Changing Hearts
ONCE A YEAR, Freesia celebrated Precognition Commemoration Day, also known as the Precognition Festival. It was the day in which Freesians all across the country celebrated their first queen’s discovery of her precognition.
The castle town threw the biggest celebrations of all. They also held festivities for the royal family’s birthdays and the anniversary of Freesia’s founding, but the Precognition Festival topped all those lesser occasions.
On this day, once a year, the royal family opened the Freesian castle to the public. As the royal family’s home, this castle was the most lavish and spacious of any in the country. Only servants and special guests got permission to pass through its heavy fortifications.
The Precognition Festival presented an opportunity for anyone to enter the castle, regardless of their status. Guards and knights protected the front gates, checking the guests and their belongings before they entered. Beyond them stood the castle—something everyone in the land dreamed of seeing.
Once guests passed through the gates, a great hall awaited them with chairs and tables, where commoners could feast on foods and savor spirits normally reserved for the royal family. Under strict guard, they could view other parts of the castle as well. These were places that never opened their doors to the public outside of the Precognition Festival, places rarely used at all aside from the most significant ceremonies and formal announcements.
With the castle’s permission, merchants peddled, artists painted, and musicians performed. The castle invited a theater troupe each year that proved a huge draw for all who witnessed their show. Guests only saw a small portion of the castle, but its sheer size made it feel vast regardless. The people celebrated in the halls all day, and once the sun began to set, the glow of hanging lanterns kept things lively. This was no mere banquet; it was a true festival.
But these weren’t the only special events to take place during the occasion.
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“Big Sister, would you…like to hold hands?!” six-year-old Tiara asked me.
“Of course,” I replied, taking her hand with a smile.
The Freesian citizens gasped. Their eyes lit up as they watched our fancy carriage approach the castle gates. Some even cried, moved by witnessing my family with their own eyes. Though the castle being opened to the public was monumental on its own, the royal family’s ceremonial meal with the Freesian people was the biggest event of the whole Precognition Festival.
Since the common folk could not sit with us, the castle set up several large tables for them. They could still observe us up close and watch us eat a meal, however. It seemed more Freesians than usual were participating in the festival this year.
Everyone waited with bated breath to catch a glimpse of Tiara, the princess who had only been revealed to the public that same year, and Stale, the newly adopted prince. They cheered and applauded the moment they finally laid eyes on us, though most people were fixated on my siblings.
“Are you all right, Stale?” I asked, then extended my hand. “If you’re nervous, I can hold your han—”
“N-no, I’m fine,” he told me, jerking away. “Thank you for your concern.”
Stale wasn’t nearly as nervous as Tiara, even though they were both attending the festival for the first time. He was scanning the crowd, perhaps hoping to spot his mother. They were not allowed to meet, and the guards would probably turn her away at the gates, but I knew she was on his mind leading up to this day. Yet not only did he apparently fail to find his mother, he likely didn’t recognize anyone at all. That wasn’t much of a surprise. Anyone who lived far from the royal capital would struggle to make the trip to the popular event.
I could tell Stale didn’t like the way people were staring at him and Tiara, though he had to understand the crowd’s eagerness to witness their first public appearances. As the firstborn princess, and with my precognition awakening, I’d officially been acknowledged as heir to the throne—yet Stale and Tiara attracted all the buzz. That is, until Stale’s face betrayed his emotions, his flitting eyes hardening into a glare. Perhaps he wished they’d pivot to me instead, giving him a break.
But I didn’t care about the looks, and Tiara didn’t even seem to notice. Mostly, I was just worried about my siblings.
“You’re so calm, even in front of such a large crowd, Elder Sister,” Stale said. “I’d expect nothing less.”
“Well, it’s not my first time. You two did great in front of guests at the ceremonies, so I’ve got nothing to worry about.” I covered my mouth and chuckled.
They were nervous, so I tried to cheer them up. I had been a part of the Precognition Festival since I was young, so the crowd didn’t intimidate me. My goal was to make this a pleasant experience for my adorable younger siblings. That said, such a massive event wasn’t easy to navigate the first time around.
Royal and noble guests attended the castle ceremonies Stale and Tiara were familiar with, maintaining their distance with an air of dignity. But commoners made up the majority of the guests at the banquet. They hooted and hollered over every little thing we did.
“Prince Stale is so adorable!”
“Princess Tiara looked at me!”
