Chapter 97: Dear Friends

—CELIA—

I couldn’t hear anything anymore.

The only thing that remained clear was the man standing at the center of it all.

Aelith’s voice and the name he spoke, Damien Ashford.

The runaway Crown Prince of the Ashbourne Empire.

My eyes stayed locked on Ren, refusing to move even as my thoughts violently tried to make sense of what I had just heard.

No matter how many times I repeated it in my mind, it refused to become familiar.

Damien.

That name did not belong to the man I knew.

My throat tightened painfully as my fingers instinctively curled against the armrest of the throne.

Every part of me wanted to reject it, to deny it, to force everything back into the shape I understood. But the truth stood in front of me too clearly to ignore.

The four of them were not random allies or coincidental companions. They were arranged so deliberately like pieces that had always belonged together but had been scattered until now.

Sebastian Blackwood, the Duke of House Blackwood.

Ezekiel Rowe, the Empire’s Archmage.

Sir Matthias Sinclair, the empire’s sword.

And Damien Ashford, the empire’s Crown Prince.

My breath came out unevenly as I stared at them, my mind struggling to reconcile the image before me with the story I thought I knew.

Somewhere deep inside me, my old memories began to take shape. I remembered the night I had spent reading my sister’s manuscript, half teasing her about her overly dramatic male leads, half genuinely invested in the story she was building.

She had always been careful with the fourth one.

The Crown Prince.

He had been a presence rather than a person. Mentioned in conversations, feared in political discussions, respected in rumors that traveled faster than official reports. But his name had never been revealed in what I had read.

Not his identity. Not the description of his face. Not even the details that would have allowed me to place him properly in the world.

My sister had insisted she was saving him for later Chapters, something important, and something worth waiting for.

But I never got to read those Chapters.

Because I woke up here instead.

Now, standing in front of me, that missing piece was no longer missing. It had always been here. I almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it, at how easily I had accepted the idea that Aelith filled that role simply because he fit the title.

He was a prince, after all. Powerful, dangerous, and far too important to be ordinary. It had been easy to assume he was the one I was missing from the story.

But assumptions were not truth.

And I had built too much on them.

Slowly, my gaze shifted back to Ren, or Damien, or whatever name I was supposed to use now.

He stood among them as though he had always belonged there, as though the role of servant had never existed at all. There was no hesitation in his posture, no uncertainty in his stance.

He looked like someone who had lived an entirely different life than the one I had known, and yet my memories stubbornly refused to separate the two versions of him.

The boy who carried my burdens.

And the prince who carried an empire.

My chest tightened again, not from fear but from something far more disorienting. Confusion layered itself over realization, and realization layered itself over disbelief until I no longer knew where one emotion ended and another began.

Everything I thought I understood about this world, about the story I had once believed I was merely stepping into, felt like it was slowly slipping out of alignment.

If Ren was truly the Crown Prince, then everything I had assumed about the narrative had been incomplete from the very beginning, built on fragments I had mistaken for certainty.

And if that was true...

...then I should end whatever feelings I had for Ren.

Isn’t that the most reasonable conclusion?

The thought settled inside me quietly, almost naturally, as though it had been waiting for permission to surface. I almost felt foolish for not arriving at it sooner. I had been holding onto assumptions that were no longer stable, attaching meaning to roles that were never fully revealed to me in the first place.

I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself as a strange sense of acceptance began to replace the earlier chaos.

Ah.

I really must have been mistaken.

But at least... I know for certain now that Aria will no longer meet the same ending as in the original story. That was the only part that mattered.

I had already changed something important. I had already paved a different path for her, one where she would be seen, heard, and loved in ways she never had the chance to be before.

That alone was enough to bring me peace.

I took a deep breath and forced a small smile onto my face, as if I could physically shape my emotions.

The throne room still felt heavy, still charged with tension I could not afford to dwell on, but I pushed it aside anyway. I couldn’t afford to hesitate now. Not when everything was already in motion.

"Aelith," I gently spoke.

I felt him visibly startle as if he had not expected me to speak at all. His posture shifted slightly, the composed king suddenly looking uncertain.

"Y-yes?" he answered, the hesitation slipping through his voice despite his efforts to remain steady.

