The rhythmic sound of the carriage wheels clattered over the cobblestone road.

Amelia sat beside Philip on the open carriage. The unfamiliar scenery outside the gates of Olstein Castle piqued her curiosity.

The buildings, like the roads, were surrounded by gray and yellow bricks, appearing somewhat rough, but they were quite large. The bustling market and pubs reminded her of Brienne. The weather had warmed slightly, and children ran about without coats. Amelia, however, was still wrapped in her scarf.

“Do you like it?”

Amelia, who had been fidgeting with her snow-white fur scarf, nodded at Philip’s question.

“Yes. Thank you. But why the sudden gift?”

Philip had sent the scarf to her earlier, along with a message through Betty asking to meet today. It seemed out of the blue, but she wore it thinking he would like it.

The carriage passed several blocks along the main street before stopping in front of a building. A bronze rose adorned the sign.

“I thought you could wear it until early spring.”

Philip helped Amelia down from the carriage as he spoke.

“Spring?” Amelia asked again, but Philip only smiled and nodded.

They walked along wide display windows, where goods from all across the continent were exhibited. While the sights were delightful, the bustling town without the sea in view felt somewhat unfamiliar to Amelia.

“That bridge down there spans the river running through the town. There’s no sea, though,” Philip said, as if reading her thoughts. Following his lead, they arrived at an arch stone bridge hidden between the buildings.

People gathered near the riverbank and the bridge. Amelia and Philip mingled with the crowd, watching the wide, slow-flowing river. The water, reflecting the sky, had a faint blue tint.

“Amelia, do you remember when we first met?” Philip’s question made Amelia turn away from the gentle flow of the river.

“You were wearing a white dress then,” he continued.

“…Was I?”

“Yes. It had a large ribbon with layers of lace. You looked like a princess. When I greeted you first, you smiled and said my name.”

“How can you remember something from so long ago?”

Amelia smiled slightly, surprised and touched. It must have been before they were even five years old, and yet here Philip was, recounting a memory even she had forgotten.

“Because I loved you from that moment.”

Philip’s voice was low, just loud enough for Amelia to hear. The wind brushing over the water was cold and damp. Philip’s face, partially hidden by his blond hair, turned toward her. Their eyes met.

“…Philip.”

Amelia opened her mouth but stopped short. Philip gave her a bittersweet smile.

“You don’t feel the same, do you?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“It’s alright.”

“I knew.” Philip’s gaze shifted back to the river. Amelia, feeling guilty, tightened her grip on his arm.

‘What had I been about to say?’

Amelia searched her memory for the words that had almost slipped from her lips. Though not fully formed, Philip had already read her expression in that fleeting moment and realized the truth.

Not gratitude or joy, but confusion, hesitation, and guilt.

If asked whether she loved Philip, Amelia could easily answer yes, again and again. But the love she felt for him was one of deep friendship and warm affection, never surpassing that boundary.

And now, Amelia realized, Philip wasn’t seeking that kind of love.

“In that case, would you use me?” Philip, still gazing into the distance, spoke words that puzzled her.

“…”

He turned to face Amelia and placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Marry me.”

Philip’s serious expression was reflected in Amelia’s blue eyes.

“I had wanted to save this moment, to say it while looking out at Brienne’s sea…”

“…”

“But there’s no time. I have to go to Sarnica.”

His unexpected words caught Amelia off guard. He explained that he planned to meet the Crown Prince of Sarnica, an old friend, and request asylum for her.

“I’ll tell him you’re my fiancée, and secure an asylum permit for you. Let’s go to Sarnica, which remains neutral to the Empire. After that, we can return to Brienne.”

Philip’s voice was calm, but his proposal was so sudden that it took Amelia a moment to grasp its meaning.

“Are you saying I can leave here?”

“Yes. You’ll leave Olstein and go to Sarnica. What do you think?”

Leaving the Olstein Empire… escaping to the west, to Sarnica, and then returning to Brienne in the east.

“Even if you’re held as a hostage, or even a criminal, once you have permission from another royal family to leave, they can’t take you back. Right now, this is the only way you can get to Brienne.”

Despite Philip’s reasoning, Amelia’s face remained conflicted as she hesitated.

“…And for that, you want me to use you?”

“Yes,” Philip nodded. He took Amelia’s hand, which rested on his arm, and kissed the back of it lightly.

“I want to court you, even if it’s in this way.”

Amelia gently cupped Philip’s cold cheek with her hand. Her heart grew heavy with guilt as she gazed into his sorrow-filled eyes.

“Philip, I can’t do that.”

“Is it too much for you?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Amelia shook her head.

“I’ll return with the asylum permit before spring.”

“…”

“I’ll hear your answer then.”

“My dear Amelia,” Philip said as he gently fiddled with her scarf.

* * *

On the way back from the shopping district, Philip stopped by a flower shop with a bronze sign and handed Amelia a terrarium, which he seemed to have ordered in advance.

Inside the octagonal glass dome was a daffodil bulb. The soil at the bottom, he told her, was from Brienne. Once it survived the winter and the stem and leaves fully grew, the daffodil would bloom just like those in the gardens of Brienne Castle.

“Wait for it until then.”

As she slowly walked back to the Crown Princess’s residence, Amelia gazed at the light green sprout slightly peeking out of the bulb inside the dome.

Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts about Philip, so the news that she might be able to return to Brienne without the Empire’s interference didn’t bring her much joy.

If Philip had only wanted marriage, she might have nodded. But Philip wanted Amelia’s true feelings.

