A week later, Emily could no longer hide her nervousness.
It was the first social event of such magnitude that she had ever organized, and it was for none other than one of the most influential families in the kingdom. Everything had to go perfectly. She could not afford to make a single mistake in front of the Grand Duchess.
While the servants finished preparing the hall, Sofia appeared beside Lusian.
"Emily."
She immediately turned around.
"Yes, Duchess."
"Today, you will remain by Lusian's side. Greet the guests, attend to their families, and do not leave your position."
Emily nodded.
"Understood."
Not long after, the guests began to arrive.
The hall filled with music, conversations, and carefully calculated smiles. Emily remained beside Lusian, fulfilling her role.
Then the royal family arrived.
Everyone bowed.
Emily raised her eyes.
Elizabeth approached with the elegance expected of a princess.
"It's a pleasure to see you, dear. And happy birthday, Lusian."
Her smile was flawless.
Courteous.
Distant.
Emily bowed her head respectfully.
"Thank you very much, Your Highness."
Elizabeth walked past her.
But just as she reached Emily's side, she leaned slightly toward her.
"Come see me when the celebration is over."
Emily froze.
The princess continued walking as if nothing had happened.
For several seconds, Emily could not react.
What?
Her eyes followed Elizabeth until she disappeared among the guests.
A short while later, a servant approached Emily.
"Princess Elizabeth requests to speak with you."
Emily felt her heart skip a beat.
She had no choice but to follow him.
He led her to a small private room.
Elizabeth was sitting beside a window, holding a cup of tea in her hands.
"Sit."
Emily obeyed.
The door closed behind her.
For a few moments, neither of them spoke.
Elizabeth took a small sip of tea.
"Do you know why you're here?"
Emily lowered her gaze.
"No, Princess."
"Then I'll have to explain."
Elizabeth placed the cup on the table.
"I've heard that you want to break off your engagement with Lusian."
Emily raised her eyes slightly.
"I don't know who told you that."
"You don't know? It was your childhood friend."
The princess rested one arm against the back of her chair.
"What matters is that if you truly want to end the engagement, I can help you."
Emily remained silent.
Elizabeth continued.
"The royal family could support your decision. No one could force you to marry if we intervened."
Those words made Emily feel a knot tighten in her stomach.
It was exactly the escape she had once wanted.
A way out of a marriage decided by others.
But it was extremely risky.
Then she remembered Lusian.
She remembered the conversations they had shared.
The way he tried to endure the constant pressure and loneliness.
And she realized something.
Leaving the engagement would not simply mean freeing herself.
It would also mean leaving him alone.
"I appreciate your offer, Princess."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.
"Does that mean you reject it?"
Emily took a deep breath.
"Yes."
Elizabeth's expression barely changed.
"Why?"
"Because the engagement was agreed upon by our families. I can't simply break it because I don't know how I feel about him."
Elizabeth let out a small laugh.
"How strange."
"What is?"
"A girl your age has the chance to escape an arranged marriage and chooses to stay."
Emily lowered her gaze to her hands.
"I never said I wanted to marry him."
Elizabeth remained silent.
Emily continued.
"I still don't know if I will come to love him."
That answer made the princess study her more carefully.
"Then why?"
Emily raised her eyes.
"Because it is my duty as a noble."
Elizabeth remained motionless.
"His family... Everything that has happened. And even though he doesn't say it, I know he often feels alone."
Her voice became firmer.
"If I broke off the engagement now, I wouldn't just be rejecting a decision made by our families. I would also be abandoning him when he needs someone he can trust the most."
Elizabeth watched her for several seconds.
"And what about you?"
Emily frowned slightly.
"Me?"
"Don't you care about what you want?"
Emily took a moment to answer.
"I do."
Her fingers intertwined in her lap.
"But I don't think my desires are the only things that matter."
Elizabeth let out a sigh.
That was not the answer she had expected.
She had imagined a girl trapped in an unwanted marriage, desperate to escape.
A young woman who only needed someone to offer her a way out.
But Emily was not running away.
She was choosing to stay.
"And what if you never come to love Lusian?"
Emily lowered her gaze.
"Then I will accept the consequences of making this decision."
Elizabeth tilted her head slightly.
"And what if you do come to love him?"
Emily remained silent for several seconds.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
"I... don't know."
Elizabeth did not respond.
For the first time since Emily had entered the room, the princess's expression lost its absolute confidence.
Elizabeth picked up her cup again.
"You're a strange girl."
