***

As she moved a piece on the chessboard, Helena spoke.

“I only want one thing – to find happiness on my own.”

At her words, the Crown Prince, Rufus Arpend, looked at her and asked.

“Does that mean you plan to live alone, without marrying?”

“Hmm, it would be nice if I could. But realistically, it might be difficult.”

By the window overlooking the beautiful night scene of the Imperial Palace, Helena and Rufus sat with a chessboard between them, talking in hushed tones.

The tower above the Imperial Ballroom had been their secret retreat since childhood.

Whenever the overly formal banquets became unbearable, Helena and Rufus would sneak up to the tower and talk like this.

“You know what people always say.”

Helena began.

“Just get married. That even people with sharp edges will eventually smooth each other out when they clash, and that it’s a beautiful process.”

“That’s the conventional wisdom.”

“But to me it sounds more like battle after battle, wound after wound, compromise after compromise – until you end up losing who you are.”

Looking at the queen piece, free to move in any direction, Helena continued.

“Do you think I could do that? Be loyal to one man, have his children, live a perfect life?”

She paused for a moment, then added quietly.

“Or will I end up running away like Sandra?”

At her words, Rufus reached out and patted her shoulder gently.

Their relationship was a little different.

Helena had been in and out of the palace since childhood, having caught the Empress’s eye early on. She and Crown Prince Rufus had grown up as close as siblings, almost like inseparable companions.

In other words, they had seen each other at their best – and at their absolute worst.

Perhaps that was why.

With Rufus, Helena could speak freely, revealing even the deepest and most bitter parts of her heart.

In a quiet, melancholy voice, Helena continued.

“I don’t think I’m capable of living with anyone.”

Staring intently at her profile, Rufus whispered.

“Helena, you’re such an interesting woman. You always seem to be standing on your toes, looking off into the distance.”

Helena let out a small laugh.

“Like Sandra?”

In the Golden Rose Theatre in Duras, the busiest city in the Empire, there was still a portrait of Sandra, the former prima donna.

In the painting, Sandra stood on the tips of her toes, reaching for the light, looking as if she might fly at any moment.

Without ever looking back at her overly gentle husband or the demanding young daughter she had left behind, she had gone far, far away.

Rufus seemed to recall the same image. He chuckled softly and nodded in agreement.

“Yes. Just like Sandra.”

Then he fell silent, lost in thought.

A moment passed before he spoke again.

“I feel the same way.”

“Really?”

“Until now, I always thought of marriage as just another luxurious seal on my chest. I believed that as long as I wore it, the Imperial Family and the people of the Empire would feel safe and proud.”

“That makes sense – for someone like you.”

“And I assumed it would be the same for you.”

“Hm. I guess that’s where the difference in status and gender comes in…”

Helena stared down at the chessboard, its black and white squares beautifully arranged, lost in thought.

Rufus, watching her intently, murmured rapturously, “That’s right, Helena. We are one man and one woman.”

Then, without warning, he took the hand that had been absentmindedly playing with the chess pieces and pulled it towards him.

Helena grinned and said.

“Don’t think I’m going to let you win just because…”

But her smile vanished the moment Rufus planted a kiss on her fingers.

Caught off guard, Helena recoiled at the damp, soft sensation pressing against her skin, sending a shiver down her spine.

She looked at Rufus with a look of disbelief and irritation.

“Rufus?”

Rufus lifted his gaze, his beautiful blue eyes meeting hers.

Still holding her fingers as she squirmed and tried to pull away, he whispered against her skin.

“Helena… you’re so beautiful, so full of freedom…”

Helena thought to herself, ‘is this man lost his mind?’

But Rufus, completely unfazed by her reaction, continued to murmur whatever he wanted, lost in his own world.

“I think I’ve been wrong all along. I really thought you’d always be by my side…”

True to his nature, the Crown Prince had started to get clingy the moment her guard was down, and just as Helena was about to push him away.

Bang!

The parlour doors burst open with a crash, as if they were about to shatter, and somehow – who knew how she had found them – Rufus’ fiancée, Adela Bayard, burst in.

Dressed in a gown of glittering pearls, she looked like a human chandelier.

She glanced furiously between Helena, whose face was flushed with anger, and Rufus, who had gone pale with panic.

Then her eyes landed on Rufus’ hand, still clasping Helena’s – and on his lips, still pressed against Helena’s fingers.

Adela’s expression slowly twisted and contorted until her face resembled a pepper cut in half.

“Y-Your Highness, the Crown Prince! H-how could you do this to me…!”

And then, like a tragic heroine from a melodrama, Adela fell to her knees.

Helena cried out.

“Lady Adela, it’s not what it looks like!”

But before she could even begin to calm the chaos, someone appeared – someone who, if you were making a list of people who absolutely must not witness this scene, would be at the very top.

“What on earth is going on?”

The Empress of the Empire, Clarissa Arpend, stepped into the room, crimson robes dragging behind her.

Helena had never imagined that this tiny lounge, tucked away in the side of the central tower, would become such a popular place.

But it didn’t matter how many people were there.

What mattered was that this whole situation… was one big misunderstanding.

Helena held out both hands, trying to calm the panicked room with a calm voice.

“Everyone, this is all a misunderstanding. I can explain everything.”

Empress Clarissa, who had always been fond of Helena, raised an eyebrow – her expression saying clearly, Go on then. Let’s hear it.

“I…”

Helena braced herself, three possible explanations forming in her mind.

1.His Highness Rufus and I have absolutely no romantic involvement.

2. Ever since I saw His Highness Rufus eat his own booger when we were eight, I have never—not even once—considered him a man.

3. And His Highness’s current lover is Rona Creels.

Just as she was about to use those three points to bring some order to the chaos, Rufus dropped a bomb.

“Lady Bayard, I do not wish to marry you.”

Helena’s eyes widened as she turned to look at Rufus.

Adela burst into tears at his cruel words.

“Waaaaaaaah!”

Helena was speechless, her mouth still open.

She had known for some time that Rufus didn’t want to marry Adela – but the timing of his announcement couldn’t have been worse.

With eyes like a puppy caught in the rain, Rufus looked at Helena and said,

“Because… the one I love is you, Helena.”

Helena responded in a calm voice.

“Your Highness, no. That’s not it.”

“It is it, Helena. The truth is, I’ve liked you since we were kids.”

“Waaaaaaaaaaah!”

Adela’s wailing filled the room, echoing loudly as Empress Clarissa finally shouted.

“Enough! That’s enough!”

Empress Clarissa was a woman so regal and breathtaking that it was hard to believe she had a grown son.

And now that beautiful, dignified face was filled with anger – anger clearly directed at the spot where Helena and Rufus stood.

Empress Clarissa spoke firmly.

“Rufus and Adela – come with me.”

Just Rufus and Adela.

At those words, Helena felt a sinking sense of dread.

“Your Majesty, I…”

Before she could finish, Empress Clarissa wrinkled her pearly, beautifully shaped nose and replied in a cold voice.

“Helena, I’m disappointed in you.”

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“I will summon you again later. For now, return to the House of Winston.”

It was a clear dismissal.

In the end, Helena had no choice but to return home without a single excuse.

And a few days later, the Empress’s simmering anger arrived at the Winston estate – in the form of a letter.