Rina was shocked by this confession and stood frozen in place, stunned.
"A son... and I'm twelve years old?! That's impossible! I'm not married, I was just in my room in the Vershi Palace!"
The child was puzzled by her reaction, then said with childish spontaneity:
"No problem... I want my grandpaaaa!!"
Rina put her hands on her head, as if trying to stop her conflicting thoughts from exploding.
"Shut up! I'm not your mother!"
The little child frowned, and his tears began to gather again. Then he suddenly turned to the other side and ran away from her, shouting:
"Dad! Dad! Mom abandoned me!"
Rina turned around worriedly, and there was a tall man approaching. His features seemed obscured by a faint light, but his posture suggested strength and calmness. He picked up the child with one hand easily, calmed him down with an expert motion, then approached her a little. His voice was deep and strangely familiar; even with his different masculine tone, it was enough for her to feel her soul recognizing him.
"Rina... Aren't you tired of sitting outside? The sun is starting to set, and it will get cold soon. You might get sick."
Rina didn't understand why, but she didn't object or question. And when he extended his hand toward her... she took it to stand up. Then he embraced her in a warm, broad hug and whispered next to her ear, his words directed more at the little child than her: "Didn't you see? Your mother would never hate us..."
Those words and those faces were enough to make her feel an overwhelming wave of familiarity and nostalgia, and a strange longing for an unknown future. She closed her eyes, and a small smile appeared on her face. And at that very moment, she felt as if all the constraints of her strange body had come undone...
---
Her eyes suddenly opened.
She quickly got up from the bed, and the first thing she did was stare at the reflection of her face in the large mirror in the room. It was her – her small twelve-year-old body. She immediately knew she had been dreaming. She was now in her bed, in her real room. She looked toward the window: everything was dark, the sun hadn't risen yet. She looked at the hourglass and the small clock on the table: five in the morning.
She got out of bed with slight anxiety. She didn't know why, but she felt an urgent desire to stay with her father a little longer. She thought he might be in his study – he was known for waking up very early – but she decided to knock on his bedroom door first.
She knocked lightly on the door.
"Come in."
She opened the door to find her father standing in front of a tall mirror, fastening the buttons of a formal, luxurious velvet jacket. He was surprised to see her at this hour.
"Good morning... Dad."
He smiled at her and gestured for her to approach.
"Good morning, Rina... You're awake very early. Didn't you sleep well?"
She nodded.
"No, I slept... Where are you going?"
He anticipated this question and replied in a calm, firm tone: "I arranged a meeting among the southern nobles. I must attend it."
Rina nodded, understanding. Then she said in a low voice: "I wish you could stay with me today."
Theobald understood – Carina, after the recent incident, didn't want to be alone. But he said gently:
"I'm the one who ordered them to come. How can I be absent from the meeting? Don't worry, your grandmother is also awake, and she has nothing to occupy her today. She'll be with you."
Rina accepted this, then remembered something. "Dad... I had a strange dream last night... There was a little child..."
Theobald turned toward her completely and smiled, surprised. "And what about that child? Did you two fight or something?"
She shook her head and said with obvious embarrassment: "He was saying... he was my son."
Theobald burst into loud, sincere laughter, then bent down and hugged her tightly.
"So he's my grandson! That's wonderful!"
Rina's face immediately turned red as a tomato, and she pulled her father to look at her. "No, Dad, I... I'm joking! I'm joking! I didn't dream anything… forget it!" She tried to backtrack, but her father continued to laugh, knowing she was embarrassed by the topic.
Then he whispered in her ear, his tone becoming affectionate and slightly serious:
"You're still young, my daughter. But one day you'll know what it means to have a child... and you'll know how precious that is."
Rina listened to her father's words, trying to forget the strange details of the dream. Then a fleeting memory came to her – the name that had occurred to her in the dream: Crown Prince Ron de Chaneli.
'If he's the crown prince, that means I might marry one of the princes...' she thought. But the title of the three princes is "Borsachi," not "de Chaneli." Then it occurred to her: if she married Ron, she wouldn't name her son after his father, that would be stupid... and she believes if she will have a partner, it will be Ron!!
