“Pardon me?”
“You heard me. Similar to mirages, an ideal, prosperous kingdom does not and has never existed. No decisions can be made without sacrifices, and no methods can last forever,” she gave a complicated smile. “Books have introduced many theories, and I have read them all. However, none of them can perfectly solve the Desert Kingdom’s problem. The most they can do is delay the problems. Nevertheless, the longer the delay, the more complex the problems. Politics becomes more difficult over time, not simpler.”
“Hmm—”
“Hassad. You are also a man of knowledge. Do not tell me that you have not deduced this fact from listening to these overly ideal theories.”
“Yes, I do understand the point you are making, but… doesn’t this mean that the king will never be able to make up for his sins?”
She showed an expression almost similar to that shown by Diana in the room.
“Yes, this is what being a king entails; he has no freedom at all.”
“So this is what the throne means to miss…” he exhaled gently, as if he was trying to recover from the shock. “Nevertheless, I believe that being aware of this will allow you to be more successful than others. Knowing this and still be willing to go through it to fulfill your responsibilities as a queen is a true remarkable feat.”
—No. I am just a puppet.
She said to herself, as if it was a cry for help. Was this her thought? Or Diana’s?
No. 3 looked away and suppressed her voice, pretending that this thought had never crossed her mind.
“This goes without saying. If I did not come to this realization, I would not have embarked on this journey,” she glanced back, picking up the textbook in her hands and looking through it. “Rather than thinking about what happens after becoming a queen, let’s worry about getting there first. Even the best king cannot live forever. There are always accidents, as history has taught me.”
“True,” said he, wiping his forehead again. “Sorry, I asked more questions than I should have. It seems that you are ready already.”
They stopped talking about the throne and returned back to the teaching materials.
When the class was over, he watched her and her guard leave the room before packing up the textbooks on the table and sorting out her notes and articles. He carefully reviewed the content of the articles and frowned.
He had heard of how Diana was well-versed in books and how much she loved literature and writing. However, he had never seen her write in person in class. Even when he asked her to create improvisational pieces, she had always turned him down. This resulted in their classes always being reading and listening.
Now he understood why that was—
“Mr. Hassad?” The door was suddenly opened, showing Lazer with his back facing the light outside and a smile on his face that was not very friendly in the shadow.
