Chapter 6
While the Duke and the Emperor moved away, the Duchess decided to speak.
"Elena, I think the girl is right. We were so excited about uniting our families that we never asked them how they felt about it. We married for love; we cannot force our children to do the opposite."
"You are right. At what point did this girl grow up so much that she made us realize our error with a few simple words?"
"I do not know, but it gladdens me to know that she is already a woman."
The princes had risen from the table to take a walk through the garden. They also wanted to talk about what had happened, so, as soon as they moved far enough away, the first to break the silence was Damian:
"Are you still doubting, Diego?"
"What are you talking about, Damian?"
"Come on, brother, you cannot hide anything from me; I know very well that you did not believe anything about Miss Delacroix's memory loss."
"It is true, I cannot lie to you. And no, I no longer have doubts; she forgot me."
"And why that face? Was it not what you wanted? You are free now."
"What are you talking about, Damian? Just because she does not remember me does not mean the engagement is broken. Father will not allow it."
"That was not how it seemed to me. Look, Diego, I know you well and I know you are confused. You did not expect Miss Delacroix to do what she did. But, since you found out you were engaged to her, all you did was push her away. You never gave her the opportunity to be close, and I believe what she said is true: her attitude toward you was only like that of a girl seeking to establish a friendship, as she told him, a relationship of siblings. I never saw her try to seduce you or make insinuations on her part."
Diego remained silent. What his brother said made sense. She had always behaved with politeness toward him, while he had always ignored and despised all her attempts to get closer. So, if this was what he wanted, why did he feel this way?
Damian, for his part, watched his brother's attitude with concern. He had long ago realized that his brother felt something more for Valeria than contempt, but he was too stubborn to accept it.
On the other hand, in the Duke's study, the two men were having a few drinks.
"Friend, I pity the poor fool who marries your daughter. I felt scolded like when we were children."
"I felt exactly the same. I never believed that I, the most feared Duke of the Empire of the Rose, would be left speechless by his seventeen-year-old daughter. It is obvious she inherited her mother's character."
"Ha, ha, ha. But well, speaking seriously, what are we going to do about the matter of the engagement?"
"There is nothing to be done; it is obvious that my daughter does not want to marry your son and, by the look of it, he does not like the idea much either, so there is nothing to discuss. We cannot force them to marry, when we chose our partners out of love."
"Well, very well. Let us go give the news to our families together; let us not delay the matter any longer."
The two men left the study heading toward the garden to meet with their wives and talk about the decision they had made.
In Valeria's room, Clara was preparing a bath for her, while she told her what had happened in the garden.
"Miss Valeria, are you sure about wanting to end the engagement?"
"Yes, Clara. Today I realized that only I was doing my part to make this engagement work. But well, let us not think about that anymore. Better tell me, what do I usually do to spend my days?"
Clara, seeing that her lady did not intend to keep talking about the subject, decided to listen to her and began to tell her about what she had asked. She told her that at this moment she was in a vacation period and that this year was her last one.
In the garden, the adults were talking about the matter of the engagement and had already made it clear that it would be canceled. Just at that moment the princes arrived, and the Emperor took the opportunity to say goodbye to his friends.
"Well, it would be better if we retire. We have already occupied much of your time and we also have duties to attend to. Maximiliano, we will be seeing each other tomorrow at the weekly meeting. Elena, we will see each other another time; leave a greeting for my goddaughter on my behalf. I will be attentive to her recovery. Let me know if anything happens."
"Of course, Fernando, I will be letting you know of any change."
Thus everyone said their goodbyes until only the Dukes remained at the entrance.
In the carriage, the Emperor looked sideways at his son, who seemed to want to ask him something but did not dare, until he gathered the courage and asked:
"Father, what did you decide regarding the engagement?"
"I think you will be happy. With the Duke, we agreed to cancel the engagement, since neither you nor Miss Valeria are in agreement with the marriage. So you do not have to worry anymore."
After this, silence returned to the carriage.
Upon arriving at the palace, everyone went to their respective duties, but, no matter how much Diego tried to concentrate, he did not succeed. Tired of this situation, he decided to go look for his brother who, as he had been told, was training with the knights.
When he arrived, Damian looked at him and smiled. Definitely, he knew his older brother very well. He threw a sword at his feet and said:
"Let us see how much you have learned, brother?"
Even though Damian was almost two years younger than Diego, he had better skills with the sword, as he always kept himself in training and this made him increasingly skillful. On the other hand, Diego, being the crown prince, had many more responsibilities that kept him out of practice, but he still gave his younger brother a good fight.
"Do not underestimate me, brother. The last time I almost beat you."
"You said it well, brother, almost."
Damian smiled mockingly and they began the fight. The brothers practiced for more than two hours, until they decided to stop and take a rest.
"How do you feel?" Damian asked, sitting on the grass under a tree, which Diego imitated.
