SHE knew that she was seeking death.
The fact that she was opposing an imperial order is nothing but a way to her grave. However, she has no choice but to dig her own grave, only to save herself from the miserable life that awaits her.
Princess Solvahne refused to be in misery.
So to save herself, she decided to run away before her wedding day.
Faking her own death, she wrote a suicide note before executing her plan to escape.
A smile appeared on her lips as she wrote her farewell using her favorite golden quill.
It was such a perfect plan to dishonor the kingdom to which she was once devoted her whole life. Her death will truly shame the royal family who offered her like nothing but a common good that was traded to a merchant.
To a kingdom she cared for, she is only a tribute to the cruelest emperor of the era.
She was a perfect princess, though, doing all her duties for the country she once loved. However, all her efforts turn into ashes, as if it was burned into a flame, when her beloved father, cast her away and was offered to be a tribute as a sign of loyalty to the empire.
What went wrong, huh?
Who would have thought that the almighty princess of Nirvana Kingdom will fall into an abyss?
Ah. No. She forbade to be in the cavalry.
And the way to escape it is to fake her own death.
She closed her eyes for a moment before looking at the reflection of the girl who is standing behind her as she writes on her white and golden dressing table.
It can see from the mirror, almost the entire room where she is staying in the palace of the Helios Empire. Her chamber is absolutely stunning compared to her chamber in the kingdom she came from. It was big and expensive. Almost everything there is white and gold.
She could see the big white bed as its curtains dance with the wind. And on each side, there were lamps attached to it. She was about to roam her eyes again from the reflection when her lady-in-waiting called her.
"Y-Your Highness! Please reconsider your plan! II can not let you do this to yourself!" she could hear her lady-in-waiting whisper hysterically.
Solvahne sighed before looking at her. "Grace, this is the only way I could save myself."
Grace, her lady-in-waiting, bit its own lower lip.
"B-But this is ... this is dangerous, Your Highness!" her lady-in-waiting said before holding her hand.
She could feel the trembling of Grace's hands as she held her.
"Of course. It's dangerous because, after all, I'm defying an imperial order and the emperor of the empire," he said softly as if nothing had happened.
However, her lady-in-waiting shook its head. Refusing her claim. "No, Your Highness! What if the imperial knights-"
Solvahne abruptly came to a halt in front of Grace before swiftly stroking its hands.
"I'll be fine, Grace. Rest assured," the only thing she said before pulling her hands.
She continued writing her own suicide note.
Grace was silent next to her, biting its own lips while staring at her, the princess to whom Grace had dedicated her entire life. It's unfathomable that this is where she'll end up after everything she's done.
The golden quill inked the parchment, but she stopped as she felt a liquid gush from her eyes.
She wiped her cheek with one hand, but her tears continued to fall.
"Y-Your Highness ..." she could hear Grace sadly calling her.
Solvahne sighed and continued writing.
There was nothing she could do but cry, especially since she was already aware of the consequences. She just couldn't accept what is happening to her at this time.
After all, she did for the kingdom, she didn't ask for anything, not even a single claim for glory, for the things she accomplished, but why would she get a wretched end?
Why should she have to swallow a shattered glass when she is not the reason it shattered?
She loved her kingdom, but it has limits. And she already reached the end.
After she calmed down and finished the suicide note. She gave it to her lady-in-waiting. "Grace ..."
"Your Highness, a-are you sure about this?"
She smiled as she looked at her. She rose from her seat and walked to the balcony.
From where she was standing, she could see the moon brightly shining in the night sky as it danced with the stars.
"I've never been this certain my whole life, Grace. I have to So this," she answered.
She fixed her gaze on the moon in the sky.
She sighed before closing her eyes, feeling the breeze of the wind as it whispers to her ears.
"W-Will you come back home, Your Highness?" she overheard her ask sadly.
Will she ever be back?
She opened her eyes, her tears welling up again.
"But I don't have a home anymore, Grace ..." She was silent again at what he said. "... They already turn their back on me."
"Your Highness, it's ... that's n-not true!"
Although she wanted to argue with her, she did not dare.
She's too vulnerable at the moment that she couldn't think straight anymore.
Grace approached and took her hand in hers. "I know, Your Highness. T-The king has his reasons-" she instantly stopped her.
"At midnight, I'll be going to the lake. I will make it look like I drown and the only thing you need to do is weep as if I really die. The note, I will leave it here in my chamber. .. "
Princess Solvahne felt a twinge of sadness for Grace as she looked into her eyes.
"Do you understand, Grace?"
She nodded at her tearfully. She laughed softly as she looked at her as a child.
She caressed Grace's hair. "We will see each other in the future again, Grace. You don't have to be this sad. It's not like I'm really going to die," she said calmly.
Grace pouted at her, eyes still pooled in tears. "What if the emperor finds out the truth?"
She thought about the question. "If the plan failed, then, I only need to run away as far as possible, or I will do the plan B."
"Plan B?" Grace innocently asked.
"Yes, plan B. Marrying a stranger," she jokingly said.
"Your Highness!" Grace hysterically called her.
A small smile formed on her lips. "I was just kidding."
Well marrying someone is not on her plans. That's what she thought.