Congratulations, Head of House Ehrenberg

His eyes were fixed on some point in the empty air.

Seeing that unfocused stare left me flustered and dumbfounded in equal measure. Don't tell me he fainted with his eyes open from the shock?

I hastily seized Cassion's cheeks and turned them. Only then did his gaze roll sluggishly around and settle on me. Those golden eyes gave no hint of what he might be thinking.

"Your Highness, did you hear what I said?"

Had I hugged him too hard? Had the sudden pressure against his chest knocked him out? More to the point, was he even breathing? His head turned and his eyes moved, so he seemed conscious, but his silence was unnerving. If he was going to faint, he really should have done it in front of me once or twice beforehand.

I released his cheek and pressed my palm just beneath his nose. Warm breath tickled the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fine hairs on my fingers. And yet something was still wrong. By now he should have swatted my hand away and shouted!

This wouldn't do at all. I let go of Cassion and turned to call for someone outside.

Tap.

At that moment, Cassion seized my wrist. At a strength unlike anything I'd ever felt from him, I turned my head. His face was still buried low.

"Your Highness?"

If you're going to grab me, then say something! I was dying of frustration. Back when every word out of his mouth had been a cruel one, I'd actually dreamed of sewing his lips shut—but honestly, cruel words beat this. Keep waiting like this and I'll be the one passing out.

Feeling the last of my patience fray, I tried calling him again. And then, at last, Cassion opened his mouth.

"...posal. I'll do it properly."

"I'm sorry—what was that?"

I asked him to repeat it, having missed the start of whatever he'd said. The hand around my wrist tightened.

"I said I'll do the proposal properly!"

Cassion's voice cracked into a shriek.

Hehe, hihi, snicker, cackle, WAHAHAHA! I laughed all day long.

"My lady, you're not feeling unwell, are you? Rebert, shouldn't you give our lady an examination?"

Jenice had concluded that something was wrong with my mind. I laughed at that, too. I was so happy just then that I'd have laughed even if someone pinched me—the laughter simply refused to be contained.

"Leave her be. Looks like she's so pleased with the fruits of all her toil she could die."

Loomdrax said it while filling my wineglass.

"More than that—a betrothal, no less! Our niece's husband turns out to be a prince. That's good for Chyorny too, eh?"

Chyo snatched up the wineglass Loomdrax had just poured, drank from it, and roared with laughter.

"It's all thanks to everyone's help."

I delivered my thanks properly. Chyo and Loomdrax stroked their chins, Jenice crushed me in a hug, and Rebert went red to the ears.

"Jenice, easy—ack."

Her embrace had squeezed the air clean out of me. I thumped her arm until she let go.

"Sorry, my lady. I'm just so happy... Oh! It's not that I'm happy you're betrothed to Prince Cassion—it's that I'm happy you'll get to run the family's affairs exactly as you wish!"

Jenice laid her honest heart bare.

"Been wondering about that, actually. Acting Family Head—do they just hand that out to anyone who gets betrothed to royalty?"

Loomdrax asked, popping a candied cherry into his mouth. He really could eat. Quite the appetite on him.

"There's no such law or custom. The only law on the books says that marrying into the royal family grants recognition as an adult. This time, His Majesty issued a royal decree specially, for me alone."

His Majesty certainly knew how to wield power.

"Even a betrothal binds her to the royal house—does this mean he intends for her to hold a rank to match?"

Chyo read between the lines of Karman's intent.

"That's part of it. But I'd say His Majesty's heart is set more on investing in House Ehrenberg's future and watching how we spend it."

"And the moment you slip up under his watch, he'll snatch those rights right back."

Loomdrax set down the cherry in his hand and shook off his fingers as though the very thought disgusted him.

"So when can you start acting as Family Head?"

Chyo had asked the most important question of all. Rebert with his head bowed, Jenice mid-cookie, Loomdrax prying the cork from a fresh bottle of wine—every one of them froze mid-motion and looked at me.

"I sent His Majesty a letter straight away, remember? It wasn't written in the letter."

"So? Did a reply come?"

Chyo asked, unable to help himself. I nodded.

"What did it say?"