"May I speak?" I asked calmly, watching him carefully.

For a brief moment, he looked like he wanted to question me, but instead he only nodded. It was small and cautious, but it was enough. I let out a quiet breath of relief before allowing myself to move.

I slowly stood from my seat, the fabric of my white gown shifting softly as I descended the steps of the throne. I walked toward Aria, who had been watching everything unfold with a troubled expression that had only deepened since yesterday. Her eyes followed me closely, as if she already sensed something was coming long before I reached her.

"Come with me," I said gently as I extended my hand toward her.

Aria hesitated for only a fraction of a second before placing her hand in mine. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and carefully guided her forward, leading her toward the center of the throne room where the four men stood.

Behind us, Aelith had abruptly stood, his chair scraping faintly against the marble floor as though he intended to stop me. But he did not speak. He simply watched, tense and alert, before slowly forcing himself to remain where he was.

When we finally stopped in front of them, I straightened my posture and took a slow breath. The weight of all their gazes pressed against me at once, but I kept my eyes lowered, refusing to meet them directly.

"I am the Elf King’s bride," I said formally, my voice steady despite everything twisting inside me. "On behalf of the elven kingdom, I extend our tidings and wishes for prosperity to your empire."

I paused briefly before continuing, still keeping my gaze downcast. "During Aria Valen’s time within the elven palace, she has become a valued friend to me. On behalf of His Majesty, I offer our sincere apology for her confinement. It was never our intention to cause harm to a human, and it should not have happened under such circumstances."

The silence that followed felt sharp and immediate. I could feel their attention intensify, but I still refused to look up.

"But you are human yourself," Damien suddenly spoke.

I lifted my head slightly and allowed myself a small, composed smile before answering.

"Yes... I am. I have been away from my homeland for a long time and my fiancé has been looking for me. It is possible that the Elf King may have mistaken Aria for someone else... for me."

The words tasted strange as I said them, but I forced them to remain steady. I could feel Aria’s hand tighten around mine again, a silent protest against the direction this was going.

I did not look at her. If I did, I might lose my resolve.

"But..." I continued, pausing briefly as I carefully chose my next words, "...now that everything has been clarified, before I return Aria to you, I wish to ask something of you all."

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Ezekiel’s expression sharpened as faint golden light flickered within his eyes. Matthias’ hand immediately moved to the hilt of his sword, not fully drawing it but signaling readiness. Sebastian’s gaze darkened, unreadable but clearly no longer passive. And Damien stepped forward slightly, his focus narrowing on me as though trying to predict my next words before I spoke them.

My chest tightened, but I did not step back.

"...I ask that you take care of her," I said firmly, finally lifting my gaze toward them. "And that you do not betray her. Aria Valen is now a friend of the elven kingdom, and I wish for her safety beyond these walls."

Then I turned slightly toward Aelith, my expression softening just enough to acknowledge him. "Right, my king?" I added gently.

Aelith hesitated for the briefest moment, but after a pause, he nodded once.

"Yes," he finally said, his voice controlled but faintly strained. "What she says... stands."

A faint exhale left me as I allowed myself to step forward. I gently released Aria’s hand and guided her toward Damien.

"Please come and visit us anytime, Aria," I said softly, offering her a genuine smile. It caught her off guard, and for a moment she simply stared at me as though trying to understand what I was really doing.

"...Celia," she murmured, hesitation laced in her voice.

But I only gave her a small, playful wink, refusing to let her question it further.

"There is no need for war," I said brightly, turning my attention back to the room as a whole. "From this moment forward, the Ashbourne Empire and the Elven Kingdom are allies. Right, my king?"

Aelith nodded again, though this time his silence lingered longer than before.

With that, I clapped my hands once, the sound echoing cleanly through the throne room.

"Well then," I continued, "we cannot host you any longer, as preparations must be made for another important ceremony. However, we will ensure your departure is safe and properly escorted as a gesture of peace."

I stepped back slowly, then stopped and gave a final, graceful bow toward them. When I straightened again, my gaze finally lifted.

For the first time...

I looked directly at Damien.

And the other three.

"...Farewell," I said softly, "Our dear friends."