Servants hurried out the moment the carriages stopped at the castle gates. They looked happy and relieved as they saw them stepping out of the carriage safely.

Harrington ran towards Austin and, to everyone’s surprise, pulled him into a bone crushing hug. Austin was startled. Harrington had never been a man who expressed his emotions so openly.

Then realizing that he went a little overboard, he quickly stepped away. His expression turned serious again.

"Glad you’re both back safe, Your Grace," he said. "The castle has been too quiet without you two causing troubles," he added, unable to stop himself.

Austin laughed and patted his shoulder.

"It’s good to be home too."

Alina smiled and glanced around. She noticed some of the servants now bowed to her with genuine respect. Word of what had happened in Arcasedia had already begun spreading through the castle. She felt uncomfortable with the attention and moved closer to Austin.

The women from the sewing circle arrived at the gate immediately after hearing they had returned. The moment they saw Alina, they swarmed around her like worried mothers.

"You were gone for only two weeks and came back looking like you fought a war," Marguerite exclaimed, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Technically, she did," Austin muttered, making everyone laugh around her.

"You’ve gotten thinner. Have they not been feeding you properly there?" Lady Brennan said, looking genuinely worried.

Evelyn, as usual, had already prepared her signature tea for Alina.

"Drink this. It looks like you haven’t had a good tea in days," she said, as she pressed the warm cup in her hand.

The women didn’t ask her about what happened in Arcasedia. They didn’t mention the scandal or the rumours of her refusing the title. They treated her just like Alina, the girl who used to sit with them sewing military uniforms and talking and laughing about ordinary things.

Alina felt her eyes stinging with tears. This was the acceptance she had desperately wanted from Arcasedia. But in reality, it had been at Ravenmoor all along. She didn’t need anyone else’s acknowledgement or recognition. She already had everything she needed.

"You’re shaking," Lady Talbot noticed, rubbing her back. "What did those Arcasedian vultures do to you?"

Alina laughed.

"A lot of things," she replied. "But it doesn’t matter now. I’m home now."

"You don’t have to tell us anything if you don’t want to," Marguerite said, squeezing her hand gently. "We just missed you so much. The circle hadn’t been the same without you."

"I missed you all so much as well," she said.

The women immediately pulled her into an overwhelming group hug while Austin stood nearby watching all of them with amusement.

Later that afternoon, Austin and Alina went to see Cecily. Her eyes lit up the moment they stepped inisude.

"You’re back!" she screamed, running towards them faster than Austin had ever seen her.

She hugged Alina, then Austin. Relief flashing across her face.

"You both look so weak and exhausted," she said as she pulled away. "Sit down and tell me everything."

She listened quietly as Alina told her about the trials, the letters, Lord Garrick, Valdren’s confession, and finally her decision to reject thr title.

By the time she finished, Cecily’s cheeks were wet with tears.

"I’m so proud of you Alina," she murmured. "You broke a cycle that might have destroyed generations of women in that place. Do you understand how strong you had to be to walk away from the very thing you went there to claim?"

Alina smiled weakly.

"To be honest... I still wonder if I made the wrong choice."

"The right decision rarely feels easy, Alina," Cecily said as she took her hands. "But you chose yourself, Alina. Very few people are brave enough to do that."

Austin sat quietly beside them, watching them talk with pride and love.

By evening, the news of what had happened in Arcasedia had spread through Ravenmoor like wildfire. And the reaction was very different from what Alina had expected.

Nobles spoke of her with admiration rather than mockery. Almost everyone saw her refusal of power as proof of strong character rather than foolishness.

At dinner, the atmosphere was subdued but respectful. Conversations ended abruptly when Austin and Alina entered the great hall together, holding hands. But this time the nobles didn’t look at her with contempt, but with appreciation.

Even Lady Pemberton, her second biggest enemy in the castle after Audrey, treated her with kindness. To everyone’s surprise, she herself poured wine into Alina’s glass.

"How is your shoulder now, dear? We heard you had a serious accident during one of your trials in Arcasedia," she asked politely.

Alina went speechless. Out of all the things that had happened to her recently, Lady Pemberton being nice to her might have been the most unbelievable.

"It’s better," she answered awkwardly.

Lady Pemberton nodded, then smiled.

"Have dinner," she said. "The kitchen has prepared your favourite dishes tonight."

That even made Austin chuckle.

Across the table, Audrey watched the interaction quietly before finally speaking.

"Most people would’ve taken the title," Audrey said suddenly.

Alina lifted her head and looked at her.

"I couldn’t," Alina replied. "Not after everything... I learned."

Audrey looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

"I think I understand that now."

That surprised Alina even more than Lady Pemberton’s change in behaviour.

Later that night, Alina stood alone on the balcony outside her room, the cold night breeze brushing softly against her skin. Austin joined her a few minutes later and wrapped a shawl around her shoulders.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"I think...bringing justice to my mother was the easy part," she confessed. "But what now? What will happen to us?" she asked, looking genuinely worried.

The consequences of her decision were finally weighing on her.

"The king must already know about my decision by now. And he might be writing a letter to us right now. What will we do, Austin?"

"We didn’t survive so much together just to lose each other now," he murmured. "So whatever comes next... we survive it again together."