Reborn as the Last van Ambrose
Chapter 185: Letters

Chapter 185: Letters

The private meeting room in the royal castle was normally reserved for matters of state, but today it hosted a gathering of an entirely different nature.

Three young women sat around the polished oak table, each holding an identical letter bearing the Van Ambrose family seal.

Princess Liona was the first to break the silence that had stretched between them since they had gathered. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a braid.

"Well," she said, placing her letter on the table with deliberate care. "I assume we all received the same message."

Mira Luminaris nodded. Her black dress was immaculate, every detail catered to show off her body.

"Chen Xing’s handwriting is quite distinctive," Mira observed.

Lianna Levenheart was the last to respond, her fiery red hair matching the spark of irritation in her green eyes. She wore practical riding clothes rather than a court dress, and her letter showed signs of having been read and reread multiple times.

"Distinctive is one word for it," Lianna said. "I prefer ’presumptuous.’ Who does Chen Xing think he is, sending out announcements about Grim’s personal life without consulting him first?"

"Chen Xing serves the van Ambrose family," Princess Liona replied carefully. "If he’s making such announcements, he must have some authority to do so."

"Authority or not," Mira interjected, "the contents are... significant."

All three women looked down at their letters again, though they had already memorized every word. The message was brief but earth-shattering in its implications:

Lady [Name],

You are cordially invited to attend the eighteenth birthday celebration of Lord Grim Van Ambrose, to be held at Van Ambrose Manor one month hence. This celebration marks not only his coming of age but also his intention to select his first wife and announce their engagement during the festivities.

Your attendance would be most welcome.

Respectfully,

Chen Xing

Steward of Van Ambrose Manor

"First wife," Lianna said, her voice flat. "As if marriage is just another political transaction to be negotiated."

"For people of our station, it often is," Mira replied quietly. "My father has been negotiating potential matches for me since I was ten."

"That’s different," Princess Liona said. "Your father is trying to secure political advantages. This... this is Grim making his own choice."

The three women fell silent again, each lost in their own thoughts and memories.

Princess Liona found herself remembering the evening she and Grim had spent on the castle’s highest tower. The memory of her hand touching his, the way he had looked at her in the moonlight, still made her heart race.

Mira’s thoughts turned to the kiss she had shared with Grim during the tournament festivities. It had been a brief, stolen moment behind the royal pavilion, but it had been enough to confirm what she had been feeling since she was a child. Julius Luminaris despised Grim—he had even tried to have him killed—only complicated matters further.

Lianna was remembering their childhood, when she and Grim, and Liona had been inseparable. Back then, her way of showing affection had been to challenge him at every turn, to push him to be better, stronger, faster. She had never stopped to examine why his approval mattered so much to her, why making him laugh was worth more than any other praise. Only now, faced with the possibility of losing him to another, did she finally understand what those feelings had really been.

"We can’t just sit here brooding," Princess Liona said finally. "We need to discuss what this means."

"What it means," Mira said carefully, "is that we’re competing for the same man."

Lianna laughed, but there was no humor in it.

"That doesn’t mean we have to be enemies," Princess Liona insisted. "Grim wouldn’t want that."

"Grim doesn’t know about any of this," Lianna pointed out. "According to these letters, Chen Xing is orchestrating this entire situation without consulting him. For all we know, Grim has no intention of getting married at all."

"He’s eighteen," Mira observed. "And the heir to a noble house. Marriage isn’t optional for someone in his position."

"It should be his choice, though," Princess Liona said firmly. "Not something decided by political convenience or family pressure."

"Says the princess who’s been groomed since birth to marry for the good of the kingdom," Lianna retorted.

The barb hit home, and Princess Liona’s cheeks flushed. "That’s different. My duties to the crown are clear. Grim shouldn’t have to sacrifice his happiness for—"

"For what?" Mira interrupted. "For the restoration of his family’s honor? Marriage has always been about more than just personal happiness for people like us."

"People like us," Lianna repeated. "Speak for yourself. I’m not nobility. I don’t have a title or lands or political connections to offer. All I have is..." She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"Is your friendship with him," Princess Liona said gently. "That’s not nothing, Lianna. Grim values loyalty above almost everything else."

"Loyalty won’t restore his family’s lands," Mira pointed out. "Or provide the resources he’ll need to challenge those who destroyed his house."

"And a political marriage will?" Lianna challenged. "What can any of us really offer him that he can’t achieve on his own?"

The question hung in the air between them, forcing each woman to confront the uncomfortable truth about their own motivations.

Princess Liona could offer royal support, legitimacy, and access to the crown’s resources. But she also represented the same system that had allowed the Van Ambrose family to be destroyed in the first place.

Mira could provide wealth, connections, and entry into the highest circles of noble society. But her father was actively working against Grim’s interests, and choosing her would mean navigating a web of family loyalties and political betrayals.

Lianna could offer unconditional loyalty, but she had no political power, no wealth, no ability to advance Grim’s material interests.

"Maybe," Princess Liona said slowly, "the question isn’t what we can offer him. Maybe it’s what he needs."

"What do you mean?" Mira asked.

"Grim has been alone for twelve years," Princess Liona explained. "He’s had to rebuild himself from nothing, had to become strong enough to face enemies who destroyed his entire family. But strength isn’t the same as happiness."

"You think he needs someone who can help him remember how to be happy?" Lianna asked.

"I think he needs someone who sees him as more than just the heir to a fallen house," Princess Liona replied. "Someone who cares about Grim the person, not Lord Van Ambrose the political entity."

"We all care about him," Mira said quietly. "That’s why we’re here."

"Then we need to make a decision," Lianna said. "Are we going to tear each other apart fighting for his attention, or are we going to let him make his own choice?"

"And if he chooses one of us over the others?" Mira asked.

"Then we accept it gracefully," Princess Liona said, though her voice wavered slightly. "Because that’s what friends do."

"Friends," Mira repeated. "Is that what we are?"

"It’s what we should be," Princess Liona replied. "What we could be, if we choose to be."

Mira smirked. "I will look out for myself first. Don’t think for a second that we are friends."