As a thousand thoughts raced through Dolores's mind, Alexia's calm voice echoed once more:
"Julia, you and Dolores, co in. There's sothing I need to discuss with you, and it concerns Jenkins."
"Yes, Madam."
As she spoke, Julia turned to the maids behind her, instructing them to prepare a late supper. Then, she leaned in and whispered a few words to Dolores, who finally stepped into the room.
It was obvious she had rushed here in excitent the mont she returned to the estate. She hadn't even removed her heavy coat and was still wearing her outdoor boots.
Sitting on the sofa, Jenkins felt that strange sense of guilt creeping back. He had no idea how things had spiraled into this.
"I'm innocent..."
He tried to convince himself, but it was utterly useless.
"Jenkins and I have just spoken, and we have decided to give you our full support in your bid to beco the queen of the Hamparvo Kingdom."
The mont Alexia, who was still tidying her hair, spoke, everyone else in the room froze in astonishnt.
"Hm?"
Julia's eyes lit up, and she looked from Jenkins to Alexia with delighted surprise, fully aware of the weight of their decision. Dolores, however, showed no signs of joy, her expression remaining sullen.
"Also, if you beco queen, Jenkins will marry you."
The very air in the room seed to crystallize. The cat remained impassive—marriage ant nothing to it, only the ever-growing number of damn won around Jenkins. Julia's face, however, blood with relief and joy for her princess. Dolores's expression was unchanged, the full import of Alexia's words yet to register. As for Jenkins:
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"
Jenkins thought he must have misheard.
"Once Dolores is queen, you will marry her. Jenkins, let's be honest. Since you seem to like so many young won and wish to spend your life with all of them, it's best you have an exceptionally high station. People are always more forgiving of the... indiscretions of the nobility. And no, I'm not talking about being a Saint. Most people can't accept the Saint of a god being a mortal man with sordid desires... But if you were a Prince Consort? That would be another matter entirely."
Jenkins had to admit, as Alexia laid out her argunt, that her logic was sound.
"Besides, don't try to tell you haven't noticed my student has feelings for you."
Dolores's face flushed crimson. In that instant, every ounce of resentnt she'd felt for her teacher evaporated. She even felt the urge to kiss Alexia to show her gratitude.
"I know this is presumptuous, and that I haven't considered your own wishes, but it's the best possible arrangent, isn't it?"
As she stated her case, Jenkins searched for a rebuttal but could find no flaw in her logic. After a mont, he recalled sothing and offered,
"Actually, the Williams family isn't exactly common stock. I've recently found evidence that we do, in fact, have elven blood..."
"I know."
Alexia replied, glancing at Jenkins's subtly pointed ears.
"It's not just any bloodline. Based on what I've learned from Hathaway, the Williams family is very likely descended from one of the kingdom's high nobles..."
"And what difference does that make?"
Alexia cut him short, then pointed out:
"You told your family's history yourself. You've been commoners for centuries, which implies your ancestor was rely a nobleman's bastard. Even if that's how elven blood entered the Williams line, trying to reclaim a place in the aristocracy now... you'd have better odds hoping your own queen elevates you to a dukedom. And wouldn't that be better? I would actually prefer if your family were the illegitimate branch of so duke, or even the royal family. In that case, wouldn't two-thirds of your plan to stabilize the mortal governnts be accomplished in one fell swoop?"
Alexia's reasoning was, as always, impeccable. Jenkins had to admit it again: the arrangent was perfectly logical, leveraging every available resource to its fullest.
"But..."
"Don't you like Dolores?"
Alexia's sudden question was another awkward one. Jenkins stamred, unable to find the words to reply. Of course, his hesitation was an answer in itself.
"I know your definition of 'adulthood' differs from most of ours. If that's what's bothering you, we can wait two years. We'll hold the wedding after Dolores turns eighteen; it's not a long ti. What's needed here is a nominal union, not... whatever sordid acts you might get up to in the bedroom."
Dolores was blushing so fiercely she lowered her head, almost touching her knees in embarrassnt.
"This way, you'll hold the titles of both Saint of the Legacy Sage Church and Prince Consort of the Hamparvo Kingdom. Regardless of how you choose to face the cataclysm at the end of the epoch, you will have the greatest possible support the mortal world can offer. As for the kingdom, it will have a sagacious queen and a Prince Consort of incredible power. From every angle, this is the right decision. It benefits everyone."
When she finished, Alexia watched Jenkins in silence. He said nothing for a long ti, and when he finally spoke, his voice was low and dejected, a tone she had never heard from him before.
"'Benefits everyone?' he asked. 'But if I marry Dolores... what about you? What about the others?'"
Alexia didn't grasp his question at first. It took a few seconds for his aning to sink in. And when it did, the tenderness that filled the calculating woman's heart was imasurable. She wanted to throw her arms around him but knew it would ruin the delicate atmosphere they had so carefully built.
At the sa ti, a fresh wave of anger rose within the petite woman—and for once, even she, the master of cold analysis, couldn't pinpoint its source.
"Jenkins, don't you understand? There are no perfect solutions in this world. I know you don't want to hurt anyone, but that very sentint is what will end up hurting us all. When you get back to Nolan, you will tell your... lovers... exactly what we've decided here."
She spat the word "lovers" through gritted teeth. It was rare to see Alexia so emotional.
"And don't you get it? Jenkins, when you have everything, do you really think mortal laws are immutable? I doubt Hathaway and Briny would object to this arrangent."
Having said her piece, she turned to Dolores and asked her student in a sowhat sterner tone:
"Would you mind marrying Jenkins?"
Dolores was so embarrassed she looked as though she might faint.
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