"From here forward, let it be known that Garon, King of Nohr, is to be succeeded by Prince Leo, the second prince and rightful heir to the throne. King Leo will rule over Nohr and guide us past the end of this harrowing war." Those were the words uttered by Arthur, of all people, as Leo stood at his coronation ceremony. "Please, my liege. Accept this crown as a symbol of your reign."
Leo never expected the crown to go on to him, but he took the crown as was customary and put it atop his head, giving Arthur a clear thanks as he accepted it. The crown felt strange atop his thick hair. All Leo could think of was how perfectly it had fit his father and how perfectly it would have fit Xander.
But both of them were gone now, and Camilla knew she would never be able to rule a country. That left Leo as the only one able to accept the crown. But it mattered not what Leo's private thoughts were. He had to give the people the image they needed- that of a proud, confident king ready to lead them out of the dark. Even if it was only a mask, it was one he had to put on so his kingdom did not collapse even further.
"As king, I vow not to repeat the mistakes of my predecessors and to instead lead Nohr into an era of peace and prosperity." Two things that Nohr had not known since Garon had been replaced by… whatever the hideous monstrosity that Leo saw in Azura's crystal ball was. And two things that would probably never come about one king's reign, assuming he was never replaced by an inhuman abomination like the one that had replaced his father.
A great applause erupted from the audience, with the loudest cheers coming from Niles, Odin, and Camilla. The Hoshidan royal family was also there- Ryoma, who carried the formal demeanor that had been expected of a king (Or Xander), Queen Scarlet, who appeared to be the only one in her element (After all, she was a Nohrian by birth), Hinoka, who was surprisingly genuine in her applause, Takumi, who obviously only there to return the favor of Leo attending his brother's coronation as shown by his half-hearted applause (Although with a wife who hated Nohr as much as his, that was to be expected), Sakura, who he could barely see among the crowd due to her short stature, and… Corrin.
Leo had almost forgiven Corrin for siding with his birth family, which was made even easier by the revelation that their father had been replaced by a power hungry demon long ago, but there were still things he could never forget. The death of thousands of his countrymen, the death of Odin's best friend Laslow, the death of Xander, and what hurt most of all, the death of Elise. And all Corrin can give me is an obligatory apology and a statement that it was unavoidable.
Leo noted to himself that the applause was dying down and made a motion to end it nevertheless. After all, he had to appear in control. Even if I'm just a child sitting on his father's throne. Leo cleared his throat and mentally recited his speech one last time.
"Thank you to both my fellow Nohrians and to our guests from Hoshido for joining me on this day. While we have lost much in the past year, we have reached a goal that our fallen would be proud of: peace. Even in triumph against our armies, Hoshido has agreed to make us their allies and supply us with food, water, and an open border." Of course, those statements were only partially true. King Ryoma was much more progressive than his predecessors, but Nohr was still a starving nation and Ryoma was much more interested in cleaning up his homeland than helping his starving neighbors.
"With the needs of our people sated, we can attend to the needs of our allies. Cheve has joined Hoshido, but the rest of our vassals will be remaining with us. While they are still part of our proud kingdom, they will be granted more autonomy and rights. It was wrong to squeeze these lands dry of their freedom and I shall do my best as king to maintain peace inside and outside the borders of Nohr." Of course it was wrong from a moral standpoint. But the Hoshidans would never willingly give their resources to Nohr, so what else were they to do? But alas, Hoshido had required different treatment of vassals as part of their peace treaty under demand by Queen Scarlet.
Another applause came from the audience. He let himself smile a little bit. Most of the applause came from Niles and Odin, who were the ones who knew most of how much Leo was suffering. Odin was starting to cry. Not because Leo's speech was particularly emotional, but because it would be his last time attending a royal event. He was bound to return to his homeland soon. Leo couldn't help but feel a tinge of resentment now that Odin was leaving in his liege's time of need. But Arthur was lined up as his replacement and despite his bad luck, he was one of Elise's best friends. That alone meant he could be trusted.
Leo let Ryoma walk down the center of the throne room to shake his hand as was appropriate for kings of allied countries. Leo expected a quick handshake and for him to walk away, only to be surprised by the surprisingly warm handshake he received instead.
"Here is to a long era of peace between our countries, friend."
Leo was surprised by the genuine warmth coming from the King of Hoshido's words, but he still didn't feel any differently about his former enemy. He was all talk. Nohr was still starving, the Hoshidan nobles still hated his people, and merchants drained his people dry of any money. But Leo remembered his mask. The mask of a king.
"Well said, your highness." Leo returned the handshake firmly and let Ryoma return into the sea of people. The words were said with little emotion. After all, he knew it was all empty talk. The next conference he had with the Hoshidan royals was about a border dispute in Cheve, not anything concerning the feeding of his people.
Arthur spoke up again. "This concludes the coronation of King Leo of Nohr! May he reign forever!"
After one more thunderous applause, Leo walked out of the throne room to take his place at the head of the largest table in the Castle's great hall for the coming banquet. The crowd from the throne room exited into the hall as he took his seat at the table.
Leo should've been happy. He was surrounded by friends and his remaining family. Niles and Odin were at his right and left hands, Odin with his wife Selena. Arthur and his wife Effie were not far away and sitting across from them were Camilla and her wife Beruka. Even Corrin was there. Maybe a long time ago, Leo would have been happy to see him. Hell, Corrin even thought he was happy right then. But it was all still a mask in front of the Hoshidan royals, who unfortunately shared a table with him. Leo wondered when he had become so synonymous with the mask he wore and the lies he wove.
"So, how's being a king? I say you're the best man for the job." Niles broke the silence at the table, surprisingly without any innuendo.
"Yes, before I return to the eldritch realm from whence I came, I wish to know what state of affairs milord is in." Odin chimed.
Leo half-expected Camilla to say something, but he knew she was still torn up about pushing her burden onto Leo. He remembered why he wore his mask. It wasn't just for his people and it sure as hell wasn't for the hypocrites in Hoshido or his duplicitous brother Corrin. It was for his friends and the family that remained. He did not want his burden to become theirs. He couldn't make the lives of others worse just because he couldn't find happiness.
"It's a great shame that we have lost Xander," Leo responded. Corrin tensed up slightly at that. You were the one who murdered him. "But I feel that I will be able to pick up the pieces and return our kingdom to a positive state."
The dinner was mostly quiet after that. Leo's favorite food had been served and for that Leo was certainly grateful. He'd have to thank his cooks the next morning. But Leo found himself drinking much more than he was eating. But what he drank wasn't his usual favorite. It was the only thing that could make him forget about how close he was to crying. The only thing to make him forget that he should've been attending a banquet for Xander. The only thing to make him forget that he was placed in charge of a dying country at the age of eighteen. It was wine. And he drank a lot, for it was liquor or tears. And tears would destroy the fragile mask he knew he was doomed to don.