Later, Pride told her mother that she had a premonition, and that for the sake of the people she had to go to the kingdom of Anemone.
She and Tiara went to watch the two boys spar. They had already heard about the assignment and were glad they would be working together on it. Then Tiara asked what she was going to do in Anemone.
Everyone was caught off guard by how serious Tiara was being. She asked whether it had something to do with what she had been hiding from all of them.
Tiara knew she was powerless. She was not even asking to accompany Pride. She only wanted to offer her emotional support. They were willing to listen to anything Pride had to say, even something hypothetical, and none of them would falter if things did not turn out the way she expected. Tiara just wanted her sister to tell them what was on her mind.
The night before, Leon had told her, "You are more stunning than even the stars in the sky when you're bathed in moonlight. Pride. I think we should come here together as one tonight. Right here."
She gestured him over and told him plainly that if he wanted to be intimate with her, she was fine with that. They were engaged to be married, after all.
But as he went for her lips, he stopped, because she was telling him that this was not something their relationship needed.
She told him it was all right. He had performed very well these past three days. Anyone would agree he had the demeanor of the perfect fiancé.
He did not understand what she was saying, so she made it clear: he did not have to perform in front of her. There was no need to lie to himself and pretend that there was love here.
Now, with the tables turned, she asked him to make her a promise. In exchange, she would keep tonight's events to herself, and tomorrow they could play the happy couple again.
She was the firstborn princess of Frieia, first in line to the throne, and she had the special ability of foresight. She was the only person in the world who knew his true desires.
She told him not to leave the castle for an entire week after he returned to his country. Not even to look around. Especially not on the last day of that week. That was the day he would lose everything — the trust of his people, and even the trust of the king. These instructions, she said, were important for his happiness.
After hearing what she told them, the guys were embarrassed. They had assumed she and Leon had gone to bed together. Although she did skip the part where he tried.
Stale understood the rest of it. This was a secret visit to make sure Leon did not leave the castle, so that her premonition never came true. If he tried, they would stop him before the kingdom's own guards found him. That kind of disgraceful behavior from Leon would be a black mark on both their kingdoms.
Arthur sank to the floor, relieved, because he had imagined so much worse. He had been way off the mark, and he had dragged Stale into it, and made her worry about the two of them instead.
Pride reassured Arthur, and apologized for not giving him a proper answer when he had asked her before. She called him amazing for noticing right away that she was having a hard time. When she told him it made her happy, he jolted upright, blushing.
Her friends wanted Pride not to bear the burden all alone. They were here for her. They did not want her to suffer on her own.
In Anemone, Leon reflected on Pride's warning. And then on his father's words: that as first prince he must set the example for his younger brothers, and do as much as he could to become the king the people desired.
From a young age his life had revolved around learning what he needed in order to be king. But he would often fixate on that one phrase — the king the people desired. His father would bring him out before the people, and they would cheer and praise him, and it had been a kind of spiritual awakening for him.
He wanted to be loved by the people. He wanted them to desire him, to covet him, and not anyone else.
His younger brother criticized him for these dangerous thoughts, which could be considered attention craving, narcissistic, possessive. Labels like those would tank his good reputation. Leon would never forget the shock he felt at hearing those words. He knew he had to be rid of such distasteful emotions, and for a while he refrained from even leaving the castle, and still his body and his soul demanded it.
His other brother then suggested that he dedicate himself to socializing with members of high society.
Following that advice, he socialized with the young ladies around his own age — and noticed that the cravings these ladies displayed toward him were attention craving, narcissism, and possessiveness. It frightened him. He was aghast that he had directed such horrible emotions at the very people he had sworn to protect.
In the end, he could not provide any of what they sought from him, and the rumor that he was a womanizer spread.
He desired to become prince consort of the kingdom of Frieia, and to bring peace to both kingdoms that way. He felt inadequate as a king, as an older brother, and as a human being. This was all he could do.
Over dinner, his father told him that they might call the engagement off. He wanted to discuss the matter with the Frieian queen and her prince consort again. He was sorry for the uncertainty he had caused in Leon's life.
Arriving in Anemone, Pride and Stale went disguised as Lady Jean and Lord Philip. She hoped everything would go smoothly tomorrow, depending on how the conversation went between his father and the queen of Frieia.
Leon lamented his two futures. Either the annulment of his engagement and the shame it would bring, or the engagement staying in place despite the disrespect he had shown the kingdom of Frieia, and being unable to ever return to his home kingdom. There were no happy routes for him.
His brothers came to visit, offering him clothes so that he could slip out of the castle in disguise. They wanted his happiness above all else.
That was Leon's true desire — to leave the castle and mingle with the people. It was what his brothers desired for him, too.
But he apologized to them, and told them he could not go through with it.