After leaving the village, they all crossed the grassland. Eva and the other girls were still silent, not speaking at all. Ard, who was walking at the very front, looked back, and all the girls, including Eva, immediately turned their faces away, avoiding his gaze. A confused Ard looked ahead again, then he glanced at Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin walking beside him.

"What the heck is going on? Are they giving me the cold shoulder now?" Ard asked.

"Don't worry about it, bro. Just relax," Geoffrey replied, patting Ard's back.

"Yeah, just let them be. We're heading to Claudia's village now, right?" Ainsley added, adjusting his glasses.

"Do you know where Claudia's village is?" Irwin asked Ainsley.

"Hmm... I'm not sure, but to the east of the Ateras Kingdom capital, there's a pretty large barbarian tribe settlement, and judging by the direction we're walking, we're heading there now," Ainsley answered.

"I see. According to Claudia, we have to inform her father about the canceled engagement," Geoffrey noted.

"Alright, after that, we'll head straight to the crossing bridge to the eastern continent and go directly to the Rellios Kingdom," Ard said.

"Yep, sounds good," Irwin replied.

They kept walking without stopping until late afternoon, when they finally had to make camp. After setting up, Eva and the other girls remained quiet; they simply worked automatically, setting up the tents and making the atmosphere even more stiff for Ard, who was watching, because everyone was avoiding his gaze. He was slightly thankful, though, that they weren't fighting and seemed much closer than before.

After eating dinner around the campfire in silence, Eva and the girls immediately went inside the tents, leaving Ard, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin sitting around the campfire.

"Okay... this is weird... the atmosphere is totally off. Don't you guys feel anything?" Ard asked, turning to his three friends.

"I'm perfectly chill. It's a clear night, and I'm sleeping right here; too lazy for the tent. Just wake me up when it's my turn to stand watch," Geoffrey said, slouching down and lying on the grass.

"Come on, Ard, just enjoy it. Isn't it nice when things are quiet and peaceful like this?" Ainsley said, sitting back comfortably against a rock behind him.

"Yep, totally. Better to look at the stars in the sky," Irwin added, lying flat on his back and gazing at the heavens.

"You guys... are way too relaxed," Ard muttered, annoyed but smiling.

"They're fine. Just look at the three tents behind you," Irwin said, holding up his thumb and pointing backward.

Ard turned around. He saw Eva, Alicia, and Milia peeking out of the first tent; then Beatrice, Rosalind, and Patricia peeking out of the second tent; and finally, Mirea and Claudia peeking out of the third tent. They were clearly watching and observing him, but the moment Ard turned back, the flaps of all three tents immediately snapped shut, making Ard even more puzzled.

Frustrated, Ard ran his hand through his hair. He turned to look at his three friends, who had unknowingly drifted off to sleep. He shook his head, stood up, and walked down the hill, unaware that the flaps of all three tents opened again, and, naturally, their occupants were peeking out again. After Ard left, the tents opened, and all eight girls quietly stepped out, walked behind their tents, and gathered.

"Hey... we can't keep doing this, right?" Eva whispered.

"You started it. I've been his fiancée from the beginning... but... somehow, I just went along with it too," Alicia whispered back.

"What choice do we have? I'm embarrassed," Milia said.

"Same here. Although this is the first time I've felt this way... it turns out admitting you like and love someone is humiliating... for myself, I mean," Beatrice stated.

"I agree with you, Princess," Rosalind added.

"I... I'm not usually like this," Claudia admitted.

"So this is what love feels like, huh? I really had no idea," Patricia said.

"It means all eight of us truly love Ard, even though at first we were only pretending to be his fiancées to free Claudia from the engagement... now that it's come to this, what else can we do?" Mirea concluded.

"But you're older than all of us. Why are you acting the same way?" Alicia asked.

"Hey... don't call me old! I'm only three years older than you guys. If I'm old, so is Claudia; she's two years older than you," Mirea replied, annoyed.

"Easy now, why are you dragging me into this?" Claudia retorted.

