In Bastia, a city in Galatadan territory, Prince Set shot and killed Princess Eliza, thinking that it was such a shame, since she had a wonderful voice. He told the other two not to cower, because it would make him think they wanted to kill him just as she had.
His attendants called for him then and began preparing his outfit, as he was to meet a princess from Fortna today. He had no idea who she even was.
Making his way there, Prince Set informed his advisers that Princess Eliza's nation would pay for her treachery. Then he called for his beloved bird, Nenina, and asked whether the blue bird of Fortna would sing beautifully for him.
Bastia is a Galatadan territory west of the nation and the site of the castle of the first prince and future king. The first prince had put down three rebellions and conquered two nations, earning himself the nickname of war god.
Nenah was shocked and annoyed that the prince wasn't in the castle today, because she had been waiting for him all morning, and now it was way past noon.
Nenah's new retainer, Hikami, tried to calm her. Nenah had been allowed to keep one lady-in-waiting from Fortna, so the old king had given her Hikami. Everyone else who served her was Galatadan.
When Nenah asked when she would be able to see the prince, they all simply ignored her. One of them kept working while explaining that she was still more than half a year away from her wedding, and that she was free to do as she pleased until then. Nenah was flabbergasted that her servants wouldn't even look at her.
She wandered the castle, thinking about all the things she knew about the prince. In her imagination, the war god must be enormous. Scary, and impossible to read. Silver hair and red eyes, much like a rabbit. He was also the same age as Azure.
But no, no, no. She couldn't think about him right now.
Then she heard the voice of a man calling out a name, over and over. Walking outside, she was attacked by the bird Nenina.
And that was when she finally met the boy with silver hair and red eyes, who also had skin like porcelain. As the bird flew back to the prince, it called out his name too.
The prince noted Nenah's unusually deep blue eyes and was surprised to see her wandering here. Nenah was annoyed to find that he had been here the whole time, and wondered why he hadn't come to see her. She was about to shout at him to apologize, but remembering what was at stake, she became polite, because she needed him to like her.
He presumed that Nenah must have been a childhood nickname, since she had turned toward him when he said it, and he showed off his bird of the same name, who also seemed to peck at him. Nenah started laughing, but caught herself quickly, and Set told her it was all right, while his bird kept calling her a dummy.
Nenah knew she just had to grin and bear it.
Set then called her an unusual princess, pointing at the red mark on her forehead left by Nenina. To make up for it, he had decided to hold a welcoming ceremony for her tomorrow.
Nenah now had the impression that he must be nicer than everyone said.
That night she stared at the starry sky. It had been more than half a month since she left Fortna. Every morning she woke up feeling disappointment, unable to see her golden-eyed prince anymore. But she was determined to make things work here, so she could protect Azure and the rest of Fortna.
The next day, Nenah was nervous, sitting with the prince and his two other princesses, Kilamina and Mayia, who both seemed extremely anxious.
And now she knew why. They were both princesses of vassal states. All three of them were potential brides for Set.
Nenah began to sweat harder. Realizing that her marriage to him wasn't a done deal, learning that all three of them were competing against one another, Nenah wasn't going to back down.
As she tried to converse with the ladies, Mayia began to scream, begging the prince to return them to their nations. Set scolded her for being boorish and rude to the princess of Fortna. Kilamina then called this whole thing a farce, and said that the prince didn't even think of them as potential wives. In response, he asked whether they wanted to end up like Eliza, and the two vassal princesses shrank back. He got up, saying they had spoiled the mood, and reminded him that they had no intentions of marrying.
Nenah began to go after him, but Kilamina stopped her to explain that he had killed Eliza and only thought of them as tools to control their nations. She suggested that Nenah flee with them.
Nenah apologized, and kept chasing after the prince. She was focused on only one thing: becoming Galatada's queen and protecting Azure's life.
Catching up to him, she declared that no matter what, she would be delighted to become his queen.
In response, he simply smirked and threw her onto the bed and told her it was time to perform her consort duties. When he grabbed hold of her, she shrieked that she wasn't ready yet, and that they weren't even married. He didn't care, and shoved her into the bed instead. Then she screamed, and it made him break out laughing.
He wasn't even really interested in her. He had only toyed with her for saying no matter what, when she didn't really mean it.
He elaborated then on Princess Eliza, who had tried to assassinate him, which had actually worked to his advantage, since he was finally able to deal with her family, who would have become a seed of rebellion. He apologized for making Nenah wait several days to see him, but also made it clear that she was just a tool for righteous justification.
Nenah was distraught, because she already understood what Galatada wanted: an excuse to invade Fortna. She had assumed it was the king's idea. Now she understood it was the idea of the very prince standing before her.
"Will you die defying me, or die of sadness?" he said. "I'm excited to find out."
She understood now that he had no intention of treating her like a bride.