The negotiation between Count Clavier and Crown Prince Josef ended on a positive note.

Josef, taking full responsibility for the incident caused by an unfortunate coincidence, drafted a document on the spot. It requested that the Sarnica royal family ensure Count Clavier would not face unjust treatment due to the missing asylum permit.

Additionally, he expressed his gratitude for the engagement gift in a separate letter and sent a return gift: yak leather, one of Olstein’s specialties.

Moreover, Josef refrained from imposing any disadvantageous treaties under the guise of fostering goodwill, respecting Sarnica’s neutral stance toward the Empire.

“This is a tremendous outcome.”

Still dazed by his unexpected windfall, Count Clavier remained in a state of disbelief even as he rode in his carriage.

When leaving the embassy, he had been consumed by worries about Philip’s injury and the missing asylum permit, particularly the scenario where Josef might have gotten hold of it first. These concerns had even given him a headache.

Now, however, he was overwhelmed with relief at the prospect of returning to Sarnica with a clear conscience. He could hardly wait to report this to the royal court as soon as the council convened, anticipating that all the royal ministers would focus their attention on him.

“The marriage discussion might be off the table, though…”

He couldn’t shake his concerns about his son. While Philip bore some responsibility for the absurd loss of such an important document, it ultimately wasn’t entirely his fault.

Nevertheless, Philip’s plans were now in shambles. He had intended to meet Josef with the asylum permit once it arrived, explain the situation, and support Amelia’s departure.

But now, the Clavier family was in a precarious position, easily mistaken for conspiring behind Josef’s back to secure Amelia’s asylum by involving the Sarnica royal family.

“Brienne is unlucky too.”

For some reason, Josef seemed willing to overlook the situation. Perhaps he wished to avoid escalating Philip’s injury into a diplomatic issue.

In short, Sarnica had lost its chance to influence Amelia’s return to Brienne. If the Clavier family or the Sarnica royal family intervened in her matters again, Josef could interpret it as meddling in his internal affairs.

But why had Josef suddenly shattered the cup in his hand? He claimed it was out of anger toward the culprit, yet Count Clavier recalled Josef’s calm demeanor as he removed the glass shards and felt a shiver down his spine.

It was time to break the news to his son.

—

“Count Clavier will return soon.”

The head maid’s stern voice hurried Amelia out of the embassy before she could say much to Philip. She had to leave quickly, barely having exchanged a few words with him.

Although she managed to convey her message clearly, she felt disheartened. After sneaking past the guards, waiting outside for hours, and pleading to be let in, her efforts didn’t seem adequately rewarded.

Pulling up her robe’s hood, Amelia slipped out in the opposite direction of the patrolling guards. On her way in, she had painstakingly navigated alleys to reach the embassy. Now, retracing her steps seemed nearly impossible.

As she wandered through an alley resembling a market entrance, Amelia realized she was circling the same block. She abandoned her plan to walk back and opted to hire a carriage from the main road instead.

“A ride to the castle? Then we’ll have to avoid the embassy area.”

The coachman, idly watching his horse chew on a carrot, looked mildly irritated at her request. He seemed disgruntled about the partial roadblock near the embassy.

“Those useless guards… They’re patrolling all the wrong spots, no matter what’s happened,” he grumbled.

“Wrong spots?” Amelia inquired, prompting him to shrug.

“They only loiter around the embassy, so pickpocketing has increased in other areas. It’s still better than during the war, though. Be careful, ma’am.”

He continued grumbling about the need for better policing as he prepared the carriage. Amelia, boarding it, reflected on his complaints.

The coachman’s candid remarks about security and pickpockets felt strikingly realistic, a contrast to the detached narratives in the books she had read. His honesty struck her as refreshing.

At the same time, she began to see Philip’s ordeal as just another among countless incidents in others’ eyes. Depending on how the Olstein royal family handled it, Philip’s injury might soon be dismissed as an ordinary robbery. The culprit might never even be caught.

Amelia imagined the lost asylum permit, which she had never even seen. Likely, it had long left the hands of some anonymous thief, ending up in a trash bin, the sewer, or perhaps disintegrating in an abandoned horse trough.

A single sheet of paper, once capable of altering Amelia’s fate, had lost its meaning in an instant and vanished as if it had never existed.

“Enough.”

She decided to stop envisioning herself disembarking a swift boat from Sarnica and rushing into her father’s arms at Brienne’s harbor.

