Yeah, like I can see them being friends in the past, and can see Eries fancying herself in love with him, in that naive teenage type of way, but I like to think that by the time we meet her in-series, any infatuation she might have once had has long since passed, and her reasons for continuing to refuse marriage (and in turn the throne) are a bit more complicated. (Maybe not less hypocritical, but at least more complicated--and not revolving solely around Allen. I do like him as a character, but come on.)

Not to get too chatty, but after I initially got into the series, I went trawling through old message boards and whatnot, and before the whole Allen statement came to light, there were some really bizarre theories out there. Like, she isn't heir because she's a nun/priestess, and so has taken a vow of chastity. Or my favorite ("favorite"): that she isn't actually Aston's daughter and is instead the result of an extra-marital affair her mother had with a cat-man (because those pointed ear-cuffs can't just be jewelry, oh no). Oh, fandom.