"Haah..." Sylvie exhaled a long sigh as she sat alone in her room, her shoulders slowly sinking as the breath left her chest. The book open before her remained untouched. Her eyes had been on the same page for several minutes, yet not a single word had truly registered in her mind.
She didn't feel like studying today. Her thoughts were elsewhere, tangled in something she could not simply ignore.
It was her father. Or more precisely, the letter he had sent her recently.
Her fingers slowly reached toward the folded parchment resting beside the book. She tapped it lightly, as if the paper itself carried weight.
That letter contained an invitation to return home after her exams.
Normally, she wouldn't have overthought something like this. Letters from home were not unusual. But this time was different.
Recently, her mother and even her maid back home had been dropping subtle hints in their messages. The King had been searching for suitable grooms for her for quite some time now.
