THE faraway calling of bells echoed around them, and the lace hem of Cesia’s dress, specially made for this day, gently fluttered in the wind. Feeling a pair of warm lips separate from her own, she opened her eyes, and the first thing that jumped out at her was flame-red hair, followed by a well-proportioned nose, then long eyelashes. The jade-green eyes before her narrowed as their owner smiled about something.
“Isn’t it proper etiquette to close your eyes during a kiss?”
“I had them closed a second ago,” Cesia said after a pause.
Marcus smiled, delighted even by their pointless argument.
“You know, I had no idea you dealt with what I did like that,” Cesia said.
“I didn’t manage it all with just a frontal assault, of course. I didn’t do anything illegal, but I did use my authority to do it,” Marcus replied. Unusually for him, he was being evasive. “I should’ve announced it when we got engaged. But…I guess I wanted to cheat a bit and leave it alone so long as no one noticed.” Marcus lowered his eyes, and Cesia grabbed his hand, hanging loosely by his side. She felt guilty for making him feel that way, all because of her.
After the incident at Rosary’s soiree, Felix and Ada took Selene away, and Selene went to trial for gravely insulting a baroness and trying to harm her reputation. Because she had brazenly exposed her and her father’s crime, they were formally charged and waiting to be sentenced.
Cesia couldn’t guess how light or harsh their punishment might be, but she had made it known that she wanted a fair judgment without any consideration for her position. That did mean that her past would become public knowledge, but at this point, she thought it was only reasonable. She should have faced up to what she had done earlier. If she had, at the very least, Layne wouldn’t have had to leave Marcus.
Speaking of Layne, he had been questioned for helping incite Selene, but he hadn’t done anything directly, so he hadn’t been charged with anything. However, to take responsibility for his actions, he quit his position at the Second Division and chose to work as a construction worker by a river on the outskirts of the capital. It was clear that was the way he had chosen to punish himself to atone for what he had done. With how much he respected Marcus, it must have been a difficult choice for him to leave. The two had known each other for a long time, and it had been a hard blow from Marcus’s perspective, too—he had lost a close friend and trusted confidant. Still, the prince was continuing on as if nothing had happened.
Though it might have been presumptuous of her, Cesia hoped that Layne would one day return to work under Marcus again. It was an emotional issue, however, and just because Layne had atoned, that didn’t mean everything was suddenly sorted out. So, she didn’t yet know what would happen.
As for the Second Division, Keith had taken Layne’s place as acting division chief, and the rest of them keenly felt how much of the burden of their work Layne had shouldered when he had still been there.
“Hey, even after you become the princess consort, if you have some free time, could you come back in disguise?” Felix had asked her, fed up with all the paperwork he had to do. After he had said that, Ada had hit Felix in the head, completing their standard routine, one that Cesia had gotten used to by then.
Then, regarding her hiding her past, Roy had said, “Because you reentered the Academy, it can’t be called falsifying your academic record. And I know you, so nothing will change.” Everyone else had nodded. His words had been a balm for Cesia’s worries, afraid they would look down on her for hiding it from them.
Incidentally, after the soiree, Rosary fiercely scolded her. She had told Cesia that if something like that had been a possibility, she wished Cesia had said something before so she could have responded better.
“I’m sorry for messing up your wedding celebration,” Cesia had said.
Rosary grimaced. “As you should be! Just how much time do you think I spent getting everything together?! I’ll be expecting you to give me the best seat at your wedding celebration! As your friend!”
“Huh?” Cesia widened her eyes in surprise. “You’ll still be my friend?”
“Hmph. Of course, I will. I’ll consider this payback for what I did when we were students and overlook it.”
She had been referring to the times when she had bullied Cesia, who had been attending the Academy as Selene. Cesia, on the other hand, had considered the help Rosary had given her since she had gotten engaged to Marcus as more than enough and, for her part, had already thought that she ought to overlook what Rosary had done even before the latest incident had occurred.
“Now that I think about it, you’ve been weighing on my mind since then… Now we can continue as friends and equals without anything between us,” Rosary said, cheerily laughing it all off.
Cesia felt incredibly endeared to Rosary just then. Rosary had always felt guilty about how she had acted; when Cesia thought of that, the strange feeling that attending the Academy as Selene had been worth it filled her. After all, she had made such a wonderful friend. She wanted to be grateful for that much, at least.
