Chapter 011: From Heart to Heart
Esther, who seemed to have realized that the boy with the arm beside her wanted to embarrass herself, immediately replied, "Tiny, the reason I'm doing this is that I'm one hundred percent sure that your brain is very intelligent.
"Let's see how you will teach me." Arthur prepared a book and pen to take notes.
"The first lesson is foreign policy. As a King, you must know how to establish relations with other kingdoms or empires. This foreign policy occurs to achieve the benefit of both parties. The first step to establishing good relations with other kingdoms is to get to know culture, history and all information about the kingdom in question."
"Therefore, we will study about the history and culture of the Maurice Empire. The largest empire on the entire continent. Do you know how to choose the heirs who will become Emperor and Empress in that Empire?" Esther asked.
"Of course, it's the same as the election of a king in this kingdom. Of course, the previous emperor would choose a prince who had the right qualifications to replace him. Then the prince would marry the woman he loved or the woman who would benefit him so that she would later become empress when he ascended the throne," Arthur answered innocently.
Esther smiled a little. "You're so wrong." Arthur looked surprised to hear that the answer was wrong.
"Why is it wrong? Isn't that the way it is?"
"Actually this is something that is not known by the kingdoms outside the Maurice empire. They are often wrong. In Maurice, the Emperor will choose his first son to become the next emperor and his first daughter to become empress," explained Esther.
"So you mean the Maurice Empire is incestuous?" asked a disbelieving Arthur.
"It's not like that, gosh. I mean the Maurice empire adheres to the lineage of the emperor who becomes the empress and emperor. The empress and emperor do not marry at all. The emperor still marries another woman, the woman will get the title of queen. Then the empress will also marry a man otherwise, the man will receive the title of prince. Do you understand?"
Arthur nodded his head. "Yes, I understand quite well. The Empire is indeed very unique. But can you give me an example of their lineage? And also why can only the first son and first daughter succeed in the throne?"
"When it comes to that, you could say it's because of the history of the formation of the Maurice empire. The ancestor of the imperial family was a god who accidentally fell in love with a fairy that he created himself. Whereas in the past there was a rule that gods should not have feelings for living creatures of their own creation. Unfortunately, gods who had been blinded by love broke that rule. In the end, God and fairy got married. They were blessed with a daughter and a son. The god who had the greatest power immediately cursed the god's children. His curse was "You will not be able to have children. "Grandchildren are like everyone else, though you will be blessed with peerless beauty and amazing strength and intelligence," Esther explained.
"For example, I will give an example of the current Emperor Maurice. The current Emperor Maurice is Eduardo Davidson la Maurice. He married a daughter of the current chief of the bandits named Adelia Clare la Maurice. Then his Empress was Emelline Bridgette la Maurice. She was the younger sister of Maurice Emperor. The empress married the older brother of the queen who was given the title of Grand Duke, namely Eugene Shelford von Theobald. The emperor and the queen had a son who is also the current crown prince, Livius Wellington la Maurice, while the empress and grand duke had a daughter who is now the crown princess's name is Esther Adelyn la Maurice," Esther added.
Arthur seemed amazed to see Esther who could teach him so well. The two of them continued to be inside Arthur's study until the afternoon.
After they finished, they both decided to take a short walk in the garden of Esther's palace while waiting for the maids to finish preparing dinner. The beautiful marigold flower beds live up to the palace's name. Although it is not as luxurious and beautiful as the garden in Rose's palace, the garden at Marigold's palace can indeed be said to be beautiful and calming for anyone who goes there because only in the palace the winds with the scent of flowers blow regardless of the weather or time.
"I never knew you would be this smart, Madam Beatrice. As far as I know, women in this kingdom are absolutely not allowed to study knowledge that is in the realm of men," said Arthur, starting a conversation.
Esther walked in front of Arthur and then turned her body so that now she was facing Arthur. Then her hands were tied behind her back. "What if I say that I'm the fake Beatrice and I'm actually a princess from another kingdom so that I can be this smart, different from the women in the Nightingale kingdom? Would you believe it?"
Arthur chuckled. "I guess if you told me I'd believe it."
"What did you think of the lesson?"
"You can say it's very fun but also very confusing. It turns out that the position of the crown prince is very heavy. Sometimes I think whether I can become a good king in the future or not. Sometimes I'm also tired and bored with my position. I have to carry out my duties and maintain my position as crown prince because this is your mother's wish," said Arthur, who suddenly let out all his complaints to Esther.
Esther grabbed Arthur's right hand and stared intensely at Arthur's blood red eyes. "So you're saying you're still sticking with your status as crown prince just to live up to your mother's expectations and not on your own?"
"Yes you're right."
"Isn't your mother dead now? So you should be more concerned with yourself than your mother's expectations. After all it is you who live your life, not your mother. Your life and body are your own. You are the one who has the right to determine what you want and what you want to do," advised Esther.
"Since you have become my mother, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to become a king in the future so that you can become the grand queen mother?" Arthur's hypothesis.
Esther was made to laugh at Arthur's hypothesis which made no sense to her. "Being a grand queen mother at such a young age is embarrassing for me. Of course I don't want that."
"If you're ashamed to be the great queen mother, how about you become queen?"
The corners of Esther's lips pulled up. "Are you teasing me now?"
"Do you think so?" Arthur replied. .
"I guess so. But you know, as a surrogate for your birth mother, I just want you to be happy. You don't have to struggle to keep your crown prince if you don't want to. Being a king isn't fun either. It's a heavy responsibility and lost freedom. You even have to marry someone you don't love at all," said Esther with a sad face.
Deep in Arthur's heart, he was very happy that Esther was the only person who cared about him. It feels so happy. Even though at first he felt very weak and wanted to give up his position as crown prince. However, seeing Esther's smile and worried expression made her suddenly feel excited.
"Looks like I'll still be the Crown Prince so I can protect you, mother," Arthur said in a slightly low voice. Esther looked surprised when she heard Arthur call her mother.
"What? Did you just call me mom?" Arthur immediately ran away from Esther while laughing happily.
"According to you?"
Esther followed Arthur from behind. "Hey! So you just called me mom?"
It was a happy day for both of them.