"I would not know what to tell you, Damian."
"You have to get used to the idea. It was what you always wanted, Diego, to be free from that engagement. Now you are. Enjoy it… while you can, because I do not think it will last you long. Remember that you are the crown prince and you need an empress, and if it was not Miss Delacroix, it is going to be any other. As soon as the court finds out about the annulment of your engagement, they are going to want to shove their daughters down your throat."
And just at that moment, Diego thought:
"And I will not be the only one; Valeria is known throughout the empire for her beauty and elegance. It is more than certain that, as soon as everyone finds out she is no longer engaged to me, suitors will rain down upon her."
At that moment he realized his error. Just imagining Valeria being courted by others made him furious. He stood up angry and walked toward his palace; he had to change and talk to the Emperor. He could not allow anyone to approach her; he had to think of something.
In the Duchy, after the departure of the Emperors, the Dukes decided to go inform their daughter of their decision. They made their way to Valeria's room and, once there, knocked on her door and heard the confirmation to enter. Valeria was reading a book, sitting on the sofa in her room. She looked up and met her parents; she set the book aside and waited for them to speak.
"Hello, darling. How do you feel?"
"Better, father. Did the Emperors already leave?"
"Yes, darling, that is exactly what we came to talk to you about. We have already made a decision regarding the engagement, but I have to ask: are you totally sure of the decision you are making?"
"Yes, father. I know you think this is due to my lack of memories, but it is not so. I am sure of my decision, and I hope that you as my family support me."
"Of course we do, my heaven. You being our only daughter, we always wanted the best for you. We believed this engagement was also what you wanted, but, as we have seen that it is not so, we spoke with the Emperors and, well, the engagement was canceled."
Valeria could see the sadness in her parents' faces. They really wanted this, but if she followed the plot of the story, she would soon find her end, and that was not in Valeria's plans.
As soon as her mother finished speaking, Valeria approached them and hugged them.
"Thank you, thank you, parents. You do not know how happy I feel to know that I can count on you, even in the most delicate matters."
"Of course you can, my girl; there is nothing we would not do for you."
"Your father is right about that, darling; you will always have all our support."
"There is something else I would like to ask of you, parents. For the moment, I would like the breakup of the engagement not to be known. I would not like the nobles to start sending marriage proposals."
Duke Maximiliano remained thinking about his daughter's words, and it was true; he did not think about that at the moment of canceling the engagement. His daughter was beautiful and of good standing; it was more than obvious that marriage proposals would not be lacking, but that was something completely out of his hands. Once the engagement was canceled, the crown prince would have to find a candidate for empress again. And just at that moment everyone would find out that his daughter was free to be engaged again.
"Let me see what can be done, darling. It is something I must talk about with the Emperor; you are not the only person involved in this engagement and I do not know what plans Fernando has from now on, but as soon as I have an answer, I will let you know, lovely. Now let us not think about that anymore; let us enjoy the time we have left together. In three weeks you have to return to the academy to finish your last year of studies."
"Love, do you think it is correct to send our daughter to the institute even knowing she remembers nothing? I think we could postpone her entry until she recovers her memory."
"Mother, you have nothing to worry about; of course I will go. If I need support, I will ask you for it, but I do not want to delay my studies."
"Of course darling, forgive your mother, but with everything that happened I cannot help but worry about you."
"I know, mother, and I thank you both."
"Well darling, we leave you to continue with your reading; we have matters to attend to. We will see you at dinner time."
"Of course, father."
The Duke took his wife's hand indicating that it was time to leave their daughter alone, as they had taken today off, and he wanted to take a moment alone with the Duchess. She, although a bit reluctant, accepted leaving her daughter alone and followed him. They left the room and set off for their bedroom. Once they arrived there, the Duke hugged his wife from behind and whispered in her ear:
"Now, darling, stop worrying about the girl and let us enjoy this time together that remains for the two of us."
"Yes, I know, it is just that I cannot help but worry."
While she spoke, the Duke was depositing kisses on his wife's neck.
"Mmm… now I understand what my husband meant when he said, 'enjoy the time together'."
The Duchess turned to be face to face with the Duke so she could kiss him passionately.
Thus the Dukes spent the whole afternoon between kisses and caresses, since, despite the years, they continued keeping the flame of passion burning.
Valeria, for her part, after her parents left her room, continued with what she was doing before they arrived. She was writing down everything she remembered from the novel in a notebook in a chronological manner to be able to stay ahead of the events, and thus be able to help the people who, like her, have tragic endings.
"I am going to help as many as I can. It does not seem fair to me that more than six people were sacrificed just for the happiness of two."
Valeria thought out loud while she devised a plan to be able to help the people who, like her, have tragic endings, and who, in the opinion of the author of the novel, did not deserve to be happy and always ended up sacrificing themselves for the happiness of the protagonists.