She was Pride Royal Ivy, firstborn princess of the kingdom of Frieia, the eldest sister of the game's protagonist, Tiara — and, to Tiara's love interests, the source of all tragedy. The most heretical last boss. The villainess.
Stale told Pride to let him know of any way at all he could be of help. Tiara let her know she was excited for tomorrow. Chancellor Gilbert promised to make sure her birthday celebration went ahead without a hitch.
Tomorrow, Pride was turning sixteen. In this country, that was the age at which women were considered adults, and that was why tomorrow's celebration was such a special day.
If she could not prove she had what it took to be queen, or if even the slightest problem occurred, then it would be more than bad rumors that spread about her afterward.
Gilbert knocked her out of her daze to reassure her that he would be there at her side. He seemed a little down himself, and he glanced over at Stale as he said it, but neither of them would elaborate.
She wondered whether Stale was nervous about tomorrow's festivities too. She did not feel she was the most reliable person to be the firstborn princess and heir to the throne, or the eldest sister either, and she needed to avoid making a disgrace of herself.
During sword training, Arthur could feel that Stale was far less into it than usual. He slashed Stale's sword out of his hands and told him that if something was on his mind he should just spit it out.
Stale picked the sword back up, and as they continued he said it. With Pride's sixteenth birthday, her fiancé would be announced at the celebration as well.
He was afraid she had forgotten about that entirely. That was how seriously she had been working on the new school system. Nobody had wanted to distract her from it, so none of them had brought it up.
He was more than prepared to devote his heart and soul to serving as seneschal to both her and her fiancé — but only if he approved of that fiancé as someone worthy of her.
He needed to know. So he had dug into her fiancé personally.
The man was extremely outstanding, a distinguished firstborn prince of an allied nation, the kingdom of Anemone. It all sounded ideal, except for one thing: he was rumored to be a womanizer and a flirt to an extreme degree. The most notorious playboy in the entire Anemone kingdom.
That was who she was getting engaged to.
At the party, Tiara told Pride she looked wonderful in her dress, and Stale flusteredly agreed, while privately thinking that showing a little less skin might have been prudent. Rodrik and the knights wished her a happy birthday and commended her for being a truly admirable princess. Vice Captain Clark laid it on smooth, kissing her hand and telling her they were all blessed that she had been born into their kingdom.
She was not ready for that. She could have sworn that he and the captain were not supposed to be love interests.
Catching a glimpse of the man of the hour, Pride lost her footing, and Stale caught her. In that moment she suddenly remembered two of the game's love interests.
The dark-haired man came forward and asked if she was all right. Outside, he apologized for not coming to pay his respects earlier, and introduced himself as the firstborn prince of the kingdom of Anemone, Leon Adonis Coroneria.
She returned the greeting.
She could not believe she had forgotten about the fiancé she got engaged to on her sixteenth birthday. The one who ultimately loses everything and has his heart broken at Pride's hands.
He kissed her hand swiftly, catching her off guard, and told her he had never laid eyes on anyone as beautiful as her. Her heart was not ready for it.
Her mother had not announced anything yet. She did not know what to do. His character was so different from the one at the start of the game.
Back inside, her mother announced the betrothal of Pride, and Leon began his walk forward. Their engagement would further strengthen the alliance between the kingdoms. He knelt, kissed her hand, and told her he would love her with all his heart.
Everyone clapped. The supporting cast did not look happy at all.
Starting now, Leon would spend three days at the castle and then return home. A week after that, he would come to live in the castle here permanently as her fiancé. The next ten days would be significant.
In the future written for them, he would scurry around his bed begging her to leave him alone. She would tell him, "Don't be like that, Leon. Your darling beloved fiancée is here to pay you a visit." He would chant, "I love you, I love you," with frantic fear. And she would break out laughing and tell him she loved him too.
Since they were never married, he was only prince consort in name. Everyone hated him. Even the former king of Anemone told him never to come back.
She wondered what would happen if she chose to break off their engagement. Then she remembered that her sister had been coming to spend time with him lately. It might set off another of her jealous fits.
To protect Tiara, he would tell Pride he felt nothing whatsoever for her sister, swearing that he loved only her. She absolutely loved watching him weep. That face he made was her absolute favorite. She promised she would never let go of her cute little toy. And if he ever cheated again, she would let him avoid punishment — only him.
The strange dream she'd had last night was a lot for her.
Out on a walk with Leon, he told her that he felt quite fortunate to be able to spend this time together.
Leon was a magnificent prince who had all the skills and every bit of the temperament needed to be king. But the rumors of his philandering spread far, and they got him ostracized from his own kingdom, and then engaged to the atrocious and diabolical Queen Pride. In the end he was so badly traumatized by her that he developed a severe and intense fear of people. He lost all his status and all his influence, and ended as a prince in name only.
Understandably, there is no romance between Pride and Leon in the game.
Taking a break together, he pulled her close and whispered that he loved her, more than anyone and more than anything.
She could not take it. The flirt archetype was working his magic on her. She had never stood out in her old life and had never been anyone's love interest. Even after getting reincarnated, she really did think nobody could be interested in her.