I furrowed my eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded. "You haven't even read anything I've written."
"Cassie, you told me that you haven't written since you got to Aregano, and I believe it's because your life has become dramatic and fascinating. I think that, at the end of the day, your heart isn't truly invested in writing. You don't want to write about adventures, you want to live them. Making connections with nobility—that will open you up to new adventures, I think."
I didn't say anything for several seconds.
You don't want to write about adventures, you want to live them.
"I never thought about it that way."
"Well, it's something to consider as you move forward."
"Nikolas, thanks for taking the time to listen to me," I said.
"Of course. I am always happy to when I am free."
"How about you?"
"About me?"
"Yeah. How have you been?" I asked.
"Oh, I've been busy. There are many decisions that need to be made every day, and my father is becoming increasingly weaker."
"Tell me about it," I said.
He didn't say anything for a second or two. "You might find it terribly boring."
"That's okay. You want me to make these fancy noble connections, don't you? Maybe I should learn more about politics or something. Believe it or not, even though I lived in the capital I usually avoided politics altogether."
"You lived in Washington D.C. and you avoided politics?" I could hear the disdainful disbelief in his voice.
"You know what my dad always told me? See, we ran a shop in the capital, and he always said that both Democrats and Republicans spend money."
Nikolas chuckled. "I suppose that is fair. Well then, my politically agnostic friend, I will tell you a snippet of my current worries—the one I think you will find most interesting."
"Alright then!"
"I am somewhat friends with Prince Rafael of New Spain—he is Prince Alejandro's elder brother, if you remember that charming man. Rafael is the fourth son of King Diego, and thus is not even fourth in line for the throne, as the two eldest brothers have sons. However, Rafael is easily the wisest of his brothers and, in my opinion, is the country's hope to restore some of its former glory. That is the difficulty of monarchies, you see. It only takes one or two bad kings to destroy a country's economy, which is why I do admire your country, despite its flaws.
"Anyways, I prefer a somewhat isolationist approach when it comes to foreign affairs—I avoid meddling when I can. I'd like to influence King Diego to choose Rafael as his next heir to the throne, but I also don't want to infringe upon that country's choices. However, do I interfere on some moral crusade to help the suffering people of New Spain, or do I allow the country to make its own choices and stay out of it? I suppose the reason why I am considering all this is because I am contemplating entering into a courtship with Princess Esmerelda of New Spain. She is Catholic, like me, which is convenient. And, of course, she is of royalty. However, I don't want to be stuck supporting her dying country, but if her country was in the hands of Rafael, perhaps things wouldn't be so bad.
"However, even if Rafael rules, he still would need serious help to get his country back on track. In Aregano, after the frivolous reign of King Edward, King Collin managed to turn around his father's foolishness—so much so that Aregano now has the second best economy within the nine collegiate countries, with, of course, my own country at number one. However, Aregano was not so bad as New Spain, and Collin had Klara's vast wealth backing him in order to do what he needed to get done." Prince Nikolas sighed. "I suppose I am juggling with all these factors, and there are still more things to consider. Embryia has a Princess who just turned eighteen, though I hear she is very silly, and I am not a very silly man. Of course, despite my distaste, I cannot really completely discount Princess Calista, because despite her foolish antics, she is by far the best match for me, as she is the sole Princess of Aregano. I don't know—I just don't know what to do for sure."
I sat thoughtfully, trying to process all he had said. "And you must marry a Princess?"
He didn't say anything for a second. "W-well, preferably, yes. Unless I marry an equivalent to a Krüger, which is the family Queen Klara's mother came from. I have considered looking more into some of the noblewomen of my country, but my father thinks it would be better to marry someone with resources from outside Nikoto."
"Hmm," I said. "That's..." Kind of sad. "That's tough."
I talked with him for a while more about his colossal issue, and asked several clarifying questions. I think it was good for him to talk it out with someone who wasn't a noble advisor with a strong opinion, and it was good for me to learn more about the different countries and their economies. It also helped me feel less stressed about my over-dramatized problems with Luke and Coleman. I was grateful that I had the option to date Luke—that I wasn't bound to a small pool of a few Princesses.
"Thank you very much, Cassie, for listening to me prattle on so. I'm afraid I've taken a lot of your time," Nikolas said.
"It's no worry," I assured him. "I'm happy to listen. Besides, you listen to me, right?"
I heard a soft laugh.
"I mean, you have so much to worry about," I said. "So many important things, and here I am rattling on about how my boyfriend might be insecure about Coleman. I don't know why you even bother picking up the phone when I call," I said with a small laugh.
"I pick up the phone because you are my friend, Cassie." Nikolas told me. "And I'll always try to be there when you call."