Emilia Marseille, the Royal Castle, Versez; Kingdom of Eins, 610

"Thus, I've named her my Advisor." The King concluded his speech.

Emilia stood on the right-hand side of the Throne. The captain of the Royal Guard, Laurin, stood on the throne's left. The King had just finished announcing to the nobles Emilia's appointment as the Advisor, and the reasons for her being chosen.

Emilia was uncomfortable internally, but she made sure to stand straight, set her gaze, and be as presentable as possible.

The King promised her that he'd take care of things when he announces her position, and that she doesn't have to answer to any of the lords if she was addressed. Though, the King also stressed that if she wished to, she could.

One of the nobles, from the previous rebel faction of Lossange, took a step forward. From what Emilia remembered, he was the Head of the Lossange family, and his name was Reed Lossange. He is a Duke who controls a large portion of Eastern Eins and the territories near some of its borders. His army was instrumental in the civil war.

He is a chubby old man who's weight couldn't be hidden by his overgrown white robes. He of course, has a chubby face and bulbuous nose, large lips, and a thick forehead. He is a bit small in stature.

Reed raised his hands and looked towards his fellow nobles, quieting the chatter. He then placed his hands on his chest.

"My King, please reconsider. She is not even noble-born. I know for a fact that she is the daughter of Bernard and Eureece Marseille, fine merchants of Eins, but that does not mean that she has the qualifications to provide you her counsel." Reed said, and then he shook his head.

Emilia winced slightly, but she relaxed when she realized that no one noticed her reaction.

"All of the noble heads of families, even first-sons and daughters, weren't even considered for candidacy, Your Majesty. I understand that you wanted to give our kin who had no responsibilities a chance, but it does not mean that it removes the right of our most talented and prestigious to be heard as well." Reed revealed.

Emilia opened her eyes wide and then she looked towards Aleuas slowly. The King was also looking towards her and slightly smiling apologetically. Emilia wanted to question the King at that very instant, but reeled her emotions in.

"That's right, Your Majesty!"

"You must reconsider!"

The King waved his hand and the pleas quieted down.

"Ah, I get what you're trying to say, Duke Lossange. However, isn't it best that someone who is a commoner, who has the first-hand view and experience of our peoples, be the person who provides me counsel? She has insight that us from the royalty, or you from the lordship, will never be truly privy to." The King said.

Reed creased his brows and was trembling. He then looked over to Emilia. Emilia flinched and took a step back. She heard a distinct, playful chuckle from the King. She felt that the King was making fun of her.

"Emilia, I see that there is no convincing His Majesty. But to you, I'll have to ask, do you really think that you're ready for this kind of undertaking!?" Reed shouted as he asked Emilia.

Emilia shook just from the sheer volume of his voice, but her troubles didn't stop the King from chuckling. Emilia grimaced as she realized that the King has no intent to actually make do with his promise of taking care of things during the announcement.

Emilia bit her lip, and then sighed.

"I do not think I am ready." Emilia said, eliciting gasps and grunts from the nobles.

Duke Reed grinned.

"The truth is, I don't think anyone is ready." Emilia announced, then swept her head over the nobles, fixing her gaze unto anyone who catches her sight.

What the hell am I doing?!

She was screaming internally and her heart was pounding. Every one of the nobles were either frowning or scowling, and she still allowed herself to arrogantly sweep her gaze over them, as if she had them under control.

"To the nobles, this I ask, are you certain that you would want to be an advisor in Eins' weakest moments?" Emilia said.

Emilia could see Reed clenching his hands into a fist as discussion once again overtook the Throne Room.

"If you were to choose to undertake this, and the Kingdom is once again thrust into emergency, are you ready to make the decisions that'll affect everyone, even your esteemed noble household?" Emilia made sure to inflect her voice to show power.

She was still feeling a bit nauseous, but since she remembered that she was the one who decided to do this, she had to at least show them her worth.

Whatever the Nobles say, Emilia realized that it was already official that she was the Advisor. She now had some sway over the King's decision, something that was more concrete than the nobles. She has also realized why Julien had the guts to do the rebellion in the first place.

