And in the end. Gabriel gave in.


    Gray-faced and defeated, he turned and left, dragging his two sons with him. Matthew''s leg truly couldn''t take any more dy-and after what Eliza had said, Gabriel wasn''t willing to gamble on whether it was true or not.


    She nced at Dn, still unconscious, then at Eliza, who clung tightly to Caroline''s remains as if nothing else in the world mattered.


    Mary''s gaze lingered on the cloth-wrapped bones for a long moment. Then she looked at Eliza and said gently, "Don''t worry -Dn will be fine. And I won''t let Gabriel take Caroline''s body again."


    At the mention of Dn, Eliza''s distracted gaze sharpened slightly. She gave him a quick look, then murmured. I''m not worried about him" Her voice was distant, indifferent-like she really didn''t care at all.


    As for her mother''s remains, she would never let Gabriel touch them again. Even


    if he came back, he''d never be able to find Caroline


    Mary sighed, but said nothing more.


    Back at Saint Grace Nunnery, Mary took Dn away for treatment.


    Eliza stepped down from the carriage and turned toward Nn.


    "Your Highness..."


    But before she could say another word, Nn quickly raised a hand. “Don''t overthink anything I said today," he said, his tone light, almost too casual. "Don''t let your father''s nonsense cloud your mind. One day-if you ever choose to leave this ce- you''ll understand why I said what I did."


    Eliza blinked, caught off guard. She had only meant to thank him.


    And she meant it. She had no intention of leaving this ce. She had chosen this path. She would walk it to the end. Whatever he meant-whatever feelings he was trying not to express-it didn''t matter.


    He''d been so worried she''d misunderstand. He''d rushed to rify.


    And now, seeing her truly unaffected,pletely unmoved, his heart twisted a little.


    Well, he thought bitterly, this path was never meant to be easy.


    He had met her toote.


    By the time their paths crossed, she was already cloaked in her ck robes,mitted to a life of solitude and faith. He hade toote. And from this moment forward, every step toward her would be ten times harder than it should have been.


    Not just because of emotion. But because the world would never allow it, Worse still, she didn''t even return his feelings-not yet.


    He, the undefeated Prince Regent on the battlefield, had finally met someone he couldn''t bring himself to fight for, Because even he didn''t know if he had the right


    He gave a quiet, bitter smile. "All right," he said. "Go in and get some rest. If anything happens, have Tinae find me Eliza looked at him. There was something off in his tone.


    She opened her mouth, hesitated-then said only, "You should go, too. Don''t linger."


    11:46 Fri, 18 Apr


    A beat of silence passed


    Then Nn nodded. "Fine. I''ll wait here until you''re inside, just in case.


    They were literally standing outside Saint Grace Nunnery''s gate. What danger could there possibly be?


    But she didn''t question it. She just nodded and walked away.


    Nn stood there, watching her figure disappear through the gate.


    Only when she was gone did he finally turn and leave, the ck g trailing behind him like shadows,


    Back in her courtyard, Eliza helped Tina treat her wounds.


    Then, still holding her mother''s remains, she stepped into the pocket farm.


    She picked a quiet, beautiful spot for the burial-beneath a sprawling osmanthus tree, beside a clear stream.


    Beforeying her mother to rest, she stopped by Mary''s room.


    "Mary," she said softly, "if there''s anything you still want to say to her... now''s the time."


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