Reborn as the Last van Ambrose

The imperial gardens offered rare privacy for Empress Alexia and her daughter. As night fell, paper lanterns illuminated winding paths between meticulously shaped hedges and flowering trees that perfumed the air. Guards maintained a discreet distance, just far enough to be out of earshot while still providing protection.

"You can’t seriously be considering withholding the key," Liona said, her voice kept deliberately low despite their isolation. She paused beside a night-blooming jasmine, its white flowers luminous in the lantern light.

Alexia walked beside her daughter, her expression troubled.

Alexia’s fingers found the small key she wore on a chain beneath her robes. "The vault contains the legacy of Caius Van Ambrose. His scrolls and his swords. Sunfire and Luna."

Liona asked. "It’s his birthright. Keeping it from him will only antagonize him further."

Alexia studied her daughter’s face. "It’s not the contents that concern me, but what Grim might do with them. Those techniques and weapons were powerful enough to make Caius a legend. In the hands of someone with Grim’s temperament and obvious resentment..."

"Is it?" Liona met her mother’s gaze evenly. "I’m being pragmatic. He’s made it clear he’ll get what he wants with or without our cooperation. Better to yield on this and maintain some goodwill."

"Or perhaps your judgment is clouded by past feelings," Alexia suggested carefully.

Liona fell silent, her eyes following the path ahead. After several moments, she spoke again. "Giving him the key could be a tactical advantage. It would put him in our debt, or at least make him believe we’re acting in good faith."

"And if what’s in that vault makes him more dangerous?" Alexia asked.

"Wouldn’t making him stonger and be on his good side a good thing." Liona asked.

Alexia sighed, pausing to face her daughter directly. "I don’t know. That’s precisely the problem. But the timing is... concerning."

"Perhaps his motives are simple," Liona suggested. "Reclaiming what’s his. Settling old scores."

"Even that would be destabilizing enough," Alexia said. "The noble houses have adjusted to the absence of House Ambrose. Reintroducing it, specially with such a volatile head. Will upset how everything is structured."

Liona considered this, then said, "Perhaps that’s exactly what the Empire needs."

Alexia’s eyebrows rose. "Explain."

"The noble houses have grown complacent. Entrenched. They jockey for small advantages while contributing less and less to the actual strength of the Empire." Liona’s voice grew more animated as she continued. "Grim’s return disrupts that complacency. It reminds them that positions of power are not guaranteed."

"An interesting perspective," Alexia conceded. "Though I wonder if it comes from political insight or personal feeling."

Liona’s cheeks colored slightly. "I’m trying to be pragmatic, Mother. Grim will get what he wants one way or another. He made that clear. Better to yield on something like the key and maintain the appearance of control."

Alexia resumed walking as she considered her daughter’s words. "You may have a point," she admitted finally.

As they rounded a corner in the path, Alexia placed a gentle hand on her daughter’s arm. "Liona... your engagement to Max Luminaris is a matter of state. It solidifies our northern alliances in ways we desperately need after the war. Whatever feelings you may still harbor for Grim—"

"I understand my duty," Liona interrupted, her voice suddenly formal. "The engagement will proceed as planned."

Alexia studied her daughter’s face, seeing the conflict beneath the composed exterior. "The heart doesn’t always follow duty’s path," she said softly.

"Did yours?" Liona asked, surprising them both with the directness of the question.

A sad smile touched Alexia’s lips. "No. But that’s precisely why I know the cost of following it instead of duty." She squeezed Liona’s arm gently. "Think carefully, my daughter. A princess’s choices are never truly her own."

With that, Empress Alexia signaled to her guards that she was ready to return to the palace, leaving Liona alone with her thoughts in the garden.

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Liona hadn’t intended to linger in the gardens, but she found herself drawn to the small stone bench near the reflecting pool. The same bench where she had often sat with Grim years ago.

"I thought I might find you here," a familiar voice said from behind her.

Liona turned to see Lianna approaching, her tall, athletic figure unmistakable even in the dim lantern light. Unlike most noble ladies, Lianna kept herself in excellent shape

She had a lean frame and her vibrant red hair was pulled back in a functional braid, highlighting her pretty, freckled face. Though flat-chested, her confident posture and sharp intelligence gave her a presence that many more conventionally beautiful women lacked. The thin-framed glasses she wore were for preference, not for her eyesight.

