Portrait of Queen Berta

I accidentally got pregnant with His Majesty's child

Chapter 21: Historical recognition

Her hometown, Meseta, is more noisy and colorful than the sophisticated atmosphere in the royal capital.
However, the land is fertile and the blue of the sky is dark, and what she likes of her city the most is the enthusiasm that fills the air.

Berta has only been away from this city for two years, but she is now surrounded by a nostalgic atmosphere, that caused her mood to naturally improve.

(It was two years ago the last time I stepped on this ground, and now I've returned, holding Louis in my arms... What a dizzying day! Louis is still young... When he grows up, he will surely forget that he visited his mother's hometown this day. It would be nice if Louis can come back someday, maybe it would be possible in a future, if Harold's reconciliation plan is successful... Perhaps Louis will see Meseta for himself.)

Harold has avoided intensifying conflict between the reconciliation and conservative faction, not stating his political preferences.
However, his intention seems to be clearly leaning toward harmony in all the region.

Since this country embarked on trade and the undeveloped territory expanded his influence over the sea, the importance of southern cities and ports has increased non-stop over the last decades.

The time when the Royal city could control all the land by only staying in the center and indirectly lumping all the people that disagrees with them in the frontier, is over.

But even so, there was a reason that while maintaining a tremendous economic advantage over the northern aristocrats, a certain impatience was always visible in the south.

In fact, the people of the south are far behind in military power, it's all thanks to the strict surveillance of the traditional faction.

Even the largest city, Meseta, ruled by the Kasha clan, has only the minimum quantity allowed of soldiers in their private army, only the necessary for city defense.

If anything happens, it's easy for any of the northern cities to send their private army and annihilate the southern cities completely, it would be a one-sided massacre.
(Even the big city of Meseta probably won't last for a month.)

Although there is a topographical advantage, if you break through any cliff using firearms or bombs, what did not exist 100 years ago but now does, or if you land from the seaside, it's over.

In other words, a civil war now means the defeat of the South.

(Of course, if that happens, we will be free people)

It is not only the Southern land of Petra, the only one who is silently trampled over.

In the unlikely event that such a situation occurs, they have now many cards to play but still, some are worried than a bold act of their part would mean a radical reaction from the north...

However, it isn't so unlikely, the history of the people of this area is bloody itself.

In fact, a similar massacre occurred during the time when the Heathens invaded, coming from a desert land across the sea.

The southerns, the Petra people, lived many centuries treated like slaves.
The people of the north part of the Kingdom abandoned them, and was only when the northern countries' aristocrats that now tramples over them, that originally came from the Gentile dynasty, launched a 'land recovery' war against the Heathens and attacked them, to conquer all the inland territory, only then the Petra people was finally recognized as humans.

The memories of those hard time created a noble pride of being Petranian, as well as an unsettling attitude toward the unity and the gain of power for their own people.

After all, no matter how powerful the kingdom's army is, the attitude of the people of Petra has not changed since centuries ago.

Their hearts will not be defeated.
Even if a civil war ends with the Petranians, the Southern Economic Organization created by them, will counterattack with the power of money and all the hatred in their hearts until destroy the north.

(Also the Kingdom would have to be prepared to destroy 30% of its fertile area and exterminate 40% of its population... Even if they want to convert it into scorched earth, there is no way to survive after loosing so much, so the civil war's idea will always be dropped.)

Of course, the previous kings have not left such land unchecked, and it is common that they send aristocrats from the Royal Capital to visit it and inform to the King, even some Kings visited it in the past themselves.

However, never a King accompanied by a Queen of Petranian origin did so.

Actually, this is not the first time that the Kasha's clan of the South offered one of their daughters to the royal family as a wife.

In southern culture, the polygamy system that entered the long era of the Heathens ruling still remains.
Traditionally, even if the woman enters the family not as the wife but a mistress, the act of entering a nothern aristocratic family itself would start conflicts.

There are even cases when a Petranian woman gave birth to a child of Royal linage, but a mixed-blood child would never have been recognized in an aristocratic society, no matter his parents nobility title nor wealth.

It was unthinkable just a few generations ago that a half-Petranian baby, like Louis, would be given the title of Prince.

(If anything, I think the rapid changes taking place in the present generation is more than peculiar...)

She also discovered that her father didn't even think about sending Berta to the Palace at the start.

(Not even his own daughter knows about his real intentions, but it's understandable, no one but my father can lead the movement of the south)

It seems that it was a miscalculation, the plan was to offer a lady of maximum value to the King, after being rejected and showing off the commercial power of Petra, they would offer another lady of less value but with more ties with the blood of the royal capital, like one of Berta's half-sister.

However, that was due to their impression that the King would be more reticent to accept a Kasha's woman in the palace, but Harold swallowed the bait way better than what they expected.
Moreover, he even offered to give Berta the title of Second Queen, something unprecedented in the royal family.

The role of the woman that should enter the palace, who resulted to be Berta at the end, was mainly to see how is the real scenario behind curtains in the Royal Palace, so the petranians have a better understanding of how to move from then on.

What Berta saw at the royal palace was not what she imagined before she married.

The kingdom was ruled only by some aristocrats with pure blue blood, and the Petra people, like Berta, specially women, would not be treated properly in the aristocratic society.

However, that is only on the surface, the center of the kingdom's power is already being replaced by natives, even some becoming aristocrats, but it's not the nobility title what makes it fruitful.

(If you think about it, the Kasha clan just keeps hesitating about how to handle the situation of the prince.)

Although the aristocrats of the northern, had the Gentile dynasty backing them, that was during the sunshine of their power.
One of the reasons of the current downfall of many noble houses is that relations with northern countries have become estranged as the times go by.

Many of the northern aristocrats are clinging to the faction of Queen Margarita to barely maintain authority over their territory.

The King seeks to balance domestic affairs by respecting Queen Margarita to avoid diplomatic clashes with northern nations, while officially appointing natives and southern clan chiefs as emerging aristocrats.

The King was also actively promoting a marriage policy between northern aristocrats and emerging aristocrats.
There are many petranian women living in the back of the north noblemen's mansions as concubines, some of them are even ostensibly serving as ladies of honor and maids.

There are some that dare to ridicule the King, saying that he abandoned the state religion only to run after his lust, but of course he is far more rational.

(King Harold is in reality a lonely king who is tired of being a pawn in a chess board, so he devoted himself to the change the Kingdom. Whether he will become the first King of a glorious new golden era, or a foolish King that caused the downfall of a country, only the posterity will be able to see it clearly and give a correct evaluation. Even so, it is a pity that a monarch who trying his best to correct the problems of his Kingdom and give a fair treatment to everybody, is so ridiculed by his own people. All I can say is that unless he turns his fangs to us someday, the south will appreciate his efforts forever.)

Thinking so, Berta wanted to curse being born in such a position and in such an era.

She wasn't raised to be a queen, no matter how dexterously a gear is repaired, if it's put in an incorrect place of the watch, it will be worn out.

(I know that no matter how the people around me evaluate me, I am nothing more than a vessel, the daughter of the Lord of Kasha.)

She didn't expect love, also knew that she was going to live with people with other culture and values... All she expected was to stay calmly, without being noticed by anyone and return to her hometown after everything is done.

(Although I understand in my head that the future is not so, my heart refuses to accept these changes)

Therefore, Berta is a little scared to have to see the king, who is a part of this Kingdom history new chapter, as a person that is now part of her personal life too.

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