The sudden absence of Rosalind in his life felt crushing, and Rowan did not know what else to do except bury all of his feelings beneath duty.

He had no anchor now, and he realized just how much he had relied on Rosalind emotionally.

Even then, he had to accept that he had done this to himself by pushing away the one person who had remained by his side through everything.

So from moving around the palace and attending to work, to sitting through council meetings, it had all been overwhelming, and more than once he found himself wishing there was someone he could fall back on.

But there was no one.

Rowan looked at the paper in his hand and wondered whether it would be too much if he asked how she was doing, whether she had settled into Merovia and how well it was treating her.

Even though she had said she needed space, she could not possibly have meant that he was forbidden from asking about her.

He could not simply pretend that he was unaffected by all of this, and so he eventually began to write.

"Cedric, I need this letter delivered to Merovia," he said.

Cedric, who had now become his closest ally and the person who answered directly to him, nodded immediately.

"Of course, Your Majesty," he responded as he accepted the folded letter.

Rowan released a heavy breath as silence surrounded him once again, and that was when he heard a bird chirping nearby.

Seeing his old friend perched by the window, he found himself walking over to greet and gently pet it the way he used to.

****

Meanwhile, several days had passed in Merovia and Rosalind was doing better than she had imagined.

Coming here had been the best decision she could have made.

The people around her surrounded her with so much warmth, love and kindness that it often made her forget every worry she had carried.

Although her thoughts occasionally drifted toward a certain someone, she would quickly suppress them, but she could only do that for so long.

Queen Catarina had kept her promise by ordering the kitchens to prepare as many delicious meals as possible because she was determined to fatten Rosalind up.

"I think I’m going to die," Rosalind mused to herself.

Never in her life had she eaten this much, yet the attendants continued encouraging her to eat more.

She drank wine, tasted dishes she had never seen before and was pampered in ways she had not even known existed.

Perhaps she was going to die from all the sweetness surrounding her, and Rosalind found that fate far preferable to many others she could imagine.

"Would you like to take a walk?" Hannah asked as they remained alone at the dining table.

"Yes, please," Rosalind replied while struggling to stand.

Hannah chuckled softly. "You’ll get used to it, don’t worry," she said.

As they walked through the corridors together, Hannah continued, "You’ll find that walking helps digest the food properly. That’s why people take walks after meals."

"Yeah, I can already feel the difference," Rosalind said quietly.

The two ladies eventually reached a balcony overlooking the gardens. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The view was beautiful, and they leaned against the railing while the cool breeze played with their hair.

Rosalind wore a bright smile as she looked around. "How are you finding Merovia so far?" Hannah asked while watching her.

"It’s actually quite fun," Rosalind admitted. "Merovia is different in every way. It feels like everyone here is more connected than anywhere else."

Hannah nodded. "That’s true," she said before letting out a small laugh. "You sound exactly the way Mother always described you."

Rosalind blinked at her with interest. "She talks about you all the time," Hannah continued. "Every chance she gets, she talks about you, and honestly, I’m glad she’s finally happy now that you’ve been found."

Rosalind smiled warmly.

But the conversation did not end there because Hannah soon added, "I’ll be honest with you, Rosalind. Do you remember when you first sent the red package?"

Rosalind nodded.

"I was the first person to see it," Hannah admitted.

Rosalind’s eyes widened. "Really?"

Hannah nodded. "And although I was happy that you had been found, I couldn’t stop certain thoughts from slipping into my mind. For a moment, I almost destroyed the evidence, but fortunately I was able to stop myself." There was regret in her eyes as she spoke.

"Looking back now, if I had done that, you wouldn’t be here and Mother would have remained heartbroken."

Rosalind swallowed hard after hearing that.

Wow.

But then she could not help feeling grateful that whatever had stopped Hannah that day had done so. Otherwise her life would have taken an entirely different path.

"I’m glad you didn’t," Rosalind said honestly.

"Me too," Hannah replied with a small smile. "Now that you’ve arrived, you’ve brought even more light into this family, and even I feel connected to you in a way I didn’t expect."

Silence settled between the two of them before Rosalind finally spoke. "I’m grateful that you did the right thing," she said softly. "Even in a moment where you could have chosen otherwise, you still chose the truth, and that is something I truly admire about you."

Hannah watched her with an expression she had never seen before, almost as though she could not understand how Rosalind could stand there so calmly and not be angry at her for nearly ruining her chance of reuniting with her real family.

"I am also grateful to you," Rosalind continued gently, "for staying with Mother all this time. You were there in my place, supporting her, being like a daughter to her, and you cannot imagine how much that means to me."

Hannah struggled to hold back the tears that had already gathered in her eyes. "You’re too kind... I don’t deserve this after what I almost did," she said quietly.

Rosalind shook her head immediately. She was not as perfect as Hannah made her sound, and she had her own flaws as well.

"It’s all in the past now," she said calmly. "What matters is that we are together now. Even if we are not related by blood, we are still sisters."

Hannah nodded slowly before stepping forward and pulling her into an embrace, and in that moment something between them seemed to break and heal at the same time, as though the weight they had been carrying simply dissolved into warmth.

Queen Catarina stood a little distance away, watching them with a soft smile as she saw that the bond between them had formed naturally.

****

A few days later, a grand party was hosted to officially welcome Rosalind back into the kingdom, and the entire palace was filled with celebration as nobles from all ranks arrived with blessings and greetings while even commoners were allowed in to witness the occasion and present gifts.

Rosalind took the opportunity to connect with her people, smiling warmly as she moved through the crowd in a flowing red gown that complemented her sun-kissed skin and hazel eyes, her hair falling gracefully as she spoke and laughed more freely than she ever had before.

As the guests dined, drank and conversed with their princess, a servant eventually approached and handed her a neatly folded envelope.

"Thank you," Rosalind said with a polite smile, her gaze already shifting to the white paper inside.

In this place most people referred to her as Sophia now.

So she stared at the cursive writing on the page— To Rosalind.

She instantly recognized the writing style. It was from Rowan.

Her heart reacted immediately, beginning to beat faster for reasons she could not explain.

However, before she could do anything further with the letter, a voice called out to her.

"Hello, Sophia," a man said with a familiar smile.

While everyone else addressed her with her title, he did not, and there was something in his tone that carried familiarity, as though he had known her far longer than the others present.

"It’s me... Nathan," he added gently. "Do you remember me?"