The chain reaction went as follows:
- The Romana family’s reputation is utterly ruined.
- Despite Duke Romana’s efforts to suppress it, his faction and relatives erupt in anger.
- This triggers a domino effect, leading to the collapse of other political marriages aimed at reconciliation.
- The resulting domestic unrest gives neighboring countries the perfect opportunity to wage war.
- The kingdom falls.
This was the grim conclusion outlined in “Maricia’s Happiness.”
Despite the overwhelming flood of information, Liliengela’s brain calmly processed everything without breaking down. With a soft hum and a pouty “X-shaped bunny mouth” expression, she mulled over her predicament while observing Lucius and Maricia flirt just five minutes after declaring the engagement nullified.
Having regained her past-life memories and foresight of the kingdom’s future, Liliengela began shedding her role as a love-struck, clueless noblewoman at lightning speed.
She glanced around, taking in her surroundings.
The setting was a royal palace party. Reactions among the guests ranged from shock to pity to ridicule at the abrupt broken engagement. Amidst it all, Liliengela beckoned members of both her father’s faction and Lucius’s faction toward her with kitten-like gestures.
The Romana faction approached promptly, while Lucius’s faction hesitated. Liliengela’s instincts immediately identified the sharpest minds from both groups.
“You all understand how dire this situation is, don’t you?” she asked.
Despite her gentle, sugary-sweet appearance—complete with drooping eyes and cotton-candy-like hair—Liliengela was not to be underestimated. As a properly educated high-ranking noblewoman, she was highly intelligent.
Her devotion to Lucius stemmed not only from genuine affection but also from her understanding of the critical importance of their engagement as a symbol of peace between rival factions. Liliengela had always known that maintaining a harmonious relationship with Lucius, at least outwardly, was essential for both domestic and international stability. Lucius, however, blinded by emotion, failed to grasp this necessity despite his own noble upbringing.
In times of peace, his ignorance might have been excusable, but with the growing tensions among neighboring countries, abandoning an engagement for the sake of “true love” sent a disastrous message to aristocratic society. If the upper echelons could break off engagements at will, lower-ranking nobles would follow suit, unraveling years of reconciliation efforts.
Liliengela directed her gaze toward a member of Lucius’s faction—his cousin.
“This is your mess to clean up. Can you handle it, or do you need assistance?”
Lucius’s cousin bowed deeply to Liliengela. Relying on the Romana family for help would be a humiliating stain on their honor—a disgrace compounded further.
“No, thank you for your words. We will retrieve Lucius immediately.”
“Setting an example for the nobility is essential. Surely you wouldn’t do something as soft as simply discarding Lord Lucius from his noble status and abandoning him, right?”
In the novel, that was exactly what happened. Lucius had been exiled in full traveling gear, with a generous amount of money, new identification, and even an escort (at the personal request of his foster brother, who acted as the guard). It was hardly a punishment. Naturally, many nobles felt disappointed and resentful.
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