiss! How nostalgic… I wonder how he is doing.”
The love Astrea once felt for Weiss was now carved into her heart as a nice memory. At the time she wet her pillow with her tears and was unable to eat anything, but… She had no regrets about falling in love with Weiss. That could be attributed to her simple personality, but it was most likely that those feelings were simply weathered.
In any case, she was a positive person even in regards to the one who broke her heart.
It was only Ladimerie who was still trapped in those memories of seeing her dear older sister hurt.
Astrea squinted as she thought back to those times, and carefully opened the letter. And from the simple envelope with the least ornamentation possible, appeared a simple white piece of paper. Astrea chuckled, thinking it was just like him.
And as for the most important part, the contents of the letter…
“…Oh! Frederica Frederica, look! Ladi is popular in Anheim nowadays!”
Astrea called out to Frederica as she spread the letter on the table.
Frederica had a bad feeling when she heard that name, and read the letter. She did so very quickly, because of how few words were actually on the letter. And what she saw was…
‘The other day I was looking for the rumored extraordinary hat maker of Anheim, but ended up being attacked by her. She used the magic circle exclusive to royalty, so are you two related? Her name was Ladimerie, and she used fire magic. She kept going on about her sister and whatnot, so do something about her. Also, I did a little bit of fighting back, but it was all in self-defense, so forgive me.’
“Princess Ladimerie?”
Frederica’s mind was working at max speed after reading this impactful letter, and it was all she could say.
Astrea nodded, and looked back at the letter with a gentle expression.
“So Ladi is doing well… It’s been so long, I feel like seeing her! Frederica, can I go to Anheim right now? The letter even says she wants to see her older sister! Can I!?”
“…I don’t see where that is written.”
What it actually said… Was that Princess Ladimerie attacked a human, and was fought back. And for some reason, it was about her sister. That was all.
The fact that Weiss fully admitted to harming a member of royalty like it was no big deal made Frederica’s head spin, but she figured that if the queen was not going to mention it, she would remain quiet.
In the meantime, Frederica started thinking about putting together the necessary documentation for Astrea to visit Anheim. She simulated everything in her head to have it done before the day was over.
“…Your majesty, will it be all right if you leave tomorrow?”
“Yes, no problem. Oh, and send a child sized hat to Weiss. I remember having a good one when I was a child that was comfortable, so I’m sure he will be happy with that.”
“…Very well.”
It was a precious hat that only proper royalty could wear… But Frederica left the garden without saying anything about it.
And later…
A hat made with the best skill Ulmaria could offer crossed its borders for the first time, and Ladimerie met her dear sister for the first time in years… But this also led to her finding out that man was actually her old enemy in love, lighting a fire under those feelings of rivalry… But that is a story for another time.
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…. are you kidding me mc!? that person knocked you out in an attempt to kill you…. kidnapped your daughter, planning to do who knows what… your daughter was locked in an almost inescapable place…. made her cry when he’s EXTREMELY dotting on her…
And you not only barely touch the perpetrator, but REWARD HER
Keep in mind that this is suppose to be a somewhat ruthless Mc who lived in the city of thieves for years and had no qualms with killing……
… like you don’t have to kill her, but at least punish her enough that it doesn’t happen again…
I’m so sick of doormat JP mcs… like seriously, why are so many jp mcs like this, even when it doesnt fit their character? are they legally obligated to turn their mcs into doormats?!
Don’t overthink it, your brain will explode lol. These kind of stories are best read with brain either in park or neutral.
Where did he reward her though? The queen going off half cocked was her idea not his.