Her Rebirth.

Amelia felt the body flinch the moment she heard the voice. It was amused and also layered with mockery. She felt that it was some sort of shame that the daughter of a Duke be found hiding in bushes as she watched her fiancé in the arms of another.

Amelia turned with wide eyes and stiffened further the moment she saw who stood there.

Prince Keiser.

Amelia frowned as she watched. Keiser? Here? She didn’t remember this. Not at all.

"Y-Your Highness," the girl bowed hastily, her voice soft. Though her fingers trembled at her sides.

Keiser tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on her trembling hands. "Are you afraid of me?" he asked.

The girl’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected him to notice, but she quickly hid her fear with a calm expression. "How could I be, Your Highness? I was merely... in awe of your presence," she flattered.

Keiser hummed, not believing her for a second. "Look up."

She obeyed, lifting her head. Her face was indifference, every line composed.

But Keiser was not deceived.

She was good, very good. If it weren’t for her fingers twitching ever so slightly, he might’ve believed her.

He stepped forward, unhurried, until he stood beside her. His gaze followed the same direction as hers, and he saw Aldric and Celine still in each other’s embrace.

"Tell me," Keiser murmured, "how does it feel... watching your fiancé in the arms of another woman?"

The girl’s posture didn’t shift. "What should I feel?" she answered coolly. "Officially, I am his fiancée. Unless our engagement is broken, he is mine."

Keiser let out a soft laugh, quite surprised at her answer. "So you aren’t hurt?"

Her fists clenched at her sides as her heart burned. Of course I’m hurt, she wanted to scream. How could I not be?

But her voice was still calm as ever. "Why should I be hurt, Your Highness, when there is no reason to be?"

Keiser’s grey eyes fell back to her, this time noticing her every feature. The way her blonde hair had been perfectly styled into waves and the way her red eyes shimmered in the night sky.

She was truly a beauty, he couldn’t help but admit, but too bad she was a love-struck fool.

"You’re either incredibly naive," he said, "or frighteningly self-controlled."

Amelia’s lips ticked into a small smile. "I’ve been told I have a talent for appearing unaffected."

Keiser chuckled, it was a deep, sexy baritone that made Amelia’s heart thump for just a moment. "Is that what you aim for, then? To appear unaffected? Even while your betrothed loses himself in another’s arms?"

She tilted her head, just slightly. "There are worse fates than being humiliated in silence, Your Highness."

That caught him off guard. Not the words but the clarity behind them. The deliberate choice of endurance.

He leaned a fraction closer. "So you do admit it’s humiliation?"

"I admit nothing," she said smoothly. "You asked how it feels to watch. But I’ve stopped watching long ago." She then turned away, avoiding his piercing gaze. "Now, if you must excuse me, Your Highness, I’m quite famished. I should return."

Keiser said nothing. He merely stepped aside and watched her go, his eyes following her figure as she walked away with grace. When she disappeared beyond the archway, he chuckled under his breath. "Such a fool..."

Amelia didn’t stop walking until she was sure she was far away from Keiser’s gaze. Then she pressed a hand to her chest, taking a deep, shaky breath. Her skin still felt prickled, like his presence clung to her.

That aura... she thought, swallowing tightly. It’s suffocating. Like standing next to death itself.

She didn’t want to see him again. Ever.

She made her way to the waiting carriage and climbed in, not even glancing back toward the garden.

"Take me back to the mansion," she said curtly.

The driver blinked. "Young lady, aren’t we waiting for His Highness—?"

"No," she cut in, as the image of him with Celine crossed through her mind. "He’s quite... preoccupied."

The driver bowed and said no more, whipping the horses to a start.

---

It was a beautiful morning. Sunlight streamed into the quiet sitting room, gentle and golden. Amelia sat curled on a tufted chaise, legs crossed at the ankle, a thick book resting in one hand. Steam curled from the surface of her tea, and a delicate plate of biscuits sat untouched at her side.

She looked calm, like she was reading a book containing great knowledge. She knew that she didn’t care for any great knowledge; what was rather before her was smut.

Though she very much hid this part of her from the outside world, as it was considered unfitting for a noble and full of debauchery.

A knock came at the door.

"Enter," she called, not looking up from her book.

The door creaked open, and her butler stepped inside with a bow. "Young Lady... His Highness Aldric is here to see you."

Amelia slowly turned a page, her fingers twitching slightly.

The study was quiet. Aldric sat across from Amelia, a cup of tea in hand. He sipped it slowly, then placed it down gently, his eyes never leaving Amelia.

"You left without informing me," he scolded.

Across from him, Amelia sat with her back straight, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her lips curled into a smile.

"How could I possibly inform you, Your Highness," she bitterly said, "when you were so occupied... in the embrace of another woman?"

The cup rattled slightly against its saucer as Aldric’s hand froze. His eyes widened in shock and slight fear.

She had seen him... with Celine.

He hadn’t expected her to see. Celine had looked so aggrieved, her soft eyes glistening, her voice trembling that he was neglecting her. He had gone to comfort her. That was all.

Beside Celine was the woman he truly loved, the one his heart had always leaned toward. He only got engaged to Amelia because of what he could get from her, Duke Volemont’s power and influence.

"She looked... distressed," Aldric said, trying for calm. "I don’t even know her. I just saw she was upset, and I offered comfort."

"Comfort," Amelia echoed with a sneer. "By letting her bury herself in your arms?"

His jaw clenched. "Like I said, Amelia, you’re overthinking this."

"Am I? Then perhaps you can explain it to me, Your Highness. Why would a man with a fiancée hold another woman so intimately? For comfort? Is that the excuse now?"

Something snapped. Aldric’s fist came down on the desk and he snarled in anger.

"You’re going too far!"

Amelia flinched, instinctively recoiling at the force in his voice. Her eyes widened slightly.

He had shouted.

At her.

Over another woman.

She blinked rapidly, swallowing down the sudden tightness in her throat. Her hands remained folded, her spine ramrod straight, but Amelia could see her composure trembled at the edges.

Aldric stared at her, guilt sweeping in just as fast as his temper had flared. He stood, reaching for her. "Amelia, I didn’t mean to—I was angry. You don’t trust me, and that—"

She raised a hand, gently touching her forehead as if a headache had bloomed there. Her voice was soft but distant. "I understand, Your Highness. It seems... I’m not feeling very well. I must take my leave."

"Amelia, wait—"

"Goodbye, Your Highness." She didn’t look back as she turned and walked out, her gown brushing the polished floors like falling snow.

By the time she reached her room, her steps had grown heavier. The moment the door closed behind her, she looked at her maids and said quietly, "Leave me. I wish to rest."

They obeyed without question.

Once they were all gone, Amelia watched as her body stood by the corner of her bed for a moment, frozen. Then, as though the last of her strength had been drained, she collapsed forward, burying her face into her hands.

And finally—she broke into hot tears.

Sobs wracked her slender frame, muffled against her bedsheets. Her back shook with the weight of grief too heavy for someone her age, her composure shattered into shards.

Amelia watched in silence.

She remembered this pain.

The way it felt like betrayal had lodged itself into her ribs. She remembered thinking she could be calm, that she wasn’t affected, but tears found their way through the cracks.

She said nothing. Just watched as the girl wept until the sobs faded into hiccups, then into silence.