Celestia von Rosemilian’s life had been a cage from the moment she was born.
It was a life defined by the constant effort to hide that very truth.
As the daughter of the Rosemilian Duchy, her title carried immense weight. Any hope of childhood freedom had been overwritten by the rigorous education required to mold her into a premier lady of the court.
Just as she thought she might finally taste a bit of liberty, her engagement to the Einhart family was finalized.
She had long since steeled herself for a political marriage, so the arrangement itself wasn't the issue.
The problem was the man—Claude—whose reputation was already marred by never-ending scandals.
Why him...?
The question haunted her, but she knew the answer deep down.
This, too, was a cage.
She harbored a secret she could never reveal to anyone outside her family. Celestia was a girl forced to live her life within the confines of a cage.
"Your face is acceptable."
Those were the first words Claude ever spoke to her.
Within seconds, she decided she never wanted to speak to him again. He had followed up with remarks like, "The least you can do is devote yourself to me," or "I have no interest in incompetent women," but the details were a blur of distaste in her memory.
If there was any mercy to be found, it was that Claude stopped attending the Academy early on. Not having to face him allowed Celestia to grow fond of the school, where she managed to cultivate several deep friendships.
Her friendship with Reiji Wolf had begun even before they entered the Academy.
Reiji was a promising commoner from the Rosemilian Territory, and it was Celestia who had recommended him to the school. To be precise, she had persuaded her father to sign the letter of recommendation.
As Reiji continued to distinguish himself after enrollment, Celestia found her eyes naturally following his progress.
Reiji was a rare friend who saw Celestia for who she was—not as a high-ranking noble or an Accursed Child, but simply as a human being.
When she happened to mention her fiancé to him, he would turn bright red with indignation. It made her feel as though he cared for her more than she cared for herself, and the sentiment often brought her to the verge of tears.
But she knew this time wouldn't last forever.
Eventually, she would enter a loveless marriage and die inside her cage.
Celestia had accepted that such was her fate.
However, one year ago, everything changed.
Claude was different.
She didn't know the reason, but when they met again after a long absence, it was as if a possession had been lifted from him.
He bowed to servants, labored tirelessly for the citizens of the territory, and treated Celestia with a clumsy but undeniable sincerity. He seemed like a completely different person, so much so that Celestia initially suspected a body double. She had remained on high guard, certain that if this was indeed the real Claude, he must be plotting some terrifying scheme.
But that suspicion had quietly crumbled away.
"I am truly sorry for everything I’ve done."
Claude had bowed his head to her.
Celestia still vividly remembered how his fingertips had trembled in that moment.
It was an expression of profound regret—a cry echoing from his very soul.
...It had made her happy.
Claude von Einhart wasn't some unfathomable monster; he was a human being. For the first time, she realized that this man was capable of genuine remorse.
Of course, Celestia wasn't so naive as to forgive him instantly. But Claude was earnest. There is a world of difference between building trust from nothing and trying to claw it back from a negative starting point. In his quest for redemption, Claude was doubted and shunned by everyone, treated as if he were finally receiving his just desserts. Yet, he continued to pile up good deeds while dragging himself through the mud.
People can change.
She saw that hope reflected in Claude.
Eventually, that hope outweighed all the humiliations he had once heaped upon her.
...Maybe it’s okay to believe in him.
I want to believe in this man.
I want to try.
I want to believe in the man who plows the fields alongside peasants while drenched in sweat. The man who goes back to the servants he unfairly dismissed, bowing his head and asking if they would consider working for him again. The man who stays huddled at his desk night after night, desperate to make up for lost time in his studies. The man who hides the terror of "What if I'm never forgiven?" behind his eyes.
...Maybe I can tell the current Claude-sama.
I can tell him about the cage that imprisons me.
The cage holding Celestia von Rosemilian wasn't her oppressive title.
It was a special magic she had been born with.
A terrifying power that ensured she would never catch anyone's eye—a magic that seemed to demand she be forgotten by the world.
That was the real reason her father had arranged the engagement with Claude.
He calculated that if her partner was a fool, there was no chance he would ever notice her magical nature.
...I'll try talking to him next time.
I’m sure the Claude-sama of today will listen with sincerity.
That was what she had believed.
Even though she had believed it so firmly...
◆
"...Claude-sama."
Celestia approached him, her legs trembling.
There wasn't a trace of warmth left in Claude's eyes. They held only the same cruelty that had once driven her to despair.
"What... what is the meaning of this...?"
She reached out to him, her voice a desperate plea.
But Claude merely scoffed.
"Don't make me say it twice."
He glared at her as if she were nothing more than trash on the side of the road.
"Celestia. I am breaking my engagement with you."
It felt as though a stake of ice had been driven through her heart.
Her mind went blank. Even so, her lips moved of their own accord.
"Why...?"
"Why?" Claude repeated.
He looked at her as if he couldn't fathom why she would even bother to ask.
"To put it simply... I’ve grown bored of you."
With that, he turned on his heel.
His back seemed impossibly distant and cold, radiating a refusal to let anyone near.
Celestia couldn't even manage to collapse; she simply stood there, watching him walk away.
...It's a lie.
She refused to take such an unnatural change at face value. Perhaps the prophecy was indeed pushing him past his mental breaking point.
Yet, a part of her was strangely convinced.
People can change. Claude himself was the one who had taught her that.
If that was true, then it wasn't impossible for him to change back.
"...No."
That couldn't be it.
No human being could work that hard to regain trust only to throw it all away again so easily.
It was a contradiction.
Even if Claude had reverted to his former arrogant self, a man with such a weak heart would never be able to fully discard the weight of a year's worth of effort.
There had to be something more.
There had to be a reason—something so significant it forced him to abandon a year of grueling, soul-crushing labor. This was a decision born of a terrifying mental fortitude, the exact opposite of a weak heart. Nothing else could explain this transformation.
Claude von Einhart was fighting something.
He must have his reasons—reasons he cannot avoid.
She bit her lip, her eyes fixed on his retreating back.
It wasn't over yet.
Even if he chose to abandon her, she had not yet abandoned her right to believe in him.