In the study, the sandalwood incense still curled gently through the air, but the atmosphere had grown unusually heavy after William's unfinished sigh and Eldest Princess Elinor's final, cold judgment. William watched his wife turn her attention back to the documents. There was not the slightest hesitation or pity in her profile as she arranged her niece's fate with her own hands, only an almost inhuman calm and focus. He knew that in his wife's heart, the family's interests and the struggle for power always came first. Any personal feelings could be set aside for them, even sacrificed deliberately.
And yet, were all feelings expendable?
Another young girl's image rose unbidden in William's mind—their daughter, Anne Windsor. The girl had inherited his gentle nature and his wife's exquisite features. She had just turned eighteen, like a newly blossomed rose: lovely, lively, and full of romantic dreams about the world, still untouched by the corruption of the court. Unlike the cool and precocious Elisa, Anne was more like a carefully tended hothouse flower, in need of sunlight and rain, not the bitter storms of a political marriage.
A thought sprang into his mind before he could stop it: What if... what if Anne, rather than Elisa, had been the one chosen to marry into the Hohenzollern Family? Would my wife still have pushed her daughter toward a wastrel like Leon Hohenzollern without a moment's hesitation?
The thought made William's heart clench. He was almost certain the answer was no. He looked at Elinor, the Eldest Princess whom outsiders saw as cold, ruthless, and calculating. When it came to her own daughter, Anne, a rare, genuine tenderness sometimes surfaced in the depths of her eyes. It was a feeling entirely unlike the way she looked at Elisa, as if appraising a "valuable asset."
As if she had sensed her husband's prolonged gaze and his complicated emotions, Eldest Princess Elinor looked up from the documents again. This time, her eyes held a trace of curiosity. "William, is there something else?" Her voice remained even, but William heard a note of warning in it, as if reminding him not to indulge in useless sentiment.
William drew a deep breath and decided to stop avoiding the painful question, though he knew it might anger his wife. He needed to know. He needed to give his uneasy, guilt-ridden heart something to hold on to, even if it was selfish.
"Elinor," he said slowly, his voice low, "I was just thinking... if—if it had been our Anne who needed to marry into the Hohenzollern Family, would you have made the same choice? Would you have been willing to let Anne face a husband like Leon Hohenzollern?"
As he asked, William felt guilty, as if he had exposed the most secret corner beneath his wife's elegant robes.
Elinor's fingers tightened ever so slightly around the documents. Her deep eyes fixed on William like ice picks, as if trying to pierce his thoughts. The air in the study seemed to freeze, and even the sandalwood smoke appeared to stop drifting.
After a long silence, just as William was beginning to think his wife would fly into a rage or mock him, Elinor let out a slow, faint sigh. It was so brief he might have mistaken it for his imagination, but it sent a tremor through him. It meant his wife was not entirely indifferent.
"William," Elinor said, her voice lower than before, less sharp and edged with a complexity he could not name, "you've asked a... very foolish question."
She laid the documents gently on her lap and gazed at the dancing flames in the fireplace, her eyes seeming to wander into the distance. "Anne and Elisa are different."
"Different?" William pressed. He wanted a more definite answer.
"Elisa is the daughter of the Windsor family, the child of Charles and Marjorie." Elinor's voice had returned to its usual calm, but the words that followed were even more blunt. "She has exceptional magical talent. That talent gives her value, and it gives her responsibilities. 'Investing' her in the Hohenzollern Family was a decision made to maximize the interests of the family as a whole. It was one of the best ways to realize her 'value.' I have nothing to feel guilty about."
She paused, picked up her teacup, and ran her fingertips over its warm sides before continuing. "But Anne... Anne is my daughter and yours, the legitimate daughter of the future Duke of Windsor. Her value lies not only in marriage, but also in what she represents: the continuation and legitimacy of the main Windsor bloodline."
Her gaze refocused on William, and her eyes glinted with an even deeper, colder calculation. "The Hohenzollern Family is certainly important, but they are not the only nobles on the Empire's chessboard. The Eight Great Marquisates each have their own leverage, and the situation can change in an instant. To pin Anne, a... weightier bargaining chip, to the Hohenzollern side too early and permanently would not be wise."
William's heart sank as he understood what his wife meant. Elisa was a "valuable asset," to be used to bind an important ally. Anne was a "core asset." Her marriage would be reserved for a more complicated, more strategic situation—or used at a critical moment to win over a new and more powerful ally, or even... to obtain a greater return. For example, the highest seat of all...
"So..." William's voice was dry. "Anne's future..."
"Anne will have her own path." Elinor cut him off, her voice decisive and authoritative. "She's still young. She needs to learn and grow, not become entangled in marriage alliances too soon. I'll find the most suitable match for her. It may not be a marquis's son. Perhaps it will be some promising young man, or perhaps... a family better able to ensure that the Windsor family holds an absolute advantage in the future. But in any case, it will never be a useless man like Leon Hohenzollern, who is impossible to control."
She spoke with such bluntness, perfectly blending a mother's self-interest with a politician's coldness. She could sacrifice her niece Elisa's happiness without hesitation because it served the family's greater interests—and because, in her view, Elisa was made of strong enough stuff to bear it. But sacrifice her own daughter, Anne? No. That would be a "misallocation of resources." Anne deserved a better "investment target."
That naked double standard sent a chill through William, yet, strangely, it also brought him some relief. At least it showed that his wife had not lost all her humanity. There were still people she cherished and wanted to protect, even if the way she protected them was steeped in calculation.
"I understand," William said quietly, asking no more questions. He knew this was his wife's way of doing things, and the reason their family had remained at the pinnacle of power in the Empire. Acting on emotion would only lead to ruin.
"Good." Elinor seemed satisfied with her husband's "good sense." She picked up the documents again, her tone softening slightly. "Elisa's Coming-of-Age Ceremony must be done properly. It will be a display for the Hohenzollern Family, and for everyone in the Imperial Capital. As for Anne... let her enjoy the banquet. She doesn't need to bear these burdens yet."
She paused, as if speaking to herself—or perhaps to William. "The Eight Great Marquisates... the Roland Family is fabulously wealthy, yet keeps to itself. Gilbert is a staunch ally of the Hohenzollern Family. Metternich sits on the fence, while Balke echoes Metternich. Croitz and Wolfstein are semi-independent... There are still many uncertainties ahead. The Windsor family's bargaining chips must be used where they matter most."
William nodded silently. Watching his wife's profile as she immersed herself once more in the world of political intrigue, he felt his guilt over his niece Elisa give way to a sense of fate that was larger and more helpless. In this family, everyone was destined to be a piece on the chessboard from birth. The only difference was whether they would be discarded—or become the decisive move that determined the outcome.
His daughter Anne, meanwhile, might be in her room at that very moment, trying on a lovely dress for tomorrow's banquet in front of the mirror and dreaming of a romantic encounter, unaware that her future had already been placed on her mother's far more precise and frigid scales, waiting to be weighed for the greatest possible advantage.
Eldest Princess Elinor continued with her plans. To her, her daughter was a precious bargaining chip, her niece a usable asset, and her husband a necessary partner. Everything was meant to help the Windsor family—her own branch—ride out the inevitable storm ahead and reach the far shore of power. Any traces of self-interest or affection in the mix were merely tiny embellishments along the long road to power, too slight to affect the greater scheme.
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