36. Chapter 35

"May I speak with you?"

Adrien looked up from the book he had forcefully immersed himself in to see Alix standing in the library doorway. "Of course."

She shut the door behind her as he shut his book. By the time he placed it aside, she had taken a seat on the couch across from him. "Have you learned anything about the power held by the ring and earrings?"

Adrien shook his head. "Unfortunately, father hasn't informed me if he discovered anything since I put him to the task yesterday."

Alix grumbled something under her breath. "Then, may I speak with you in hypothetical terms."

Adrien quirked a brow. "About?"

"Who the true ruler of France is."

A hard frown came across his lips. "Alix, we know nothing about what the document, if it exists, says. Therefore, I can't discuss anything with you right now."

Again, she grumbled.

"Why do you ask?"

"I need to know if I'm a princess or not."

Something akin to discomfort twisted in his gut. This was a topic he had tried to avoid for as long as he could, but evidently, that time had come to an end. "Alix, I don't want to take this kingdom from you."

"But hypothetically, you are the rightful ruler," she said. "If the law states that you are the ruler, there is nothing that can be done."

Adrien frowned. "That just doesn't sit well with me."

"For obvious reasons, it doesn't sit well with me, either."

"But we don't have the law in front of us yet, so no decisions can be made," Adrien interrupted. A beat of silence passed between them before his hard tone softened. "Alix, I don't want to take the kingdom from you. If we find this law, then we will read it over to see what can be done, what sort of loopholes we can find, and we will proceed from there. Until that can happen, I refuse to talk about this anymore."

Though Alix looked far from happy, she relented with a sigh. "You're right, as much as I wish you weren't."

"Why is it so important all of a sudden?"

"Because of this wager I made with Kim," she explained. "And time is almost up."

His brow furrowed.

"Marinette and I were having this conversation days ago," Alix explained. "Specifically, we were discussing where my brother and I would go if you displaced us. And Kim…" her gaze hit the ground. "Kim offered to marry me."

Adrien's eyes widened, but his surprise quickly ebbed. As much as Adrien talked about Marinette on the battlefield, Kim had told many stories of his own about the most incredible fire-haired princess he knew.

"I bet him he wouldn't bring up this conversation again until I got an answer. Time frame I gave him is almost finished. He's not going to wait any longer than that, so I need to know how to respond to his proposal. Am I still the princess, or have I lost that title?"

Adrien struggled for words. "That's a question I can't answer."

She slumped back against the couch with a sigh. "I'm sorry for pressuring you."

"You did no such thing," Adrien assured. "You'll just have to tell Kim to wait."

"As unfortunate as that is," Alix mumbled.

"He'll understand."

"I know he will," Alix said. "I just don't like not fulfilling the terms of my wager."

"Until Father locates the agreement, you literally cannot."

"I hope he finds it quickly."

"That is, if he ever does," Adrien grumbled.

Alix frowned. "If he doesn't, how will that bode for Marinette?"

Adrien stiffened at the mention of her name. With a sigh, Adrien felt half his energy leave his body. "If she isn't the legal princess, then father is determined to remove her from my life."

"I hope you aren't going to let that happen."

Adrien scoffed. "Over my dead body."

She gave him a nod of approval. "Yet, by hoping I regain my title as Princess of France, you are taking away Marinette's opportunity to be the Princess of Paris via connection to the earrings."

A conflict of interest, he was fully aware. But Marinette had told him she didn't want to displace Alix and her family. Furthermore, Adrien knew that having Marinette be the legal Princess of Paris was only beneficial to coercing his father to accept her. Otherwise, she was the legal princess via marriage to him and that should be enough. "She's my wife. That's all there is to it. I won't abandon her; I will never take another. She is the wife of the Prince of Paris, meaning that she is the Princess. If anyone cannot accept that, that is not a fault of my own."

"And if your father is the one who can't accept that?" Alix challenged.

"Then Marinette is just going to be Lady Noir because I'm not going to keep my title if I can't keep her."

Alix blinked once, twice, three times, then finally shook her head. "I think you're being rash—"

"How so?" Adrien challenged, anger flaring inside him.

"Your father can do many things, but not even I would think he would discredit you as an heir. He can pressure you into giving her up, disapprove of you until he dies, but you are his heir. I don't think he would discredit you from the line. It would not be in his best interest."

It was Adrien's turn to be stunned.

"You will make a great king," she continued. "And Marinette will be a great queen. Your father will always be your father, will always be the king, but even he cannot control everything you do. That is, as long as you don't let him.

A strong silence passed between them, broken only by the clock chiming the hour.

"That time already?" Adrien thought the morning would drag on, especially considering he had forcefully dragged himself away from Marinette before dawn this morning. He'd felt as though time had been at a crawl ever since.

