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The fact that he loved the princess didn't change his feelings about the revolution, didn't make him any more forgiving of the government's sins. Because he loved the king too, and he loved this country that the Nefertari family had created and maintained. That was why. Because the actions of the monarchy those past few years did not live up to what the king he knew and loved would have wanted, so it needed to die and be reborn.
He wished it didn't have to be that way, but it was, and he was resolute in his decision to see this plan through, for the good of the people, and for the good of the person the king used to be, at least.
Kohza wished he knew where Vivi was. She would never have let any of this happen. But she had disappeared from the public eye two years ago, and so he could only assume she was either dead or that time and pressure had turned her into a perfect little royal jewel, too special to care for the common folk, least of all him. If the king had turned hard-hearted, perhaps it had happened to her too. It wasn't a pleasant thought, so he didn't think on it often.
Instead, he focused on arming his people, gathering intelligence, staging skirmishes. He didn't think about Vivi and the time they shared together as kids, when they had only the barest idea of what it meant to be leaders, even if they played at it all the time. He didn't think about it-- not too much.
...Not on purpose. But sometimes. Sometimes he could swear he heard her voice, calling out to him in his dreams. And he wished she was there with him, to tell him that they'd find some other solution, that they could fix this mess without fighting. It was a terrible dream, even if it was beautiful, a nightmare because when he woke up and realized they were stuck in this situation, it left him cold.
He'd had the dream the night before the attack on Alubarna. So when he heard her voice again, as they charged across the dusty desert, through the windstorm that raged along with them, he only faltered a moment. It was his fear calling out to him, taunting him in the voice of the only person who could really make him stop. But it was just an echo of his dream, he knew, and he didn't stop.
Entering the palace grounds and finding that everything was a lie was a bigger relief than he could have imagined. It was horrifying, to think that the beloved Sir Crocodile had orchestrated this entire conflict, that he had made not only Kohza but the entire country doubt the king. But he could have almost died happy right in that very moment, knowing that he was wrong. And Vivi... the beautiful princess who haunted his guilty dreams and smothered his rage, Vivi lived. And because of that, he knew that things would turn out.
Getting shot was no seaside stroll, and convincing his people to stand down would have been difficult even without the moles he now knew were hiding on both sides. If it wasn't for that pirate boy dispensing justice on Crocodile in a way none of the rest of them could manage, Kohza was sure he'd have died there on that battlefield, trying in vain to disarm his comrades. He knew that one day he would have to thank Strawhat, for what he did for him, and for the country, and for Vivi. He hoped one day he would get the chance.
…
“What are you thinking about?” Vivi asked, eyeing him with a knowing look. Kohza supposed his contemplative moods had never been very subtle, least of all to Vivi. Nowadays, she seemed to know what he was thinking sometimes before he did.
“I was thinking we should invite Strawhat,” he told her, his face set in a serious expression which he knew she would understand to mean he'd been deeply considering it. “I know the political climate around them is harsh, and it could stir up conflict for the country. But the country wouldn't exist without him. I think he deserves to be here.”
The smile Vivi gave him then, bright but secretive, pure and childish and smart, proved to him for the millionth time that she would make the most wonderful queen. “Already handled,” she said, glowing with joy and pride and probably the same memories that Kohza had been reliving that morning. “I sent an invitation as soon as we decided on a date.”
Kohza ducked his head, grinning at his fiance's cleverness and forethought. Of course. Of course she had invited her dearest friends. If he felt that having Luffy there was an acceptable risk, there was no doubt that she felt at least doubly so. Even being the princess. Even being the future queen. Even loving her country more than she loved anything else in life.
“Have they responded?”
“Mhmm! Nami said they wouldn't miss it for the world! She says Luffy's practically beside himself with excitement, and the new crewmembers can't wait to see what all the fuss is about.”
“Do you think I'll get to meet them this time?” he asked.
Vivi leaned in close to him, but stopped short of the peck he normally expected when she swooped in like that. “I would certainly hope so!” she said with a grin. “Unless you're not planning on attending your own wedding!”
“I'll be there,” he promised her. “As long as you're there, and Igaram leaves the princess disguise in his closet.”
Taking his hand, Vivi said, “I can't claim to know what Igaram will do. But I know where I'll be. And that's wherever you are.” She leaned in the last few inches and kissed him softly, and he wondered, as usual, how he had gotten so lucky, both as a fiance and a citizen of their great country.
He gazed at her for a moment as she pulled back and walked across the room to continue the preparations she'd been working on before. There was still so much to plan for the royal wedding. It was going to be the biggest event he'd yet seen or ever would.
“Is it too late to elope?” he asked, mostly kidding even if it did sound tantalizing sometimes, the idea of them running off to travel together, like he knew Vivi often wished to.
From across the room, Vivi said quite clearly, with a stately matter-of-fact tone, “It's not too late until we're at the altar. And I even know some people who'd be willing to help us escape. It's definitely possible. ...But you know if I have the choice...” She turned to look at him, and her smile was very full of history and meaning. “...I will always choose to stay.”
Kohza knew this, even without having to ask. Vivi would always stay, would always do her best for her country. She would be a wonderful queen. And he would be by her side forever.