Loomdrax cut in. I smoothed the smile from my face and looked around at them. Jenice gulped down the cookie still packed in her cheeks, half-chewed. Rebert gnawed at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his fingernails. Becoming Family ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Head was my goal, but they looked every bit as desperate for it as I was.

"I'm going to suffocate, my lady—please, tell us quickly!"

Jenice fussed, stamping her feet for good measure. I drew Karman's letter from my bodice, unfolded it, and cleared my throat with great ceremony.

When I read the crucial passage in my most solemn voice, every jaw in the room dropped. They cheered in silence at the news that I had already become Acting Family Head. Chyo pumped both fists in the air; Loomdrax shook a bottle like a man determined to pop the champagne; tears welled in Jenice's eyes. And Rebert dropped flat to his knees on the floor.

"Congratulations, Head of House Ehrenberg!"

Rebert cried it out, and everyone who had been bustling about stopped at once.

Jenice, who had been frowning down at Rebert's back, knelt down right beside him.

"Congratulations, Mistress!"

Not "young lady"—the Family Head and master of Ehrenberg. The words made my chest ache in a strange, tight way, but I wasn't at the stage where I could hear them yet. I waved them off and hauled the two of them back to their feet.

"I'm not one yet."

"Our Family Head, so modest."

Loomdrax gave my shoulder a thump, hamming it up.

"And now that you're Head of House Ehrenberg, no more discounts on the commission fee," Chyo said.

The nerve—Chyo had never once discounted the fee. Paying his full price was the very condition for quality information; if anything, I'd tipped extra on top.

"Today, we party!"

Pop! The champagne went off. Loomdrax shook the bottle for all he was worth, his palm covering only half its mouth, and a sweet fragrance of fruit spread in every direction.

"Eek—stop that!"

Jenice darted out of Loomdrax's reach, Chyo locked his arms around Loomdrax's neck from behind, and Loomdrax's hand slipped from the bottle's mouth. The bottle tipped, and champagne came gushing down over Rebert's kneeling head.

"Th-th-th-this isn't right!"

Timid Rebert sprang up to lodge his protest, and the instant Chyo's grip slackened in shock at the sight of Rebert's anger, Loomdrax bolted. The four of them launched into a game of tag across my room. I'm supposed to be the child here, and somehow they're the ones acting younger.

I propped my chin on my hand and let out a sigh. It was a sigh brimming with joy. What might our prince be doing right now? It would have been lovely to share the celebration with him. Cassion, who had shouted so bravely that he would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠propose, flickered before my eyes. The shrieking had been quite a sight, really. I smiled to myself, remembering my adorable prince.

On a lazy afternoon, yellowed sheets of paper came scattering down over the streets. People who had been about their own business in cafés, in restaurants, in dress shops came pouring out to snatch the sheets up. They were scrawled with the secret private lives of nobles and the gossip of the famous. There was enough paper to make one wonder how the streets would ever be cleaned—and yet it vanished in moments, for even those who hadn't cared came swarming out at the rumors of what the sheets contained, determined to see for themselves. Given who the story's subject was, the crowd's excitement was only to be expected.

"Hold on—the Third Prince, of all people? Weren't we told he was ill?"

"Rumor has it the illness was a lie. He was never sick—His Majesty doted on him so much he kept him tucked away at his side."

"That's hardly the point. A thirteen-year-old duke's daughter, at the head of a great house like Ehrenberg? Does that make any sense?"

"Why wouldn't it? Word is she's remarkably clever."

People had begun chattering not about Ehrenberg and Petrora, but about Diana and Cassion. Diana became a genius without equal in a generation, then the most beautiful lady in the world. Cassion went from a prince of misfortune to a darling son bathed in the king's love.

For days after the sheets fluttered across the sky, Broom buzzed with talk. Beyond anything Diana had foreseen, the union of House Ehrenberg and the Petrora royal family sent shockwaves through the kingdom. Merchants who had trimmed their dealings since the Ehrenberg Family Head's death began racing one another to the Ehrenberg Ducal Residence, and Cassion's palace stood on the verge of bursting with gifts and letters.

The news reached Julia's ears, naturally. And that very day, Julia summoned Diana.