Sylvie’s POV:
I forced a smile as I conversed with Duchess Anruin, her daughter Maureen standing primly beside her. The grand hall of the palace, where the night banquet was being held, buzzed with the low murmur of chatter, the clinking of silver, and the faint, sweet scent of flowers arranged in towering vases.
For years, I had become so deeply, intricately woven into my role as Sylvianne, the princess, King Rhaedon’s youngest daughter. The façade had become so complete, so convincing, that I often felt disconnected from the girl I once was.
Now, in this moment, that I knew with a chilling certainty that I was Scarlett, it was incredibly difficult for me to truly think of myself as her. The identities blurred, intertwined, two halves of a fractured soul.
I hadn’t fully realized thi
