Rapunzel, DON’T Let Down Your Hair!

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Before the runaway incident, Kalis Castle was remarkably peaceful. So peaceful that it was almost a little boring because absolutely nothing ever happened.

The teacher in charge of the prince’s education was feeling particularly bored at the moment. Normally, this was the time when he should have been in the middle of an enthusiastic lesson, but because of a certain someone, it was impossible.

Knock, knock.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. The teacher, who had been slumped in his chair behind the desk, immediately stood up and straightened his clothes. When he told them to come in, the door opened cautiously.

“Prince William, you’re already an hour late for class. Now then, what excuse will you have for me today?”

The moment the door began to open, the teacher spoke sharply without even properly checking who was coming in. Apparently, his anger came through clearly enough to the person on the other side. The habitual latecomer left the door open but couldn’t bring himself to enter for some time.

Only after the teacher told him to come out already did Erin cautiously peek her head in.

“Princess! My apologies. I thought it was the prince.”

The teacher bowed his head and apologized for his great discourtesy.

“Are you busy? I’ll leave if you are.”

“Oh, not at all. Do you have something you’d like to ask me again today?”

If anything, he had been at a loss because he had nothing to do. Feeling embarrassed and apologetic, the teacher welcomed Erin gladly.

Accepting his hospitality, the princess sat down and pulled out the book she had been hiding behind her back. It was a collection of various laws from across the continent.

“What I’m curious about today is the law of Grauden.”

“Until recently, you were thoroughly investigating the laws of Kalis, and now you’re studying the laws of a neighboring kingdom as well?”

“I became curious about different cases.”

Erin avoided the teacher’s puzzled gaze as she flipped through the pages. Then she turned to a passage she had marked beforehand and pointed to a particular law of succession.

“It says here that a princess once inherited the throne in Grauden. Has a queen ever had such an opportunity too?”

Realizing why she had come to see him, the teacher let out a groan. The last time they had discussed this, they had concluded that there was no way for her to become king, but apparently, she still hadn’t given up.

“Princess, haven’t we already reached a conclusion on this matter?”

“Has a queen ever become the ruler of Grauden?”

Erin fixed him with an intense look, demanding that he answer only that.

Who could possibly stop that stubbornness? The teacher sighed and shook his head.

“Unfortunately, Grauden’s royal family collapsed long ago. The king died, and the prince disappeared.”

“He disappeared?”

“The details haven’t been passed down, so I don’t know exactly what happened, but at present, the regent, Cedric, governs Grauden in place of its king.”

“What if something happened that made it difficult for the regent to govern too? Could the regent’s wife take his place?”

Before he knew it, the teacher had lamented, “Goodness, Princess.” Her persistence was so formidable that his head began to ache as he wondered how on earth he was supposed to persuade a princess who was even hoping for such an unlikely situation.

At this rate, what if she planned to marry the regent and then attempt to assassinate him… Well, that was probably taking the thought too far, but still. He pressed his fingers firmly against his temple with one hand as he gathered his thoughts.

“No. That wouldn’t happen. They would quickly try to elect the next ruler by vote.”

“By vote…? So in the end, neither a queen nor a regent’s wife can become queen regnant?”

“That’s right.”

“That doesn’t make sense! A princess of Grauden can do it, so why can’t I?”

Erin asked with a tearful expression, almost as though she were demanding an explanation. She was all the more disappointed because she had discovered this possibility last night and gotten her hopes up.

“Because one of the requirements for a candidate is to hold at least one title of nobility.”

In principle, however, anyone who became the spouse of Grauden’s ruler was required to relinquish all titles. Therefore, upon becoming queen, she had to transfer every title she had previously held to someone else and remain solely as queen.

At the teacher’s explanation, Erin grinned. When it came to the issue of titles, she had already found one possible loophole.

“I’ve seen a case before where the Queen of Grauden still held a title after becoming queen. That’s right—Rapunzel!”

She was the legendary queen who possessed mysterious hair, so famous that even the neighboring Kingdom of Kalis knew her story. The tower where she had once been imprisoned and the surrounding lands had been her territory.