You're a Nominee Valery II

Valery burst out laughing. “What? I’m sorry, uncle, but I thought I heard you say that I was nominated for a Courtship.”

How absolutely ridiculous!

Valery enjoyed the broadcasts as much as any other person who enjoyed trashy romance dramas, but she had absolutely no desire to actually participate and she was certain that she would have remembered if she had sent in an application to the damn thing.

“Valery. That was what I said. You were the last name on the list of candidates. As a Civilian nomination.” The King spat out the word like it was a curse.

Valery’s jaw dropped .

“What? How? A Civilian nomination? Who?”

She was at a loss of words.

The King looked grim as he crossed his arms across his chest. “I do not know. Although I do have my suspicions. I assure you, Valery, that when the culprits are found they will be punished severely for attempting such a cruel prank!”

From what Valery could deduce, the King assumed that the culprit was one of her fellow trainee Knights. If she ignored her initial disbelief at the situation, Valery felt inclined to agree with him.

If she was nominated as a civilian, would it not mean that this was an act done by someone who only knew her civilian identity?

It was strange though. No civilian, trainee Knight or otherwise would have the power or influence to submit a nomination for someone else. Should there not be an added layer of consent requiring her signature? Or if they did not receive that, would they not need the approval of-

“I have discussed it with you aunt and we both believe that it would be in your best interests to comply with the nomination.” A wrinkle appeared at the centre of the King’s brows. “The delegates will be paying their official visit to the palace in three days to personally meet all the candidates here. I do not believe that I can negotiate your release without any unnecessary complications, but I am certain that you can gracefully exit the process without bringing shame to Vesperia.”

Valery tucked the sudden flaring of suspicion away. It was obvious that the King was extremely frustrated by his conflicting desires. The first, his duty to his kingdom. The second , his desire to protect Valery from public scrutiny. He must have spent a lot of time weighing the benefits and consequences of rashly pulling Valery out of the Courtship if he was so resigned to the decision of making her participate now.

There was a heavy feeling in her stomach. She was certain that this issue was greater than a simple prank.

Valery may not be a political player in the Vesperian Court yet, but she was well aware of the power and influence she would be gaining over the King as his future Advisor. A role that would place her only below the Queen in power, and with the added layer of authority that her royal blood would provide, she could see how someone may see her existence as an oncoming threat.

Still, there were some additional factors to be considered as well, because not only was the individual who submitted her nomination someone who had the power to nominate someone without their consent, but also someone who was aware of her civilian identity. Vesperia was a vast country, but the people with true power were few and the people who were aware of the king’s nieces were fewer.

This made the idea of a trainee Knight being responsible for Valery’s nomination as a prank quite laughable.

So who could possibly think that they would gain something from getting her out of the country?

A face flashed in her mind once more, but Valery refused to believe it. Could not believe it, because that would mean-

Valery plastered a smile on her face, her hands clenching into tight fists at her sides. “I understand, uncle.”

She did understand. She really truly did, but why did things have to be this way.

Due to her studies and training she hardly saw her sisters as is. Valery remembered reading articles with anonymous confessions from past Nominees. They commonly spoke of how lonely they felt in the palace due to being banned from contacting friends or family. Valery understood that is was for security purposes, but she does not wish to be separated from her sisters again.

The last three weeks without contact had been agony for her. Especially because she knew that the twins never handled separation well. It had only been knowing that the days without being able to see, hear and touch them again were finite that got her through training.

“You must use this as a learning opportunity. You will not be able to travel freely once you are appointed as my Advisor, Valery. Astanza has a vast library to which I am certain you will be given some extent of access to in your time there. You are sure to learn a lot from it. You will also be interacting with a variety of individuals from all walks of life there. You must make use of this chance to interact and connect with accomplished individuals who may benefit our kingdom one day.”

Valery’s smile shifted into something more sincere when she understood that this was her uncle’s way of trying to comfort her about the situation, awkward as it was.

This would not change how she felt about it and she would look for every loophole she could to see if she could be released from her obligation without any repercussions, but it did comfort her to know that there was someone with her best interest at heart.

“I will. Thank you, uncle. May I be excused? I wish to join the children now.” Especially knowing that her time with them was limited once more.

The wrinkle at the centre of the man’s brow eased. “Of course. They do appear to be getting quite impatient with me for keeping you from them. We shall discuss this more during our scheduled lesson tomorrow evening.”