CL Chapter 24

A betrothed.

 

A fiancé.

 

Such were the titles they bore, yet the only bond between them was a contract, a set of documents, signed and sealed by King Diandel and the late Duke Karthenon.

 

“An engagement to a bastard child is hardly a cause for celebration. The boy will soon establish his place within the Kartenon family. Until then, we shall reconsider.”

 

That was the king’s reasoning for refusing to hold an official engagement ceremony.

 

Charlotte had wanted to point out the bitter irony, that it was her father who had orchestrated this very engagement. But she bit her tongue, unwilling to invite his ire.

 

And so, she waited. Waited for the day when her father might reconsider, when an engagement ceremony with Leo might finally take place.

 

That day never came. Even as Charlotte came of age, the matter remained buried, forgotten.

 

By then, she had long since grown accustomed to lacking what should rightfully be hers. It hardly mattered anymore.

 

But Leo, who was a duke’s heir in name yet treated as little more than an afterthought, deserved better.

 

That was why she had gone to the audience chamber.

 

And there, before a gathering of attendants and courtiers, she was made a fool.

 

“An engagement ceremony? Have you lost your senses? The northern province of Ignator is in chaos with landslides wreaking havoc, and you, a princess, concern yourself only with your own affairs?”

 

The king’s rebuke was not entirely unjust.

 

And yet, only days before, Mia’s birthday banquet had been held with unprecedented extravagance.

 

No, it was not the circumstance that made the difference. It was that she was Charlotte.

 

It was not the first time she had been denied something that should have been hers.

 

But that day, for the first time, the injustice stung, not because she had been refused, but because she could not give Leo what he deserved.

 

The rumors spread quickly.

 

That foolish, self absorbed Charlotte had once again stirred the king’s wrath with her senseless demands.

 

Then, only days later, Leo appeared before her, a dress draped over his arm.

 

He found her staring, wide eyed, and smiled as though nothing were amiss.

 

“Today is our engagement ceremony. Surely, you haven’t forgotten?”

 

He had heard the whispers, the cruel gossip that painted her as thoughtless and selfish.

 

Yet somehow, only Leo had understood the sorrow beneath it all.

 

“Leo…”

 

“Come now, let’s go.”

 

And Charlotte, who had never once known how to refuse his outstretched hand, took it without hesitation.

 

Together, they slipped past the palace walls, unseen and unheard.

 

They rode on horseback without direction, simply moving forward, until at last they stumbled upon an unfamiliar lake.

 

As though it had been waiting for them all along, they dismounted there.

 

The frozen surface of the lake, untouched by warmth, mirrored the bitter cold of the royal capital. And yet, even in its stillness, it was breathtaking.

 

But Leo, who had returned from somewhere with a single winter flower in his grasp, was even more so.

 

A delicate bloom, its roots defying the season, flourishing where it had no right to survive.

 

Leo kissed its fragile petals, then, with the gentlest of hands, tucked it behind Charlotte’s ear.

 

Beneath a blessing known only to them, their secret engagement ceremony began.

 

It was the happiest day of Charlotte’s life.

 

But the flower had withered.

 

And all that remained of that day’s memory was this dress.

 

She would protect it, no matter the cost.

 

Charlotte had little to call her own. And so, the way she cherished the things she held dear had always been desperate.

 

Wrapping the dress tightly in her nightgown, she wandered the room, searching for a place to hide it.

 

Nowhere felt safe enough.

 

At last, with no better option, she shoved the bundle deep within the fireplace, hoping against hope that no one would think to look there.

 

“It will be fine. It will be fine.”

 

She whispered the words to herself, over and over.

 

After all, even when she had still resided in that room, the fireplace had seldom been lit.

 

Surely, it would be fine.

 

As the soldiers ushered her away, urging her to depart for the secluded palace, Charlotte clung to the belief.

 

But after she was gone, the dress she had so desperately hidden was found.

 

Its gemstone embellishments had been torn away.

 

It had been cast aside, abandoned on the dust laden floor, as though it were nothing at all.

 

And yet, it didn’t matter.

 

What mattered was that she had it back.

 

For that alone, she was grateful.

 

Without meaning to, Charlotte let out a quiet laugh.

