Second Female Leads' Playbook

I had not seen Felicity and Lucien from that day on. I stayed in bed for a few days to recover from the repercussion. So I hoped they were just here for sight-seeing.

Prince Lucien of Edehan had been driven out of the country by Lord Astor last year. After that he had come to Arerin and asked King Louis for help. Prince Lucien had claimed that he was related to the royal family of Arerin and they should help him reclaim his country.

King Louis refused of course.

Related? All royal families were related in some way or other. Help? That meant going to war. Why should our country go to war to help him reclaim his country? King Louis had politely suggested (former) Prince Lucien to go travelling. And more importantly, leave our capital. Who knew what others thought?

Prince Lucien had been very unhappy and angry. And very luckily (no matter how much I did not like the word luck, it was the most suitable word to be used here), Felicity was not by Lucien's side when he came to ask King Louis for help. Otherwise, King Louis might be forced to help because of her luck.

Sebastian believed at that time Felicity had not wanted to be Queen yet. She just wanted to be with Lucien. But then everything changed when that traitor approached Lucien.

Lord Bentley was a very ambitious lord. To put it simply, he wanted to be Lord Astor. His dream was to control the King (and maybe later became King himself). His dream would have stayed as dream if Lucien had not appeared. Both King Louis and Prince Sebastian were not fools. Lucien, a stupid and naive former prince, was perfect for him. Lucien would be a perfect puppet King.

In my previous life, he had approached Lucien and laid out a plan. He had made used of Felicity's power. He had asked Felicity to wish for famine and drought in Arerin, so that our subjects were dissatisfied. Then he had spread rumors about the new Queen bringing misfortune. The famine and the drought were proof. People had been dissatisfied and angry with me, the newly crowned Queen, and then even the King for marrying me. No matter what I was thankful that Sebastian had not disowned me.

He was responsible like this, even to a Queen he had no feelings for, a Queen who had caused his subjects to revolt. As long as I was his Queen, he protected me.

But he had also betrayed me.

The next part of Lord Bentley's plan was to ask Lucien to pretend to be a knight in shining armor, he had food (because they had bought tons of food before the famine), he had a wife who was the embodiment of good fortune.

If you were to choose, which side would you choose? Food or famine? People started revolting. Now that I thought of it, the revolts had started here around Coral Cliff. From this corner of the country. Lord Bentley had controlled everything behind the scene. When Sebastian finally found out the traitor and everything he had done, it was too late. (Maybe Felicity had helped in concealing Bentley too.) The plan was already in motion, Felicity was there. No one could fight against luck.

I should have killed them when I met them that day, shouldn't I? Why didn't I grasp such an opportunity? Lucien controlled fire and wind. The fire that fateful day was started by him. The fire that had killed Sebastian and I.

But I couldn't. No matter how much I hated them, the idea didn't even cross my mind. What a failure. A failure of a queen. Now I couldn't even sacrifice myself for the greater good.

Lord Bentley should have approached them already. The famine had started a few months after Sebastian ascended the throne.

Sebastian had said he had not suspected Lord Bentley's involvement until it was way too late. He had been the loyalest noble before everything. So I guessed Sebastian could not catch Bentley immediately after he was reborn as he didn't have proof. I hope he had proof now.

I hope when the monsoon season was over, I could receive some good news.