Miabel’s Question and Answer: What is a King?
“Pardon me, Your Majesty. Keithwood desperately requests an audience right away.” A guard who walked into the room asked, “Should I let him in?”
As soon as the king gave him leave, Keithwood, Dion, and Connery, who looked tense and sweaty, walked in. They were all lead by Bel.
“My, Bel? Where were you all this time?”
“In fact, Mia-neesama, I went on an adven-tour of the castle!”
That’s almost the worst word fix I’ve ever heard. She really should have just said “adventure.”
Mia shook her head at how badly her granddaughter was using words.
She’ll have a lot of trouble in the future. She should really think about what she says. That being said, it doesn’t seem to have stopped her from getting along with Dion, which I cannot understand…
Mia could never understand how the girl could act so easily around the man, who she thought was only one mistake away from cutting off her head.
Keithwood also gave Bel a wry smile before getting down on his knees in front of Abram. “It makes me feel so much better to see Your Majesty again.”
“Princess Mia and these lovely young women have made us all feel better,” the king said, giving Tiona and Citrina a friendly smile. “But let’s not waste time. Keithwood, speak up. What important matter has brought you here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I got a tip from Princess Mia, and because I thought the risks of doing nothing were high, I searched Prince Echard’s room without permission. I’m sorry for the wrongdoing, but I think it was necessary in that situation.”
Abram closed his eyes and looked pensive.
The resulting silence made Keithwood speak again. “I am sorry for acting on my own. I couldn’t find a chance to ask for your directions.”
“And no one should expect you to have. The fact that Echard chose to act today is a terrible stroke of misfortune.” Abram finally said with a long sigh.
Mia turned her attention from the king to her granddaughter. “Bel, why were you with them?”
“Oh, yes, about that…”
So, Bel began to tell her story, her adven-tour of the castle.
“This direction.”
Bel walked Connery through the castle halls one after the other. In normal circumstances, guards would have stopped her a long time ago, but Connery’s presence had let her through. Because of his job, the captain knew a lot of the castle’s guards.
As Connery followed, he thought that maybe everything was a mistake. Keithwood’s behavior was, however, clearly strange. It wasn’t a very good reason for him to let the girl go on her adven-tour through the castle, but it would do for now.
“Oh, and by the way, Sir Connery. Have you worked for Count Lampron for a long time?” asked Bel.
Because she was so interested, he sighed and said, “Yes, I guess so. I’ve worked for milord since I was a kid. However, I have to say that young Connery didn’t know he would meet a prince one day.”
“Ah, I see. You must also have known Prince Echard for a long time, right? He learned from Count Lampron for a while, right? Then may I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“What is a king?”
Connery stopped moving because he couldn’t figure out what the question meant.
“What is a king?” He said it while blinking in shock. “Did you mean His Majesty, King Abram?”
“Um, no, I don’t mean that…” She pursed her lips for a while and then changed the way she asked the question. “I’m interested in emperors and kings. People who are in charge of other people. As well as princes and princesses. I’m interested in them.”
“Oh, I see.” Connery said. He thought that this girl was probably interested in royalty after meeting Princess Mia and Prince Sion. He could now understand what she meant by her question. That didn’t change the fact that it was still a really tough question, and he had a hard time coming up with an answer.
“Hmm… I can’t say for other people… But for me, a king is like a servant of God. Almost like a proxy.”
“A proxy?”
He gave a firm nod. “The people who live on this continent trust God. Because of this, all of our morals come from what the Holy Book says. There are some problems, though, that the Holy Book can’t solve. There are times when we have to make tough decisions and it doesn’t give us any help. In those situations, the king decides what to do. I believe that a king is someone who acts for God and makes moral decisions using the power that God has given him. That’s why we have complete faith in His Majesty.”
“So that’s what a king in Sunkland does… Hmm…” Bel put her hands together and gave a thought-filled nod. But soon, she let out a scream.
“Eeek!”
When he turned around to see her, she was being pulled away by the arm.
“Halt! What do you think you’re doing?”
He ran to help her right away, but he stopped when he realized who was holding her.
“My duty,” said Dion Alaia, Princess Mia’s sharpest sword. He poked fun at her. “What about you?”
He had Keithwood by his side, who also looked confused.
“Sir Connery, what are you doing here?”