"Lianna," Liona acknowledged with a genuine smile. Despite their differences in temperament, the two had maintained a tentative friendship over the years, bound by their shared memories of Grim.

Lianna sat beside her on the bench without waiting for an invitation. "So," she said without waiting, "it really was him."

There was no need to specify who "him" referred to. "Yes," Liona confirmed. "It was Grim."

"Twelve years," Lianna mused, removing her glasses and cleaning them methodically with a small cloth she took from her pocket. "Twelve years, and he shows up looking like that."

"Like what?"

Lianna replaced her glasses, her green eyes meeting Liona’s. "Like someone who could burn the whole Empire to the ground and not blink." She paused. "The scar suits him, though."

Liona couldn’t help but laugh at the blunt assessment. "Always so tactful, Lianna."

"Tact is overrated," Lianna replied with a dismissive wave. "Especially between us. I saw the way you looked at him in the arena."

"And how was that?"

"Like you were seeing a ghost. Which, I suppose, you were." Lianna leaned back, studying the night sky above them. Despite her lean build and flat chest, she carried herself with the easy confidence of someone comfortable in their own skin. Years of physical training had given her strength that complemented her sharp mind.

"He’s different," Liona said quietly.

"Of course he’s different. Twelve years would change anyone, let alone twelve years of who-knows-what after watching his father turn into a monster and trying to kill him." Lianna’s matter-of-fact tone belied the horror of what she described. "The question is, different how? Different bad? Different dangerous? Different broken?"

Liona considered this. "All of those, perhaps. And yet... when he spoke to me, just at the end, I could still see the boy I knew."

Lianna snorted. "The boy you knew cut off Verin’s ear in a garden duel. He was never exactly a gentle soul."

"There was more to him than that," Liona defended.

"I know," Lianna admitted, her tone softening slightly. "I knew him too, remember? Not as well as you, but enough to see that he’s carrying something heavy now. Something more than just anger or revenge."

"What do you mean?"

Lianna tapped her temple. "His eyes. They’re... older than they should be. Like he’s seen things no one should have to see."

They sat in silence for a moment, considering this.

"What will you do?" Lianna finally asked.

"About what?"

"About him. About your engagement to Max Luminaris. About all of it." Lianna gestured expansively. "Grim’s return changes everything, whether you want it to or not."

Liona sighed. "I don’t know. I have duties, responsibilities. I can’t just..."

"Follow your heart?" Lianna suggested, one eyebrow raised skeptically. "Of course you can. You just choose not to."

"It’s not that simple."

"It never is." Lianna stood, stretching her long limbs like a cat. "But consider this: Grim Van Ambrose came back from the dead and challenged the entire noble assembly within hours of his return. He’s not someone who lets duty override what he truly wants. And I don’t think he came back just for a tournament prize or some old vault key."

Liona felt her cheeks warm. "You don’t know that."

"Don’t I?" Lianna smiled, a knowing expression that made her freckles dance in the lantern light. "The hairpin comment wasn’t exactly subtle."

Liona’s hand unconsciously rose to touch the sapphire pin in her hair. "You heard about that?"

"I was friends with Grim at one point to princess, so my father told me."

"Of course he did," Liona said dryly.

Lianna turned to leave, then paused. "For what it’s worth, I think Grim’s return is the most interesting thing to happen to this stagnant Empire in decades. Whatever comes next won’t be boring." Her smile turned mischievous. "And if you decide that duty can wait, I’d be happy to create a distraction so you can slip away. I’m quite good at those."

"I’m sure you are," Liona replied, unable to suppress a smile of her own.

As Lianna walked away down the garden path, Liona turned back to the reflecting pool. The surface of the water showed her face, illuminated by moonlight, the sapphire hairpin gleaming like a star.

Twelve years ago, a boy had given it to her for her birthday. Today, a man with the same eyes had returned, bringing with him memories she had tried to bury and feelings she had never quite forgotten.

Duty, her mother had said, must come before the heart.

"Duty or follow my heart. That’s the question I must answer now."