In Sickness And In Health (Yandere M. Genius x F. Reader x Yandere M. Prince)

Chapter 14: Tradition

Bastian was having the time of his life. He got to see new things, eat new foods, and, most of all, make new friends. Though his brother wasn't all that keen on him interacting with strangers, he would do all he could to wave at or ask the name of a new person. It might have been one of his favorite things to do. However, since his father was busy making connections with the royal family and Haru never trusted his safety to a caretaker, when the older of the two didn't want to go outside (which was always), neither would Bastien.

The younger girl caught him staring wistfully at some other ambassadors, the boy tearing up dramatically as if that would help him get what he wanted. To his credit, it did. She escorted him outside and let him talk to whoever he could lay his eyes on. More often than not, there was a language barrier, preventing him from listening to what they had to say. However, that didn't really seem to matter to him. After all, he just chatted on and on about his own experiences that day before picking them a blade of grass, a leaf, or a flower and departing to his next new friend. Bastian was really innocent that way.

After a long day of their adventuring - which took place in a radius of fifty feet from the Echalian embassy - the boy's father returned. He must have spent the entirety of the day entertaining the regent or chatting intellectually with Satoru Hoshino. Though he wasn't a member of the royal family anymore, she would have suspected it would be pointless to build up a good rapport with him. Yet, lo and behold, despite the divorce, the blonde was very much highly regarded within the family. Maybe that was why they let him stay and freeload off of them.

Kazuya gave a large sigh as he returned, his energy depleted even as Bastian rushed with all his might to give him a hug. Usually, seeing one of his children did the trick in restoring his willpower. This time was different, though, the man barely having the strength to lift the toddler up. Still, the brunette insisted, his father the only parent he thought he had. It was probably why he loved him so much, their relationship stronger than any the younger girl had yet to see. Even Haru, who admired and respected his father, didn't show that much enthusiasm when merely seeing his face. Then again, he didn't show much enthusiasm in the first place.

"Was it tough today, too?" she questioned, the man giving a despairing look, "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"I don't know that I'm getting through to them how important their support is. Rather, I think they're just trying to brush off the subject by keeping me occupied."

The girl sighed. If she were being completely honest, she expected that. A country as powerful as Vethela didn't really have to listen to anyone, especially with the amount of loyalty their citizens had. It came from the theology-like structure of the nation, but that, in itself, could be seen as an entirely different problem. Rather, it was because of their power and their wealth that they could ignore any requests. Even if the request was coming from Echal, a global superpower, all they had to do was bide their time and pretend to listen.

She'd gotten word that the most that the man in front of her had been doing was playing chess with Mica. At least, that was what that day's rumors brought in. It might have been something completely different the day before. The more she heard about it, the more she pondered just what the regent was actually doing. He seemed to have far more time on his hands than he should have, and if he wasn't discussing business or politics with Kazuya, what was he really doing at all?

"Today was another failure, I'm afraid. I couldn't even get the word 'trade' out before I was shut down and interrupted."

The girl didn't really know how to console the man. He was working hard, particularly for the sake of the oppressed citizens in a dictator-run country. And, sure, he could have just gone and attacked Umayena without any regard for consequences. After all, he was the head of the Akahito family. However, he was a kind man with a soft heart. If at all possible, he wanted to spare as much blood as he could, and that meant making sure that the Vethelan army didn't get involved. It would mean more casualties for all sides, so he was reluctant to part with the idea of negotiation.