 

She owed Leo an apology, for even in sorrow, for just a fleeting moment, she had allowed herself to be happy.

 

⚜︎ ⚜︎ ⚜︎

 

Three days remained.

 

Leo and Charlotte’s wedding was literally around the corner. Rosa Castle was in a state of near chaos, there were more people running than walking through its halls.

 

Neither Ferndel nor the head maid reprimanded the servants for their frantic haste. On the contrary, the only command issued these days was to hurry.

 

Today, closer to the wedding than yesterday, the castle pulsed with the hurried footsteps of its staff, a restless undercurrent of urgency.

 

Yet, in the midst of this chaos, Leo’s office remained eerily still.

 

The silence had fallen when Erik, reading aloud a letter from King Diandel d’Ignator, abruptly shut his mouth.

 

Leo turned his head toward the voice that had, until moments ago, filled the chamber.

 

Mona, who had been setting down a teacup within his reach, followed suit.

 

“My apologies.”

 

Erik hastily muttered an apology, then resumed reading aloud.

 

But the deeper he delved into the king’s long-winded message, the quieter his voice became.

 

Mona’s expression contorted, while Leo alone remained unchanged, his features betraying nothing.

 

“This is… this is absurd…!”

 

It was Mona who broke the silence first, her voice trembling with disbelief.

 

It was an undeniably rude remark, yet Erik understood why she had spoken out of turn. The contents of the letter were enough to leave anyone speechless.

 

Even so, Erik knew his place. His focus remained solely on Leo, waiting for his lord to react, to say something.

 

But it was Mona’s voice that rang out again, this time raw with fury.

 

“No more.”

 

Her hands shook, her entire frame trembling as if on the verge of breaking.

 

“I… I can’t take this anymore. My lord, you don’t have to forgive this. You don’t have to!”

 

Her words faltered, as though they were strangling her from within. And then, with a sudden burst of movement, she snatched the letter from Erik’s grasp and bolted from the room.

 

Through the bustling halls, past the frantic servants, she ran her destination clear, Charlotte’s chambers.

 

Ignoring the maid who hurried toward her in alarm, she threw open the door and locked it behind her.

 

“What? M-Mona? Lady Mona?!”

 

The startled maid knocked frantically, her voice laced with distress, But Mona heard nothing.

 

Her entire being was consumed by the sight before her.

 

Charlotte stood by the balcony, having just turned at the commotion.

 

Her movements were languid, unconcerned.

 

It grated against Mona’s every nerve.

 

She was burning alive in hellfire, and yet Charlotte had the audacity to look so calm.

 

“What is the matter?”

 

Charlotte asked, her tone composed.

 

Mona did not answer. Instead, she scanned Charlotte from head to toe, taking in the luxurious garments that draped her small frame. The extravagant gifts Leo had lavished upon her.

 

And after all that…

 

“Ha!”

 

A scornful breath of laughter escaped Mona.

 

She stormed toward Charlotte and shoved the king’s letter against her chest.

 

The force of it sent Charlotte stumbling back, her frail hands barely managing to grasp the parchment. She lifted wide, startled eyes to Mona.

 

Mona, who was now looking at her with nothing but contempt.

 

“Read it, you wretched beggar of a woman.”

 

Charlotte’s gaze flickered, pale blue eyes meeting Mona’s.

 

Once, those eyes had been like the sky, like the sea, like precious jewels.

 

Now, they were nothing but loathsome.

 

“Read it!”

 

Mona’s voice cracked, her shout slicing through the tense air.

 

The knocking outside ceased. The maid must have gone to fetch Fernand, But Mona did not care.

 

Even if this cost her her head, she did not care, As long as she could drag this wretched woman down with her.

 

Charlotte remained silent as she read. And as her eyes trailed lower, tracing the inked words toward the letter’s end, her breath grew fainter and fainter, until it disappeared altogether.

 

Her gaze, hollow and stunned, remained fixed on the last lines.

 

A whisper, barely audible, escaped her lips.

 

“What… is this?”

 

But before she could even receive an answer, her eyes darted back to the letter.

 

To the words that had seared themselves into her vision.

 

 

[The dowry shall be sufficient as long as my daughter is taken with all her limbs intact. I have no wealth greater to offer.]