The garden fountain drew a white arc in the afternoon light.
The sound of the water was steady, never faltering. Two months since the engagement had been annulled, Estella's daily life had also settled into a rhythm as calm as the fountain.
Walking the academy corridors. Attending lectures. Drinking tea with her lady-in-waiting. Setting her needle to the embroidery hoop.
It was peaceful.
Or so it should have been.
By the corridor windows. The usual place, the usual time.
Leonhardt stood while holding several documents in his hands. The exchange of administrative documents. This contact, which had continued even after her engagement had been broken off, served as a channel of communication between the ducal house and the royal family. Her lady-in-waiting waited a few steps back and other students were walking through the corridor.
"These are the copies addressed to the ducal house. Please review them."
Leonhardt's voice was flat. His usual voice. His usual motion of giving her the documents.
Estella curtsied and accepted them. The fleeting distance as her fingers touched the paper.
It was the same voice that had said "I feel the same" in this very corridor two months ago. The same hands. But now, those hands offered nothing but documents.
The words from that day had not been a lie. Estella remembered the warmth in Leonhardt's voice. But whatever should have followed those words had still not taken shape, even after two months.
The cooling-off period.
The former Crown Prince's fiancee and the Second Prince. For those two to enter a formal engagement, they would have to wait until the King declared that a sufficient period has passed. To propose an engagement before that declaration would violate custom. It was also considered improper for the two to be known to meet privately.
And so their contact was limited to this corridor window. Under the pretense of administrative documents.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
She took the documents. Pretending to read through them, Estella stole a glance at Leonhardt's profile.
Since solidifying his authority as an administrative aide, Leonhardt's eyes looked more weary than before. The paperwork he had to do had increased because Alvin's reeducation had begun and much of the administrative work was delegated to him.
The exchange of documents was complete.
Normally, this was where she would bow and take her leave. The usual procedure. The usual distance.
Estella didn't leave.
"Your Highness. Might I ask you something?"
Leonhardt's gaze shifted ever so slightly. Eyes that had instantly sensed the conversation was about to step beyond the bounds of a routine exchange.
"I have heard that there are voices within the court calling for a change of Crown Prince."
Leonhardt's expression didn't change but his hand which was holding onto the documents stopped for just a moment.
"And that Marquis Kassel's house is at the center of the movement."
"Where did you hear that?"
"From my lady-in-waiting. Information from the court tends to reach me through her ears."
Leonhardt moved his gaze to the far end of the corridor. A careful motion, as though checking the positions of the passing students.
"It's true."
He lowered his voice.
"Voices praising my administrative record have coincided with my brother being in the middle of re-education. There have been calls for a change of Crown Prince, and Marquis Kassel being at the center of it is also true."
Estella felt a cold breeze blow past her.
The discussions to change the Crown Prince. This would directly affect the relationship between Leonhardt and Estella. If their engagement formally proceeded, people would interpret their union as a political marriage for the Second Prince to usurp the throne. He would consolidate his political foundation by marrying a duke's daughter and take the crown from his brother. That will be what people will say about them.
A story built on lies.
Estella's fingers tightened slightly on the documents.
"Your Highness. Do you intend to become Crown Prince?"
She asked frankly. She had no desire to beat around the bush. She had decided not to lie in front of this person. If she was not going to lie, then her questions should be equally direct.
Leonhardt's gaze returned to her.
"I don't want it."
He said clearly without a tint of hesitation.
Estella didn't doubt that what he had said was sincere. She could no longer misread the warmth of this person's voice.
But Leonhardt didn't stop there.
"I don't want it. But simply saying I don't want it means nothing politically."
Estella's breath caught for an instant.
"Marquis Kassel is trying to push me into that role. Even if I say I don't want the throne, it's simply inconvenient for the Marquis so he has no reason to believe me. Men like him assume that every politician craves power. Because that's who he is."
Leonhardt's voice was flat, but irritation bled through. It was how his emotions leaked out when he couldn't see a rational solution.
"I still don't have the means to stop him."
Estella shifted the documents against her chest.
Leonhardt was admitting his own weakness. This person, who held real authority as an administrative aide and excelled at intelligence gathering and logical analysis, was saying he had no means to stop political rumours and speculations.
This was different from the company's schemes. Back then, documents, records, and testimonies had been enough. Because it had been a matter of facts.
This time it was not a matter of fact but of interpretation. Leonhardt didn't want the throne but was powerless before Marquis Kassel's interpretation.
"Your Highness."
Estella lowered her voice.
"Our relationship will be used to support that interpretation."
Leonhardt's eyes shifted slightly.
"A duke's daughter and the Second Prince, formally engaged. If that comes to pass, Marquis Kassel's story will be complete. The story of a Second Prince aiming for the throne with the political support of a ducal house."
Saying it aloud made something deep in her heart ache.
They were supposed to have confirmed a relationship without lies. In this corridor, in that garden. They had decided not to lie. They had acknowledged their real feelings, incomplete as they were.
And yet, the court was trying to create a new lie; trying to rewrite their relationship into a story that had nothing to do with them.
It had been the same in her past life. No one had asked about her side of the story as she stood behind the counter. Only the customer's story was heard; her side was erased.
But this was not her past life.
"This is not a problem that can be solved right away."
Estella steadied her breathing.
"But I learnt what I needed to know. Thank you, Your Highness."
She held the documents to her chest and bowed. The usual procedure. The motion of returning to the usual distance.
Leonhardt nodded. He started to turn away, then stopped for just a moment. He didn't look back. Only turned his profile slightly towards her.
"You should be careful too. There's a chance the marquis's house will set their sights on you."
That was all he said before he turned the corner of the corridor.
Estella stood there, loosening her grip on the documents just slightly.
Two months ago, they had confirmed their feelings in this corridor. They had exchanged words without lies. She had thought that was enough.
It was supposed to have been enough.
But the cooling-off period continued. The King's declaration had not yet come. In the meantime, a new wall called the Crown Prince succession debate had wedged itself between them. Not as a matter of emotion, but of politics.
How can I have a relationship that's free of lies in a court that is full of them?
That question was quietly beginning to take form in the afternoon light.
Back in her room, drinking the tea her lady-in-waiting had brewed, Estella set her embroidery hoop on her lap. Her hands moved the needle calmly, but her mind was far from calm.
Marquis Kassel. She knew that name. She had seen him a few times at official court events and exchanged greetings. A gentle and seasoned noble. That man was trying to rally behind Leonhardt.
And Leonhardt had said he didn't have the means to stop it.
Estella's needle paused for a moment, then resumed.
Evening. Her lady-in-waiting brought new information.
"My lady. It seems Chancellor Graaff has given His Majesty the King some advice."
"About what?"
"I hear that people in court are paying attention to the contact between His Highness the Second Prince and the duke's daughter during the cooling-off period."
Estella's hand stopped above the embroidery needle.
The chancellor had made his move.
Contact during the cooling-off period under the pretense of exchanging administrative documents. How did it look to the people in court?
Another wall had been added.
Estella set down her needle and looked out the window.
The evening sky was shifting from pale orange to indigo. The same sky as two months ago. Remembering Leonhardt's voice from that day when he had said "That is enough," Estella thought:
It had been enough. On that day.
But the two of them were about to step into a place where enough alone would not carry them forward.