Emily did not know whether that was an insult or a compliment.
"I'm sorry, Princess."
Elizabeth let out a small laugh.
"Don't apologize."
She took another sip of tea.
"Now I understand something."
Emily waited.
"You don't want to break the engagement."
"No."
"And you're not in love with him either."
Emily slowly shook her head.
"Not yet."
Elizabeth held her gaze.
Not yet.
That word bothered her more than she expected.
Because it meant Emily was not closing the door.
She was simply waiting.
And that made the problem much more complicated.
Elizabeth had wanted to find a woman willing to step aside.
Instead, she had found someone who was willing to remain by Lusian's side by her own choice.
And against her will, that awakened something resembling respect.
This girl is too honest for her own good.
Elizabeth placed the cup back on the table.
"You may leave."
Emily stood and bowed.
"Thank you for receiving me, Your Highness."
When she reached the door, Elizabeth spoke again.
"Emily."
The young woman stopped.
"Yes, Princess?"
Elizabeth stared directly at her.
"If you ever change your mind, come see me."
Emily nodded.
"I will."
The door closed.
Elizabeth remained alone.
Her expression changed.
The kindness disappeared.
"So you don't want to break off the engagement..."
She looked toward the window.
"Then I'll have to find another way."
She had no intention of giving up Lusian.
Not after everything that had happened between them.
But now there was something else.
Emily was not a weak girl simply occupying a place she did not want.
She was a woman who had chosen to protect Lusian even without knowing whether she would ever come to love him.
Elizabeth gently tightened her fingers around the cup.
That was precisely what made her a problem.
And at the same time...
Now I understand why Lusian trusts her.
When the celebration ended, the guests began leaving the mansion.
Lusian was standing near the entrance when Elizabeth approached him.
"Happy birthday again."
"Thank you."
Elizabeth smiled.
This time, her expression was much warmer.
"I'll give you your present another day."
Lusian raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Elizabeth leaned slightly toward him.
"Because I'll need us to be alone."
Lusian looked at her curiously.
"Is it something important?"
Elizabeth smiled.
"Very."
Then she walked away among the guests.
Lusian remained there, watching her disappear.
When the last guests had left, Sofia approached Emily with a calm expression.
"Come with me. I want to talk to you."
She led her to her study. There, the fireplace cast warm shadows across the walls while the noise of the mansion slowly faded away.
Sofia took a seat and gestured toward the chair across from her.
"You did well, Emily," she said calmly. "Everything went exactly as we expected."
Emily let out a sigh of relief and smiled.
"I'm glad I could help."
Sofia watched her for several seconds before continuing.
"That's why I want you to spend these next few days with your family."
The words hung heavily in the air, unavoidable.
Emily slowly lowered her gaze.
"When?"
"When the academic year at the academy ends."
"That's still a few months away."
"I know."
Emily clasped her hands in her lap.
She had known from the beginning that this day would come.
The engagement had never been some distant promise. It had always been a date slowly approaching, even if she had preferred not to look at it for too long.
"Will I have to leave my family home completely?"
Sofia shook her head.
"No."
Emily raised her eyes.
"You'll be able to visit your family whenever appropriate. But your primary residence will be here."
The young woman remained silent.
The mansion had always seemed enormous to her.
Now, for the first time, she began to see it differently.
Not as the Douglas family home.
But as her future home.
The thought left a strange emptiness in her chest.
"And what am I supposed to learn?"
Sofia studied her for several seconds.
"Many things."
She rose from her seat and slowly walked toward one of the bookshelves.
"Territory management. Economics. Protocol. Relations between nobles. The history of the families that rule the duchies. Household management. Security."
She took a book.
"And politics."
Emily swallowed.
"I thought a duchess only had to accompany her husband at ceremonies."
Sofia gave her a small smile.
"That's what people who have never had to govern anything think."
She placed the book on the desk.
"A duke can spend months on the frontier. He can go to war. He can fall ill. He can die."
Emily remained motionless.
"When that happens, someone has to keep the household running."
Sofia looked directly at her.
"And that person will be the duchess."
Emily lowered her gaze.
"I understand."
"No."
The answer was calm, but firm.
"Not yet."
Emily raised her eyes.
Sofia continued.
"And I'm not telling you this to frighten you."
She stepped closer.
"I'm telling you because you still have time to prepare."
Emily remained silent.
After a few seconds, she asked:
"Does Lusian know that I'm going to move here?"
Sofia smiled slightly.
"Of course."