Renato, who was set to be officially crowned Crown Prince upon graduation, had his succession put on hold because of the very scandal he himself had instigated.
After the incident, we were moved to a private chamber within the royal palace. Away from the prying eyes of the public, I finally introduced myself to Renato.
I would never forget the look of pure horror on his face when he realized that Aida—the woman he had been avoiding for two whole years—had actually been standing right next to him all along.
For the first time in my life, I saw a man physically collapse onto his knees.
To be fair, Aida and I do share similarities. We both have light golden hair and are of similar build due to our familial ties. However, our eye colors are different—hers are blue, mine are violet.
Beyond that, we are nothing alike. Aida is poised and refined, while I lack all elegance and grace.
But the most shocking revelation?
Renato had been so disinterested in Aida that he had never actually looked at her.
For two years, Renato had used every possible excuse to avoid his betrothed—skipping afternoon teas, dodging every formal escort duty, and pushing all social obligations onto Placido.
Everyone had long questioned why the usually proper and composed Renato was treating his own fiancée with such openly rude behavior.
Now, they had their answer.
Renato, so shocked that he had fallen to his knees, eventually stood up and, leaving behind only the words, “I will issue a formal apology at a later date…”, left the room with his attendants in tow.
In his place, his younger brother Placido bowed deeply and offered sincere apologies to both Aida and me, after which the gathering was dismissed.
* * *
“Prince Renato never wanted to be engaged to me in the first place,” Aida murmured as we sat in the carriage on our way home.
Her voice was calm, her lips curved in a wistful smile.
“But my father pushed the engagement forward despite his objections… So, I always knew it would come to this one day. Don’t worry about me.”
Even in a situation like this, she neither cried nor raged, only composed herself with quiet dignity.
And that made it all the more heartbreaking.
“Still, that was not the kind of conversation to have in public.”
No matter how much he wished to break the engagement, there was no need for him to do it so publicly. Aida was the most admired young lady in the entire kingdom.
My anger, left without an outlet, simmered as I smacked my knees in frustration.
“Besides, Aida, you never harassed that girl in the first place! I’ve been by your side this entire time—there’s no way you could have done such a thing!”
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