There were many noble ladies close to the Crown Prince's age. But among them, only a handful came from families powerful enough to become his political backing. Unless the Emperor had completely lost his mind, there was no possibility that I would ever be removed from the list of candidates for Crown Princess.
"It would be difficult."
The marquis admitted it without hesitation.
If the Imperial Palace formally requested a marriage alliance, House Ellient would have no legitimate reason to refuse.
On that matter alone, I had already resigned myself to reality.
No matter how desperately I struggled, I could not escape marrying the Crown Prince.
Unless the marquis lost his sanity and rebelled against the Emperor—or I became a raving madwoman—it was impossible. One of us would have to lose our mind before such a thing could happen.
The first was unthinkable.
The second would destroy me.
It was the sort of choice I could only consider at the very end, when there was nothing left to lose—perhaps just before death.
"If it's so difficult, why did you ask?"
Had it been anyone other than the marquis, I would have thought they were mocking me.
But Gabriel Kruter Ellient was not a man who understood jokes.
Without answering, he turned to look out the carriage window.
Before I realized it, our carriage had already entered the Imperial Palace.
Bearing the golden lion crest, it passed through the palace gates without undergoing a single inspection.
We crossed the Outer Palace and entered the Inner Palace.
Inside its grounds, neither horses nor carriages were permitted to travel.
Even a carriage bearing the golden lion was no exception.
I quietly prepared to step down.
The carriage door opened, and the marquis rose first.
I followed after him.
After stepping down, he naturally extended a hand toward me.
It was simply the etiquette ingrained in every noble.
Taking his hand, I carefully climbed down.
The carriage was still rather high for someone my age.
My footing wavered.
The marquis immediately stepped closer, steadying me with a firm grip.
For a brief moment, the distance between us felt surprisingly close.
"It may be difficult," he murmured softly beside my ear, "but it isn't impossible."
"...!"
His whisper brushed against my ear before fading away.
Startled, I looked up at him.
His face remained as expressionless as ever, giving away nothing of what he was thinking.
Once he confirmed I had safely stepped onto the ground, he simply turned and began walking as though nothing had happened.
Still dazed, I hurried after him.
Had his voice not continued echoing in my ears, I might have believed I had imagined the entire thing.
I couldn't begin to understand what he meant.
Not impossible?
Does he mean he'll grant my wish...? Or is there another meaning behind those words?
I couldn't read the marquis at all.
By the time I finished turning his words over in my mind, we had arrived at the audience chamber.
A palace attendant recognized the marquis immediately and bowed respectfully.
The marquis answered with a slight nod.
"Your Majesty, Marquis Ellient has arrived."
"Let them enter."
The response came from within almost before the attendant had finished speaking.
The great doors swung open.
"This way. His Majesty is waiting."
The marquis stepped inside first.
I followed him into the audience chamber.
The Imperial Palace was familiar territory to me.
So was this room.
This...
...was where I had first met him.
And in only a few moments, I would see him again.
I swallowed against the dryness in my throat.
Inside the audience chamber stood only two people—the Emperor and the Lord Chamberlain.
The marquis bowed before the throne.
"Your servant, Gabriel Kruter Ellient, greets the Sun of the Empire."
It was exactly the sort of greeting one would expect from him.
Most nobles showered the Emperor with endless praise and elaborate honorifics.
Some stretched their greetings for over ten minutes, believing that the more flowery the language, the greater the respect.
The marquis's greeting contained none of that.
He observed proper etiquette while discarding every unnecessary embellishment.
Its brevity was almost shocking.
Yet the Emperor appeared thoroughly accustomed to it.
Without reacting in the slightest, he shifted his gaze toward me instead.
Holding the sides of my dress, I lowered myself into a graceful curtsy.
"Vionne Lossa Ellient, eldest daughter of House Ellient, offers her greetings to the Sun of the Empire."
I slowly bent at the waist.
Had I been a commoner—or worse, a slave—I would have been expected to kneel and press my forehead to the floor.
But I was the daughter of a marquis.
A ninety-degree bow was sufficient to fulfill every requirement of imperial etiquette.
"Hah! Just as expected of the Chancellor's daughter. She's exactly the same, isn't she?"
"I must agree, Your Majesty. The resemblance is remarkable."
"Hahaha! Exactly the same! Absolutely identical!"
The Emperor laughed heartily.
He had smiled at me back then as well.
At the time, I had been so nervous at meeting the Emperor for the first time that every greeting my nurse had painstakingly taught me vanished from my mind.
I had stumbled through my words, barely managing to finish after an embarrassingly long pause.
The Emperor had simply laughed and called me adorable.
Though... it hadn't been such booming laughter as this.
"Marquis, why have you hidden such a daughter from me until now?"
"I am deeply honored, Your Majesty."
His reply came instantly.
Yet there wasn't the slightest trace of feeling honored in his voice.
The Emperor paid no attention to it.
Instead, he beckoned to me.
"Come closer."
