"Apologize to my fiancée right at this instant, Marchioness Preston,"
Eleanora's jewel-blue eyes widened in shock as Cathain grasped her wrist, preventing her departure, his crimson-red gaze sending shivers down Marchioness Preston's spine.
The assembly in the hall was taken aback, having not anticipated the Crown Prince to intervene and defend her publicly.
As an unfamiliar emotion burgeoned in Eleanora's heart, her gaze remained fixed on his retreating figure, watching him stand up for her before the crowd.
How she yearned for him to have taken such a stand during her trial,
When she had longed for him to defend her against all,
Yet the world knows no 'ifs'.
For them, it is regrettably too late.
"I-I…"