Staring at the western horizon that evening, Azure said that he had always loved it here. He wished Nenah had at least left a note saying if she was going to go somewhere.
She pointed, seeing his golden eyes and noticing they were just like his great-grandfather's. She knew he didn't look anything like the king, but now she saw that he had taken after his great-grandfather.
Azure then opened up about how he had no royal blood in his veins.
Like Nenah, he was a substitute for a dead prince.
The truth was a huge surprise to her. When he was young, he had been swapped for the real prince, who had died of an illness. Only the king, the former king, and a handful of others knew. Not even the current queen knew about it. One of the advisers had helped plan it, since the prince was only four. If they kept this Azure out of the public eye for a few years, no one would notice any changes in his appearance.
The old king had decided to raise him at the villa. He had raised Azure to live for the nation and give everything he had for it, and taught him that he must neither wish for nor desire anything else. Azure's fate was decided for him in those ten years of teachings, and Azure carried quite a royal air about him.
Then, when Muilam was born, the king made Azure the second prince, one whose purpose was to support the nation as the future king's adviser. He knew they could have eliminated him as soon as Muilam was born. He was a pawn.
That was not the reason why, though. He also saw others as pawns. Initially Nenah as well. He had wanted a substitute for Alicia with the intention of killing them. This substitute was supposed to die before they were discovered in Galatada. It was the best way to prevent Galatada from finding an excuse to invade.
However, he no longer saw Nenah as a pawn. Since the other day he had been wondering what he would do if anything were to happen to her. He didn't want to lose her tearful smile. He told her there was no one like her, and he wouldn't let her die.
She shouted that she wouldn't let him die either. She didn't care if he wasn't the real prince. He could still support the nation. If he died, there wouldn't be anyone else who called her Nenah.
He responded that she could just have Ditus and her ladies-in-waiting say her real name.
She told him no. She wanted him to call her that. It had to be him, or it was meaningless to her. She didn't care if he wasn't a prince. He was the only one for her.
Azure paused, looking at those beautiful blue eyes. Blue like the dawn. Those honest eyes weren't looking at a prince or at anyone else. His life was empty. He had wanted nothing — and now found himself kissing her.
Realizing what he had done, he pulled himself away and covered her eyes and told her it was just a dream. He wished her a good night. She lay in her bed, giddy, knowing that it wasn't a dream.
On another morning, Nenah was in awe at the gifts Galatada had sent as her dowry. She looked first at the shatar pieces, which seemed quite expensive. Placing the shawl over her head, she made the maids think she looked just like a bride. Prince Azure, however, told them not to touch any of the gifts, as they might have to return them.
Staring at him, Nenah became flustered, remembering the kiss. Hearing him say that the shawl didn't suit her, she took it off quickly.
Then he placed a pin in her hair and told her not to wear the Galatadan clothing. He gave her the pin in return for the fetita she had made him, and said that the blue made her look lovely.
Her heart could not handle his sweet talk. She thanked him with a bit of franticness, which made him laugh.
He then informed her that he was sending a messenger to Galatada to negotiate the dissolution of her engagement. She was surprised — but he wanted her to stay forever. In her heart, she would be so happy if she could stay with Azure.
She thought there was still one problem that hadn't been resolved, though. They still didn't know who was trying to kill Azure. Remembering the old king telling her that Alicia could protect the kingdom, she still couldn't comprehend what he had meant. But since she was the only one who could handle this, she decided to do her best.
Spending time with Muilam, he brought up all the gifts she'd received, but then mentioned her troubled looks, saying they didn't suit her — and so she started pinching his cheeks.
Queen Fortna entered then, calling Nenah a naive, carefree girl, reminding her that she had only received the gifts in exchange for marriage. Nenah wondered whether the queen had just dropped some crazy gossip.
After Muilam went outside to play, Nenah decided to be direct with the queen and asked her whether she was trying to harm Azure. Nenah brought up the fact that Azure would be useful to her son, the future king, as an adviser.
The queen scoffed, admitting the truth of Azure's usefulness, saying that without a doubt Azure was needed, and that she had simply reminded him not to step above his position.
Nenah was shocked at the revelation. Queen Fortna really didn't think of Azure as a nuisance.
Nenah then brought up Lord Burge, the man Azure had killed who had tried to assassinate him. No one had seen Burge since the star festival. The queen claimed, however, that she'd never associate with him, as he was one of the king's dogs.
And that was when King Fortna appeared behind Nenah.
In his office, he claimed that Lord Burge had gone missing while looking for something, and asked whether she knew anything about it. She denied it. She could tell now that the king was probably the one trying to get rid of Azure. The king's demeanor here was unusually pretentious.
He questioned why she had gone to see his grandfather the other day. She began to sweat, knowing now that he suspected she was an impostor, and he kept playing coy, saying she shouldn't keep secrets from her father. She tried to calm herself, thinking that since he was asking, there must be uncertainty as to whether or not she was an impostor.
Then he smugly told her the secret about Azure, who was a substitute for the real prince, who had died at a young age.
It had been near the king's birthday celebration. He'd been in a good mood, until he saw Azure messing with his shatar set. He had smacked the boy so violently that it killed him. Even while the boy's mother cried over the death of their son, the king took no fault, saying the boy was simply unlucky. He called his servants to bring a child to take Azure's place. That way his birthday wouldn't be ruined.
His grandfather had called him a fool. But in the king's mind, if he was a fool, then everything was just as foolish.
Nenah now realized the absurdity of the king's ego, kept hidden from the public. The king laughed and stated that his children were merely people who shared blood with him, nothing more than the kingdom's pawns.
Still, Nenah brought up the fact that Azure would not betray him, and that he only wanted to support the kingdom. The king already knew that. He was trying to get rid of Azure simply because he hated him. Despite his lack of royal blood, Azure cared for the nation and selflessly devoted himself to it. He was so perfect that it crept the king out.
The king hated the fact that everyone trusted Azure, and that even his own grandfather praised the boy so highly. Why must he, the king, be compared to an impostor of the royal family? A pawn should remain a pawn. This nation was his game board, and he ruled it.
Nenah understood now that the king was just playing a game. He only cared about his fun, and he killed out of spite.
He knelt down and snarkily told Nenah to admit that she was an impostor.
And in this moment she thought about what she, as Alicia, could do. She desperately wanted to stay with Azure. She wanted him to call her Nenah forever, but she knew she couldn't be with him. She didn't want him to die.
To that end, she would become Alicia.
She stood up and spoke with a confident royal air, telling the king that he must be confused, because she was indeed Alicia. The king was shaking now, conflicted over whether Lord Burge had jumped to conclusions. She swore to the god of stars that this was her true identity. She was willing to lie to the gods for her goal. She believed the god would surely punish her, and she accepted it.
She told the king that she fully intended to go to Galatada and get married, becoming their queen and the shield that protects Fortna.
And her ace in the hole was her promise to protect only a Fortna in which Azure was still alive. She claimed to have listened to the stars, and that her eyes could see the ends of the world. If Azure were to die under suspicious circumstances, she would lead Galatada and become the sword that destroys Fortna.
The king was taken aback and called this treason. He told Nenah that even as his child, he would not let her get away with this. But she reminded him that if she died, they'd have no way to keep Galatada in check, and that he was as powerless now as he had always been.
She gracefully bowed out, knowing she had won this gambit. Then she ran outside to Azure, with his protection and his freedom in her thoughts.
In his room, he offered to give her any books she wanted for reading. Hearing him explain the contents of a picture book, she thought about how his voice was soothing to her ears. She wished she could listen to it forever.