Far from the suffocating chaos of the capital, the mountain roads stretched wide and clean beneath the sky.
Alder guided the carriage steadily along the path. Inside the carriage, Zora and Prince Kael sat side by side, the curtain gently fluttering with the wind as distant peaks rose and fell like waves on the horizon.
"Now that we've left the Imperial City," Zora said casually, "you don't need to keep pretending anymore."
It was indeed uncomfortable to maintain that fragile disguise day after day.
Prince Kael smiled faintly, his gaze calm and unhurried. "If we encounter others in the mountains, my secret could easily be exposed."
He paused slightly, then continued, "Since we have chosen to put on a stage, we must perform all the way to the end. Otherwise, everything before this would be wasted."
He had already begun laying the groundwork in secret.