He was her most cherished and precious friend, so she didn’t want to lie. That’s why she couldn’t answer him. When Philip said, “You don’t feel the same, do you?” she couldn’t deny it outright.

“Use me.”

That, even more so, she could not do. How could she trample on his feelings without even knowing exactly what her own were, unable to answer his sincerity?

“Sigh…”

She felt frustrated, as if she had been given a task she couldn’t solve, and selfishly, she even felt a hint of resentment toward Philip. Lost in thought, she kept walking absentmindedly.

Wanting to think alone, she had gotten out of the carriage from the inner courtyard and started walking, but instead of heading toward the back path leading to the Crown Princess’s residence, she ended up walking along the garden and arriving on the opposite side.

The view in front of her was oddly familiar. It was the outer road leading to the pavilion where she had once come to decide on the Crown Prince’s engagement attire. To her dismay, she spotted Josef and his attendants exiting the pavilion.

Not wanting to run into him, she quickly looked around, but Josef had already noticed her.

“Greetings, Your Highness,” she said, slightly curtsying as Josef approached her.

“You’re wandering around like a little rabbit.”

Josef looked displeased, though it was unclear what had irked him.

“Why did you go to the shopping district? If you’re lacking anything, just say so.”

As he spoke, he touched Amelia’s scarf briefly before letting go.

The brief touch somehow reassured Amelia, even though she’d been momentarily alarmed, thinking Josef might have assigned someone to watch her. He knew exactly what she had brought from Brienne and what was in her wardrobe, so seeing her with a new scarf after her outing likely led him to guess she had just returned from outside.

His tone, always spoken with the certainty that he was never wrong, had needlessly made Amelia feel tense.

“My Lady, there will be a play at the opera house soon. Afterward, there’s to be an auction of war trophies,” the head attendant began to report, his manner noticeably more respectful than before, as he listed the upcoming royal events, including hunting tournaments and horse races. It seemed he thought Amelia might be getting bored of staying cooped up in the castle.

“And in the spring, the east garden will be full of daffodils.”

His gaze shifted beyond Amelia’s shoulder, and with a hint of pride, he added, “They’re sturdy enough to withstand Olstein’s winter.”

Amelia turned her head to follow his gaze, looking toward the central garden in the distance. Neatly trimmed flower beds and landscaping trees were now covered in snow.

“Really?” Amelia asked, her voice filled with anticipation.

“Of course. The bulbs are strong enough to survive Olstein’s winter. They’ll also bloom in abundance by the lake behind the castle. When spring comes, you should go see them.”

“Is there a lake?”

“Not just a lake, but a very large one. It’s frozen over for the winter, though.”

Perhaps the overwhelming first impression of Olstein’s snowy landscape had been too strong. Amelia hadn’t fully considered that even here, spring, summer, and autumn would come, with their own colors and changes over time.

“If there’s somewhere you’d like to visit, just say so,” Josef interrupted, having been listening to their conversation.

“I’ll take you there.”

To Amelia, who had only just learned there was a lake behind the castle, his offer felt like an overwhelming command.

As she hesitated, unsure what to say, Josef, with a cigarette between his lips, watched her expectantly. It wasn’t an idle promise—he seemed to want an answer immediately.

“…I’m curious about what the harbor looks like,” Amelia finally said, recalling the riverside she had just visited near the shopping district.

“Alright. I’ll include you in the inspection party,” Josef nodded.

“Your Highness, you’ve been to Brienne, haven’t you? How did you find it?”

“…It’s a rather insignificant duchy,” Josef replied, exhaling smoke in response to the attendant’s question.

“There’s a high cliff. The view of the sea from there is decent, at least.”

Amelia’s heart rippled like waves at that seemingly dismissive remark. Josef’s words suddenly made her feel as if she were being drawn back to Brienne. The cliff overlooking the harbor, where the sunset touched first—the wind from that place was so vivid in her mind, it felt as if it was brushing against her cheeks now.

It was as if she had just received confirmation that someone else could also see the beauty in that place. A quiet joy filled her, knowing that even Josef, who usually dismissed Brienne as insignificant, had said something so positive about it.

“Come to think of it, you were once my aide,” Josef said, looking down at her.

“How does it feel to be reduced to a hostage?”

“…”

“Is the residence comfortable enough?”

Amelia nodded honestly.

“Yes.”

“I see,” Josef said, smiling with apparent satisfaction. His tone had softened, and he seemed genuinely pleased, a stark contrast to the mocking tone he had used earlier. After bowing respectfully to Josef’s retreating back, Amelia turned and headed toward the Crown Princess’s residence.

Just as daffodils bloomed in the garden of Brienne, they would bloom here as well. When spring came, the ice would melt, and fish would swim in the lake. That simple, natural truth gave Amelia an odd sense of comfort as she walked alone, making her feel like she could endure just a little longer while waiting for the daffodils to bloom—and perhaps even until they wilted.

It was different from the feeling she had when she’d sat by her bedroom window, counting stars in the sky, overwhelmed by hopelessness, or when she’d idly crocheted lace, wishing only for the day to end sooner.

Upon arriving at the residence, Amelia, with Betty’s help, planted the daffodil bulb beside a tree in the inner courtyard.

It seemed more fitting for the sprout to grow strong in the wide earth, enduring the cold, rather than inside the terrarium. She resolved to endure until the flower bloomed and even until it faded, deciding to think about what came next when the time arrived.

But that resolve crumbled more easily than she had expected.

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