"Surprised?" Alix teased.

"A little bit," Adrien said, standing from his seat. "But it's now late enough for me to run an important errand. That is, if you'll excuse me."

Alix tilted her head in confusion but released him with a swipe of her hand. "Of course."

Nodding his thanks, he took his leave, marching out of the room.

Only to cross his father.

Adrien stood straight, mirroring his father's rigid stance. "Father."

"Adrien." His father extended out a scroll from behind his back.

Adrien looked down at it curiously before taking it.

"The…documentation of the gems," he forced out, looking like it pained him to admit such a thing.

Shocked, Adrien looked back up at his father.

His father remained silent. After a moment, his father turned to take his leave.

"Father," Adrien called out.

His father stopped, turning half-way back to his son.

"If this says what I think it does," he started, "then I'm sorry it had to happen this way. But I hope you will respect me and respect the fact Marinette is rightfully the queen."

His father's lips remained tightly pursed. "I think," he eventually said, "that is easier for me to accept that girl is queen than the fact that you took her as your…wife before you knew about it." And with that, he walked away, leaving Adrien with his scroll in his hand, and more disheartened than ever. It never got any easier, no matter how many times his father rejected him.

He headed back for the library, surprising Alix with his return. "Back so soon," she teased.

Dumbly, he held out the scroll for her to take. "Here," he said. "Read over this. If you can find any loophole or find any way to finagle your kingdom out of this, then do it. If you can't find anything, then I'll read over it when I come back."

"You aren't going to stay?" she asked. "Surely your errand can wait until we've read this over."

Adrien stared at her then at the scroll in her hand. With a sigh, he dropped onto the couch beside her. "All right."

Marinette wandered down the hallway, wondering where Adrien might be. She had been disappointed when he left so early, but he needed to sneak back to his own room before the house was bustling with servants. His father made it clear how much he approved of Adrien being married to her; there was no need to further test him with a servant reporting where Adrien had actually slept last night.

She had waited for a while before ringing for Tikki. The two had talked for a while before Marinette finally made her way downstairs. She had looked in several rooms already, searching for her husband. She decided to look in a few more rooms before she checked the dining hall. He might be at breakfast, but she wanted to make sure of that before she took the chance of walking into a room alone with King Agreste.

The next room she approached had its door cracked open with voices drifting out. Cautiously, she approached it, peeking inside to see Alix and Adrien intently studying a paper. She knocked on the doorframe, calling their attention. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said.

"No, no, not at all," Adrien assured, beckoning her into the room.

She walked up to them, looking curiously at the paper.

"The document validating your earrings," Alix explained.

Marinette leaned over, curiosity now piqued.

"We're doing our best to find a loophole," Adrien said. "Any little thing that we could use to ensure Alix keeps her kingdom."

"Have you found anything?" she asked.

"So far, no," Alix disappointedly answered. "But we haven't been pouring over it long."

Marinette frowned. This couldn't be all. She tentatively took the remaining seat beside Alix on the couch. "May I?"

Alix handed it over for Marinette to read. Adrien, clearly tired of sitting, stood to pace. Marinette read over the document, doing her best to decipher the fancy terms and peculiar wording. Eventually, she let it drift into her lap, allowing Alix to read it over as well.

Uncertainly, Marinette pointed to the beginning. "This wording seems so odd to me. The way it's phrased, one would think that the rightful owners of the gems were the Princess of Paris and Prince of France. Not that they gave the owners their titles."

Alix frowned. "Of course. Isn't that the point of the law?"

"No," Adrien said, looking at the paper with a newfound intrigue. With a pleading look, he reached out for the paper. Marinette handed it over for Adrien to read again, and when he did, a small form of a smile grew on his face. "That's it. The gems hold no power. This document is stating the owners of the gems, not what the gems make their owners." With this revelation, he continued pouring over the document. "It's really tricky wording. I can't say for certain that the gems don't hold power, but it might be the case. I'll have Plagg look over this, as well."

"Then why place so much emphasis on those gems?" Alix challenged. "Not that I'm complaining, but…"

"That is the question isn't it?" Adrien said.

Marinette pursed her lips in thought. "Didn't Plagg say that those gems were made from materials from both Paris and France?" she said. "What if they were supposed to be gifts given for their betrothal?"

"It's possible," Adrien agreed. "And if they were, then this document is a treaty, not a law. Therefore, Alix and her brother are the rightful heirs to the crown of France even without this gem."

Marinette glanced at Alix who looked more than just a little relieved. "I really hope that is truly the intention of that document," Marinette said. "It would be overwhelming for the people if one kingdom was suddenly imposed upon another."

Adrien and Alix shared a look that proved they hadn't even thought about that.

