“Then I will lose it.” Vic exploded with a vehemence she hadn’t even felt building in her. Or maybe she’d failed to notice its presence because it had always been simmering inside her. “It’s my birthright or it isn’t. It’s my title or it’s not, but either way, the operative words are I, me, and mine. They don’t belong to some phantom of my lineage or fictional character. And they don’t belong to you. I’m the one who will rise or fall, and I mean to do it on my terms.”

Her mother sat back, her expression cool, but her complexion had lost some of its colour. “I see Ms. LeBlanc’s brash American individualism has also infected your sensibilities, but pray, tell me, while you assert your own divine right, what of the people who depend on you to be there for them?”

“I will be there for them in the ways they actually deserve, with or without the title, because the title means nothing if I can’t use it in meaningful ways. I’d rather lose it while building a better future than keep it by upholding the status quo.” Her voice may have held a hint of pleading, but it no longer wavered on this point. She’d already sacrificed more than most could imagine for the people she served, and she stood firm in her certainty that she’d continue to do so. Nothing else could ever exact the toll she’d paid this morning. “I want to make a real, tangible difference for my people.”

“They won’t see that. They’ll see you only as frivolous and attention-seeking. They won’t understand or care about your motives.”

“I disagree. I won’t infantilise them by pretending they’re incapable of comprehending a shifting world or social order, and I won’t lock myself in a tower above them. I’ll be forthcoming about the fights ahead, and I’ll approach each new challenge beside them.”

She turned to her father before adding, “I will find my own style, like each Penchant who came before me. I’ll win them over one by one if I have to, and in return I trust they’ll share my goals, indeed, my hopes for this whole region.”

Her mother gave a sharp, humourless laugh. “Commoners don’t care about the hopes and dreams of the nobility.”