How does my previous story impress you, I wonder? For those who are pleased, I am gladdened; for those not yet satisfied, you'll not be left in disappointment, for I offer you more. Thus, let us continue the story of the Figaros. Today, before we move on to a new story, I shall enlighten you on the individuals in the royal family, as well as the royal customs. Hm? I do more than story telling and poetry, you ask? Perhaps you may not know, but my best selling book is actually a tour guide. Now, allow me to begin. We'll focus on the people first, specifically King Edgar, the reasons that lay behind his womanizing ways, and how the woman he had admired the most, Duchess Genevia, had influenced him.

The king's behavior was rooted, with no surprise, in the loss of his mother at an early age. Due to the lack of a maternal figure, Edgar developed a strong yearning - perhaps craving might be a better word for this - a craving for motherly lo... no, a desire towards women as a whole, I should say. And Genevia, being a senior to young Edgar and a powerful member of the family herself... well. It was no surprise that Edgar was attracted to her. And that is no simple attraction, as Edgar took Genevia as his first love; he idolized Genevia's personal qualities. Vigorous, outgoing, perhaps a bit bold, and a rude mouth; this became Edgar's ideal type of woman. But one can say that Edgar took the duchess a bit too seriously, simply because she once said: "You'll grow up to be a good man." to Edgar. The king, for we do now know how he had taken those words, ended up in a thorough study of various ways of introduction, flirting methods, and, ah, "love styles". Which, well, explains his behavior quite well.

There also was an unanswered question about Genevia. Why couldn't she marry her knight? Even Queen Chrstier was a common-born and King Stweart married her as if the status was none existent. Then- why such an issue? Genevia, a duchess who reigned over her own land, cannot marry a knight? We still have no answer... but there were speculations. There was one more factor outside status that may have been involved: Genevia was a widow. She married young, at the age of sixteen, and took on the title and land of her husband after his death. And whenever one had benefited from the death of her husband, a remarriage is certain to raise controversies and looks of suspicion.

Now, before we become too depressed at the reminder of the duchess' death, let us move on to the royal customs. Being a desert nation, Figaro has taken the sun and the water as their cultural symbols. Thus gold and blue are naturally viewed as holy colors and, perforce, reflect on to the royal garbs. The royalty decorate their blond hair with blue ribbons, and their robes are vastly in a blue scheme. They also become highly distinguished if they happen to be born with blue eyes as well (which is also why Frances was furious at his treatment).

The middle name of the royal family also carries a special weight of its own. It is a dignified name, yet almost a nickname of sorts, that is only allowed to be known and spoken by the mouth of the family and friends most intimate to the bearer of the name. Among the group of comrades that Edgar and Mathias had traveled with, only a few know their middle name. For Mathias, Gau and Cyan were the only ones who knew his middle name. Two were sons without a father, and the third, a father who had lost his son. This lead them into forming a makeshift family, which led to Mathias revealing his middle name to them, especially Gau, who Mathias found to be resembling his past self when he first set off from the palace. In Edgar's case... Well, this is how the event unfolded. Relm was telling her comrades about the secrets of her monster-controlling power one day. She revealed that the monsters all have certain secret names, and she is able to control their souls by knowing those names. Upon hearing this, Edgar replied with a smile: "I have a secret name, too." Do allow me to refrain from commenting on what might the reasons be for this revelation.... And this would be a fine point to end the fact center today. I shall return with other secrets of Final Fantasy VI the next time we meet.