Chapter 2
"In this world," I said quietly, "nothing matters more than two hearts that truly choose each other. Love that is forced can never last. I cannot bear to see you and the man you love torn apart."
I placed her hand into Zachary's cold, armored palm.
"General Berry," I lifted my eyes to him. My voice was distant, composed, so unlike the tone he had always known. "I am entrusting my sister to you."
He stiffened, startled, instinctively trying to withdraw his hand. I held it in place.
Meeting his eyes, I spoke slowly and clearly.
"You will treat her well," I said. "If you ever fail her, even at the cost of my life, I will make you answer for it."
My gaze must have looked inhumanly cold, like a wraith rising from the depths of hell.
He was so shaken that he could not utter a single word.
Thus, under my unyielding calm and unsettling resolve, the chaos of one broken engagement and another arranged marriage finally came to an end.
Unable to oppose my will, Father ultimately issued a royal decree granting Alayna's hand to Zachary.
Their wedding was set for one month later.
As I exited the Imperial Hall, Zachary hurried after me.
"What are you really trying to do?" he demanded coldly.
I stopped, but did not turn around.
"I am fulfilling your wish," I replied.
"I don't believe you," he retorted.
"Whether you believe it or not is your choice," I said, no longer interested in arguing, and walked away.
Behind me, Alayna's cheerful voice rang out, "Zachary, wait for me!"
I did not look back.
I was afraid that if I did, the tears in my eyes would finally fall.
In my previous life, no matter how desperately I chased him, I could never reach him.
In this life, I step aside willingly. May you finally obtain everything you once desired.
My decision sent shockwaves through the capital.
Everyone claimed the crown princess had lost her mind.
They couldn't believe I'd turn down the legendary General Zachary Berry, destined for greatness, just to hand him over to my lesser-born royal sister.
The servants in my palace looked at me with nothing but pity.
Yet only I knew how light my heart had finally become.
No more pursuing someone who would never turn back.
No more sleepless nights haunted by careless words.
No more embracing cold sheets in the dark, drowning in loneliness.
Alayna's wedding was personally overseen by the Queen, extravagant beyond measure.
As for me, I began to involve myself directly in state affairs.
In my last life, I threw everything away for Zachary.
I knew nothing of the people's suffering, nothing of the treasury's depletion, nothing of the wars at the borders.
So when the Bonefolks breached the city walls and all blame fell upon me, the so-called princess of a fallen kingdom, I had no defense. Because they were right.
Now that I had been given a second chance, I was determined to defend this vast kingdom, not for anyone else, but to atone for my past life's sins.
And also, to protect the man who hated me to his dying breath.
I followed my father and the Grand Tutor into the royal study each day, absorbing every lesson on governance.
I studied military records and strategic treatises from every dynasty, memorizing the strengths and vulnerabilities of the Great Aurelian and its neighboring states.
The High North, where Zachary guarded the frontier, had always been the Bonefolks' primary target.
The land was frozen year-round, and supplies were perpetually scarce. In my former life, that shortage had been the very crack through which the enemy poured in.
Considering the harsh terrain and brutal climate, I drafted a complete reform plan for the High North's provisions.
It proposed new supply routes, triple-layer storage systems, and the replacement of summer crops with winter wheat capable of surviving extreme cold.
When I finally presented this plan, written with every ounce of my resolve, to my father, he remained silent for a long time.
He was silent for a long while.
At last, he just asked, "Veronica, be honest with me. Have you truly moved on from Zachary?"
I smiled gently. "Father, I have reflected deeply. Rather than clinging to a man, I choose to dedicate myself to this vast kingdom.
"General Berry is the backbone of our nation. As long as he holds the High North, the Great Aurelian stands firm. Everything I do is for the realm, not for personal sentiment."
I made it all sound perfectly noble.
Father looked at me deeply, as if searching for something in my eyes, then at last, he nodded.
"Granted," he said.
My plan was sent off to the High North with express riders, urgency written all over it.
Less than two weeks later, Zachary's urgent military report returned.
He praised the plan's foresight and precision repeatedly, stating it could secure ten years of peace in the High North.
Father publicly commended me in the grand hall before all ministers and generals.
For the first time across both my lives, I was recognized not as a crown princess.
I stood at the forefront, receiving the accolades. Yet within me, my heart remained as still as unmoving water.