The secret carrier pigeon Cedric had dispatched flew through the night without rest and arrived in the Kingdom of Elaise the following day.

“The nerve of them!”

Milton erupted the moment he received word that an envoy was coming.

“Please, calm yourself. We always knew we would have to endure something like this — she was the Crown Prince’s fiancée, after all.”

Grace moved to settle him, though a storm was raging within her own heart as well. If Annabella were taken from them, even by some remote chance, she felt she could not go on. Had they never known this happiness, perhaps it would have been different — but they had come to know the gift Aubrey had left behind, and there was no giving that precious child over to the likes of the Crown Prince.

“Cedric got word to us early — surely there is something we can do.”

At that, Milton gave a nod.

“Should we tell Annabella?”

“…It may wound her, but she is the one most affected — we cannot keep it from her.”

The King and Queen, unaware of how Annabella’s past life had ended, trod carefully around the situation. Her half-sister Delilah was entangled with the very Crown Prince who had once been Annabella’s own fiancé.

Annabella had responded calmly when she’d heard news of the two of them — but however little she might have wanted the Crown Prince, the two of them felt that keeping a clear head in circumstances like these might be too much to ask of anyone.

“I was already troubled by how dark her face looked yesterday — and now we must deliver news like this on top of it.”

Grace lamented, though she was grateful all the same that Cedric had warned them in advance, giving them time to prepare.

“Perhaps it’s better to settle everything decisively now and ensure she is never entangled with the Imperial family again.”

Grace nodded at the sound reasoning.

“The Crown Prince is said to be obsessed with beauty — so all we need to do is confirm that the rumor we spread is true.”

“But Annabella never had smallpox. Naturally, there are no scars either…”

“Then we create them. The Crown Prince may be joining the delegation, but its head is on Cedric’s side. The Marquess of Blanc holds the Emperor’s trust and works beneath the surface to aid Cedric and was naturally well-disposed toward Elaise as well. It was at least some comfort in the face of the Crown Prince’s sudden visit”.

“Good. Then I’ll leave the outside matters to you. I’ll work with Annabella on devising the smallpox disguise.”

“Let’s do that.”

In moments like these, the two were perfectly in step with one another. It was all for Annabella’s sake — and for that, this couple would give everything they had.

***

Annabella, dressed in a white gown and looking every bit the picture of quiet elegance, received Grace’s careful words without so much as a flicker of surprise.

“The Imperial family prizes appearances above all else — I imagine they felt they needed concrete proof before they could formally dissolve an engagement at this stage. It’s a relief, at least, that we heard in advance and that the one leading the delegation is on our side.”

Grace was inwardly startled to find Annabella far calmer than she herself was. There was an innate grace about her that made her seem far older than her years.

“I am also in favor of disguising myself to appear as though I have smallpox scars.”

Just as Grace was about to nod, Annabella opened her mouth again.

“But that alone won’t be enough. The Crown Prince is fastidious and overly cautious — makeup alone won’t fool him. He would need to see genuine signs of illness.”

“But surely you cannot actually contract smallpox.”

“Would it be possible to find women who have already survived it?”

Grace looked puzzled at the unexpected suggestion.

“The Crown Prince doesn’t know who my ladies-in-waiting are. If, when the delegation arrives, he were to see women who had visibly suffered through real smallpox… it would feel convincing.”

“Yes, you’re right… A few years ago, smallpox swept through our kingdom as well, and several of our ladies-in-waiting were left with scars. I was so heartbroken for them at the time…”

“Where are those ladies-in-waiting now?”

“Still serving here in the palace.”

As expected — Elaise was not the sort of place to cast out those in its employ simply because their faces bore scars. And thanks to that warmth of heart, they would now receive considerable help in return.

“Tell them what the situation is, and they’ll be glad to help you at any time.”

“Had this been the Imperial palace, even a single scar would have meant immediate dismissal.”

“No matter how many times I hear it, I cannot warm to the Imperial family. There truly are limits to what is counterfeit.”

There are limits to what is counterfeit…

For a brief, unguarded moment, Annabella found herself imagining what it would have been like if Cedric had been the Crown Prince instead. He would have comforted those who had suffered through smallpox and ensured they could work wherever they wished. She didn’t know him well — but he was someone the King of Elaise, a ruler of great merit, valued enough to aid personally, and that alone made her feel certain he would walk an upright path.

However vital legitimacy might be, helping Cedric was still an act of treason — and yet he had this many people on his side. That in itself was proof that he held people dear.

“But what about the disguise?”

Grace’s question broke through her reverie.

“Hilda is extraordinarily skilled with makeup — I’m certain she can create something convincing.”

