Astra had just finished her breakfast and was resting on the plush couch by the tall windows.
The morning sun streamed in, soft and warm, painting gentle patterns across the polished floor and gilded furniture.
A quiet serenity filled the room, a calm bubble that seemed untouched by the rest of the palace.
Gerald stood silently nearby, his posture rigid yet composed.
The maids moved around the room like shadows, tidying cushions, dusting the polished surfaces, and arranging small decorative items with quiet efficiency.
The serene atmosphere was broken by the soft sound of footsteps approaching.
Ella entered gracefully, her arms carrying a neat stack of envelopes. She moved carefully, as if not to disturb the delicate calm that hung in the air.
Lily's eyes immediately brightened.
Lily: "Ooh! What's that?"
Ella held the letters carefully, offering them forward.
Ella: "Invitations for Her Highness. Tea parties."
Lily practically bounced in place. She took a few from Ella's hands, quickly flipping through them with excited fingers.
Lily: "Look, Your Highness! So many people inviting you to tea parties!"
The pastel-colored envelopes rustled brightly between her hands, each sealed with ornate crests, embossed borders, or delicate ribbons.
Lily examined them like a child staring at sweets—wide-eyed, animated, and very much overwhelmed by enthusiasm.
Cassia's eyes narrowed as she glanced over the letters. She calmly plucked two from Lily's hands before the younger girl could protest.
Lily: "Hey!!"
Cassia ignored her grumble. Her focus was on the letters, turning them carefully to inspect the seals.
The deep crimson of one seal gleamed under the morning light, its impression forming the elegant shape of a twisted-horned ibex, every curve and line etched with sharp precision, as if to proclaim strength and vigilance.
The other bore an intricate silver pattern, delicate vines and leaves entwined in a graceful design, glimmering like threads of moonlight and speaking of refinement and quiet elegance.
Cassia: "…There are invitations from the Valentine Duchy and Marchioness Eltridge as well."
The air shifted.
Even Ella looked up briefly, eyes widening for a heartbeat before she masked her expression again.
But Astra…
Astra remained as serene as a still lake. Her expression didn't change—not a flicker of surprise, not even the softest shift of her gaze.
Astra: "Well… i did cause quite a scene at the birthday banquet. If they still remained quite afterward, that would have been far more unusual."
Lily blinked, her head snapping between Astra and Cassy as if watching a quiet, invisible conversation she didn't fully understand.
Her excitement slowly turned into curiosity, then confusion.
Lily: "Wait… is there something different about these two invitations?"
Cassia's fingers tightened slightly on the envelopes. Her lips pressed together, hesitating as her gaze shifted from Lily to Ella, who stood silently beside her, and then to the other girls standing nearby, listening silently.
A sliver of hesitation tugged at her posture. There were things she wasn't sure she had the right to say.
Astra, noticing her hesitation, spoke calmly.
Astra: "Just tell them, Cass. They will be my people from now on. They need to know the things they should know."
Cassia paused. The tension in her shoulders slowly loosened. She exhaled softly, straightening her posture. Her voice carried both authority and care as she began.
Cassia: "You all know that Her Highness is first in line to the throne, right?"
Lily and the others nodded immediately—some eagerly, some hesitantly. No one dared deny what was common knowledge throughout the empire.
But something in Cassia's tone hinted that this was only the beginning—and not the part everyone knew.
Cassia drew a slow breath, her hands clasped neatly before her. Her voice, calm yet firm, filled the quiet room.
Cassia: "There is… a matter you may not know. It is a truth kept from all. The name you know—Evelyn de P. La Cristiane—is not one found in any genealogical record of Cristiane's royal family. There is… no such person in the official line of the Cristiane family."
A heavy silence descended, thick and suffocating. Disbelief flickered across every visage.
Gerald froze in his place, rigid as though the words themselves had struck him physically. Even Ella, usually composed, faltered for a heartbeat, her eyes widening with alarm.
Lora's hand instinctively moved to her chest, her brows furrowing.
Lora: "What… what do you mean? How is that possible??!!"
Lily's excitement drained entirely, replaced by shock. Her lips parted, her voice sharp with incredulity.
Lily: "How… how can that be? Evelyn… the Princess we know, she is not recorded in the annals of the Cristiane genealogy??!!?"
The chamber seemed to hold its breath, the weight of Cassia's words pressing upon them as if the very walls acknowledged the enormity of the revelation.
Gerald was the first to break the silence, his voice low, edged with restrained curiosity.
Gerald: "Why… why would the Princess not be recorded in the Cristiane royal family genealogy?"
Cassia fell silent. Her hands tightened slightly as her gaze settled on Astra, lingering there for a long moment—steady, unwavering, yet burdened by unspoken years. When she finally spoke, her voice was measured, careful, deliberate.
Cassia: "After Her Majesty, the Empress, gave birth to the Princess, the midwives… all vanished without a trace. No reason was ever given."
She paused briefly before continuing, her tone growing heavier.
Cassia: "And the Empress… she seemed to harbor not mere dislike, but a deep, abiding disdain for the Princess. The Princess was cast into the Black Rose Palace, isolated from the rest of the imperial residence, with only myself and a single nanny entrusted with her care."
Cassia drew in a steadying breath, clasping her hands tightly before her.
Cassia: "We did everything within our power to serve and protect the Princess—to shield her from scrutiny, from harm, and to offer her what little comfort we could."
Her voice remained calm, but the memories weighed heavily beneath each word.
Cassia: "Beyond that… I know little. Only that one day, the Nanny confided in me that I must protect the Princess at all costs. She revealed to me then that the Princess was not recorded in the Cristiane royal family records… but instead in the genealogy of her father—the previous Emperor consort's family."
Cassia's eyes lowered slightly.
Cassia: "The Empress… she forced the Princess's paternal family to consent, though they opposed it fiercely, for they could not fathom why she would do such a thing. By doing so, the Princess was stripped her rightful place in the Cristiane line of succession."
Astra finally spoke, her voice calm despite the weight of the memory.
Astra: "That day… I heard it too. By accident. I—my emotions were unstable, and I tried to cause a scene, just to meet my mother and ask her why."
She paused, her gaze unfocused, as if drifting back to that moment.
Astra: "It was the nanny who stopped me. She made me swear never to speak of it—never to let anyone know that I had heard the truth. But…"
Cassia's voice wavered for the briefest instant, bitterness slipping through her composure.
Cassia: "The very next day… the nanny vanished as well. Just like the midwives before."