“Eglantine, I implore you to reconsider!” Anastasius exclaimed. “Are you truly comfortable with your choice? The nobles of other duchies have yet to be informed; if you’ve changed your mind, now is your only chance to say so.”
We had just concluded a meeting in the Ehrenfest Dormitory and were now back in our villa. Anastasius held my hand and spoke in a low, almost threatening voice, but his eyes betrayed nothing but concern for me. Even if my resolve to become the next Zent crumbled, he would go to any length to protect me.
“You don’t wish to take the throne, do you?” my husband continued. “You were openly against the idea both when we were engaged and when we ordered Rozemyne to circle the shrines.” He must have thought I had suddenly changed my tune—or that I had been lying to him from the start.
I took his hand in both of mine. “Before now, avoiding the throne was the best way to prevent another war.”
Striving to rule Yurgenschmidt would have violated the promise we made to cede the throne to Prince Sigiswald. Tensions between Klassenberg and Drewanchel would have risen, as the former would have wanted me to become the Zent, and the latter had agreed to marry Lady Adolphine to the first prince because he was in place to take the throne.
“We had other options back then,” I stressed. “Of course I opted for them.”
In terms of obtaining the Grutrissheit, Lady Rozemyne was already far ahead of me. I wanted nothing more than to preserve the peace, and in that regard, it had made the most sense to adopt her into the royal family and secure the holy book through her. If we had arranged a marriage between her and the next Zent—at the time, Prince Sigiswald—then the entire situation would have been neatly resolved.
“That side of you is why Rozemyne accused the royal family of taking someone dear to her hostage,” Anastasius said.
“Oh my. But any noble would behave in such a way, not just a royal. Is it really so uncommon to exploit another’s weakness to guarantee their cooperation? Lady Rozemyne took the same approach with us.”
“Eglantine...” my husband said, a bitter expression forming on his face.
Anastasius’s reaction intrigued me. There were plenty of examples one could turn to, and my very own love life was among them. Aub Klassenberg and my grandfather had forced me to choose between Prince Sigiswald and my current husband, refusing me the opportunity to even consider other men. Their actions had denied me any chance of escape.
And yet Lady Rozemyne fought tooth and nail to escape her predicament. Most admirable.
Before her adoption, she had obtained the Book of Mestionora and claimed another duchy to save Lord Ferdinand, thereby ensuring she would not become the Zent. She had even acquired more status than our family by becoming the avatar of a goddess before she was due to give me the Grutrissheit.
I regret only that nobody else in the royal family was resolved and capable enough to accept it.
King Trauerqual had refused the Grutrissheit on the grounds of his performance during the recent war. Anastasius had lacked the elements to wield it. And as for Prince Sigiswald, he had refused to swear loyalty to Lady Rozemyne.
“Despite having the power to eliminate us, Lady Rozemyne and Lord Ferdinand resisted their impulses, saved our lives, and went on to forge the most peaceful path for Yurgenschmidt’s future. We had no choice in the matter—not when our daughter was on the line—but I take no issue with preventing another war.”
Anastasius’s eyes widened. I cocked my head in response. Were my words really so shocking to him?
“My views have not changed,” I said, “merely my situation. My thoughts, feelings, and the things I aspire to—everything about me is the same. I have simply decided that becoming the Zent will resolve this situation more peacefully than anything else.”
“I see...” Anastasius muttered, calmer than before. He sensed that he would not be able to stop me and gave a defeated smile.
“They might have paved this path for me, but I tread it of my own volition,” I continued. “Though... it still makes me anxious, I must admit.”
I released Anastasius’s hand. No matter how much he decried it, I would take the throne—both to protect our daughter and to prevent another war from tearing through Yurgenschmidt. I could not think of a better solution.
“And what are your thoughts on the matter?” I asked. “Am I, um... not as you remember me?”
Before I could even emphasize that this was his only chance to divorce me, he took my hand and squeezed it tight. “I, too, remain the same. I will do whatever it takes—give up whatever I must—to remain your husband. I shall dance to their tune just to be beside you.” He raised a teasing eyebrow. “No matter how much it might frustrate me.”
I could not help but laugh. His wry remark reminded me how much he had complained about Lord Ferdinand making him complete all manner of tasks despite his status as a royal.
“You will soon be married to the Zent,” I said. “Your struggles will continue for some time.”
We gazed into each other’s eyes and then laughed together. It put me at ease to know I would not be marching down this path alone.
“Anastasius, I wish to become a Zent who does everything in her power to prevent war—who stands in opposition to the pain and death it causes.”
I approached the transference ceremony with that resolve, but what on earth is going on here?
The situation was beyond any of our expectations. Lady Rozemyne had disappeared upon completing her dedication whirl. She had not beat a hasty retreat—she had quite literally vanished into thin air.
Lord Ferdinand, while hidden from view, had instructed me to perform a dedication whirl of my own. My heart pounded at the thought of the shrine not opening for me, but the statues eventually moved aside to create a path. I ascended toward it, acting as though this were all part of our plan, and soon arrived at the Garden of Beginnings.
Inside this vast expanse of white—the same place where I had obtained my schtappe—I found Lady Rozemyne writhing on the ground, resisting some unseen force while Lord Ferdinand attempted to restrain her. She twisted and kicked her legs, letting her skirt slide up to her knees.
“It hurts... Gaaah!”
“I understand, but you must stay still.”
We were lucky to have found Lady Rozemyne, but I was too stunned to feel relieved. It looked entirely like Lord Ferdinand was enacting some crude violence upon her. The unexpected scene made my head spin.
There... There must be an explanation for this.
“Um, Lord Ferdinand, Lady Rozemyne... Was this really worth interrupting the transference ceremony?” I asked timidly.
Lord Ferdinand, seemingly at his wits’ end, asked me to assist him in removing Lady Rozemyne’s charms. She was on the brink of death, he explained, and the only way to save her was to allow Mestionora back into her body.