"..."
"Your Highness."
"..."
"Princess? It's time to go."
Clarice stood frozen, her face flushed red. However, her violet eyes followed Isaac, trying desperately to meet his gaze.
"Princess?"
"Ah, yes."
It wasn't until Isaac called her for the third time that Princess Clarice finally responded. Nodding slightly, she took a step back, as if retreating.
"Are you satisfied now? That was my little attempt at being charming. Did it feel any different to you?"
Isaac had returned to his role as a guard, his previous serious expression replaced by his usual demeanor. Though a sense of disappointment lingered, Clarice couldn't deny the truth.
"Yes… It was different."
Letting out a small sigh, she nodded.
"So, is this how you wooed Liana as well?"
"Aren't you leaving? I thought you had somewhere to be."
"No, it's just… I think I finally understand how you ended up marrying her."
"..."
"Ahem! W-Well, anyway, I'll be going now."
With that, Clarice slowly turned around. As she walked toward the banquet hall, she glanced back one last time at Isaac.
"Thank you for giving me courage."
Smiling, she headed toward Prince Raphael.
***
At the center of the banquet hall, Prince Raphael was surrounded by nobles offering their congratulations. Yet, his eyes kept searching for Clarice.
On a night like this, the two of them were supposed to be together. Because of that, the nobles, sensing the prince's restlessness, awkwardly offered excuses for Clarice's absence.
Then finally—
He spotted her.
Clarice, who must have been outside in the garden, was now walking toward him from the entrance.
"Ah, Princess Clarice."
Welcoming her warmly, Raphael made space beside him. However, as she approached, she spoke in a voice that was neither gentle nor cheerful as usual.
"Just a moment—"
Her tone was sharp—like the edge of a blade.
"I need to speak with you privately."
Saying so, Clarice turned and began walking toward the back of the banquet hall. Raphael, after quickly excusing himself from the nobles, followed her.
Though Clarice had said the back of the banquet hall, they ended up going all the way to the far end of the garden, where no one else was around.
'It's the same moon I was just looking at.'
And yet—why did it feel so different now?
Murmuring to herself, Clarice turned to face Raphael, who had followed her.
Sensing the importance of the moment, the prince adjusted his attire before taking a step closer.
"Princess Clarice, are you enjoying the banquet?"
Raphael's tone was light, as if attempting to dispel the heavy atmosphere. However, Clarice didn't answer.
"Did Del not attend the banquet today?"
"…She wasn't in a position to receive an invitation."
Though momentarily at a loss for words, Raphael calmly responded. He didn't know why Clarice was bringing her up, but he certainly didn't find the question pleasant.
"Of course, it's partly because she's a commoner, but more importantly, this banquet is meant to confirm our engagement. Naturally, she couldn't be invited."
"So, you've finally accepted our engagement?"
"That's what I wanted to talk about."
Taking a decisive step forward, Raphael gently took Clarice's hand and confessed.
"If I cannot avoid this marriage with you—then I will accept it."
"..."
Clarice slowly lifted her gaze to meet Raphael's.
The faint smile on his lips suggested he thought this was some kind of touching moment.
"When we first met, I thought of you as nothing more than a political figure sent by your kingdom to secure an alliance."
"And now?"
"No. Not anymore. In just a matter of days, you've changed my mind."
His perception of Princess Clarice had long since shifted.
At first, he had assumed she was nothing more than a calculating, political strategist—a cold-blooded woman who would do anything to strengthen the Kingdom of Albion.
But the Clarice he had come to know was nothing like that.
She was like the warm sunlight. The only person who truly understood his position. Someone who shared his struggles as royalty, bound by duty despite their own hardships.
In some ways, she understood him even better than Del ever could.
Raphael even began to have such thoughts.
"Let's get married. To fulfill our royal duties, we will love for that purpose."
"And Del?"
At her question, Raphael's expression darkened immediately. Clenching his fists tightly, he confessed honestly.
"I will have to take Del as a concubine."
"...."
"I know it's shameless. But Del was the one who suggested it. She made a practical compromise."
"A compromise."
Clarice murmured as if chewing over the word, and Raphael nodded.
"That's right. So we—"
This was different.
It was clearly different from the story of Isaac and Liana that she had heard from the Grand Master yesterday.
Who was nobler? Whose love was more remarkable?
Clarice was still too inexperienced, just beginning to understand love, to judge such things.
But there was one thing she was certain of—something she yearned for and admired.
"Raphael."
At the bright smile that formed on the princess's lips as she called his name, Raphael momentarily froze.
He had seen her smile many times before—
Yet, this felt like the first time he was seeing a real one.
With a refreshing yet daring smile, Clarice spoke.
"Let's break off the engagement."
"…What?"
A completely unexpected statement.
Before he could respond, Clarice continued speaking.
"You ran away before I even arrived. And at our first meeting, you outright ignored me."
"...."
"You blatantly favored another woman and even snuck out of the palace to meet her while I was present."
"Uh...."
"Not only that, but I personally witnessed you running away with her in the city."
"...."
"And finally, before we're even married, you openly declared that you would take a concubine."