“Yes. And I’ll gather the ladies-in-waiting who had smallpox and swap them in for your usual ones.”

“The moment the Crown Prince lays eyes on them, he’ll be completely put off from any thought of me.”

“Can you be certain?”

“Yes.”

Alexis could not tolerate anything that offended his particular sense of beauty. The complex of being a usurper’s son — a Crown Prince without legitimate standing — had bred in him a deep sense of inadequacy, and in defiance of it, he had fashioned himself into a creature of nothing but arrogance.

“He’ll likely recoil from the very sight of ladies-in-waiting bearing smallpox scars.”

He believed himself to have been born this handsome by divine blessing. And so —

— and so he had poured every effort into surface appearances, which had indeed made him look the part of a handsome man, but there was nothing of substance beneath.

“I almost wish the delegation would just come and go and have it all done with.”

Annabella murmured the words with quiet sincerity. She had found a new life now — she wanted to be free of Alexis’s shadow entirely.

“It will be, soon enough.”

Grace took her wounded granddaughter’s hand and held it firmly. With that, the situation felt not the least bit hopeless to Annabella.

That evening, Hilda and the ladies-in-waiting heard what was needed and immediately brought every skill they possessed to bear, producing a remarkably convincing smallpox disguise. The result was enough to draw genuine admiration from the King and Queen. Grace also arranged for the two ladies-in-waiting who had actually survived smallpox to attend Annabella for the time being, so that everything would feel natural when the time came.

“We present ourselves to the young lady.”

The lady-in-waiting with pockmarks scattered across the bridge of her nose like freckles was called Agatha; the one with scars across her forehead and cheek was called Renéee.

“We are unworthy in appearance, but by Her Majesty the Queen’s command, we have been appointed to serve you.”

Annabella rose quickly and waved both hands.

“Please, say no such thing. I’m sorry that this matter has called your old wounds back to the surface —”

“— and I am grateful to you both.”

“If our poor scars can be of use, it is an honor.”

To be assigned to attend a young lady come all the way from the capital — Agatha and Renéee had hesitated at first, but the moment they laid eyes on Annabella, their uncertainty dissolved. That warmth in her words could only belong to the King and Queen’s granddaughter.

“If there is anything you don’t know or find difficult, please speak to Hilda without reserve.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The two ladies-in-waiting offered their farewells and withdrew to the side chamber the attendants shared. Annabella was now alone with Hilda.

“At that distance, the scars would be visible even without coming too close.”

“And if I’m made up to the same degree, that should be enough?”

“Yes. I believe that will be sufficient.”

Reassured by Hilda’s confident answer, Annabella settled onto the sofa.

“I still feel terribly sorry about it. Those are real wounds to them — and here I am, making use of them…”

“You need only be grateful to Her Majesty the Queen, whose care made it possible for them to agree so readily.”

Hilda, who had originally served in the Kingdom of Elaise, knew Grace’s character well. Whether it was a lady-in-waiting or a servant who drew water — whatever befell anyone, she looked after them all. She was the heart of the palace —

— and Hilda could only feel proud of her.

“Put everything else out of your mind for now. Until the delegation departs safely.”

“Yes, I will.”

The Crown Prince leading the delegation himself was a considerable burden — but it could also be the opportunity to draw a final, definitive line. At the thought of severing her ill-fated ties with him, the very thing she had wished for above all else, Annabella’s heart beat with nervous anticipation.

***

Several days later, on a brilliantly clear morning.

The Crown Prince led his delegation out of the capital with conspicuous grandeur, every inch the picture of pomp and ceremony. Cedric watched the spectacle with a click of his tongue and, dressed in plain clothes, followed carefully at a distance. The Marquess of Blanc had insisted there was no need for Cedric to come himself — but there was a face that kept drifting to the surface of his mind, and in the end, he had no choice but to move.

“Rohan, let’s go. We need to arrive first.”

Rohan, Cedric’s trusted companion whom he had reunited with in the capital, gave a nod.

“There’s no need to rush. You know the Crown Prince is a poor rider — he’ll manage well enough on the main road, but the moment the path breaks, he’ll quietly switch to a carriage. He always does.”

“True enough. He’s been deceiving the Imperial people that way all along.”

Cedric loosened the reins he had been gripping tightly. However much he dawdled here, arriving later than Alexis would be the greater challenge.

“There’s a route that goes around the long way — let’s take that.”

Unwilling to simply wait and match Alexis’s pace, Cedric offered the alternative.

“Yes, that wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Then let’s set off.”

Cedric, who had been restless and unable to keep still for some time now, spurred his horse forward. He himself had no idea that he kept hurrying — when there was truly nothing yet that called for urgency.