Valeria was heading to her office in the Pace, when suddenly, a cold shiver ran down her spine. She rubbed her neck, confused, and looked around to see what could’ve caused it, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  I should get some rest before I start getting scared by my own shadow.

  Lately, she had been quite busy between her responsibilities as the Commander and Oriana’s guard. Accepting additional obligations didn’t erase any others and so, she had to spend most of her evenings going through paperwork, which left little time for sleep.

  Since the training ended earlier than she had originally pnned, mostly because of Lin Xuen’s presence, she decided to work in her office until the Princess woke up.

  The room, which served as her headquarter, wasn’t especially big. It had a small library of military books, that looked like they were there for even longer than she was alive, and a big desk with a small potted pnt on it. It was pced there by Kyra, who absolutely couldn’t stand how cold and uninviting the room was. After a long debate and even longer negotiations, she agreed to limit her decorating pns to a single pnt.

  Valeria didn’t mind the crudeness of the office. She never spent much time in it in the first pce. It was a pce where she was supposed to take care of documentation and have an occasional meeting, and it was equipped with items that fulfilled that purpose. As far as she was concerned, that was enough.

  At the end of the day, she never knew how much time she was going to spend in the Golden Pace. No matter how safe it seemed and no matter how well she was treated before, she couldn’t think of this pce as her home. People will change and kingdoms can fall in one night. Nothing sts forever.

  The truth is, Valeria was thinking about leaving the Pace for quite some time. It was something she decided to do when she accepted the King’s invitation. She pnned to stay long enough for Kyra to grow up, and long enough to pay off her debts. She was even able to save a decent sum that would allow them to buy some nd where they could lead a peaceful life.

  Initially when she heard about the engagement, she thought it would be the perfect time for them to leave. With the change of the ruler, the court would also see a lot of changes, so she could leave without worrying about there being no one else to take over her responsibilities.

  However, having met the Prince herself, a doubt began to stir in her heart.

  I’m beginning to understand why the King was so apprehensive about the marriage, she sighed under her breath, recalling a conversation she had with His Majesty some time ago.

  It happened shortly before all the preparations for the celebration started. The Pace received a message from Adler that Prince Emil was coming to Aelius for the Dawning Ball, and had intended to stay for the next three months, till the wedding.

  The Prince’s presence at the celebration in itself wasn’t anything unexpected, since the Pace had sent an official invitation, as per custom.

  What angered the King, however, was Emil’s decision to stay afterwards and await the wedding in Aelius.

  It was unorthodox for future marriage partners to live together under one roof. While a commoner couple could probably get away with it, having to deal with weird looks at most, for the nobility, it wasn’t so easy. Especially for royalty, who were expected to be the role model for the rest of the society.

  To make matters worse, the decision to stay also seemed like a way to put pressure on the King to keep his word and go through with the marriage.

  Emil and Oriana weren’t officially engaged. This was one of the conditions that Lucius gave before he even began the negotiations. For anyone who dabbled in court politics, it was no secret that the King wasn’t entertained by the thought of shifting the power even further from the rightful ruler. It didn’t help either, that the Prince already had a reputation of someone impulsive and shortsighted.

  Valeria recalled the fury written all over Lucius’ face. The King was a rather calm person, so seeing him angered so much left a sting impression on her.

  — That spoiled brat! — he yelled through his teeth — Who does he think my daughter is?! How dare he tarnish her reputation like this?!

  The Commander and the King were the only ones in his office at that time, so he was more lenient with his words.

  — To be honest — he continued in a much calmer manner — I don’t want Oriana to marry some narcissistic prick. I don’t want her to have to sacrifice her life and her happiness for the Kingdom. But between the nobles tightening their leash, Eleutherius just waiting for one small mistake and the eastern border being under constant attack, I feel like I don’t have any other option.

  The mood in the office turned tense. Valeria was quietly waiting for the King to speak again. She wasn’t versed in politics as much as Gideon was, so she decided to keep her thoughts to herself.

  After a moment of contemption, Lucius spoke again.

  — Three hundred years ago, Aelius was ruled by Queen Herais and Queen Kassandra. Queen Herais took over the throne at a very turbulent time for the Kingdom, but managed to turn it around within the first five years of her rule. She didn’t accomplish this alone, of course. Kassandra, being the closest adviser and right hand, did a lot of work herself. They made an incredibly powerful duo. That’s why when Herais announced their engagement, there wasn’t any real discontentment among the nobility. As long as Herais and Kassandra agreed to adopt an heir, they didn’t have any objections. This period is now remembered as the most stable and prosperous in the st thousand years of Aelian history.

  The room became silent again and the air grew heavy from the unasked question.

  Valeria refrained from speaking once more. She understood the meaning behind the King’s story, but she couldn’t give him the answer he was hoping for.

  Lucius understood that as well. Out of the respect for Valeria, he never dared to voice his question. He didn’t want to put her in a spot where she would be forced to pick between her life and her duty.

  And so, a tacit understanding was formed between them.

  Valeria put away her quill and leaned back in her chair. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she had made a mistake.Before she met the Prince, she only thought of him as a spoiled but ultimately harmless son of nobility. Maybe he wasn’t the perfect candidate for a husband, but at least the only danger awaiting the Princess would be his infted ego boring her out of her mind.

  Having met him and getting a glimpse of his true colors, Valeria started having doubts.

  If he went and injured Oriana in his fit of rage…

  She clenched her fists to dispel the dark thoughts before they could properly formute. The st thing she wanted was for someone to get hurt because she selfishly ran away from responsibility.

  Things were, however, much more complicated than simply accepting the arranged marriage.

  Even though she decided to live the rest of her life as “Valeria”, she couldn’t run away from the fact that she was the Princess of Faolán and the st wolf.

  While it’s possible for her to keep her identity a secret as the Commander, it would be significantly more difficult as the Queen. There would be people who would want to dig out any bit of truth about her and, at one point or another, they would inevitably succeed.Knowledge like this, if it ended up in the wrong hands, could endanger not only herself, but also everyone around her, including Kyra and Oriana.

  In the end, she couldn't decide who was worse for the Princess - the Prince or herself.

  Valeria reached to her neckce, safely tucked under her uniform.

  If only you were here to tell me what to do…

  DannyTheDaikon