Chapter 1

“No!” I firmly disagree after my parents said that I needed to marry into a family that supports our clan. The whole Azaria clan decided this without even asking my opinion regarding the matter to strengthen their connection to that family, and to be honest, it is not really unexpected.

But things are a little different now, and I will not just agree to tie myself to some dude I don’t even know.

“I know what you are trying to say,” I said. “It is my responsibility to do my duty as part of our family. But please forgive me because this is one thing that I cannot do. At least, not yet.”

The Kingdom of Hexoria is what our country is called.

It is just a small country that was surrounded by huge waves coming from the southern part of the Pacific Ocean.

A lot of big countries invaded this land for almost a hundred years until it finally got its independence. And since then, it has been governed by my clan, the Azarias, right from the leadership of my great-grandfather, who was the first king of this country.

One of the cultures that we adopted from our ancestors is that the woman in our family is treated as weak, fragile, and doesn’t have special skills that will help the government. So, our only role here is to marry into a family.

Our voice in the family is not given any importance by the council, and we are being underestimated by the people around us.

And one of the traditions in our family is that a princess like me is just a tool to gather additional allies that will support them using a marriage.

They made us think that the only thing that we could do to help our family maintain its influence around the country was to marry the man of their choice.

So, arranged marriage is common for us. But I never agreed to that kind of settlement.

For me, two people should love each other first before entering a relationship. And they should understand each other before they enter the lifelong commitment called marriage.

This is not just a political way to seal the union of two families. Marriage is more sacred and shouldn’t be rushed.

Besides, I don’t agree that this country is still underestimating women, despite other countries finally being given the recognition that women are equal to men.

I took a deep breath and looked straight into my father’s eyes. “I didn’t choose to be part of this family, but I am grateful that you are my parents,” I stated. “And I know that I haven’t made you proud since I haven’t done anything in my life. But…” I took a deep breath again. “...entering a marriage without love is contrary to my opinion. I still believed that we should at least be given time to meet and get to know each other.”

“Did you forget that your mother and I didn’t love each other when we got married?” my father asked. “But when we started our marriage, we slowly got to know each other, and that developed our love for each other.”

“But not everyone is as lucky as you are,” I rebutted. “Cloven and Allucia also entered into an arranged marriage, right? And they both admit that despite being together for years, they still haven’t made themselves love each other. And now, they are starting to consider getting a divorce rather than making each other suffer even more.”

“But, child…”

I sighed. “I am not saying that I will turn my back on my responsibility as one of the princesses of this country,” I said before my mother could continue what she was going to say. “I just want you to give me the same freedom that you have to Miracle.”

“What?”

“I want to become independent,” I firmly said. “I want to live as a normal citizen outside the palace so I can learn how to stand up for myself. I want to be like Miracle, who manages to prove that we, the women of the Azaria Clan, are not just a tool for a political purpose. I want to become a good and reliable princess of this country. Without anyone controlling me.”

They didn’t say anything. Dad was just silently staring at me as if he was thinking of something, while Mom was just waiting for his decision.

“Tell me, Clea Mair,” Dad broke his silence. “If you manage to do what you are saying and you prove that you are a good and reliable princess of this country, are you going to ask for your claim to inherit the throne?”

I immediately shook my head to deny his suspicion. “I never even thought of competing for the throne, Dad,” I said. “I just want to open your eyes that women in this era shouldn't be looked down on by anyone. I want to prove that the strength, intelligence, and strategy in life that you can see in a man, you will also be able to see in any woman.”

He became silent again.

I know that what I am trying to do is not acceptable with our clan’s beliefs, but if I continue to stay silent in this matter, nothing will change. They will always control my life, and women will not be able to prove their worth to this country.

My father sighed. “If that is the case, then I will let you do what you want.”

My eyes widened because of his decision. “R-really?”

He nodded. “It looks like you already made up your mind and you will not stop until you get what you want,” he said. “So, it is better to just agree rather than make you mad at me.”

I actually expected that it would be a long discussion since this topic is sensitive to our clan. Especially now that they are trying to marry me off to someone.

I guess it was the right decision for me to tell them everything I wanted so we could discuss it as soon as possible.

“You are allowed to go out of the palace and live as a normal citizen,” he added. “I can support you with your house, but you have to find your job to support your other expenses, such as food and bills, since you want to become independent.”

“Doesn’t that go too much—”

“Don’t worry, mother.” I smiled. “That is more than enough for me.”

“I also want to make it clear to you that you are not allowed to use any privilege you have as part of the royal family,” Dad said. "Aside from emergency purposes, like when your life is in danger. Are we clear on that?”

I nodded. “You can count on me.”

He smiled and stood up. “Then, you are free to go, my young child. Accept the freedom that I am giving to you,” he said. “And I will always pray for you to get everything you want to prove something for yourself.”