"The oldest one here is Eva; she's been alive for 3,000 years, then 1,000 years, and nine times before this life... you shouldn't be embarrassed anymore," Milia pointed out.

"Still... even so, I'm only just understanding what love is in this life. I realize that in my past lives, I only felt like we were in the same boat, then became obsessive because I felt he belonged to me, and eventually couldn't let go of him... I don't think that was love," Eva admitted. "Even when I was Edith on Earth... I always hoped I'd meet Ace during the war... I convinced myself that was love... now I'm starting to question if what I felt back then was truly love, this whole thing is confusing," Eva mused to herself.

"Enough about age, the important thing is, we have to act normal, right?" Patricia said.

"It's hard. I can't look at Ard. If he even glances at me, I just want to rush over and hug him... ugh... this is annoying, we're in the middle of a journey," Milia replied, hugging herself.

"Yep, I can feel it too. Even though I've usually been pretty straightforward with him, and we've been engaged since childhood... ugh... I'm starting to wonder myself... was what I felt since childhood actually love? Because what I feel now is different," Alicia asked, as if talking to herself.

Everyone fell silent again, and the atmosphere returned to quiet contemplation. After that, they all sat down on the grass in a circle and reflected, digging into their own feelings and trying to understand their emotions. Eva continuously replayed her memories from when she was on Earth until now. She realized that she truly did love Ard since moving to this world and meeting Ace again 3,000 years ago, but along the way, that love turned into something else—a sense of possession or obsession—so that all she could think about was Ard since she was still Ace.

But now it's different. She doesn't want to cage Ard but wants to walk alongside him toward the future. Then, she also looked at Alicia, Milia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Patricia, Mirea, and Claudia. This time, she didn't see them as rivals and competitors, but as friends, and even family. Something lifted in Eva's heart, making her feel relieved. Then, she noticed the others also looked relieved.

"I apologize if I wanted to have Ard all to myself this whole time. Now, I don't mind if you're also with Ard, because for me, I want to move forward and walk alongside Ard, to be his partner," Eva announced.

Everyone immediately turned to look at Eva, staring at her as if she had suddenly grown another head. They never expected the Ice Princess, who was previously willing to fight everyone just to selfishly claim Ard, to speak like that now. Alicia, who was sitting next to Eva, slid closer and immediately held Eva's hand. Of course, Eva turned to see Alicia smiling at her.

"I feel the same way," Alicia said.

"Me too," Milia added, sliding over and holding Eva's other hand.

Beatrice stood up, then walked behind Eva and immediately crouched down, hugging Eva from the back, while Rosalind stood next to Beatrice, smiling.

"Now we're sisters, right, Princess Eva... no... Eva," Beatrice said.

"Yes, Beatrice," Eva replied, smiling.

After that, Patricia, Mirea, and Claudia also moved closer. They all realized they were the same because they loved the same man.

"Alright, that means we all agree to be Ard's partners and walk with him, without any conflict between us," Claudia declared.

"Yes, that's right, we're all in this together," Patricia agreed.

"So, from now on, let's call our group the 'Council of Queens.' That way, if Ard becomes king later, we'll support him from behind, not just as queens, but as partners. Agreed?" Mirea asked.

"Of course we agree," Eva, Alicia, Milia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Patricia, and Claudia all replied, their faces now looking cheerful, fresh and freed from a heavy burden.

As they were gathered near Eva, hugging and smiling at each other, a shadow suddenly covered them.

"Um... what are you all doing behind the tents like this?"

They all instantly jolted in surprise, then turned to see Ard standing right in front of them, looking at them from behind the tents with a confused look on his face. "blusssh," the faces of all eight of them immediately turned bright red. "Waaaaaah... get out!" they all screamed, covering their faces and throwing anything they could grab at Ard.

"Huh... uh... sorry," Ard mumbled, feeling totally awkward and uncomfortable, then turned around, walked away, and sat back down in front of the campfire, completely bewildered and frustrated.

Meanwhile, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin, who were lying near the campfire, were trying hard to hold back their laughter.

"I heard everything... so that's what's going on," the three of them mused to themselves.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.