As Cesia thought back to various things, Marcus kissed her forehead and smiled. “Welcome back?” he said.
Cesia blushed, then replied, “Hello, I’m back.” I still can’t get used to this prince’s sweet kisses.
“What were you thinking about?” Marcus asked.
After a pause, Cesia said, “If I had been stronger and smarter, things might’ve gone differently.”
Marcus blinked. Cesia had always done her best wherever she was. It was important to bemoan one’s shortcomings and reflect, but she was more than capable enough and had no reason to feel down. The Cesia Kathrin he had chosen had grown into a formidable enforcer, and now, she had blossomed into a beautiful woman.
“It’s arrogant to try and make everything go exactly as you wish,” Marcus said. He knew she was broken up about Layne—he felt the same way. However, neither he nor Cesia were omnipotent, and some things wouldn’t work out, no matter how much they struggled. That was why their only option was to correct their mistakes, forgive, and walk ahead, always with one eye on themselves.
“You might be right,” Cesia said. “There are times when things don’t go well, but still, I want to follow my heart and do the right thing.”
Marcus nodded. They might come to a stop out of regret, but they absolutely could not give up on moving forward. On that point, Marcus thought that the creed Cesia had always held up as her ideal fit her perfectly. “And I’m here for you. If there’s anything you can’t do alone, we can do it together.”
“But, Your Royal Highness, I can’t always be the one needing your help,” Cesia said, smiling awkwardly. Marcus shook his head, and his flame-red hair shone in the sun. While Cesia was taken in by the dazzling sight, he kissed her again. The lovely sound of his lips made her blush again.
“I’ll help you whenever you’re in trouble, so you’ll do the same whenever I need your help,” Marcus said.
“Definitely,” Cesia answered instantly, and Marcus beamed. “So please don’t ever say you’ll step down from being a prince. I don’t want to make you lose even a single bit of who you are.”
“Being a prince is just one method among many; it isn’t my ultimate goal. I’m always ready to throw it away for the person I love.”
Cesia felt her eyes burn with tears. He would happily discard the pride and dignity he had always held dear to him as a prince if it was for her. She knew she shouldn’t feel happy about it, but she couldn’t help it. At the same time, she swore that she would never make him have to give it up. She was in agreement with Layne on that point. Being a prince was Marcus’s calling; taking it away from him would be a loss to the country and irrevocably change who he was.
“Understood,” she said. “You’ll never have to do that—I won’t let you.” She swore to herself that it was the end of her constantly having to be protected by him. She would become his partner, someone who could protect him.
Marcus tenderly smiled at Cesia’s enthusiasm. He wanted to make the country better and devote himself to where he had grown up. He had always thought that way; that was why he sought out people who shared his goal and created the Second Division. Of course, he had no desire to postpone his own happiness, but he had always treated it as secondary anyway.
However, thanks to that, he had met Cesia. She fought by his side, and he believed they would be happy together. As long as they were a couple, he knew they would have to deal with various difficulties, but if he was with her, they could face them together.
“But still,” Marcus said, “it’s been a rocky road from the start.”
At that, Cesia smiled confidently.
With Cesia and Marcus’s wedding still recent, the Emeroade royal family had officially made Cesia’s past known. The fact that she had already been punished for what she had done and that the royal family had known had also been announced, so while there was no big controversy, opinions from both sides were flying around. While the people took it positively—they were glad to see that she was a commoner and had been valedictorian at the Academy—many stubborn authority figures, stuck in their ways, looked upon it much less kindly.
I can only prove that I’m worthy with what I do from now on, Cesia had thought in response. She would fight on, guided by everything she had gained from Marcus, the Second Division, and everyone else.
The sparkling early afternoon sun filtered in from outside, brightly illuminating the otherwise unlit room. When the glass door leading to the balcony from the antechamber was thrown open, the large crowd shouted in joy, welcoming the second prince and the new princess consort. The smell of celebratory flowers and the sound of the band’s trumpets floated on the light breeze to the balcony where Cesia and Marcus were, holding hands with their fingers entwined.
Cesia was, as of today, officially and in reality, Marcus’s partner. She took another step forward, still holding Marcus’s hand, and with brilliantly shining eyes and a determined smile on her lips, she said, “So long as we’re together, I’ll be all right. I won’t lose to anyone anymore.”
After all, Cesia’s creed is constant, determined resistance!