Augusta immediately dropped to her knees. "Your Majesty, the white fox was indeed felled by my arrow."

The moment our words landed, the Crown Prince's expression shifted. He stared at me, his voice sharp with disbelief. "Camila, there's no way you missed that shot."

"Your archery, your horsemanship. You don't miss. What kind of game are you playing?"

The Queen's face changed the instant she heard the fox had been Augusta's kill.

Augusta caught the Crown Prince's tone and turned to him, eyes reddening with wounded hurt. "Does Your Highness not believe I made the shot either?"

The Crown Prince realized his blunder and quickly helped her to her feet. "Of course I do. I was simply so stunned I couldn't believe it at first. Your archery has truly improved, my dear."

The Queen studied Augusta, still kneeling, then turned her gaze to me with a thin smile. "Camila, you are the trueborn daughter of the Duke of Ironhold. No noblewoman in the capital can match your skill on horseback. How could you possibly lose?"

This bride-selection banquet was dressed up as a fox hunt, but every great house had received word beforehand. It was nothing more than a grand performance to crown me as the Crown Princess.

In all the capital, who could outride or outshoot me? But this time, I had no intention of winning.

I lifted my head and let out a regretful sigh. "I beg Your Majesty's pardon. My horse grew temperamental for reasons I cannot explain and threw me from the saddle. I injured my left shoulder and could not draw my bow with any force."

"But my elder sister's marksmanship was superb. I accept my defeat without reservation."

Augusta stood beside the Crown Prince, tilting her delicate face up at him. "Your Highness, are you not pleased that I brought down the white fox?"

The Crown Prince smiled and took her hand. "Don't be silly. I'm delighted."

The Queen beckoned her head attendant forward. "How did Camila take such a fall? Go at once and see whether she's been hurt."

"If anything has happened to her, her parents will hold me responsible for not looking after her properly."

The Queen's personal attendant helped me to my feet and led me away to be treated. She lifted the edge of my sleeve gently; my left shoulder was scraped raw and swollen red.

The attendant gasped. "What a terrible fall."

When the salve had been applied and I returned, the attendant gave the Queen a confirming nod. The Queen exhaled at last, but she was far from ready to let the matter rest. "Camila is the Duke of Ironhold's trueborn daughter, unmatched in archery and horsemanship. Today's loss came only because she was injured. The contest was hardly fair to her. Why not wait until she has recovered and hold a second match?"

The words had barely left her lips before Augusta's eyes turned red again. She bit her lower lip and looked to the Crown Prince. "Your Highness, my sister is the Duke's trueborn daughter. The title of Crown Princess was always meant to be hers."

"Does it even matter that I shot the fox? In the end, the position will go to Camila regardless."

Tears rolled down her cheeks like pearls slipping from a broken string.

Her little speech had the opposite of its intended effect on the assembled noblewomen. Resentment rippled through the crowd. The competition was supposed to be fair. Why was the Queen so blatantly favoring me?

Discontented murmurs swelled. "This isn't right. Augusta was the one who made the kill."

"Exactly. Camila got hurt. That's just how it goes. A loss is a loss."

Their reasoning was simple: losing to any other noblewoman would sting, but letting Augusta take the crown was a different calculation entirely. A lesser-born daughter no one respected becoming Crown Princess posed no real threat.

The Crown Prince wiped Augusta's tears with a tender hand, clasped her fingers tightly, and stepped forward to face the Queen. "Mother, the rules of this selection were set well in advance. Everyone in the capital knows them. Augusta brought down the white fox. She is the Crown Princess."

"His Majesty's word is law. It cannot be undone."

"I care for Augusta, and I wish to take her as my principal wife."

Augusta flushed scarlet, her face tilted up toward the Crown Prince. "I would gladly remain by Your Highness's side, never to part."

The Queen stared at Augusta, her expression darkening by the second.

She had schemed and plotted for the Crown Prince, engineering this match so he would marry me as his principal wife, binding the Henson Ducal Estate to him as his most powerful pillar of support. She never imagined a lesser-born daughter like Augusta would ruin everything.

The distinction between trueborn and lesser-born was easy enough to say aloud, but in practice, the gap was as wide as the sky.

The House of Ironhold would move heaven and earth for its trueborn daughter. A lesser-born girl of no consequence? No one would lift a finger.

Unwilling to concede, the Queen spoke up, her face the picture of tender concern. "Camila, you and my son have known each other since childhood. You were sweethearts. I know it pains you that your injury today cost you the Ivory Fox."

"I understand the bond between you and the Crown Prince. Fate can be so cruel. Though you were injured and could not claim the fox, I would like to name you his secondary consort. What do you say?"

She leaned close and lowered her voice. "Principal wife, secondary consort, what does it matter? It's all for show."

"Once you enter the Eastern Palace, I give you my word: the seat beside the Crown Prince will be yours."

She gripped my hand, her lacquered nails digging into my flesh hard enough to leave marks.

Behind me, the Crown Prince let out a scornful laugh. "Camila, my mother is graciously offering you the position of secondary consort. In common terms, yes, that makes you a concubine. But you should understand: a concubine of the royal house outranks any commoner's principal wife by a wide margin."

"You would be concubine to me, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace."

