That sentence struck Karl's heart like a surge of warmth.
All his worries, all the words of persuasion he had prepared, were choked back by this simple yet weighty oath. An immense warmth flooded his heart, tightening his throat until he could not speak for a moment.
Charlotte had not merely chosen to stay—she had chosen to live and die with him. That trust and resolve moved and shook him more deeply than any words of love ever could.
Yet there were still concerns he could not let go of. "But Klein... he's still so young. And Mother..."
"I'll speak to Mother. As for Klein..." Charlotte's gaze softened for an instant, then hardened with resolve again. "He is our son, the heir of Carnford. If he is destined to endure the flames of war, then at least his parents will be fighting side by side, rather than leaving him alone in some place that only seems safe. As for danger... if it truly comes to the worst, there are secret passages in the castle, and ships. There will always be a way."
She had clearly considered a way out as well, but that was a choice for only the most desperate circumstances.
She reached out and gently took Karl's hand, pointing down at the land they overlooked together—the crisscrossing trenches, the solid earthen walls, the ranks of cannon emplacements, the sharp-angled bastions, and the soldiers behind the walls, tense but standing in orderly ranks as they worked at their posts.
"Look," she said. "Look at everything you built. Look at those cannons, at the look in those soldiers' eyes. We prepared for so long for this very day, didn't we? Harald has come with the strength of an entire nation—it looks terrifying, but as long as we hold here and