I dropped to my knees.
"Your Highness, I request a divorce."
Rosalind stiffened.
She was about to speak, but Elmer tugged gently at her sleeve.
"Your Highness, if my brother stays any longer, he'll only taint the dignity of your household. Better to grant him what he asks."
Rosalind swallowed whatever she'd been about to say.
"Granted."
When I walked out of the Crown Princess's Estate with the divorce decree in hand, the bystanders on the street all stopped to stare.
Some speculated about what I'd done wrong.
Others said I deserved it.
That my head was full of nothing but money, nothing like my brother and his lofty principles.
I ignored every last one of them.
The truth was, marrying the Crown Princess had never been entirely about honoring my brother's engagement.
As a member of the royal family, Rosalind could secure a merchant's license with almost no effort.
With that license, I could ship goods as far as the Western Seas and no one would interfere.
Now that the Crown Princess had cast me aside, the license was gone with her.
My gaze drifted toward another estate on the west side of the city.
The younger princess. Rosalind's sister.