Then an important question occurred to her, and she asked it with curiosity: "Dad... who is the Chaneli family?"
Immediately, Theobald's eyes darkened. His features suddenly changed, covered by a strange, sharp coldness, as if the family name alone was enough to stir an iceberg within him.
"They are..." he said in a lower, colder voice, "one of the largest families in the Empire, in terms of military influence and wealth. Or as everyone knows their leader: Duke Alex de Chaneli."
Rina had heard a lot about him in the past. A fanatical man, strong-willed, his duchy is known for raising war dragons. And most importantly... he has always been a fierce hater of the Emperor. In the past, a war broke out between them that led to the death of the previous Emperor. His hatred for the imperial family was well-known and insane in its intensity. She also remembered that he is considered the half-brother of Arian – currently the fiancée of her uncle Yuri.
"How old is he?" Rina asked, trying to understand more. "Does he have children?"
"He's about two years older than me..." Theobald answered, his eyes still cold. "And no, he doesn't have children. And there are... old rumors that he has a wife, but no one knows for sure, as he is obsessive about his privacy."
Carina superficially accepted this, but inside she was boiling with other questions: if the de Chaneli family has no heir... how did that dream happen? And how did that child suddenly become the crown prince? And why specifically the name "Ron"?!
She clutched her head as if trying to expel these conflicting thoughts, then noticed that her father had moved to open his bedroom door and gestured gently for her to follow him.
She followed him in silence, and they walked together through the opulent corridors lit by the faint dawn lamps, heading towards the Dowager Duchess's wing.
Theobald stood in front of the intricately carved door and knocked softly.
"Come in."
The two entered quietly. Osana was sitting in her plush armchair near the wide window, embroidering on soft fabric with harmonious, calm movements. In front of her on a low table was a collection of open, stacked books – some dealing with the complex history of the kingdoms, others about noble traditions, feudal law, and even rare references touching on topics of ancient magic.
She looked up as they entered, looking at them with her clear, white eyes – a whiteness reflecting the purity of her heart and her strength. And she smiled a warm smile.
"Good morning, Theobald... and also, good morning, little Theobald."
She was joking with her granddaughter, referring to the great resemblance between Carina and her father, in facial features, hair color, and eye color.
Rina smiled: "Good morning, Grandma."
They approached closer, and Theobald began to speak: "Mother... here is a girl who felt she had become a small child again." He gave a loving look at Rina. "Anyway, I have an important meeting soon in the Southern Meeting Hall, and Rina doesn't want to be alone today. And as you know, today and tomorrow are Carla's days off to visit her relatives in the village. So, I would like Rina to stay under your care."
Osana nodded, understanding the situation completely. Then she gave Carina a compassionate look and said: "Very well, my son... take your time. She will be in safe hands with her grandmother."
Theobald finally let out a sigh of relief, then turned to Rina. A careful look, then he raised one eyebrow. "Didn't you even wash your face?"
Rina just noticed. She looked at her hands, then touched her disheveled hair. She had gotten out of bed directly and hadn't done any of her usual morning rituals. "Ahh...! Right! I forgot! I'll go now!"
She shot off like an arrow towards the door, her steps quick.
Suddenly, Theobald's voice came from behind her, carrying a mixture of firm warning and paternal worry: "Don't run! You might trip, girl!"
Rina heard the affectionate scolding and immediately slowed down, replying without turning around: "Okay!"
And the sound of her quick footsteps disappeared down the corridor.
Osana laughed at the whole situation, her smile carrying distant memories. Then she said in an affectionate tone:
"She reminded me of the days when I was always scolding Yuri not to run in the palace... he was a mischievous child in every sense of the word. If I lost sight of him for a little while, I'd find him climbing a tree or sneaking into the stables, causing trouble for himself before anyone else... unlike you completely. You were always the calm, peaceful one."
Theobald smiled, and an image of his younger brother playing without fear appeared in his eyes. Then he nodded towards the corridor where Carina had disappeared and said: "I'm afraid this little girl... will never grow up."
Osana shook her head gently, disagreeing.