Each time they screamed, my heart skipped a beat, and I feared something bad had happened. Even Stale, a former commoner himself, sat up straighter and gulped whenever he drew too much attention. Being looked at not as a person but as something more sacred clearly set him on edge.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “These people all love you so much. You should keep your heads held high.”
I stroked Stale’s hair, hoping to ease his nerves after he’d refused to take my hand. He stiffened, lips pressing together. Though he kept his face blank, heat crept into his cheeks. Maybe he was embarrassed to have so many people see me coax him like a child.
The crowd had tensed when I first raised my hand, but they sighed with relief when I brought it down to caress Stale’s head. I had a reputation for selfish fits, so perhaps they assumed I’d strike the young Tiara or my commoner brother, even in a setting like this. I drew just as much attention by stroking Stale’s hair and holding Tiara’s hand, however.
Stale seemed upset by the crowd’s rude assumptions, but I smiled awkwardly and ignored it. I knew better than anyone just how poorly I’d behaved before regaining my past-life memories.
Back then, I attended parties with Mother and Father but tried to keep their attention on me and me alone. That just wasn’t possible with so many eyes on me, and I’d hated behaving like a “good little princess,” so my prim and proper act slipped from time to time. I had wanted Mother and Father’s approval without caring what the Freesian people thought of me in the slightest. In fact, I’d wished the citizens at the Precognition Festival would just go away more often than not. At least Stale and Tiara had mastered proper behavior.
When I scowled in self-reproach, my siblings looked up.
“Big Sister?”
“Elder Sister? What’s wrong?”
The crowd stirred in confusion as my siblings questioned me. I quickly smoothed my expression, fearing the Freesians expected another grumpy outburst, and insisted it was nothing. “Anyway, today is an opportunity for you to see the faces of the people you’re going to protect someday. Let’s enjoy it, shall we?”
I lightened the mood with a grin, and they beamed back at me.
“Yes!” Tiara said, squeezing my hand tighter.
Stale sighed and swept a glance around the room once more. He’d been upset with the commoners up until that point, but I also knew he’d work hard to protect them. He needed to stop acting so wary and embrace the role of a proper prince.
His gaze drifted to my empty hand, as though he was reconsidering my earlier offer.
“Big Sister, Big Brother, it looks like the others are taking their seats!” Tiara said. “Let’s join them!”
I agreed and moved toward our table. Stale swallowed when Tiara and I smiled at him. He seemed on the verge of saying something but snapped his mouth shut instead. Ahead, Mother, Father, and Uncle Vest were taking their seats.
“Um…!” Stale began, voice faltering.
We paused, and then Stale extended a trembling hand.
“If…you don’t mind, I…would like…to join you…”
Despite his mild expression, the look in his eyes betrayed his nerves. I understood immediately. In truth, his initial refusal had disappointed me, but maybe this had been his goal all along. He was still young, but I was moved by his manly offer of escort. I grinned at this boy, who was both my adoptive brother and my steward. The crowd peered intently at us, but all I cared about was the warmth swelling in my heart.
“Absolutely,” I said, extending my free hand toward him. “Thank you, Stale.”
Stale shuddered at my touch, and the crowd squealed with delight. It must have been a shock to him. He turned his eyes down bashfully but otherwise kept his face blank. Honestly, he seemed mostly undaunted by the whole thing, which was pretty impressive.
Tiara hopped with excitement. “Let’s go!”
As we approached the royal family’s table, our father, the prince consort, said, “Take your seats.”
His tone was gentle despite the chastisement. We apologized for being late, and I released my siblings’ hands. Careful not to let the crowd see us rush, we found our places at the table.
“Have a seat, Princess Pride,” said a calm yet curt voice.
I looked up at the person pulling out a chair for me. Gilbert, the Freesian prime minister and my father’s steward, beckoned me toward my seat, bowing politely but refusing to meet my eyes.
Prime Minister Gilbert’s expression was tense as he returned to Albert’s side. He didn’t seem to care that Tiara goggled at him or that Stale coolly assessed him like he would an adversary.
He’d spent the days leading up to the Precognition Festival assigning work to various castle personnel, dispatching knights and increasing security, and preparing tables and food—directing more people than I could count. But the meal itself was for the royal family.
Surrounded by guards, we ate for everyone to see just as we did each year, putting our close family relationship on display for the Freesian people. Since the guests weren’t royals or nobles, the prime minister served no purpose at the event. That was why, at least for the banquet…