Chapter 2

Even when the rival kingdom demanded Valerie herself for a political marriage, he stepped in and smoothed things over, giving me the chance to make my own decision.

As Valerie, I'd been born into a life of royal privilege. Maybe it was finally time for me to make a sacrifice for my family.

I said, "How about I agree to the marriage alliance?"

As soon as I spoke, Brennan frowned and stopped me. "Valerie, do you realize how old King Cruvian is? When he dies, their customs say you'll have to marry his son. They call it a marriage alliance, but it's just humiliation. You absolutely can't go!"

Tristian chimed in, "Valerie, if you don't want me or Brennan, just pick someone else to be your consort. There's no need to say something like that just to be contrary."

I let out a cold laugh. "If I'm not going, then Martha will have to go instead."

As soon as I said that, everyone fell silent.

The atmosphere was tense and deadlocked, and the only sound in the hall was Martha's quiet sobbing.

After a moment, Brennan clenched his jaw, his voice full of resolve. "If that's what Valerie wants, then I'm willing to marry her..."

But before he could finish, a sharp tapping sound suddenly echoed through the hall, making everyone turn in surprise.

In the corner, sitting in his wheelchair, was my arch-nemesis, Walker Howard.

He gazed at us quietly, his tone calm as he spoke, "Did you all forget? There's still someone else right here."

Before I could get a word in, Tristian let out a snort of laughter, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Walker, you're overthinking it. Valerie's ambitions are sky-high.

"She'd never settle for someone with a disability. Besides, you two are like oil and water. No need to stir up more trouble right now."

Brennan, unlike Tristian, kept his composure, but inwardly he couldn't help but sigh, "Poor Walker. If he could still command on the battlefield, would the Great Zarian Empire really have to send its princess to broker peace?"

I fixed my gaze on Walker, hoping to get a read on what he was really thinking.

He still had that sour, stone-cold look on his face, like he was carved out of ice. Suddenly, his angry voice exploded in my mind, "Why won't she pick me? Is it just because my legs are busted?"

I glanced around, and when I realized it was Walker's voice, my heart twisted with a sour ache.

The real reason things were tense between us was that I couldn't help but envy how the King favored him more than his own daughter.

No matter how much we bickered, I never used his injury against him.

Both his parents had given their lives for the country, and he went to war at just nine, taking three cities in a row, only to lose his legs in the end.

As soon as I looked at him, he dropped his gaze, disappointment written all over his face. "The wandering master who came back recently said that if I could get my hands on the Chromatic Fungus, he'd give it his best shot.

"If my legs could be healed, I'd lead the army myself. No more princesses being forced into marriage alliances!"

Chromatic Fungus?

Just a few days ago, my lieutenant sent word from the border. She'd intercepted a batch of rare treasures from the raiders, and apparently, there was a Chromatic Fungus among them.

My heart skipped a beat, and just as I was about to speak, I heard hurried footsteps approaching.

When the Queen stormed in, her face full of anger, Martha's sobs grew even louder.

She didn't even spare me a glance. She just walked straight over and pulled Martha into her arms, comforting her.

The King tried to lighten the mood, smiling as he said, "You're just in time. Why don't you help us judge Valerie's options?"

But the Queen just shot me a frosty look and snorted, "She knows perfectly well that Martha is close to Tristian and Brennan, yet she still added them to the list of suitors. I can see right through her. She's just trying to push Martha into that marriage alliance!"

I was totally caught off guard.

The King was just as shocked. He was the one who picked those two suitor candidates himself.

The Queen's anger only grew as she stroked Martha's tear-streaked face, her glare like daggers thrown right at me. "Ever since you were little, you've always had to fight Martha for everything. Just because the King dotes on you, you think the world revolves around you."

"I've always let things slide, but now you're treating your sister's whole future like some kind of joke. How can I, as her mother, just sit back and let you mess with her life like this?"

She kept laying into me, and I couldn't even defend myself. It hurt more than I could say.

Maybe the only reason the King doted on me was that the Queen always preferred Martha, the sweet, obedient one.

Even though Martha wasn't her biological child, the Queen treated her like her own, and to her, I was never really family.

My heart twisted with bitterness as I kept my eyes wide open, refusing to let any tears of frustration and hurt slip out.

Tristian and Brennan might have felt a little sorry for me, but neither of them ever spoke up for me.

'Why? Why do I still feel so distant from them, even though I've tried so hard?' I thought, and it just hurt.