CHAPTER 7 - The Name I Refuse to Carry
The Evermont family carriage moved slowly away from the palace gates.
There was no crown, no kneeling guards.
Only the sound of wooden wheels and breaths that felt too heavy inside the narrow space.
Keira stared out the window for a long time before finally speaking.
"Since I arrived in this world… everything has felt like a stage that was prepared without me."
Cassian sat across from her. Daniel beside him, silent but alert.
"I want to know who I really am," Keira continued. "And why I died."
Silence fell.
Cassian didn't look away.
"Your name is Aelirra Virelle Evermont."
He said it slowly.
"You are my sister. The daughter of Duke Evermont."
"You married King Alaric Valtherion before the great war began."
The name lingered in the air.
"And?" Keira asked flatly.
Cassian drew a slow breath.
"After the great war ended, the Kingdom of Valtherion was fragile. The army had been greatly reduced. Supplies were scarce. The southern border was unstable."
Daniel crossed his arms. He already knew where this was going.
"Princess Roxane came as an envoy from her kingdom," Cassian continued.
"She brought an offer of military aid and food supplies."
Keira didn't blink.
"And in return?"
Cassian met her gaze directly.
"Personal closeness with King Alaric."
Daniel exhaled shortly.
"Personal closeness for political purposes."
The carriage rocked gently. Daniel finally spoke again. "In our world," he said quietly, "that's still called betrayal."
Cassian looked at him.
"I don't deny it."
Keira slowly turned toward Cassian.
"You understand his reasons?"
"I understand the political reasons," Cassian replied.
"But that is not the same as justifying them."
His gaze turned colder. "As a king, perhaps he believed it was necessary."
He paused.
"As a husband, he failed."
The carriage became very quiet.
Keira stared at her hands. "Did Aelirra die because she killed herself?" she asked softly.
Cassian nodded.
"That night, by your own hand."
"How old was Aelirra?" Keira asked.
"Nineteen."
The answer instantly irritated her.
"And when we found you… I also found the letter you left for me."
"What did she write?"
Cassian was silent for a moment before answering.
"You wrote that you understood."
Bitter irony.
"You wrote that you didn't blame him. That you knew the kingdom needed stability."
Daniel clicked his tongue softly.
"Too noble."
"But," Cassian continued, his voice lowering,
"you wrote that you couldn't live while sharing your love."
The silence pressed against their chests.
"Did he love Aelirra?" Keira asked.
"Yes," Cassian answered without hesitation.
"And he never knew that you were aware of everything."
That made the air feel colder.
Keira let out a small laugh. Without humor.
"A secret alliance. Kingdom stability. Sacrifice."
She lifted her face.
"That was Aelirra." Her gaze shifted. "I am not her. Let me make this clear—I am Keira Genevieve Rose, and I have lived for twenty-seven years as Keira Genevieve Rose, not as Aelirra."
Daniel gave a small nod.
"Keira never tolerated something called infidelity. No matter the reason."
Keira crossed her arms. "In my world, if you love someone, you don't share them in secret in the name of strategy." Her voice wasn't raised. But it was firm.
"If he needed an alliance, he could have discussed it. He could have made it an official agreement."
Her eyes hardened. "He chose to hide it... and made a 19 year old girl feel something she never should have had to feel in her age."
Daniel, who had worked as Keira's assistant for a long time, knew very well that she was furious now.
Cassian didn't defend him. "And that was his mistake."
Silence.
"So Aelirra died because he cheated, right?" Keira asked.
Cassian looked at her for a long moment.
"You died because you felt alone."
That was more honest.
Daniel turned to Keira.
"Now you know."
Keira exhaled slowly.
"Aelirra might have understood. Might have accepted it—until she couldn't anymore."
She looked out the window.
"I will not die for any man."
The words fell like a decision.
Cassian could clearly see the difference now.
Aelirra was gentle.
Keira was cold.
Aelirra endured.
Keira confronted.
"Do you hate him?" Cassian asked carefully.
Keira was silent for a long time.
"What would be the point? I don't even know him," she finally replied.
"And until he stands before me without a crown, without political excuses—" Her gaze sharpened.
"I will not grant forgiveness I never asked for."
The carriage began to slow.
The Evermont gates were visible in the distance.
Cassian spoke quietly.
"If he hurts you again…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Daniel leaned back.
"This time," he said lightly but seriously, "I don't care whether he's a king or not. One thing's certain... I won't lose my little sister for the second time."
Cassian answered only by looking at Keira gently.
Keira stared straight ahead.
There were no tears.
Only something more dangerous.
Choice.
The carriage stopped.
And for the first time since returning.
Aelirra became the past.
Keira chose to live.