"P-Princess?"
"As a princess of a kingdom, I have been deeply humiliated. The kingdom has long secured more than enough justification to demand the annulment of this engagement."
Heirad, in particular, had worked hard to gather such evidence.
Even so, they had refrained from using it because the political benefits of this arranged marriage were substantial.
"Before fulfilling your royal duties, you should first take responsibility for your own actions, Prince Raphael."
Was this really the same woman he had spent nearly a week with?
Raphael was too dumbfounded to say anything, yet strangely, this version of her seemed far more fitting.
So he simply accepted it in silence.
"You said earlier that you thought I was just a political figure who came for an alliance."
Clarice chuckled and nodded, praising Raphael.
"You saw it exactly right."
As he stared at Clarice, who was smiling radiantly, Raphael urgently asked,
"Why are you suddenly doing this? If you were going to break off the engagement, you could have done it from the start."
"Well, that's true. I didn't expect this outcome either."
Suddenly, Clarice recalled what she had said in the carriage on her way to Brentarion.
—"I don't know what love is, so I don't feel sad."
—"If I had someone I truly cared for, like Isaac did back then, someone worth giving up everything for—"
—"It would have been difficult for me."
'How is my self-awareness so perfectly accurate?'
Praising herself inwardly, Clarice tried to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
"Honestly, I still think that getting married would bring more benefits."
"Then—"
"But!"
Placing a hand on her chest, Clarice spoke confidently, as if making an excuse.
"Working in the Albion Kingdom will still be beneficial. I'll make full use of my abilities and prove my worth beyond this arranged marriage."
"And besides, that person will be by my side. The efficiency of my work will increase. It'll be so much fun! I'll make sure to keep them close while I work!"
"...."
Seeing Raphael's dumbfounded expression, Clarice let out a chuckle.
Then, something suddenly came to mind.
"Oh, right. During our first meeting, you asked me this, didn't you? If I knew what love was."
[Do you know what love is?]
[If you do, then you will understand why I'm doing this.]
"Now I understand, Prince Raphael."
Clarice gestured as if bidding farewell and turned away without a hint of hesitation.
"So this time, you should try to understand me."
Watching Clarice walk away, Raphael felt a heavy weight settle in his chest.
He had loved two women.
He had thought accepting a practical compromise was the way to have them both.
But in the end, he had simply turned a blind eye to the truth because it was convenient for him.
He had merely gone along with Del's consideration, telling himself that it was unavoidable.
"Ha…"
Prince Raphael watched Clarice's retreating figure and slowly crouched down in place.
Judging by how much this hurts, I guess I really was dumped.
He covered his face with both hands, desperately holding back his tears.
Tomorrow, he would go see Del.
He would kneel before her and apologize.
And he would take full responsibility for everything that had happened.
⋆⋆⋆
Sniff.
The capital must be exuding the cozy charm of autumn right now.
But here, on the northern wall, it was still as bitterly cold as ever.
Sniff.
Silverna Caldias was on duty once again today.
Resting a spear against her shoulder, she noted that her hair had grown slightly longer at the back—she'd have to cut it soon.
"Lady! Lady! Look at this!"
"Hmm?"
Anna, a maid and soldier, climbed up onto the wall.
"Where have you been instead of standing guard?"
Silverna grumbled, but Anna excitedly held out a newspaper.
"Princess Clarice's engagement has been called off! It says here that the prince of Brentarion already had someone he loved."
"Huh? Seriously?"
"It's true! The royal family is absolutely furious. Look at this—Princess Adeline even tried to start a war over it."
"Hmm…?"
They wouldn't actually go to war over something like this. It was probably just a bluff or a prearranged reaction between the two kingdoms.
"But our benevolent Princess Clarice made a merciful decision, and the matter was settled with Brentarion paying reparations—"
Riiip!
"Huh…?"
"Hmm?"
The newspaper tore apart in the strong wind, sending fragments flying into the sky.
As the two instinctively ducked to shield themselves from the fierce gusts, Silverna's eyes suddenly widened.
Through the dense white mist, something was causing a whirlwind—and it was moving toward the wall.
"Enemy attack!!!"
The alarm bells rang immediately after Silverna's shout.
Is it the Transcendents?!
They had been waiting for this moment for quite some time.
It must have been at least five months.
They're moving quite leisurely, aren't they?
Silverna grinned, adjusting her stance.
The powerful winds threatened to lift her off her feet, so she wedged her fingers into the gaps between the wall's stones.
It seemed as if the enemy was using sorcery to create the storm, but—
The northern warriors had trained to handle such conditions with ease.
The Malidan Wall was always prepared for an attack from the Transcendents.
Breaking through won't be so easy.
Just as Silverna smirked at the thought—
"Huh…?"
Her eyes caught sight of something that left her breathless.
At the very front of the approaching army—
He strode forward, as if leading the charge, like a supreme general commanding his forces.
In his hand was a weapon—whether a spear, a sword, or a staff, it was hard to tell.
But what stood out even more—
"Red…?"
From his hair to his eyes—
He was dyed in the color of blood.
He bore an uncanny resemblance to Helmut.