"The Advisor is the only position which has true bearing on the King's policies' at its core, so I do understand why the lordship would see to have themselves be placed in this position. It is also true that the Advisor has great influence over the Kingdom itself, and thus, an Advisor's approach to ruling and their ideals affect a large portion of our policies."

Though the advisor was supposed to have no actual powers, by the very definition, those who were the advisors were the Brains of the King. Usually, the Kings themselves allow the Advisors to act in his name.

As such, the advisors words have the same weight as the King's, and their words and actions have been given the blessing by the King. The people and the lords have learned to treat the Advisor as an arbitrary messenger of the King himself.

Only the King may veto and override these words at any time. Thus, it was also a given that the Advisor is the most powerful position in the Kingdom, second only to the King himself.

This allowed Julien to spread his influence. It was as easy as holding secret meetings with the Rebel Faction, telling them about the King's policies and the problems it underlined, and then giving a solution. It is also useful because Julien's counsel was known to have always been considered by the King, allowing Julien more control over the Kingdom.

In hindsight, it was easier for the rebels to follow someone who was in actual power rather than some random noble house.

Emilia smiled as she realized Aleuas' ploy.

"However, those in power are also in danger. I am not sure all of you have realized, but our King, Aleuas Eins, is a king that is starkly different from our previous rulers. Do you think that just because you're in the position of an advisor, you'd be able to sway His Majesty's whims?" Emilia shook her head.

"What if you were able to convince His Majesty to undertake whatever solution you have come up with, only for that very solution to serve as the downfall of Eins?"

The nobles looked towards each other, quite unsure of where Emilia wanted to take her point.

"What I want to say is that, His Majesty has reminded me that my actions will have consequences. Consequences that someone from a Noble House will not be able to tolerate!" Emilia shouted.

The nobles kept watch, and Duke Reed was still visibly fuming.

"The Advisor is right now the most delicate position in our Kingdom. Please be reminded about the recent circumstances that the Kingdom of Eins has had to face-" She paused.

She heard the clucking of tongues from some of the nobles.

"-For someone like me who was born from commoners, you may argue that I do not have the qualifications. However, I am not here to prove my capabilities. I am here to be the devil's advocate for His Majesty, and I am willing to answer to the consequences. I have nothing to consider other than the fate and goals of Eins'. I have no land, no subjects, no allies. That is the difference between me and the lordship." Emilia concluded.

The truth of the matter is, that's just an excuse she came up with in the heat of the moment. The real reason the King chose someone from the commoners was simple:

Eins right now is weak. If any existing noble of ample power becomes an advisor, it'll allow them similar circumstances as that of Julien Massarreli. She realized it because the new Head of the Massarreli household, Leonard Massarreli, was not present for this audience.

To her, it served as a reminder that the King had no intention of putting a noble into the Advisor's role.

The only problem with his ploy was that he still needed someone he could trust, and someone who was talented enough to suddenly be put in this position. Emilia was lucky, or maybe unlucky, that he had set his sights on her.

She wasn't sure if there were other people similar to her, but it all made sense if one would consider that the King chose her store to become the place where the Royal Guard would meet him.

Also, the fact that the King himself chose to have a conversation about politics with someone like Emilia helped to support that ploy.

As Emilia finished her reasoning, Duke Reed relaxed and nodded to his colleagues.

"I see that you, Miss Emilia, for whatever reason, will not be persuaded to change your acceptance of the role. That is fine, but I would like to advise you to think about what you're doing. Do not underestimate the conviction of the Noble Households." Duke Reed said.

Emilia fixed her gaze on Duke Reed, regardless.

The Duke then moved his sights towards the King.

"Your Majesty, I still hope you reconsider." the Duke said before bowing.

"Yes, I'm reconsidering the notion that a non-noble is now my advisor. So, she'll now be named as Duke Emilia of Marseille. Yes, that sounds nice. Besides, her function might be compromised if she remains a commoner." The King declared.

