Irwin called Leon a joke. A soulless puppy like him could never become king — just a fool who had never once noticed what he and Homer were up to. He was losing his composure now, and he added that everything would fall apart in no time.
Pride silenced him with a shout.
She walked right up to Irwin and told him plainly that Leon had every quality needed to become a great king. He loved his people more than he loved himself, and he strove to live up to their expectations. A vital asset, a man who had dedicated himself to being a worthy king.
Then she smirked, and brought up what he had just said about everything falling apart with Leon in charge. Because that was exactly what happened when Irwin became king in her premonition.
Under his rule, the people grew so poor they had to leave the country, and that tanked the trade market. It got so bad that people could hardly believe the kingdom of Anemone had ever been prosperous. Worst of all, the brothers eventually came to Frieia to beg for Leon's help.
That was exactly how it played out in the game. They even gaslit him there, saying, "Do you not care what happens to our people?" It made him so angry that he sent them away, and afterward he broke down in Tiara's arms.
The two brothers had harbored a sense of inferiority toward Leon since they were young. That was why they spread the rumors that forced Leon into an engagement with Pride. And once the king learned the truth, that was when he warned them to clean up their act — and it still did not stop them from the drugging.
Pride warned them both: if they ever posed a threat to this kingdom or to Leon again, they would become her personal enemies, and she would punish them with her own two hands.
Leon had been racked by so much grief at the start of the game because all of his citizens at the pub were sentenced to death, and it was made worse by the fact that Pride ordered Leon to kill them himself. And it had been his brothers who offered those citizens to her as criminals.
Soon after Leon moved to Frieia, the king fell ill and died, and the brothers inherited the throne. With everything in ruin, they pressured Tiara to help them convince Leon to return, and eventually kidnapped her to use as a hostage.
Pride asked the brothers what vision they had for the kingdom after taking the throne. If the citizens did not come first, they had no right to reject Leon and his pure heart.
Once the brothers had been taken away, Leon embraced Pride. There were tears in his eyes; he was so grateful.
She told him that his love for his country was beautiful. Despite everything he was made to suffer, he had bottled all of that pain up inside himself, smiling all the while and whispering loving words for her. She was glad she could give him his kingdom back.
Afterward, she introduced the king to her brother, and to the knights who had made this operation a success. They all shook hands. Arthur's handshake with the king was the most important of them, since Arthur had the ability to heal anything, and the king's sickness was healed right away.
Leon gave his goodbyes, and brushed Pride's hair back, telling her he would love for her to visit any time.
Then he moved toward her suddenly and surprised her with a kiss on the cheek, whispering that she was his first love.
She was so caught off guard she fell back.
Her face stayed red the whole way into the carriage. She could not believe she was his first love. Such was the incredible seductiveness of the flirt archetype. Stale was freaking out because Leon had just kissed her, and Arthur told him to shut up and stop reminding her. Nobody was ready for how red in the face Pride was, or how close she looked to fainting.
King Gregorio told his son that if she were not heir to the throne, they could have easily solved all of this without ending the engagement. He apologized to Leon.
The crown prince answered him positively: he loved this kingdom and its people, and the love he had for them was irreplaceable. Either way, he could see Pride any time he wanted, as allies. He felt nothing but honor at becoming allies with someone so noble, virtuous, and pure.
But he had not known that a first love would make his chest feel so tight, and so warm. He wondered when it was that he had actually fallen in love with her, beyond his love for his country.
He found himself full of a love that needed to be showered upon someone else, and he wanted it to be Pride. He would go on loving her, at least until the day came when he knew he needed to move on.
Stopping on the way back, the maids went on cooling Pride down from her hot encounter. The guys could not believe she was still speechless.
Stale was partially relieved that his elder sister's engagement was over, and embarrassed at his own callousness about it. Arthur tried to cheer him up, and teased him by asking what kind of man he would want as her next fiancé.
Stale answered: someone with no dark side, who loved her from the bottom of his heart, and who had a sense of patriotism on par with Prince Leon. Someone smarter than himself and Gilbert both, and even stronger than Arthur.
Arthur thought that was too demanding, but agreed with him.
Pride finally calmed down after some tea. She thought back to Leon calling her his first love, and questioned what he had meant by that. She had never caught anyone's eye in her previous life, and had zero experience with romance. She still did not understand what love was.
She contemplated the possibility that Leon really did like Pride, and that it had simply never been brought up in the games.
Caleum believed he was reciprocating. A kiss on the cheek symbolized deep affection and goodwill. And it said a great deal that he had described her as his first love rather than his beloved. If he were the first prince, those words and that kiss on the cheek would mean this:
You gave me back my soul, my dignity, and my love. For that, you won my heart. I shall express that special love to you, along with my gratitude. For just this one moment, my heart belongs entirely to you.
Pride finally understood that Leon loved her in a way that had nothing at all to do with the world of the game or any of its details. She alone had made him feel that way. She was thankful that Caleum had helped her see it.
Riding back, Val interrupted the group by bending the earth alongside the carriage. He thought they were all being annoyingly pathetic about where Pride got kissed and whether or not she had fallen for the fancy-pants prince. They all started choking up over him calling them out.
He asked Pride straight whether she had enjoyed it, and she swore there was nothing special going on between them and that nobody should read anything more into it. Val told them, "See, no big deal."
But Stale had to emphasize that Leon was her ex. This was news to Val. He got so excited that he lifted the entire carriage and rushed them along even faster.
Pride eventually filled her mother in on all the details: the established treaty with Anemone, and the regular visits between the nations to maintain good relations.
Her mother apologized for the events that had transpired. She could not understand why things were not going well for her daughter. She only wanted to make Pride happy, and desperately wished to be a loving mother to her.
Up until now, Pride had never expected the queen to be a parental figure, despite calling her mother all this time. Perhaps she had wanted her to do something motherly even before she regained the memories of her past life. She had only ever seen her mother as the queen — a perfect, wonderful being with no flaws to speak of — despite the fact that she was just another human being.
Pride went to her and told her mother that she loved her. She told her that she and her father had both given her so much happiness, and that the moment her mother showed confidence in her had taught her everything she needed in order to be queen.