Augusta spoke softly from his side. "Your Highness, please don't say any more. You'll upset my sister. She was raised like a jewel in the palm of the Duke's hand. How could she ever agree to be a concubine?"

"Perhaps I should give up the position of principal wife to her instead. As long as I can stay by your side, titles mean nothing to me."

The Crown Prince drew her closer with a gentle arm around her shoulders and smiled. "Silly girl. The position of principal wife is rightfully yours. Why would you give it up? I told you, I will make you the most honored woman in the Eastern Palace."

Then he coaxed her away, murmuring, "The decree naming the Crown Princess will reach the Henson estate soon. Let me take you to see the ceremonial gifts first, and the bridal gown. You can choose whichever pattern you like."

With that, he led Augusta away under the gaze of every person present.

I lifted my chin and addressed the Queen, my voice ringing clear. "I beg Your Majesty to withdraw the offer. Augusta and I both come from the House of Ironhold. Two daughters of the Henson family cannot both marry into the Eastern Palace."

"I humbly ask Your Majesty's forgiveness."

The warmth drained from the Queen's eyes.

What good was a lesser-born daughter of the Duke's household? Making a girl like that the Crown Princess was a joke.

When the hunt concluded, I climbed into the Henson carriage to return home, but the Crown Prince blocked my path.

"Camila, I know the title of secondary consort stings your pride. But you should count yourself fortunate."

"Augusta put in every good word she could for you. She said that once she enters the Eastern Palace, she would let you manage the household. She's too gentle and soft for it, not decisive the way you are."

"I will give her the title of Crown Princess and nothing more. The real power will be yours."

"You are the trueborn daughter of the Duke of Ironhold, groomed from birth for exactly this. I trust no one more than you to run the Eastern Palace."

"There is just one condition. If you agree, Augusta says she will allow you to bear children after you join the household."

I tried to wrench my hand free, but his grip held. I kept my composure and said evenly, "I have no intention of marrying into the Eastern Palace, Your Highness."

Irritation flashed across the Crown Prince's face, coloring it with barely concealed anger. "Enough. I know you're upset. But I said there is one condition. Agree to it, and three days after the Crown Princess's formal entry, I will come for you."

"Augusta is lesser-born. Her dowry is modest. It would be humiliating for her to enter the Eastern Palace with so little."

"You are trueborn. Simply transfer your dowry into her name so she can be carried through the gates in proper splendor, and I will see to it that you become my secondary consort without a hitch."

I stared at her, wide-eyed. "Your Highness wants me to what? Transfer my dowry into Augusta's name?"

The audacity of this woman.

Augusta trailed behind the Queen, her voice small and trembling. "Sister, I may only be a lesser-born daughter, but I'm still a daughter of the House of Ironhold. I'm about to become the Crown Princess. I simply don't want to bring shame upon our family's name."

The Crown Prince tenderly wiped her tears, then turned to me with a mocking look. "I'll have my Chief Steward deliver my personal decree to the Duke Everett Abbott's estate. They are to treat the future Crown Princess with the respect she deserves and prepare a proper trousseau for her."

By the time Augusta returned to the Henson Ducal Estate, the Crown Prince's Chief Steward had already arrived and delivered the message.

The moment Augusta stepped through the door, she dropped to her knees before my mother, the picture of pitiful innocence. "Mother, the Crown Prince took pity on me for my humble birth and suggested the estate prepare a proper trousseau. He said Camila could lend me her dowry first, so I'd have something respectable when I enter the Eastern Palace."

"Camila will only be a secondary consort. No one will care how large her dowry is. Once we're both in the Eastern Palace, what's mine and what's hers will be one and the same."

"After all, I may be lesser-born, but I'm still Father's daughter. Surely he wouldn't want the world mocking the Duke of Ironhold for treating his daughters unequally?"

Her eyes glittered with calculation. My mother regarded her with quiet disappointment, then finally spoke. "Enough. Go and rest. Focus on your wedding preparations."

Augusta rose, a satisfied smile playing on her lips as she swept out of the room.

My mother took my hand. "Camila, do you truly intend to become the Crown Prince's secondary consort?"

I shook my head. "Don't worry, Mother. I will never marry the Crown Prince. I wouldn't even want to be his principal wife, let alone his concubine."

"I've already refused the Queen's offer to make me a secondary consort, but I doubt she'll give up so easily."

My father's expression turned grave. "The House of Ironhold cannot be dragged into the succession struggle. The only way to extricate ourselves is to marry you to someone else before the palace can issue a decree."

"If Augusta wants to marry into the Eastern Palace, let her. When the time comes, our family will have its own answer."

On the day of the Crown Prince's wedding, red silk draped every street and festive music filled the air. When the Crown Prince arrived at the estate and spotted me standing off to the side, he smiled. "Camila, three days from now, I'll petition His Majesty for a decree naming you my secondary consort. Behave yourself, and I'll give you a grand wedding too."

Then his gaze drifted toward Augusta's courtyard, where forty-eight chests of dowry stood in neat rows. His expression darkened. "Is the House of Ironhold trying to humiliate me?"

"My Crown Princess, and she brings only forty-eight chests? This is an insult."

My father stepped forward. "Forgive the offense, Your Highness, but Augusta is not my biological daughter. Forty-eight chests for a girl I raised out of kindness is more than generous."