Instinctively, I looked toward the marquis.
He gave me the slightest nod.
Only then did I slowly approach the throne.
"So then... how old are you this year?"
"I shall soon turn eleven, Your Majesty."
The Emperor examined me from head to toe while asking my age.
My eleventh birthday was only a few days away.
The moment he heard my answer, his face brightened.
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect! Hahaha!"
He laughed again and again.
His mood seemed even better than it had been in my previous life.
Back then, he had certainly looked pleased upon seeing me.
But not nearly this pleased.
I had always known that the Emperor coveted the advantages I brought.
That was why he had chosen me as the Crown Princess.
Yet now...
He seemed even more satisfied than before.
And I couldn't understand why.
I had done nothing except introduce myself.
What exactly had pleased him so much?
"Your Majesty, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince has arrived."
"Oh! Excellent. Let him enter at once."
My heart began pounding wildly.
The audience chamber doors slowly opened.
Each passing second sent my heartbeat spiraling further out of control.
Back then...
I had loved him enough to destroy myself.
And now?
Do I still love him...?
Or do I not...?
"I greet you, Father."
At last...
He appeared.
He was exactly as I remembered.
And yet...
Not at all.
The boy standing before me was far younger than the man I had last seen.
His silver hair shimmered beneath the sunlight as though woven from light itself.
Youth still lingered upon his flawless face, smooth as fine white porcelain.
His elegantly sculpted nose and lips as red as flower petals were so beautiful that, at a glance, one might mistake him for a girl.
He was fourteen this year.
Three years older than I was.
Like many boys his age, he stood on the boundary between childhood and manhood.
The soft down still clinging to his face made him look like a boy.
The lean, well-trained body forged through swordsmanship made him seem almost a young man.
With effortless grace, he approached and bowed before the Emperor.
The Emperor welcomed him with a broad smile.
"Come, Crown Prince."
"We pay our respects to the Little Sun of the Empire."
"Vionne Lossa Ellient, eldest daughter of House Ellient, greets the Little Sun of the Empire."
The marquis and I bowed at the same time.
The Crown Prince accepted our greeting with a courteous inclination of his head, returning the proper respect due to us.
"Crown Prince, come here."
The Emperor beckoned.
Obediently, he walked over until he stood beside me.
The closer he came...
...the more damp my palms became with sweat.
"As I thought! What a perfectly matched pair. Don't you agree, Chancellor?"
The marquis remained silent.
It was, by most standards, rather discourteous.
But it seemed the Emperor hadn't actually expected an answer from him.
Instead, he turned to the Lord Chamberlain.
"And what do you think?"
"They complement one another beautifully, Your Majesty. Like a pair of biyikjo."
"A biyikjo, you say? Hahaha! An excellent comparison!"
The Emperor burst into delighted laughter.
The biyikjo was a legendary bird said to possess only one eye and one wing, with the male and female each holding the missing half.
Only together could they fly.
It was often used as a metaphor for lovers deeply devoted to one another—or a perfectly harmonious married couple.
The Emperor wasn't bothering to hide his intentions anymore.
"Your Majesty, forgive this humble servant, but it is nearly time for the morning court."
"What? Already?"
The Emperor looked genuinely surprised.
Turning toward me, he sighed regretfully.
"I became so absorbed in your company that I lost track of time."
"You honor me, Your Majesty."
In truth, I had done nothing except greet him.
Still, I bowed my head politely.
The Emperor studied me thoughtfully.
"It seems a shame to send the young lady away just yet."
"The gardens of Visard Palace are currently in full bloom with Reysha flowers," the Lord Chamberlain suggested at once, as though he had been waiting for precisely this opportunity. "Perhaps Your Majesty might allow the young lady to enjoy the gardens."
The exchange was so perfectly timed it was obvious they had planned it beforehand.
The Emperor slapped his knee in delight.
"An excellent idea. Waiting for the Chancellor to finish his duties would surely be better than returning home alone."
Actually...
Returning home alone sounded infinitely preferable.
The last thing I wanted was to stroll through a garden.
But refusing the Emperor wasn't an option.
Though his words sounded like a gentle suggestion, they were no different from a command.
The Emperor turned toward the Crown Prince.
"Then the Crown Prince shall escort her. Until the Chancellor has finished his work, see that you take proper care of the young lady."
"Yes, Father."
The Crown Prince bowed obediently.
The Emperor watched him with obvious satisfaction.
I quietly clenched my trembling hands.
"I had a most enjoyable time today. We shall meet again soon."
"You honor me, Your Majesty."
There was nothing else I could say.
The Crown Prince extended his hand toward me.
A knight's escort.
I forced my trembling fingers to steady themselves before placing my hand atop his.
No matter how hard I tried to hide it...
The hand clasping his trembled ever so slightly.
I was just as I had been back then.
The only difference...
...was that the trembling of those days had been born of love.
The trembling now...
...came from the fear of the person I was about to become.
