And Thus… It All Comes to an End - Chapter 1

“Lady Luciana, it is time.”

With a steady voice, my maid Anne stepped to my side. With gloved hands, she gently draped a veil over my face. This thin silk, meant to hide even my smallest breath, served as a necessary mask.

“Very well. Let us go.”

I rose slowly and walked through the doors held open for me.

“It has already been a year since Lady Sara appeared, hasn’t it?” Anne murmured softly from behind me.

I allowed a small smile to play on my lips. “It has. Thinking back, it passed in the blink of an eye.”

One year ago—

A black-haired girl was found collapsed by the spring where legends said the Apostle of the Goddess would appear. She possessed the exact appearance of the “Apostle” described in lore, and her name, too, was the same: Sara.

In an instant, news of this “miraculous return” spread throughout the kingdom, and she was elevated to an idol amidst the people’s fervor.

“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said at first he was only staying by her side as her protector… fufu, yet before I knew it, he was praising her like a poet. No matter where he was, his eyes followed Lady Sara, and he would rejoice over her every casual word like a child.”

The sight of him falling head over heels was farcical and more than a little pathetic.

“Setting that aside, Anne. Are the preparations I requested perfect?”

“Of course, My Lady. Not a single detail has been overlooked.”

I nodded with satisfaction and headed toward the designated room. There, the King, the Prime Minister, and the high officials would be waiting. I had long since deduced the reason for this summons.

Standing before the doors were my fiancé, Crown Prince Cedric, and the Apostle, Lady Sara. The moment Cedric saw me, he scowled openly.

“You are late, Luciana.”

“Late? I have arrived exactly on time.”

“Always with the backtalk. This is a summons from His Majesty himself.”

Sara interjected gleefully. “He’s right. In a setting like this, it is only natural to arrive well ahead of time.”

Cedric nodded vigorously, puffing out his chest with pride, looking for all the world like a toddler emboldened by a playmate’s support.

Indeed, I thought. But I wish to spend as little time as possible breathing the same air as you.

I offered nothing but a faint, ambiguous smile in return. Finally, an attendant stepped forward, bowed deeply, and announced our arrival to the room.

“Your Majesty, everyone is assembled. May they enter?”

“…Send them in.”

The voice was low and resonant. The heavy doors ground open slowly. The King, the Prime Minister, and the high officials sat in a row, their cold gazes falling upon me simultaneously. The air in the room turned brittle.

“Sit.”

As I took my seat, I could tell from the atmosphere alone that a conclusion had already been reached.

“Just now, with the approval of all present, the path forward has been decided. I shall now relay the royal decree.”

The King’s voice echoed quietly through the hall.

“The engagement between Crown Prince Cedric and Luciana Eisenberg is hereby annulled. Furthermore, the Crown Prince’s new fiancée shall be—the Apostle of the Goddess, Sara Bismarck.”

In that instant, the atmosphere shifted.

“A truly wise decision, Your Majesty!”

The officials broke into praise, some even clapping or wearing broad grins.

“Father! Thank you so much!!”

Cedric practically bolted from his chair, his voice trembling with joy. The way he and Sara locked eyes made it seem as though they believed the world belonged only to them.

Fufu. An idol put on a pedestal, and a Prince intoxicated by her.

“Luciana,” the King continued. “Your engagement to the Prince was an arrangement made by my late father and your grandfather, the Grand Duke. However, an Apostle has appeared. In such a case, do you not agree that it is only fitting for Sara to be the next Queen? The reply from the messenger sent to the Grand Duke stated: ‘I leave everything to Luciana’s will.’ You understand, don’t you?”

My late grandfather and the previous King were brothers. My grandfather had ruled a vast territory at the kingdom’s edge, living a strict life as a Duke. Having lost my parents in an accident, he had raised me with both severity and deep affection.

Yes, Grandfather would certainly say he leaves it to my will. On the morning I departed for the Royal Palace, he told me: “See with your own eyes, and then judge for yourself.”

The cold stares of the room pierced me as I remained silent.

“I understand. So, the engagement is to be annulled.”

The King’s mouth twitched into a look of feigned regret, but I did not miss the glimmer of pleasure hidden deep within his eyes.

“Yes. However, there is one problematic matter.”

“And what would that be?”

“Luciana, you have already completed the education for a Crown Princess, and you have even undergone Queenly training.”

Even though I told you it was premature, I thought. To force it upon me and then call it “problematic” now—you certainly have some nerve.

“I assume that by ‘annulling’ it, you have no intention of taking me as a secondary consort?” I asked calmly.

The air in the hall shivered.

“A secondary consort?! Do you intend to insult Sara, the Apostle of the Goddess?!” Cedric’s roar filled the room. Sara turned a flushed face toward me, glaring.

“I could never allow such a thing! I can’t believe a husband would have multiple wives!”

What a reaction for a simple confirmation. Not that I’d want it, either.

“The Queenly education involves internal state secrets,” the King stated. “It would be difficult to allow you to marry into another house while possessing that knowledge.”

“Then, what would you have me do?”

The King’s voice remained soft, but his eyes were like ice.

“Luciana, you shall spend the rest of your life serving the Goddess at the Temple of Aurelia, under the surveillance of the Royal Family.”

Ah. So that’s it.

Everything had been arranged. Sara would be installed as Queen, and I would be quietly silenced and locked away. Cedric and Sara looked at each other and shared a small, private laugh.

“I see. Then, let us confirm these points one by one.”

At my voice, the murmuring in the room ceased abruptly.

“First, the annulment. I accept. If you have the documents, I shall sign them.”

“Yes, they are ready. Here.”

I took the paper offered to me and signed it quietly. With every stroke of the pen, I felt something sloughing off deep within my chest. The moment I finished, Cedric snatched the pen away as if to reclaim it and violently scrawled his own name.

“Next, regarding the matter of me spending my life at the Temple of Aurelia.”

I looked up slowly.

“Of course, I cannot agree to that. I shall return to my own territory, Eisenberg.”

The sound of several people gasping for air overlapped in the hall. Everyone lost their words, staring at me in stunned silence.

Spend my life locked in a temple?

There isn’t a single reason on earth why I should submit to such an absurdity.