Alexis tormented the Marquess of Blanc to the very last as he departed the kingdom. After seeing him off, the Marquess made his way to the audience chamber, and the state of his face said everything.

“Are you all right, my friend?”

Milton asked from within the audience chamber. Whatever Alexis had put him through, it had left the Marquess’s cheeks visibly hollowed.

“Frankly, I find myself relieved to be free of him at last…”

The Marquess let out a sigh that laid bare all he had endured.

“I understand. That you made it this far is remarkable in itself. For a Crown Prince to speak down to me — a reigning king — the way he did… the man has no manners, and beyond that, no common sense.”

“I can only apologize on his behalf. And yet there was simply no reining him in.”

“It is not your fault.”

The aftermath Alexis had left in his wake was considerable.

“For now, please rest. Looking at you, I’d say you’re in need of it.”

“Thank you for your concern. At least now both Your Majesty and the young lady of House Lates will be safe from harm.”

“Yes — that is all that matters.”

Milton spoke with Grace already in mind, having gone to carry the news to the inner palace. With Alexis gone, nothing remained ahead for the palace but peace.

***

Annabella had told herself she was fine — yet the tension she had been carrying without realizing it made itself known the moment she heard that Alexis had implied the engagement was broken and left. The strength drained from her body all at once, and she sank heavily onto the sofa.

“So it’s truly over now…”

Grace stayed close, watching over her.

“Yes. Whatever His Majesty the Emperor may say, he declared this engagement impossible himself — you need not worry any longer.”

At those words, the relief that washed over Annabella deepened still further. Alexis was a man of quick temper — seeing what he considered a ruined face, his decision would have come swiftly.

“I’m almost grateful he’s that shallow a person.”

In her past life, she had known nothing — and thought him a handsome husband. She had believed his irritability and his excessive fastidiousness were all owing to her own shortcomings.

“If I had been alone, none of this could have happened.”

The Annabella of her past life had become Crown Princess with nowhere else to turn, trapped in the gilded cage that was the Imperial palace. Her father had been consumed with his new family, and with no one else to look to but her husband Alexis, she could not help but feel herself growing smaller with every passing day.

Back then, Alexis had been her entire world — and so she had hung on his every expression, his every glance. When something went wrong and he placed the blame on her, she had believed it and tormented herself over it.

But now, having escaped his cage, she found every last bit of it laughable. She could not understand why, in her past life, she had taken every word from such a man at face value and lived as though under his spell.

That she could think this way now was undoubtedly because Annabella had resolved to live a different life — and because she had the steadfast support of the King and Queen behind her.

“I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to you both.”

When Annabella offered her belated thanks, Grace shook her head.

“What is there we would not do for a beloved granddaughter? All we want is your happiness — nothing more.”

Words she had never once heard in her past life — and Annabella’s eyes filled with tears. A world like this had existed all along. Why had she lived in such pain before?

Grief and longing washed over her — but the warmth of Grace’s hand was more vivid than either.

“You may marry another someday, or you may not. All that matters is that you find your happiness.”

“Yes.”

Rather than letting her tears fall, Annabella answered with quiet strength. Never again would she step into Alexis’s cage, nor would she silence herself while reading another person’s mood.

“Just to be safe, it would be best to keep up the disguise for a while longer.”

“Yes — that won’t be difficult at all.”

Annabella answered with a bright smile, and Grace smiled back with equal warmth.

***

In time, word of Alexis’s conduct reached Cedric as well. He had known what to expect — and yet hearing that arrogant manner described to him still made his skin crawl.

“What a fool.”

Speaking down to the King and Queen did nothing to elevate Alexis’s standing. It only gave the impression of a man without basic sense or propriety sitting in the Crown Prince’s seat — and he wasn’t even capable of recognizing that much.

And that wasn’t all.

Brief as the glimpse had been, Cedric had seen the face hidden beneath Annabella’s veil — and he could not fathom how Alexis had failed to recognize the jewel-bright eyes and refined bearing beneath a handful of pockmarks.

“I see now that his knowledge of art was never genuine either.”

The aesthetic sensibility and discerning eye Alexis prided himself on were nothing but the hollow claims of his own making. A man who could truly see beauty would never have let Annabella go.

“I beg your pardon? Art, all of a sudden?”

Rohan, who had been listening, looked puzzled. Cedric shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

Keeping Alexis in check had always been part of his purpose — but there was no denying that since meeting Annabella, a certain personal interest had crept in. Cedric made a deliberate effort to appear indifferent.

