Chapter 9
All four girls were the same age and would come of age this year, but Anne’s birthday was a little more special because she already had a long-standing fiancé. Her fiancé had reached adulthood two years earlier, so everyone expected a grand wedding to be held soon.
Everyone except Anne herself.
“Just to look around…?”
Diane pushed out her lower lip. Anne’s intentions were obvious. She was probably planning to casually buy Marilyn a dress again. Violet and Diane had already agreed to handle it themselves, but it seemed Anne thought she was the only one with money. Violet, who never held back, immediately snapped,
“No thanks. We’ll handle it ourselves.”
“Why are you being like that… Anne probably just wants to go out too. Let’s go together, Anne.”
Marilyn stepped in to calm them. As soon as she spoke, Diane and Violet fell silent. But the displeased looks they gave Anne remained.
Anne felt a little sad. In the original story, her friends had always taken Anne Agnes’s side. But now, they put Marilyn first. Of course, it was Anne who had arranged things so the four of them would become friends in the first place. She had wanted Marilyn to have friends.
Perhaps it was also her way of easing her guilt. Swallowing her bitterness, Anne said,
“No. You all go without me.”
“Right, you should rest. You’ve got a lot to prepare, don’t you?”
“But of course His Highness will come that day, right?”
At Violet’s words, silence fell for a moment. Just as their marriage was treated as a foregone conclusion, it was also widely known that Logan couldn’t stand his fiancée.
Even so, he couldn’t possibly not attend. At most, he would leave without even sharing a dance, like he had at the last ball.
Anne glanced at Marilyn for no reason. Maybe it was her imagination, but her expression seemed slightly darker. Diane quickly changed the subject.
“Ah, this blueberry cake is so good. How about using this for your birthday cake too?”
After that, the conversation continued with a bit more light chatter. When the tea party ended and she saw everyone off, Anne picked up a pen out of unnecessary worry. She had sent money along with a letter to Diane, but the reply she received was nothing but a scolding telling her to mind her own business.
That night, Anne looked up at the stars and prayed. Please return Logan to Marilyn, and give my friends back to me.
But the stars in the night sky only flickered, as if mocking her.
* * *
The next day, Anne was unable to go with her friends. She had already given up on forcing herself into their outing anyway, and just then a summons arrived from the queen. After riding a carriage straight to the royal palace, she was immediately granted an audience with Queen Beatrice.
“You’ve come. Are the preparations going well?”
The queen personally filled her teacup. Anne hesitated, unable to answer right away. The ‘preparations’ Beatrice referred to meant Anne’s birthday party. No matter that Anne Agnes was the prince’s fiancée, the queen’s interest in such a trivial matter had another motive behind it.
The two engaged youths would appear together at an official event as adults. What clearer message could there be? Their marriage would become a settled fact, and neither of them would be able to back out afterward.
Just by looking at Anne’s expression, the situation was obvious. Logan clearly wasn’t cooperating at all. Beatrice clicked her tongue in disapproval.
“He’s just immature, that’s all. Well, men are children their whole lives anyway.”
Privately, Anne agreed with her. Even if Logan’s body was two years older than hers, to Anne, who was living her second life, he didn’t feel older at all. That didn’t mean he was easy to deal with, though.
Beatrice stirred her tea with a spoon as she continued,
“But it can’t be helped, can it? You broke the ‘dragon egg’.”
Anne bit her lip hard to keep the laughter from bursting out. She knew it wasn’t something to laugh about, but every time she heard it, she felt like she might lose it. Dragon egg. A dragon egg!
The t******e Logan had lost. It had become something that could not be mentioned carelessly, almost like a forbidden name. But avoiding it by calling it ‘that’ only made it sound more awkward. In the end, the royal family had given Logan’s damaged t******e the grand nickname, ‘dragon egg’.
After emptying her teacup, the queen added one more thing.
“But in any case, he cannot go against my will. Neither he nor Duke Avery.”
Anne’s shoulders stiffened instantly. In truth, the only person who wanted this engagement was the queen. Whenever Anne looked unhappy, the Duke and Duchess of Avery had urged her to break it off. They had said they would handle the aftermath themselves.
They had already gone through enough trouble. Anne couldn’t bring herself to place any more burden on them. She steadied her weakening resolve once again.
“Yes, please don’t worry.”
“Good. I’m glad you understand. Go see Logan before you leave.”
That was the one thing Anne wanted to avoid. Her face stiffened immediately. But in truth, this wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order. She was to convey the queen’s will to him as well.
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
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