(Eri's POV)
The days before the coronation were the busiest in the entire kingdom. For weeks, I had not returned to the Forbidden Forest. There was simply no time. The entire kingdom of Kazunaga was preparing for the coronation of its new ruler. After years of waiting, the kingdom would finally have a queen.
Banners filled the streets of the capital, soldiers stood guard along every road, and markets were crowded with visitors from different territories and allied kingdoms, all speaking about the same thing—the new queen. For years, many people believed Prince Haru would take the throne. After all, he had always been the one seen in public, the one trained openly in the palace, the one introduced to nobles and ministers. But recently, the truth had begun spreading through the kingdom.
New banners hung across the capital walls. The New Queen Shall Conquer All. Long Live the Crown of Kazunaga. The people were beginning to understand. Haru was never the heir. I was.
Inside the palace, preparations were far less celebratory. The palace halls were filled with documents, reports, and ministers rushing from one meeting to another. That afternoon, I sat in the study chamber reviewing several ledgers. Across the table stood Ali, one of the most trusted men in the palace, and beside him was his sister, Lourice, my personal attendant since childhood.
Ali placed another set of documents on the table. "Tax records," he said. "These were gathered quietly from several provincial capitals." I flipped through the pages carefully—numbers, trade reports, mining revenues, agricultural records, all collected from different regions of the kingdom. None of these documents had passed through the ministers yet. That was intentional. Ali and his network had retrieved them quietly. A surprise inspection before my coronation. I wanted to know exactly how the kingdom was being managed before I took the throne. Corruption often hid in numbers. And numbers rarely lied.
While I reviewed the ledgers, Lourice spoke from the side of the room. "After the coronation… will the Blood Oath be fulfilled immediately?" Her question hung quietly in the chamber.
The Blood Oath.
The ancient promise between Kazunaga and Vesperia.
Queen Mother Minerva of Vesperia had already made her request clear. She wished to see the alliance fulfilled while she was still alive. Soon. Very soon.
Lourice looked at me carefully. "What is your plan, Your Highness? Time seems… limited."
I stopped turning the pages of the ledger. Across the table, Ali was still studying the tax records, but even he paused slightly. Everyone in the room knew the truth. Every second mattered now. If the Blood Oath was to be honored, it would have to happen soon after the coronation.
Silence filled the room for a moment.
Then I closed the ledger calmly and let my gaze move toward Ali.
"Any details about her?"
Ali looked up. "Her?"
"The Princess of Vesperia," I said evenly. "Elara."
Ali straightened slightly. "As you ordered, Your Highness, I gathered information about the princess." He opened another document and began reading. "Princess Elara is not the daughter of the queen. She was born outside the royal marriage of King Ivan." His voice remained calm, professional. "Despite that, she was still acknowledged by the king and raised within the palace."
Ali continued. "She enjoys traveling. She studies often at the royal university in Vesperia. She has a strong interest in science, herbs, and—"
"What?"
The word escaped my mouth before he could finish.
Ali stopped speaking, his brows pulling together slightly. "Your Highness?"
"She… loves flowers," he continued slowly. "Herbs as well."
For a moment, I leaned back in my chair, my fingers resting against the arm of the seat.
Flowers. Herbs.
The name echoed again in my mind.
Elara.
So that was why it sounded familiar.
I had already met her.
At the lake. In the forest.
The strange girl searching for flowers.
For a brief second, the memory returned clearly—the night air, the sound of the waterfall, the nervous way she swallowed when my blade touched her throat.
Ali was still looking at me, confused. "Your Highness? Did I say something wrong?"
I shook my head slightly. "Nothing."
Ali did not look convinced, but he continued standing quietly.
After a moment, I spoke again.
"I want to know everything about her."
Ali blinked once. "Everything?"
"Yes."
My voice remained calm. Measured.
"If she is to become my wife, I should at least understand the kind of person she is."
I folded my hands together on the desk.
"What level is she studying? What kind of reputation does she have in Vesperia? What kind of person will I be marrying?"
Ali lowered his head respectfully. "I will gather more information immediately, Your Highness."
But even after he spoke, my mind had already returned to the same image—the girl standing under the waterfall, looking at me like I was some kind of forest spirit.
And for the first time in days—
a faint, almost amused thought crossed my mind.
So the princess of Vesperia… was searching for flowers.