The sunset painted the village in hues of red, no different from how it had colored Brienne’s sea before. Yet, Amelia felt a profound change in her sentiment. Instead of reminiscing about Brienne, she absorbed the sights of Olstein, extinguishing the faint hope she had harbored. With her last bit of sentiment dried up, she resolved to plant nothing further in its place.

—

It was fortunate that Amelia left before his father arrived.

Seeing his parents enter the room, Philip felt a pang of cowardly relief.

It was no surprise. After all, it was clear that neither his mother, whose cheeks had hollowed from days of worrying about Philip, nor his father, who had returned with a grim expression after meeting Crown Prince Josef, would ever welcome Amelia.

“How is Philip… doing?”

His mother, seated beside the bed, asked with concern. Even when he reassured her that he was much better, her expression remained unconvinced. His father’s demeanor was equally somber.

“I’ve just returned from meeting the Crown Prince,” his father said heavily. “We’ll have to call off Amelia’s asylum.”

“…Understood.”

Philip nodded weakly. There wasn’t enough time to request a reissue of the royal permit, nor could Amelia be sent out of the country without any formal agreement with the Empire. At this point, her asylum was impossible.

“That goes for the future as well, Philip.”

However, his father’s next words caught Philip off guard.

“What?”

“Next week, we’ll return to Sarnica. By then, you should be well enough to board the ship…”

“W-wait a minute, Father,” Philip interjected, propping himself up slightly, a look of alarm on his face. “What do you mean by ‘the future as well’?”

Of course, Philip had no intention of progressing any further with Amelia under these circumstances. However, he had hoped to return to Sarnica, request a reissue of the permit from Crown Prince Miguel, and explain that his request for asylum stemmed from his genuine affection for Amelia. Surely, the Empire would understand.

“Do you still not understand?”

His father scolded him instead.

“Your involvement has led the Empire to believe that the royal family of Sarnica secretly supported Amelia’s asylum. Do you not realize what that implies?”

“…”

“How could I possibly prevent that impression? I had to promise that our family would never again raise the matter of Amelia’s status.”

“What?!”

Philip cried out in shock.

“Father, how could you do that?!”

He couldn’t believe his father’s explanation. To Philip, it sounded like mere excuses—a justification for abandoning Amelia’s safety to protect his own.

“That means Amelia will never be able to leave here. There’s no other way! And—”

“Please, Philip. Stop talking about Lady Amelia.”

Count Clavier silenced his son’s protests with a mere shake of his head.

“You’re the heir of the Clavier family. You need to understand what’s truly important and be able to discern reason.”

His father’s voice was calm yet unyielding, revealing a cold resolve.

“I made it clear that I would cooperate only if you brought back the asylum permit safely. You were the one who failed to keep that promise. I made this decision for both the family and you.”

“…”

“I’m not saying it’s entirely your fault. But you mustn’t undertake tasks beyond your capacity to resolve. From today onward, you will stay out of anything involving Lady Amelia. That’s the extent of the responsibility you can bear in your current state, isn’t it?”

His father’s sharp rebuke struck Philip like a dagger to the heart. The indifferent tone, as though discarding something precious was trivial, felt unbearably cold.

Tears streamed down Philip’s face.

“How could you say that? It’s too cruel. You know how much I love Amelia.”

“Philip… my dear son,” his mother said tearfully as she clasped his hand. “We love you too. Don’t you see that?”

“…”

“If your father hadn’t resolved this, even your future as a diplomat could have been in jeopardy. Are you really going to cast aside your gratitude and apology for the sake of Lady Amelia?”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued, “Philip, until you woke up, I lived in torment. You’re our only son, the sole heir of the Clavier family. Why are you suddenly trying to deny that?”

Philip shut his eyes tightly. His mother’s plea felt like a heavy chain, weighing him down.

“Do you truly believe that a family built under such circumstances would be blessed by others? I… I wouldn’t even be able to offer you my own blessing, Philip…”

She repeated his name a few more times before breaking down in sobs, burying her face in the bed. Philip raised his head, opening his blurred eyes. Above him, there was no divine sky as described in sacred texts, only a suffocating ceiling that seemed to press down on him.

“I feel the same.”

His father, who had been silently standing by, finally spoke.

“I believe I’ve explained everything clearly. If you still wish to stubbornly resist, think carefully about your next steps.”

‘I love Amelia. ‘

“After everything we’ve been through, do you think we have the luxury to welcome her?”

‘I want to make Amelia happy.’

“Not even the family will, of course.”

It was nothing more than a pitiful and empty delusion.