“No.”
But no was still no.
The refusal was gentle but perfectly final. Marcella drooped, lowering her head with a crestfallen expression.
It stung a little to see it — but I had to be firm.
“I appreciate the thought, though. Truly.”
“Yes, Your Highness…”
She answered in a small, deflated voice and took a quiet sip of tea. I watched her for a moment, and then added:
“If there are things you need, I can offer financial support. I would only ask that my involvement not be made public.”
Marcella’s expression brightened immediately.
That much should be fine. I had decided to trust Anton — he would take the credit and call it his own. I had no illusions about that.
“You mean it, Your Highness?”
“Of course. It’s not such a large thing.”
“Thank you so much — truly! The people who are suffering will be so glad.”
Marcella smiled brilliantly, radiant with relief. A genuinely kind heart. She was, in more ways than one, too good for Anton.
* * *
…I owe my past self an apology for thinking that.
“I’ve heard good things about you, Rene. They say you donated from your own purse to help with the drought relief.”
One day, I was summoned unexpectedly by the Emperor — and I came at once, thinking: at last, he’s making a decision about the succession. Instead:
“You don’t need to be modest about it. I’ve heard everything. About the considerable sum you contributed to Anton’s relief effort.”
…What is he talking about?
Marcella had left, and I had sent a modest donation along to Anton’s side afterward.
But I had been certain — utterly certain — that Anton would never breathe a word of my involvement.
Had Anton finally lost his mind in the heat?
“There aren’t many people in the world who would spend ten chests of gold on water for their people, ha.”
“…Ten chests of gold?”
“Now, now, no need to be bashful.”
Wait. I had sent one chest of gold. How had it become ten?
“Anton told you this directly?”
“No — I heard it from Lady Marcella.”
…Who? Had I misheard?
“Lady Marcella said this?”
“Yes. Your generosity is all anyone in society can talk about right now. They even say you originally wanted to remain anonymous?”
“That’s technically—”
True, yes. But the point was that it was no longer anonymous!
I sat there with my mouth opening and closing, at a loss for words — while Emperor Otto stroked his beard and smiled.
“You said you had no interest in the throne. It seems that was never quite the truth, after all.”
“It was entirely the truth!”
I protested loudly, but the Emperor’s expression made plain that he was no longer inclined to believe me.
I could not believe this. My sweet future sister-in-law had done this to me.
The moment I returned to Rene Palace, I summoned Marcella.
I had half expected her to avoid me, given what she’d done — but she arrived promptly, as though she’d been waiting for the call.
“I take it you know why I’ve asked for you.”
I made no effort to conceal my displeasure.
“I sent one chest of gold to Anton. How did it become ten, and why did you spread that story?”
“Ah…”
Marcella was briefly quiet. I waited with as much patience as I could manage and tried to piece together some logical reason for what she had done.
I could not find one. Nothing fit.
Because what Marcella’s actions looked like — what they looked exactly like — was someone trying to build my position up.
“I thought that level of investment was necessary, to elevate Your Highness’s reputation.”
Oh.
“My father doesn’t know — I acted entirely on my own. I haven’t spent much of my income over the years, since I’ve never been very active in society, so I’ve accumulated rather a lot.”
“Wait. Hold on.”
My thinking had ground to a halt, but also — it was running very fast in a direction I didn’t like.
Because the only explanation that made sense was that Marcella had quietly, privately been supporting my position — as though she were backing my claim to the throne.
“You can’t do this, Lady Marcella. You’re going to be Anton’s Crown Princess Consort.”
“Yes, and?”
“You should be working to support Anton’s reputation. Not mine — his rival’s.”
At that, Marcella smiled slightly, and said something I had not seen coming.
“But I believe Your Highness will be Emperor. I’m not foolish enough to bet my life on a losing hand.”
“…I have no intention of becoming Emperor.”
“I believe the throne is decided by heaven. Our current Emperor was not originally Crown Prince either, but he became Emperor through his extraordinary strength. The throne finds the one who is meant for it.”
“So my own wishes don’t factor in?”
“It’s less that they don’t factor in, and more that…”
Marcella considered for a moment, then smiled quietly.
“I believe Your Highness simply learned humility on the battlefield.”
My future sister-in-law is Joachim, second edition.
I sat there, completely stunned.
And now that I looked at her closely — Marcella’s eyes were clear in a way that was almost unsettling.
“…You’re not out there telling people this, I hope.”
“Not yet.”
Unbelievable. For a moment I almost regretted having Adelina removed. At least she was a predictable obstacle.
“I apologize for acting without your knowledge. But from Your Highness’s perspective, I imagined you might doubt my sincerity — so I felt it was unavoidable.”
“…Even if I ask you to abandon this, you have no intention of listening?”
Marcella said nothing. Just smiled.
I sent her away.
My head was spinning after meeting an unexpected and very determined adversary.
“She’s quite something. I’ve never seen you this flustered, Your Highness.”
Elsa — who was not one to back down from anyone herself — brought a cup of lavender tea, said to be soothing.
I drained it in two unladylike gulps and set the cup down.
“Why is everyone so desperate to make me Emperor?”
“Because no one comes close to you — in ability or in blood.”
“Do you want me to become Emperor too, Elsa?”
“I confess the idea does appeal. The salary of an imperial handmaid would be considerably better.”
There’s nothing more to say.
“Duke Rommel and Lady Marcella aren’t behaving strangely, Your Highness. You’ve changed so suddenly — of course they can’t quite believe it.”
“Farmers aren’t weak. It’s physically demanding work.”
“Perhaps, but the idea of Your Highness applying all that power to farming is… incongruous.”
Elsa delivered this with perfect composure. I grumbled under my breath, and she continued:
“From Lady Marcella’s perspective, if Your Highness unexpectedly takes the throne, she fully expects the Weiss family to be purged for their history of opposition. It’s entirely logical that she’d want to secure your favor now.”
That’s fair. The Rene Stade of this world was not the kind of woman who would quietly forgive the people who had tried to kill her time and time again.
“Have you no wish to change your mind?”
If my magic had remained, I might have let myself be persuaded. Oh, very well — if you insist. Something like that.
But the reason everyone wanted Rene to inherit the throne — that immense, extraordinary power — was something I no longer had.
“None.”
Elsa shrugged and refilled the empty cup. I drained that one just as quickly and rose from my seat.
“It will quiet down soon enough. The Empress isn’t the kind of woman to simply watch me receive all the praise. If I stay low, things will settle.”
“Then you won’t be performing at this year’s Founding Festival?”
“Oh, right — the Founding Day celebration is coming up soon, isn’t it?”
Rene had a tradition: every year on the anniversary of the empire’s founding, she would give a performance in the capital’s largest public square — a display of her magic, drawing admiration and devotion from the people who gathered to watch.
“No. I won’t.”
I had no magic worth showing, in any case.
“I thought I’d take Marie out to see the festival instead.”
“She’ll love that, Your Highness.”
“Yes. She’s been making good progress with her reading lately. She deserves some time to breathe.”
I talked through the plans with Elsa, and somewhere in the middle of it, the unease in my chest lifted.
Neither of us knew what was coming.
