The month following the engagement ceremony passed in a peculiar rhythm that left Raze feeling like he was living someone else's life. News of the betrothal spread across the kingdom and beyond with speed that suggested gossip traveled faster than any message crystal network. Every town square apparently featured discussions about the commoner who'd somehow secured the princess's hand, opinions ranging from genuine celebration to barely concealed outrage.
Letters arrived daily at his Castle Town estate, nobles seeking audiences or alliances, merchants proposing business ventures, and occasionally anonymous correspondence suggesting his accomplishments were either fraudulent or evidence of dark cultivation techniques. Raze burned those last ones without reading beyond the opening lines.
