"All is ready! Grand Duke, Your Highness, and Grand Duchess, Your Grace. I shall escort you to the banquet hall at once."
"Yes, yes. Thank you, Sir Alfredo."
Daniela rose from the bed first. I was still sprawled across it. Come to think of it, I hadn't even had a chance to get properly dressed. Setting that regret aside, I got up. The day wasn't over yet, after all. I'd have to find the right moment.
I took Daniela's hand and stepped out into the corridor. Alfredo stood behind us, continuing to direct the maids on various matters. Midway down the corridor, the Imperial Guard stood arrayed in formation.
Every last one of them wore their dress uniforms. Behind them, soldiers in armor held their spears at an angle, tips pointed skyward.
At the far end of the corridor, the main gate leading to the Hall of Winter was particularly imposing. The Guard Commander stood ramrod straight.
"Your Highness, I shall open the doors."
I gave a nod. The Guard Commander opened the doors, and within the Hall of Winter, every person stood at rigid attention.
Ministers and nobles — and notably, noble ladies dressed to the height of fashion — were all in attendance. Children who had been chattering noisily were swept up in the sudden hush.
Following Alfredo's direction, I took my usual seat. The one difference from any other day was that a second chair had been placed beside it.
An ornate chair.
It bore the hasty marks of having been set out in a hurry, but it was a chair nonetheless — black, decorated with intertwining wolf motifs worked in gold. The moment I sat down in the black chair, Alfredo descended two steps from the dais.
Hexon handed Alfredo a scroll as thick as a grown man's forearm. Alfredo checked its contents, then began to call out in a loud, carrying voice.
"We shall now proceed with the selection ceremony of His Highness Theodor von Ardrno Ifela Wintergard — sole Grand Duke of the Empire, rightful Margrave of the Northern Marches, Supreme Commander of the Northern Grand Army, and Great Protector of the People!"
Silence held among the assembled. Alfredo called out the names of every northern noble and minister in turn, confirming their attendance. Each time a name was called, the person bowed their head at a full ninety degrees.
After confirming those present and offering a word that separate courtesies would be extended to those unable to attend, Alfredo ascended to the dais.
I had expected him to come to me, but instead he approached Daniela slowly and knelt before her. Alfredo asked the seated Daniela for her name.
"Daniela."
"Your Grace must give your full name as well."
"Ah — I had been using the name Daniela von Barth."
"Understood, Grand Duchess."
Having received her name, Alfredo returned to his place on the steps. He unrolled the scroll once more and began the formal proclamation that Daniela's name had changed.
"From this moment forth, Daniela von Barth shall set aside the name 'von Barth' and receive the name of Wintergard. Should any present have an objection, let them come forward now."
Silence. The children, growing bored, began to murmur quietly among themselves — little good that the adults' stern looks would do them. There were infants in attendance as well; mercifully, none were crying yet. Though it seemed one more loud noise might change that.
"If there are no objections, then as of this day, having set aside the name 'von Barth,' we hereby conclude the selection ceremony of Daniela von Wintergard, the new mistress of Winter Castle!"
The moment Alfredo finished speaking, an infant let out a lusty wail. The cheers of the crowd drowned it out entirely. *For the eternal glory of Wintergard! For the eternal glory of Wintergard!* The Hall of Winter itself seemed to ring with it.
Through the main gates of the Hall of Winter, soldiers entered to the sound of music, bearing great unfurled banners. Banners bearing the violet crest. Those banners would now be raised on the castle's flagpoles. When the wolf and the violet flew together, all of Wintergard would know that both lord and lady were within the castle walls.
"Your Highness. If Your Highness would also say a few words..."
"Is that strictly necessary?"
"Even so, by custom, the banquet cannot truly begin until Your Highness has spoken."
At Alfredo's words, I rose from my seat. The room's attention gathered toward me. Children who had begun to run about were momentarily stilled by the adults around them. What to say. *That'll do, won't it?* I wondered if I could get away with just that.
"There is only one thing I wish to ask of you all. Treat Daniela as you treat me — serve her as you serve me."
"You need not worry on that account, Your Highness!"
"Good. I trust you won't give me cause to. Daniela has come from the South, so she may not yet know the ways of the North well — I ask that you make every allowance for that."
When I sat back down, the banquet began in earnest. The music swelled, and the children were free to run about as they pleased.
