"The nobles could never accept someone as morally corrupt as you," the king said seriously.
"Not just me—this applies to the entire kingdom."
The king was not lying. Though they were kings, they were merely rulers of duchies, and the rank they possessed was only that of duke.
The essence of such a title was a tangible inheritance of power.
Royal power was divinely granted, while the authority of nobles was power diverted from royal authority.
People regarded this power as the strength of a moral exemplar.
There had once been a queen of great charm. After the king died, she governed the nation and earned the people's recognition. Yet Snow White, the daughter of the king and his previous queen, refused to accept it.
Believing that she should be the one to wield power, Snow White secretly fled the palace and began an affair with a prince from a neighboring country.
With his help, she exposed the queen's secret practice of sorcery.
The surrounding nations immediately raised their armies and began their invasion.
Although Snow White ultimately became queen, most of the kingdom's territory became land belonging to neighboring nations.
The prince used this to become the new king.
The possibility that those who mastered sorcery might gain control over the authority of the state was something kingdoms deeply feared.
Once someone like Soldier became a princess's husband, he would possess the right to inherit the throne.
That would give neighboring nations an excuse to directly invade the territory under his control.
Therefore, any noble could secretly cooperate with a witch and use sorcery to accomplish their goals.
But they would never allow anyone who mastered sorcery even the slightest chance of gaining noble inheritance rights.
"Once the wedding is complete, I can leave this country immediately and never