The moment I stepped into Avent Cathedral, a brilliant wave of attention swept over me.
It wasn’t vanity — it genuinely was everyone in the room, all at once, looking directly at me.
So this is the life of a celebrity.
Then again, it probably had something to do with the two people hanging off either side of me like decorative pendants, each holding one of my hands.
“Oh, doesn’t the soft color suit Princess Rene beautifully.”
“Well, she has strong features, but her underlying beauty carries anything.”
“Prince Friedrich… a man in pink, and it looks like that on him…”
Through the cascade of compliments raining in from every direction, the one remark I was actually listening for finally arrived:
“But who is that beside Her Highness? She looks remarkably like His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Wasn’t there a rumor about an illegitimate child? A very plain name — Mary, was it? Marie?”
“That Marie — the one who’s been living in complete obscurity at Nox Palace?”
Hearing herself so precisely identified by her father’s face, Marie’s expression became even more tense.
I made a point of visibly tightening my grip on her hand.
It was the only way I knew to show the room how much I cared for her — how genuine it was.
“Why is she here all of a sudden? Princess Rene, hadn’t you always been rather indifferent to Princess Marie?”
“Equally indifferent to everyone, really. She never singled anyone out.”
“Even so — I do think I was remiss in neglecting my own sister.”
“Eek!”
I slipped into the conversation naturally, and the ladies who had been chatting so earnestly let out startled, unbecoming little sounds.
I drew closer and offered a pleasant greeting.
“It’s been a while, Countess Brock. I trust you’ve been well?”
“Sh-shining star of Stade and beloved of the divine — I am honored to be in your presence, Princess Rene.”
I could see her eyes darting rapidly, reviewing everything she’d just said for anything that might have caused offense.
I gave her my most gracious smile, aiming to put her at ease.
“Come, Marie — let me introduce you. This is the Countess Brock, wife to the Deputy Minister of the Interior.”
“Oh — hello, Countess Brock.”
“Why — good day to you, Princess Marie!”
The Countess, a little dazed by the unexpectedness of it all, looked back at me. I smiled pleasantly.
“I’ve been taking Marie under my wing, and I thought it would be good for her to become familiar with the right people. Besides — she has her father’s face so distinctly, I’m not sure anyone who saw her wouldn’t recognize her immediately.”
“O-of course. Of the Emperor’s three children, she bears the most resemblance to His Majesty.”
“She does, doesn’t she? I find myself startled sometimes.”
I moved through the room this way, introducing Marie to a handful of the most well-connected people in the hall.
The news that Marie was now under my protection would spread on its own from here. And once it had, no one would dare to treat her carelessly.
Along the way, I also learned a few things I hadn’t been expecting. For instance:
“Lady Adelina isn’t attending today, I hear? Is she unwell?”
“Well — can you blame her? Her younger sister has been appointed Crown Princess Consort in her place.”
“They say she’s sick with envy. She’s disappeared from society entirely.”
Little details like that.
“Isn’t it usually the elder sister who’s chosen, in these situations?”
“Yes, normally. But apparently Lady Adelina made a rather catastrophic mistake where Princess Rene was concerned.”
“Even so — for the Empress to actually change the appointment? What on earth did she do?”
“And isn’t it remarkable — Princess Rene managing to change the mind of the Empress, of all people, when the two of them can barely stand each other.”
Everyone was speaking in lowered voices about me or about Marie or about Adelina, when a new arrival suddenly silenced the entire room.
Anton. The man of the hour.
He had come dressed in the ceremonial white of an engagement, wearing his usual self-satisfied expression — and when his eyes landed on Marie, he looked genuinely startled.
Get your face under control.
I let my displeasure show just enough. Anton composed himself quickly and produced something approximating a smile.
“Presenting Lady Marcella of the House Weiss.”
At the herald’s announcement, the great doors swung open — and Marcella Weiss stepped in, long silver-gray hair braided down her back.