The hands of mothers soothing their infants grew slower and more relaxed. It was a pleasant sight — watching them gently coax their little ones, wondering what on earth had gotten into them.
Servants began carrying tables in one after another, even as the guests chattered all around them. Through it all, the servants and maids moved without pause. Hard work. I'd have to give them a day off tomorrow.
"Shall we go down as well?"
"Yes. Yes, Grand Duke."
"Grand Duke?"
There were many eyes watching. Daniela and I linked arms naturally and descended the steps together. Once the servants had finished their arrangements, the time for eating and merrymaking began in earnest.
I quietly told Alfredo to give the servants and maids a holiday, then made my way toward the infant who had been crying.
"Y-Your Highness. A-and Your Grace."
Leo's child. The infant I had given a name to. Leo's wife, Laila, dipped her head slightly. The traces of the baby's earlier tears were still there, but those round eyes were already spinning with curiosity. Leo and Laila whispered to each other as they watched the baby.
I reached out and lightly touched the infant's cheek. Soft. Daniela was also gazing at the baby.
"Th-thank you for giving her a name, G-Grand Duchess."
"Not at all, Sir Leo. She is even more beautiful than her name."
Laila and Leo laughed softly. I quietly murmured *Anora*, but the baby didn't yet seem to know her own name.
I reached out to touch the baby's cheek with my finger, and the baby seized my finger in a firm grip. The baby's hand was exactly the size of my index finger.
"How adorable."
"The other ladies have been in quite a stir over how beautiful the name Your Highness gave is, Your Highness."
"She's far too lovely, isn't she?"
"He is a boy, Your Highness."
"I only meant he is that precious."
A relief. They'd told me to lead with *daughter* when looking at a baby. Sound advice. Laila and Leo hadn't caught on. The baby held my finger in a tight grip and refused to let go.
The North's future was bright. The parents' hearts would surely wish he never become a soldier — but to already have this kind of grip.
"W-we, too, are always, ah, looking forward to it."
"What kind of thing is that to say!"
"I meant — to seeing the Young Duke, Your Highness."
The Young Duke? I was momentarily confused, but the meaning of the answer came to me quickly enough. Who exactly was being teased here? I glanced over at Daniela's expression. She appeared not to have heard. Or perhaps she was pretending not to have heard.
"I shall endeavor to oblige."
"Th-thank you, Your Highness! When the Young Duke is born, this Leo will—"
"Yes, yes. I understand."
The drinking began. We sat at the head of the table. People told their stories, and meat kept arriving at the tables in a steady stream. The wine never stopped flowing into the banquet hall. The children were all eating well too.
I leaned close to Daniela's ear and whispered.
"Does this sort of thing happen?"
"What sort of thing?"
"Romance like something out of a pulp novel. Did this kind of situation ever come up?"
"W-well... I'm not entirely sure myself."
"You've become the most important person here now."
Of course, there would still be time needed to get to know everyone. Daniela's blue eyes curved into an awkward smile. There was no sign of discomfort, but she was receiving greetings from people one after another. She would come to know them all soon enough. Given a little time.
"Grand Duchess! Welcome once more to Winter Castle!"
The most extravagantly loyal of the nobles spoke up. White beard, white hair — and behind him, standing quietly, was James de Wintergard, heir to House de Wintergard. It seemed he had been rolling around on the front lines with Leo and had returned when winter came.
"House de Wintergard has historically been charged with the protection of the Grand Duchess! Though in recent times we have not been able to fulfill that duty faithfully, we shall demonstrate our loyalty this time!"
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
House de Wintergard had always led the unit closest to the Grand Duchess. It seemed they felt they had been neglecting that duty, given that there had been no Grand Duchess until now.
"Now that we have a Grand Duchess, it may be fitting to remove the names of the late Grand Duke and Grand Duchess that follow 'von' in Your Highness's name."
"You mean as Theodor von Wintergard?"
"Just so."
"That... I shall give some thought to. We have not yet been formally wed, after all."
*Thud.*
Silence. The moment the word *formally* left my mouth, I regretted it. A mistake. The wine cups people had been holding froze in place. Every gaze turned toward me at the head of the table.
*Terrifying. Stop looking at me like that.*
It was House de Wintergard who broke the silence. I had half-expected foaming at the mouth — what followed was not far off.
"Your Highness! Please, not such words!"
"Your Highness! You cannot—"
"Y-Your H-Highness, that is—"
I had truly made a mistake.