"She may have movements that lean towards childishness and a desire to play, but I see her... she has already begun to think about matters bigger than her age. She asks intelligent questions and notices details that even adults might overlook."
She paused for a moment, then added in a more reflective, deeper tone:
"She always reminds me of myself... when I was her age. I was also full of life and curiosity, but I... came back from those different years... and changed a lot."
Theobald looked at his mother with a long look, understanding the meaning behind her words – a subtle hint to the great transformation she underwent after her husband's death, bearing the responsibility of the Duchy while still young.
Carina returned, her hair slightly wet and combed by herself in an unskilled manner. She was holding a blue silk ribbon in her hand and wearing an elegant, comfortable cotton dress, but the tie at the back was loose and hanging haphazardly.
Theobald gestured for her to approach. She approached, trying to hide the disarray in her attire. Her father tied the ribbon around her waist skillfully, transforming the loose dress into a harmonious, beautiful appearance. Then, in a sudden motion, he took strands of her damp hair and began weaving them into a beautiful, tight braid.
"Dad, you know how to do this? How?" she asked in amazement, her eyes widening.
Her father smiled a slight smile, and his eyes glanced for a moment at his mother Osana, who was watching the scene with a mixture of nostalgia and amusement. Then Osana immediately said, before he could utter a word:
"He learned it for you... I mean, to do it for Revilina. Before they married, he practiced it until he mastered it." She laughed afterward, enjoying her granddaughter's astonishment and the delicate mix of embarrassment and memories showing on her son's face.
Rina remained a little distracted, surprised by this romantic piece of information. Then she looked at her father and said: "I never expected that."
Theobald laughed as he tied the small silk ribbon at the end of the braid and finished his work skillfully. "And you, why didn't you ask the maids to help you?" he asked her gently.
Rina turned to him and whispered in a low voice: "I don't want to... I only want Carla."
Her father understood her attachment to the maid who had cared for her since childhood, especially after the recent events that increased her sensitivity and distrust of strangers. He nodded in agreement.
"Now, I must go. Goodbye." he said, then left the room quietly, leaving Rina with her grandmother in an atmosphere of intimate calm.
Rina sat on the small sofa next to her grandmother and watched her return to her embroidery for a while. Then she broke the silence with a question that seemed childish on the surface but carried greater curiosity:
"Grandma... why hasn't Uncle Yuri married yet?"
Osana was slightly surprised by the directness of the question. Then she said after brief thought: "I don't really know. Ask him. The first time I asked him, he said his fiancée wasn't ready due to some circumstances... Anyway, I didn't ask much."
Rina nodded, thinking to herself. Then she remembered Arian – that woman who returned divorced from the North, bringing with her a child said to be of Vershi lineage. Arian never smiled at Rina, and there was a strange coldness between them. Rina felt that Arian's arrival at the palace was accompanied by something of dark magic or strange influence – something that manipulated everyone's feelings and made the atmosphere tense, so that it even seemed as if Rina herself was the cause of the disagreement between Yuri and Arian, despite her innocence.
She frowned slightly, remembering those details and the quiet arguments. Then she decided to delve deeper.
"Grandma... tell me about Arian. Everything you know."
Osana smiled in a traditional tone, as if preparing to tell a story from noble tales. She stopped embroidering and placed her frame aside, looking at Carina.
"A northern girl, from the cold high North. Her father was the brother of one of the great Marquises there. As for her mother... she is Carmen, the current Duchess of the North, who gave birth to three girls: Arian is the eldest, then Julia, then Lilia – they are twins." She paused to breathe, then added more complex information: "Of course, that's not all. The Duke – Carmen's first husband – also had two sons from his first deceased wife: the eldest son Kerlo, and the younger son... Alex."
When Rina heard the name Alex, she felt a strange spark pierce her chest. It was the same name her father had mentioned earlier: Duke Alex de Chaneli. History hides a lot beneath its surface.
And Osana continued the narrative, as if recounting a chapter from a royal tragedy: "Kerlo and his father were killed in the great war that broke out before you were born... and the younger son, Alex, inherited the Duchy after that. That man... whom almost no one has seen for fourteen years. He hides behind the walls of his castle in the North, as if the earth had swallowed him."