Varanian IV of Jahke advanced.
Trumpets sounded.
Not the ones from the musicians who had played earlier. These were deeper. They reverberated throughout the great hall. The crystals of the chandeliers vibrated as he passed beneath them.
Varanian IV of Jahke was everything his son aspired to be. Tall. Broad-shouldered. His golden Empero pressed against my chest from ten meters away. Unlike his son, he didn't need to wear a cape. Nor a crown. His authority was carved into every line of his face and in his heavy golden hair whose tips displayed seven amber gems. Gems that caught the lamplight and returned it in flashes that shone brighter than a polished gold bar on a sunny day.
Each of his steps sent waves of Empero across the floor that reached under my feet like the sea licking the shore.
[So you chose option B?... Bo-ring. 🥱]
[15 Experience Points assigned. Base Empero: 10 → 25. You can now blow out a candle with your Empero! Well... almost. 🕯️]
Wait, does that mean I can manifest my Empero now?
[I wouldn't recommend doing it today. The Awakening releases an immense amount of Empero around you, which could cause you to seriously injure several people. It would be a great show of blood and screams, very entertaining, but then they would execute you and the fun would be over, Romeo. 😒]
The king stopped in front of Lianza. He looked down at her. His eyes were the same amber as Ardwyn's, but they burned with an intensity that made his son's look like a reflection in a muddy puddle.
"Princess D'Tariel," he said. His voice didn't need to rise to fill every corner of the hall, resonating off the walls and the floor. "I have come personally to hear your answer."
The nobles held their breath. I dug my nails into my palms.
What will you say, Lianza? Will you refuse? Will you accept? The destiny of the novel... No. The destiny of her life... Neither. Her answer will define our destiny.
Lianza remained motionless. Her posture, like every time she assumed that regal bearing, was perfect. Back straight and chin high. Her natural posture.
The garnet crystal mask hid her face; slowly, she brought her hands to her face and took it off, revealing crystalline eyes and eyebrows slightly curved upward. Her breathing was ragged, inaudible to the rest of the hall, but deafening to me.
"Your Majesty. House D'Tariel recognizes the great honor this proposal entails. I must... I must..."
She turned toward me.
Our eyes met. A second. A blink in eternity. Enough for me to know her answer.
My legs gave out. I fell to my knees. I braced my hands against the floor to support myself.
"I accept."
A murmur ran through the hall. The king nodded, satisfied.
Freezing. The stone under my hands was freezing... Everything was.
Lianza had accepted.
In The Throne of Ashes and Thorns, she refused. She broke the prince's heart into a thousand pieces, and, above all, his pride. Then he found comfort in the new girl at the academy.
But this Lianza, the real one, the one who cried behind the wall, the one who called me an idiot the same way others said 'I love you', had done what any educated princess faithful to her duty would do.
Accept and smile...
...while dying inside.
Ardwyn approached Lianza. He offered his hand. She took it. Without looking at me. Without looking at anyone.
The king raised his voice.
"Let the union between Houses Jahke and D'Tariel be announced!" the king roared.
The trumpets sounded. The nobles applauded. The entire hall began to celebrate.
I didn't applaud. I couldn't even move. I only felt a burning in the center of my chest as my vision filled with tears.
Layda placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Let's go, Dariel. Get up. The night is young."
I turned to her without answering. She had that same notebook in her hands. Where had she put it? And why was she carrying it with her at a ball?
"What are you writing?" my voice came out hoarse.
"N-nothing. Doodles."
"Show me."
"No!"
People around turned in her direction, and Layda brought a hand to her mouth, feigning a blush upon realizing the high pitch of her refusal.
"I mean... they're not important. I told you I write and draw doodles when I'm nervous."
I looked away. I searched for Lianza in the crowd. She was dancing with Ardwyn. Rigid. Her garnet Empero pulsing contained around her in a faint mantle, held back by sheer willpower.
Ardwyn leaned her backward in the final figure. His face centimeters from hers. For a moment, my heart stopped.
I thought he was going to kiss her right there.
He didn't. He straightened her up when the violins fell silent. The trumpets sounded again, announcing the king's departure.
The double doors closed behind him and his retinue.
Lianza pulled away from Ardwyn. She walked to one side of the hall. Alone. Her right hand squeezing her left.
It was my moment.
"Your hand..." I said to Layda, looking for an excuse. "Lianza is calling me."
Of course, it was a half-lie. After all, it was obvious that Lianza wasn't okay, even if she hadn't called me.
"Alright," Layda replied. "I'll sit down for a few minutes to rest."
I followed Lianza. I reached her by the column at the back, away from the crowd, from the music.
"Lianza."
There was no response.
"Lianza. Look at me."
She was wearing the mask, but took it off when she turned to me. Her eyes were dry. Dry and empty. Much worse than tears.
Worse even than that bitter laugh from last night.
"I accepted, Dariel," she said, choking back a sob. "It's... It's my duty."
"It's not your duty to marry a man who looks at you like a mere trophy..."
"It's my duty as a princess of House D'Tariel," she cut me off. "My father told me I had to do it. He wanted this union too. I am just..."
Lianza's shoulders slumped. A sob shook her, but she didn't shed a single tear.
"I am just the bargaining chip."
"You're not a bargaining chip."
"I am what my house and the kingdom need me to be. It's always been this way and it always will be."
"Lianza..."
"No. There's nothing left to say." She straightened her back, rebuilding the Ice Queen brick by brick in front of me. It was the first time she had done it while we were both alone. "What we had these past two months was clearly a mistake. From now on, you're just my bodyguard. Do your job, Dariel Elcronne. Protect me."
"We both know it's real, Lianza. And I've always protected you. You don't know how much I've..."
I bit my tongue. I had to feign composure. Lianza D'Tariel's bodyguard couldn't be a crying mess in the middle of a ball.
I would fix this. I wouldn't give up until we reached our ending together.
Lianza, the future Garnet Ice Queen, turned around.
And left.