Perhaps it was the dark blue of her eyes, but something about her gave the impression of exhaustion — a quiet, colorless kind of weariness. It made me wonder, almost against my will, whether I had looked like that at my own wedding.
“Friedrich.”
I leaned toward him and murmured:
“Do you remember what my expression was like at our wedding?”
“Of course. You were beautiful.”
“No — not that. My expression.”
“That’s what I said.”
He looked back at me with a genuinely puzzled face. I decided asking further was pointless.
Well. If the groom was satisfied, I suppose that’s what matters.
* * *
Being only an engagement, the ceremony itself was blessedly short. The vows were simple, and it was over quickly.
“Your Highness.”
When we returned to Rene Palace, Joachim was waiting for us.
He looked tired in a way that went beyond the ordinary, leaning against one of the colonnade pillars — but when he spotted me, he brightened immediately and stood.
“Why do you keep waiting outside in this heat?”
“A small, desperate attempt to see you even a moment sooner.”
“Not just avoiding paperwork and making excuses?”
“Your Highness—”
He immediately looked wounded, then shifted seamlessly.
“…I have been staring at documents since I opened my eyes this morning. I feel genuinely ill. This drought needs to end, and then perhaps so will my suffering.”
The prolonged heat had worsened into a serious drought, and every division of the imperial court had felt the pressure mounting.
Joachim had declared that he couldn’t possibly take time away to attend the engagement ceremony — and since there were already three of us going from Rene Palace, he could be forgiven for missing it. That was his reasoning.
“You work hard.”
Friedrich, who had been listening quietly beside me, offered the remark in his understated way.
Joachim looked over at him in open surprise, and Friedrich narrowed his eyes slightly.
“…Why that expression?”
“I didn’t realize you’d been quietly moved by my efforts this whole time.”
Friedrich opened his mouth, visibly struggling against the urge to say exactly what he thought.
“There’s no need for gratitude. The toil is simply what the head of the treasury does.”
Joachim preempted him with a self-satisfied little smile, and Friedrich abandoned the attempt entirely, looking the way a person looks when something happens to them for the fiftieth time.
“All right — everyone stop wasting energy in this heat. Go rest. Duke Rommel, are you skipping the reception as well?”
“I couldn’t possibly leave our dear prince unattended. I’m certain he’ll want me there.”
Joachim smiled — with no apparent malice whatsoever — and Friedrich let out a short, incredulous breath.
* * *
What had been planned as four became three.
During the brief rest between the ceremony and the reception, Marie had fallen asleep.
“She must have been worn out.”
I brushed her hair back gently and decided not to wake her.
“She was so tense all through it, wasn’t she. It was her first public appearance.”
“Did Their Majesties say anything?”
“They didn’t even see her. The Emperor went straight to his seat and left just as quickly. He must have known I’d be introducing her.”
I felt a faint, involuntary irritation at that and let it show in my brow. Even setting the Empress aside — she was his own child. What was he thinking?
“Have them take off her makeup and change her out of her dress.”
I left Marie with Elsa and stepped outside. It would have been nicer to have her with us, but now that Marie wasn’t coming—
“Shall we go, Your Highness.”
I found myself heading to the reception with Friedrich on my right and Joachim on my left.
Joachim, who had claimed the spot that rightfully belonged to Marie, looked quite satisfied with himself. His elaborate, almost peacock-like formal wear and the bright smile on his face made that perfectly clear.
“When I leave the palace — and His Majesty asks you what you intend to do about it — what will you say?”
“Why, that I intend to follow Your Highness wherever she goes, into nature and all.”
“No. Please don’t. If you do that, His Majesty will refuse to let me go.”
That would make things considerably more complicated. I glanced at Friedrich for backup, and he lightly, briefly, closed his fingers around mine — then let go.
Unlike before, this time the warmth was brief, and the absence of it was oddly, immediately noticeable.
I looked at him again. He gave me a quiet smile, saying nothing.
Something stirred in my chest at that smile, and I found it unsettling. My gaze slid away, toward nothing in particular.