“When do you plan to return to the North?”

“I’m not sure.”

Unlike before, the answer did not come easily now. Part of him wanted to stay and witness Annabella’s investiture as princess — but the North was in need of his attention as well, and that was equally true.

“I’ll have to return soon enough.”

“Will you be leaving today, then?”

The Cedric of old would stop by the palace briefly and return to the North without delay. Rohan had simply assumed this visit would be no different.

“No.”

An answer contrary to expectation.

“I’ll stay a little longer and keep watch on the situation here.”

Cedric had yet to fully grasp the extent of the personal interest that had taken root in him — because his heart was moving faster than he realized.

“The Marquess of Blanc is here as well, which makes it a good time to work on matters together.”

Cedric’s head scrambled to find a reason and just barely managed it.

“Ah, of course. I hadn’t thought of that.”

Fortunately, Rohan took his words at face value.

Cedric nodded alongside Rohan, convincing himself of his own justification — all while doing his best to look away from the image of Annabella that kept rising, unbidden, before his eyes.

***

The moment word arrived that Alexis had crossed the border out of the Kingdom of Elaise and into Imperial territory, the King and Queen raised their glasses without delay.

That night, Annabella forgot every last thread of tension and slept deeply. At last, the long nightmare had come to an end.

“Annabella, there is something I wish to tell you.”

Grace spoke after they had enjoyed their midday meal together, as was their custom.

“Do you remember what I told you before — that we would invest you as princess once things improved?”

“Yes. But I’m already happy as things are.”

“We, however, are not content to leave it at that.”

Ahem. Milton cleared his throat.

“The truth is, some time ago, we sent word to the Duke of Lates that we would be taking you.”

“You did…?”

“He said it would be an honor.”

In truth, the Duke of Lates had hemmed and hawed and dragged his feet, and Milton had paid a considerable sum to expedite the matter — but he had no wish to cause Annabella pain with that particular detail.

“May is such a fine month — I intend to invest you as a formal princess sometime next week.”

“I never even imagined…”

“You are our one and only granddaughter, and the Duke of Lates has given his consent — there is nothing standing in the way.”

“That’s right. The others in the palace have also agreed to honor our wishes.”

Annabella bowed her head, overwhelmed by an affection she felt she did not deserve. The King and Queen, who had shown her such profound love for no reason other than that she was their granddaughter, now felt like true family.

“His Majesty has handled all the difficult matters himself — so I intend to indulge in the pleasure of choosing the dress and tiara you’ll wear on the day of the investiture.”

Grace’s eyes lit up in a way that had been absent for a long time — not seen since the loss of her beloved daughter.

“Yes, yes — the difficult work always falls to me, doesn’t it.”

Milton grumbled at Grace in a fond sort of way, but inwardly he was simply glad to see that bright light back in her eyes.

“You have an appointment with Cedric, Your Majesty, do you not? You ought to be on your way.”

Grace gave him a nudge, and Milton rose with good-natured resignation. Time with family mattered — but with Cedric and the Marquess of Blanc gathered together now, there was business to be attended to as well.

“All right, all right.”

After Milton departed, Annabella pricked up her ears and ventured carefully.

“The Grand Duke is still at the palace, then…?”

“The Marquess of Blanc happens to be here as well, so it seems he’s staying longer than usual this time.”

“It’s only been a few days, though.”

“The Grand Duke typically returns to the North after a day or two — so this is quite a long stay for him.”

Whatever the reason, she found herself thinking of the narrow path where the rose buds had been blooming.

“I see…”

“Since he’s staying anyway, I do hope he’ll remain through your investiture.”

At that, Annabella’s cheeks threatened to color for no good reason.

“It has nothing to do with me.”

Nobody had asked — and yet she had denied it all the same. She took a sip of tea to cover it. Grace, for her part, failed to catch the signal that any woman ought to have recognized, and was instead quietly deliberating in her mind over which tiara would suit Annabella best.

“In any case, I intend to have you entirely to myself today.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“There are so many dresses and tiaras I want to show you — my heart is already fluttering.”

The Kingdom of Elaise had a long and storied history, and had always taken pride in its abundance. Naturally, it boasted a dressing room to rival the Empire’s, overflowing with gold, silver, and precious gems.

“Actually — a single day may not be enough.”

Annabella smiled back at Grace’s gentle grin, none the wiser. She had absolutely no idea that a three-day dress tour had already been planned for her.