Emilia gasped along with the audiences. Duke Reed creased his brows.

"Your Majesty! There are no ungoverned territories that we can provide for her, and also, she's not even a notable mage!" Duke Reed shouted in protest.

The King raised his hands, and motioned for everyone to calm down before standing up.

"Not a notable mage? I see. For the lands to be under her demesne, we can push that matter away for now. I'll have her remain in the palace." The King said.

The nobles only listened, waiting for the one arguement that really mattered to them.

"As for her not being a notable mage? It's true that she isn't. I doubt she's awakened to her ability yet. But really, do you still underestimate me that much, Duke Lossange?" The King grinned as he said.

Emilia trembled at the sight of the King's grin. She reminded herself that there's still a lot more to learn about him than what he's letting on.

"There's a simple solution to that really. I'll have her train her mage's ability and have it awaken, and have the Rosare convert her ability into a bloodline ability. I'll personally oversee the training of Duke Emilia. I doubt any one of you have any objections to that." The King said.

The Nobles kept quiet, and Emilia was confused. This wasn't a development that the King has warned her about. She was under the pretense that she'll remain a commoner even though she's an advisor.

What is Aleuas thinking!?

She sucked on her teeth as she thought about the implications. She thought that she understood at least Aleuas' plans regarding the advisor, but she didn't think that he'd declare something this unexpected. She speculated that even the nobles didn't think she'd be raised to lordship.

"I... I see, Your Majesty. Then, for now, we shall take our leave." Duke Reed said as he bowed.

The Duke was still clenching his fists, and the other nobles couldn't hide their disdain over the King's decision, and their disdain for Emilia herself. Half of the nobles, from what Emilia assumed was the rebel faction, quickly darted towards the door and left.

The King stood up, and whispered something to Laurin. Laurin nodded, and then looked over the remaining audiences.

"Those who wish to remain to speak with the Advisor, you may do so at your leisure. I will accompany her during your discussions. The King shall take his leave." Laurin announced.

The King left the Throne with a bounce in his steps, and looked over to Emilia before exiting. Emilia saw the King mouth out a few words before finally leaving:

'Good luck!'

Emilia was shaking as the nobles approached her.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Emilia has never felt so tired before in her life. She was right now looking over the castle's entrance garden as she sat on a bench. Laurin, seemingly worried about her, accompanied her as she thought over the events that transpired.

The nobles who left to remain discussed a variety of topics, and gave many suggestions. Most of them were great suggestions, but she knew that there were traces of ambition and motives behind them. She sighed as she resigned herself that she'll have to deal with things like this in the future.

"Duke Emilia, thank you." Laurin said.

Emilia perked up and looked towards Laurin as she blinked in surprise. It was peculiar how she was also now officially a duke even though there was no ceremony. It seemed that Aleuas himself wasn't too fond of those functions.

"For what, Sir Laurin?" She asked.

"For putting up with Aleuas' nature." Laurin said before chuckling.

Emilia smiled. It seemed that Laurin trusted the King even through his eccentricities. Emilia decided to put her trust and do her best for the Kingdom.

"I'll have to do my best, don't I?" Emilia thought out loud.

She'll be undergoing mage-training, first-and-foremost, and that bothered her quite a bit. Every person had the potential to be a true-mage, but that didn't mean that everyone could exhibit the capability to do it. She'll just have to grunt through it.

"Yes, milady. The King has said that I'll be accompanying you for quite a while as I introduce you into the more... holistic nature of our Kingdom's politics. You don't have to worry, I'll make sure to teach you as much as I know." Laurin said.

Emilia felt a bit of her worries dissipate. In truth, there was quite a lot behind her discussions with the nobles that she didn't actually have a deep understanding of. It was quite weird that the King chose Laurin to become her tutor about the deeper levels of politics, but it was enough that it seemed that the King trusted Laurin greatly.

"Then, please take care of me in the future too, Sir Laurin." She replied as she stood up and held out her hand.

Laurin grasped her hand.

"I shall, milady."