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Originally Posted by frodonk
In honor of Raphtalia's tragic backstory and this episode, I'll just assume that Melty's a sheltered princess and couldn't have possibly thought that the kingdom's policy of enslaving demis would lead to sad stories like this, and that's why skinny stealthy guy needed to explain to her that similar stories are happening throughout the kingdom.
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Pretty much.
I've actually been thinking about Melty more, lately. They're really doing a good job of revealing just a little bit more of the world to her each episode she's in, gradually bringing her around from the idyllic dutiful princess she started out as. In fact, her early self reminds me of other princess stereotypes.
I was rewatching the show with some friends, and we went through episode 9, where Melty officially introduces herself at the end, in prep to ask a favor of Naofumi (almost certainly the same thing she asked later: that he apologize to the king and reconcile). That second viewing, Melty felt a bit different than I remembered from the first time I watched. Basically, the first time through, I think I saw her more like Filo sees her: nice, polite, and genuinely wanting to help. The second time through, though, I think I saw her as Naofumi saw her: the subtle arrogance and assumed authority of a noble, with expectations of those who listen to her.
And at that moment, I could see exactly why Naofumi did (and should) reject her like that. It was strange, because while I could intellectually understand his actions easily enough the first time, I couldn't really see the velvet-covered rigidness until
after I'd seen her loosen up more in later episodes. As Reichnott said, she had changed. The studio really did do an excellent job of conveying that, while still keeping it quite subtle. (I think it was harder to see in the first viewing because the happy-go-lucky Melty was mostly conveyed in a montage, rather than actively acting as a character.)
In any case, over a series of episodes, Melty as had to deal with:
1) Her own guard attempting to assassinate her, and then using doctored footage to frame the person she was trying to negotiate with.
2) Finally being told of the events that led to the rift between the King and Naofumi, and thus why Naofumi had no interest in "apologizing".
3) Being attacked by her sister in a clear attempt to kill her, all while defaming the hero that she felt it was her duty to reconcile with.
4) Finding out that Melromarc soldiers were the "rioters" that attacked Raphtalia's village.
5) Finding out that Raphtalia had been enslaved and tortured by a major noble, and that this activity wasn't exactly unusual in the country.
Each time, Melty has expressed feelings along the lines of believing it was her (or royalty in general's) duty to fix the wrongs that had been done. Yet at the same time, the things that she believes in — the King, the military, the nobles — that she would expect to be the instrument of fixing these wrongs, each turn out to be the corrupt perpetrators of the wrongs she wants to fix.
The only major institution that I don't think she's grokked the corruption of is the church, but if things continue on course, I expect that to be rubbed in her face in the near future, too. She also hasn't quite cottoned on to the idea of slavery as an institution being bad, either.
Regardless, she has (or will have, in the near future) every major system in the kingdom that she knows of (except possibly the Queen) shown to her to be corrupt, and the
source of the problems in the country. The thing is, all of her power
depends on those systems. You can't have a kingdom without an army, or without the cooperation of the nobles and the church. The nobles have to recognize you as a proper authority, or they'll turn on you and overthrown the crown. The church is the only source that everyone will recognize as granting legitimate authority to the crown. And if the army doesn't follow you, well, military coup, anyone?
Melty is the crown princess, the next in line to the throne. Yet, for all her ostensible power,
what can she actually do? She promised to bring the soldiers that attacked Raphtalia's village to justice, but when the entire system is corrupt from the top down, what does that promise even mean?
Can she punish those soldiers? Would there be any meaning to it when the act of enslaving all those people and sending them off to be the toys of nobles throughout the kingdom is already done? And she's only the crown princess; she'd have to petition the Queen or King to actually act. She can't even get the King to reconcile with Naofumi just by asking; can she ask for something more serious?
The only leverage she has is the Queen, and we still know so little about her. Slavery is a thing, which means the Queen has to have allowed it. How much can she actually change? How much is she
willing to change?
While I truly enjoy Naofumi and Raphtalia's stories (and obviously, Raph's story here was fantastic), Melty's little side story is one I really look forward to. The politics of this story are a major hook, and Melty's position on the inside of all that makes her relation to it all that much more engaging.