The gears of fate are sadly unhinged!

Chapter 01 Prologue

She looked over the letter that the butler had informed her about and read the words written on it.
She sighed unexpectedly at the contents.
Hearing this, Martha's face, who was preparing tea next to her, distorted in worry.

"Princess, is this not good news?　Something about His Highness....."

"Oh, no, it's not. This news itself is a good one. His Highness says he's fine."

"Oh!　I'm glad to hear that!　I'm really glad I think....."

I can't really say to her what is the matter... I sighed again in my mind.
In the letter, it says that His Highness, who had gone missing, was found safe.
That was a delight for me, and the moment I read it, a relief spread like a grasping of the chest had been removed.
The problem is the sentence that follows.

--His Highness seems to have fallen off a cliff and his memory is fuzzy.
It will take some time for them to return, as they will be accompanied by a town girl who saved and nursed him.
I didn't think it was going to happen...
Lucia read the last sentence and took a big, deep breath as if to calm her mind.

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The gears of fate are sadly unhinged!

Chapter 02

Lucia and Arthur's engagement was announced and went on without incident for the next years.

There were days when Lucia considered breaking off her engagement after seeing the insistence of Arthur to show her how much he loves her, she considered it sweet but too much to bear.
However, after the desperate persuasion of those around her and Arthur's persistent apologies and whispers of love, she has forgotten those ideas.
They are also 18 years old, which means they will be recognized as adults next year.

The end of their long engagement and their wedding will be the next year. The preparations have kept her busy lately. 

Especially, Arthur's enthusiasm was amazing, he was seriously participating in the preparations, leaving Lucia, the bride, aside, making her feel alone.
 

But then, disturbing news came to the Royal Castle.

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The gears of fate are sadly unhinged 

Chapter 03

Suddenly sprang up another event more important, The Royal Inspection planned for go to supervise the building of the bridge in the border of the country.
There was a large river that flows along the border with the neighboring country.
There have been several bridges built in the past for connecting both countries, but they have been washed away many times by floods caused by the heavy rains in the region.
Each time a bridge was washed away, it has been re-built, but since it relates to the circulation and traffic between the two countries, it tends to be a hurried project.
So even if they build a new one, it can't withstand the next year's storm or flood and was washed away again soon.
Taking the situation seriously, the two countries decided to jointly build a large and strong bridge with shared funds and workers of the zone.

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The gears of fate are sadly unhinged!

Chapter 04

Lucia opened the curtains of her room and looked up at the overcast sky.
The rain that had begun to fall two days after Arthur and the others left the royal castle and it was showing no signs of stopping even today, five days later.
A rumors spread through the Capital that some regions are experiencing heavy downpours.

Arthur, I hope you're okay.
According to what I've heard, the area where Arthur was sent to was experiencing heavy rainfall, and his inspection schedule had been postponed due to this.
If it was a storm this heavy, Arthur wouldn't want to come back, but...
It's been three days since I stopped hearing from him.

Anxiety runs through Lucia's chest and as she took a deep, calming breath, the door to the room opened with momentum.

"Lady Lucia!"
"Oh!"

Martha, usually calm and serene, barges into the room at high speed.
Startled by the momentum, Lucia opened her mouth with a pout and looked back at Martha.

"What's the matter?　It's unusual that you're in such a hurry."

"Just now, a messenger horse came from the royal castle, and informed-- His Highness...''

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The gears of fate are sadly unhinged!

Chapter 05

At breakfast, Lucia received a letter from the royal castle.
She asked for her parent permission and opened it on the spot to check the contents.

"What does it say?"
"His Highness will be back around noon today."
"That's good to hear. Of course, you're going to the Royal Castle to greet him, right?"
"It's....."

To be honest, I didn't want to go.
I don't know what's waiting for me, and I don't have the confidence to stay calm if the worst thing, that I can imagine, happens.
However, common sense tells us that not going to greet him, being his Royal fiancée is not an option.
That's the kind of situation that leads to extra speculation.
　
Maybe the parents sensed Lucia's conflict because they smiled gently and said.

"You don't have to do this. Is it okay to say NO when you're not feeling well, right?"

She almost nodded at her mother's kind words.
But even if she runs away now, she'll have to face him at some point.
In that case, it's better early than later, I should be prepared...

"No, I'll go. I'm going to see Arthur."
"Ok... But, please, go home as soon as you can if anything happens"
"That's right. You don't have to worry about shame or public appearance, ok? I'm not going to allow my dear daughter to suffer, you're the most important thing in the world for me, ok?"

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