Chapter 130
Owen quietly returned home long after sunset.
For the first time in weeks, he looked... thoughtful.
Not exhausted.
Not angry.
Thoughtful.
Philip immediately noticed, "My Lord...Should I inform Her Grace you've returned?"
Owen removed his gloves slowly, " Please...And ask Aurora to join us in the sitting room."
Philip blinked, "Now?"
"Yes."
Something in Owen's voice made Philip bow without another question.
A short while later...
Aurora entered first. She smiled faintly.
"Daddy, you wanted to see me?"
Then Eleanor walked in carrying a tray of tea.
"You've only just returned and already you're calling family meetings."
Owen smiled, "I thought it was about time we sat together."
The three settled into comfortable chairs.
Nobody spoke immediately.
Aurora noticed the stack of old documents resting beside her father.
"Dad...What happened?"
Owen looked from his wife......to his daughter.
Then he sighed, "I met with King Lucian."
Aurora's expression didn't change.
She simply nodded, "How did it go?"
"He found something."
Aurora frowned slightly, "What?"
Instead of answering immediately, Owen picked up one of the old law books.
"This."
Aurora looked confused, "A law book?"
Owen nodded.
"It seems His Majesty and Theo have spent several nights searching the royal archives."
Aurora immediately became interested.
"They found something?"
"They did."
Owen slowly explained everything.
The ancient marriage law.
The connection between the Crown and a Grand Duchy.
The Royal Family's personal estates.
The private treasury.
The loan.
The condition requiring an heir.
He explained everything.
Neither Aurora nor Eleanor interrupted once.
By the time he finished...
Silence filled the room.
Aurora stared quietly at the documents.
"So...If I married the King......the former Queen and King could legally loan the Duchy enough money to survive."
Owen nodded, "Yes."
Aurora lowered her eyes.
The room became very quiet.
Then Owen spoke again, "There is something else."
Aurora looked up, "What?"
Owen smiled gently, "Lucian didn't come only because of the law. He came because of you."
Aurora frowned, "What do you mean?"
Owen watched his daughter carefully, "He asked for my permission."
Aurora blinked, "...Permission? To marry you."
The words seemed to stop time.
Aurora simply stared.
Even Eleanor looked surprised.
Owen continued quietly, "He apologised. For everything. He admitted how badly he treated you. He told me he loves you."
Aurora looked down almost immediately.
She didn't know what to feel.
Owen continued, "He also made one thing very clear. If you refuse...He will accept your decision."
Aurora looked up again, "He said that?"
Owen nodded, "He told me that even if you rejected his proposal......he would continue searching for another way to save Emberforge."
Tears slowly filled Aurora's eyes.
Not because she suddenly loved Lucian.
Because...For the first time...Someone had given her a choice.
No orders.
No political arrangements.
No royal decree.
Only...
A choice.
Eleanor reached over and gently took Aurora's hand, "My darling...What does your heart say?"
Aurora laughed softly, "My heart is terribly confused."
That earned small smiles from both parents.
She looked toward the fire burning quietly in the fireplace.
"I spent so many years loving him. I begged for his attention. I embarrassed myself."
Her voice became quieter, "Then I finally let him go."
She swallowed, "And now......he says he loves me."
She looked utterly lost, "I don't know what to believe."
Owen leaned forward, "Aurora."
She looked at him,
"I want you to listen to me very carefully ", His voice became gentle, "You owe this family nothing."
She opened her mouth.
He gently raised a hand, "No."
"You owe this Duchy nothing."
"You owe this Kingdom nothing."
"You owe Lucian nothing."
The tears she'd been holding back finally escaped.
Owen smiled sadly, "If you marry him......I want it to be because you choose him."
"Not because you feel responsible.Not because of these ledgers."
He gestured toward the accounts, "I will not sell my daughter's happiness."
Aurora's lips trembled, "Dad..."
Owen continued, "If Emberforge falls...We'll rebuild it. If we become poor...We'll become poor together...But I will never allow my daughter to sacrifice her life for mine."
The room fell silent.
Eleanor quietly wiped away her own tears.
She moved beside Aurora and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"My darling...If you decide to marry Lucian......then marry him because you believe he can make you happy."
She smiled softly, "And if you cannot imagine yourself loving him......then say no. No one here will ever blame you."
Aurora lowered her head, "So what should I do?"
Neither parent answered immediately.
Finally Owen smiled, "I think......you should stop asking whether Lucian deserves another chance."
Aurora looked at him.
"And instead ask yourself one question", He smiled warmly, "Can you see yourself loving him?"
Aurora closed her eyes.
Images drifted through her mind.The cold prince from her first life.
The young king carrying wounded miners.
The man apologising.The man helping strangers.
The man refusing to force her into marriage.
Then...
Another image appeared.
Dante.
Smiling.
Laughing.
Holding her hand beside the lake.
Her chest tightened painfully.
Could she love again?
Could she truly open her heart...
...without betraying the man she had never stopped loving?
Or...
Could loving someone new be exactly what Dante would have wanted for her?
She didn't know.
And for the first time since returning to the past...
Aurora realised...
The hardest battle she would ever fight...
...would not be against Bracken.
It would be against her own heart.
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