Chapter 3

When she woke, Seraphina was lying in a guest room inside the Snowveil Sanctum.

Ivy sat at her bedside, spooning warm water into her mouth while tears streamed silently down her face.

"Your Highness — the priest does care for you, in his own way. He had hot water drawn for you. He even gave specific instructions for you to stay and recover as long as you need."

Seraphina's voice came out as a ragged scrape. "No. Pack everything. We're going down."

Ivy blinked. "Now? Your wounds—"

"I won't die." Seraphina braced herself upright.

The marriage alliance mission was pressing. There was business at the estate to settle. She had no time to linger here.

And she had no desire to lie here listening to what was happening next door.

She had been gravely wounded last night — and through the thin wall, she had heard it all. Roselyn's soft moans. Caden's murmured reassurances.

"Caden, it hurts — you were too rough last time..."

"Don't be afraid. I'll apply the salve for you."

Even the memory made her stomach turn.

She swung her legs off the bed, and the moment her knees touched the floor, searing agony shot through them. She clenched her jaw, gripped the bedpost, and forced herself upright.

Just then, a soft knock. Roselyn's voice through the door: "Your Highness. May I have a few words?"

The small frozen lake behind the Sanctum had a skin of thin ice. The two women stood at its edge, saying nothing for a long moment.

Finally, Roselyn broke the silence:

"Your Highness. Caden told me last night — after he marries you, he'll find an appropriate time to bring me into the household as well.

I don't ask to compete with you for anything. I only want to stay by his side. From that day on, I will honor you as the head of the household and serve you with all respect!"

Seraphina finally turned to face her. Her gaze was level. Still. Without a trace of warmth.

Roselyn faltered under that look.

Seraphina stepped closer. Her voice was soft.

"Everything you've done — I know it all. The only reason you're still alive is because we grew up together."

She paused. "But from this day forward — don't let me see your face."

She turned to leave. Roselyn's color drained white.

As Seraphina walked away, Roselyn gritted her teeth and lunged — grabbing her by the sleeve.

"Your Highness! Please—"

Seraphina's brow furrowed. She shook Roselyn's hand off — not hard, barely any force — but Roselyn suddenly pitched backward and tumbled into the lake.

"Help! Someone help me!" She thrashed in the water, screaming.

Acolytes and servants came running from every direction, and the whispers started immediately.

"Was that the Princess? Did she push her?"

"Of course she did — she's always been jealous. She can't stand Roselyn."

"The priest adores Roselyn — she did it on purpose..."

And then a white figure burst through the crowd.

Caden didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat. He plunged into the lake.

He carried Roselyn out of the water, wrapped the robe someone handed him around her soaking body — and then he looked up at Seraphina.

That gaze. Cold as the ice that had never thawed at Frostpeak Mountain's peak. It froze every word in her throat.

Seraphina felt something in her chest get carved out slowly, like a knife working through bone.

Caden turned and shoved past her — not violently, but not gently either — and strode off with Roselyn, shouting for a healer.

Seraphina had been weakened. The nudge sent her stumbling backward. Her elbow cracked hard against the stone edge of the path.

Caden's step hitched. A complicated flicker crossed his eyes.

But Roselyn whimpered from his arms, and he walked away without looking back.

That night, Roselyn ran a high fever. And Caden — the revered priest, who had never once compromised his dignity — stripped down to only his inner robes and lay in the snow until his own body temperature dropped to ice. Then he went back to hold Roselyn close, using his own warmth to bring her fever down. All through the night. Into the next day.

When Ivy reported this to Seraphina, she was shaking with fury.

"Your Highness! After everything you've done for him — he won't give you a single real look! He froze himself half to death in the snow for that girl, but you—

And to think — when you were confined to the palace all those years ago, you split your mother's gemstone brooch in half and gave one piece to him. And this is how he repays you!"

"Ivy." Seraphina's voice cut through quietly. She coughed twice. "That's enough."

The door burst open.