"No matter what," Adrien said in way of changing the subject, "I'll want Plagg to read over this to assess our theory. Tikki might be of help, too."

"Considering they seemed to know of the legend even before us, I think that's a wise idea," Marinette agreed.

After Alix nodded her agreement to the plan, Adrien excused himself to go find said butler. "I'll likely leave it with Plagg and Tikki," he said. "I have an errand that I still need to run. If by the time I come back they've come to the same conclusion that we have, then it will be decided. If not, then we might have to go back to studying this."

"Let's keep our fingers crossed," Alix said.

With a nod of agreement, Adrien left to go find Plagg. Once he shut the door behind him, Alix leaned back against the couch, suddenly looking exhausted despite the early hour.

Marinette looked over at her in worry. "What's wrong, Alix?"

"Kim," she said, rubbing her face with her hands, "that's what's wrong."

It took a moment for Marinette to remember. "Your bet."

From behind her hands, Alix nodded. "If this is the case, and I am still the princess," she said, allowing her hands to drop, "then I'm going to have to turn him down."

Marinette could hear Alix's unspoken "and I don't want to".

"I don't even know why I allowed myself to let my hopes up," she scoffed. "I'm a princess, and I'm glad if I truly do get my position back. I want it back. But…I don't know. I'm such an idiot."

"You are not," Marinette assured, resting a hand on Alix's shoulder. "Just because you're a princess doesn't mean you aren't above hoping for love."

"But I don't get to love Kim romantically. I knew that. Why I let myself get my hopes up—"

"Because you're human," Marinette interrupted. "You may be a princess, one who knows her responsibilities, but you are also a person who loves someone very deeply. There is no fault in caring for Kim the way you do."

"Except that it will never be more than just platonic," Alix countered. The sadness in her eyes when she looked up at Marinette was painful. "It's hard."

Marinette frowned. "I know that as a princess, you don't get the chance to choose your husband—"

"It's not that, Marinette," Alix said, her voice cracking. "I'm so jealous of you."

"Me?" Marinette cried, confused.

"Yes." When Alix turned her full attention back to Marinette, tears began to spill from her cheeks. "I'm talking to a woman who got to marry a prince despite the huge gap in social standing. You didn't love him when you married him, yet somehow a peasant was able to marry the prince. And what I'm asking is to be able to marry the son of a duke, a knight who trained in my father's house for his own service, one whom I love and respect very much, and the answer is no. I'll never get the chance."

It was a blade to Marinette's heart, and a tremendously embarrassing one at that. Who was she to speak on the topic of love when she was basically living a fairytale? Not everyone would be as lucky as she. In fact, even that might be overestimating how many women were as fortunate as her.

There was little more Marinette could do than sit in silence while Alix calmed herself. "I'm sorry," Alix eventually said. "I'm so sorry. That was horrible of me."

"But you're right," Marinette said, guilt rising in her. "I don't really have a right to talk. And you have every right to be upset when our situations are so different despite being so similar, yet your more reasonable situation isn't the dream that comes true."

Alix let out a shaky breath. "It's just the bitter reality of being a princess."

"That doesn't mean I'm not sorry about it. If there was anything I could do, I would."

"There isn't anything either of us can do," Alix mumbled. "Kim and I will never get to be anything more than friends. Why I keep believing otherwise, I don't know."

"It's sweet," Marinette countered.

"Well, whatever it is, I just wish it would stop. I know better than to give into fantasies like this. With what I've been through, you'd think I'd learn that things aren't always so sweet and rosy."

Marinette swallowed, buying time for her next words. "I think that no matter how hard life is or how bitter things seem to be, we always have a little bit of hope that makes us dream for better. I don't think it's something we stop, and if we ever do, it means we've lost hope in things ever getting better. For you, the darkest times are coming to an end. Don't focus on Kim right now. You'll have time to face him later. For now, focus on being thankful that you will inherit your kingdom once again."

Alix regarded Marinette with shame. "Now you're just embarrassing me."

Marinette smiled. "This was only a bet with Kim. This wasn't a finality. This was a wager between two friends. Right now, you have other things to focus on. Very exciting things. And no matter what happens, I have no doubt Kim will be by your side, offering all the help he can he can to help you restore your kingdom. Because he's your best friend, and nothing is ever going to change that."

Alix stared at Marinette, occasionally sniffing or blinking back tears. A somewhat rueful smile quirked up her lips. "I thought I was supposed to be teaching you, not the other way around."

Marinette chuckled, but it sounded dull. "Well, maybe a princess can learn some things from a peasant."

"Maybe you're right," Alix relented. "Thanks."

She wasn't sure if it was 'appropriate protocol' but she didn't really care. She engulfed Alix in a hug, one readily returned. "Any time."