The next day, just as Yin Li had said, Alicia's parents finally woke up. "Mom, dad!" Alicia came running into the room to see her parents sitting next to each other. Not caring for her age she dove into the twos' arms hugging them tightly.
Tang An had tears in her eyes as she hugged her daughter. "Akari! Sorry that we worried you."
"No, it is my fault. I overestimated myself and ended up getting the two of you hurt." Alicia couldn't bring herself to look the two of them in their eyes.
"Akari, it is our fault for not mentioning it. We sent you out because we were worried you would be killed. But it seems our worries were for not." Tang Ming patted the top of Alicia's head. He had tried to keep everything from Alicia. He had thought he had bought enough time for them to take out the enemies. But he never expected so many powerful people with such high cultivation.
"It could have all been avoided if I wasn't so stubborn about not placing Phantasia into my space. They would never have had the chance to attack and those who died would not have needed to lay down their lives." Alicia felt guilty about not making the right decisions when it came to Phantasia's security which cost the lives of many.
"Listen here! As the next Queen of Alastine, you will be forced to make many hard decisions. Some of which will not be the right ones. This is just how life is. No ruler is perfect. If you wish to be someone who can run a nation, then you need to accept everything you do whether right or wrong. All you can do is try to fix the issue after you have made a mistake." King Augustus's voice echoed throughout the room.
"Akari your father is right. Listen to him." Tang Ming said. He felt weird with the way he worded it but it was true that King Augustus was his daughter's father as well.
"Yes, listen to what I have to say. I have not been the king of Phantasia all these years for no reason. Plus from what I hear, did you not hold a worldwide funeral? I heard you even sent off all the lost souls so they could be reincarnated. You have done what you can to make up for your mistakes. So now learn from them and become an even better leader!" King Augustus's words sank deep into Alicia's heart. She knew he was right. She had to become stronger and learn from her failures just like a baby does when they first begin to walk. They fall and get up over and over until finally, they are able to run around with ease.
Wiping the tears from her eyes a smile appeared on Alicia's face. "You are right. I need to learn from my mistakes and use them as a basis for my future. Mom, dad, father… I hope you can all be by my side as I receive the crown. I want the whole world to know that I have the best parents in the entire universe."
---
A few days passed and the capital of Alastine was in high spirits as the citizens began setting up in preparations for their new Queen to be finally coronated. The people of Alastine had long stopped caring about King Augustus ever since the first time Alicia had put her life on the line to protect them from the multiple armies trying to take over their lands. The entire capital was filled with celebration with balloons, streamers, banners, and even fireworks sounding off across the whole city.
In the throne room watching all of this on magi vision was King Augustus who had a small frown on his face. "Why is it they love you more than me?"
"It's because I am more beautiful than you are Royal Father." Alicia teased. This caused King Augustus to humph before finally getting up. "This will be the last time I sit on this seat. As of today, my dear daughter will be the first reigning queen of Alastine."
"Although I do not think I will end up sitting in it much. I will be traveling around a lot." Alicia said. Her way of ruling was different from King Augustus who had his opinion about every action. She had set up a two hundred year plan for Alastine's development. This included training people to take over the roles of those who retire or pass away. She wanted her government to be self sufficient, so her workload would not hinder her search for the two girls. She already had many capable people taking on many of the jobs King Augustus handled himself. She now understood why he would run away all the time. It was because he was trying to take on too much work and refusing to train others to do it for him.
"Sadly I wish I had the current system you have got going. Then Charles, the Prime Minister, would not have been chasing me all over to finish my work." King Augustus had seen how easy the work was getting done with so many people who were trained for the job. Even Charles's workload was lightened and he only needed to check reports to make sure everything added up. Although Alicia still had some duties and had to sign things, she had so much free time afterward that King Augustus felt a little jealous.
"If you wish to keep being king I can let you, you know!" Alicia teased.
"Damn brat! You better not change your mind when my freedom is just around the corner!"
***
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