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Once upon a time there was a princess.

She fell in love with a prince, wrote him a letter and sent it via Celeste, who was always willing to help. The prince was Laniff III and was in love with the princess, too.

However, there were a lot of political issues between the two kingdoms, so they should have kept it covert. Unfortunately, Celeste was caught and they hanged her for treason.

The princess was devastated and cried her eyes dry. She was ready to go to the prince and give up her crown. So she hopped on a horse and started her journey.

What was the message in the letter?

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  • $\begingroup$ Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. $\endgroup$
    – GentlePurpleRain
    Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 20:22
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    $\begingroup$ ^ WE HAVE A CHAT? $\endgroup$
    – DemonicBirdFlu
    Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 12:07

6 Answers 6

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I am sure it is:

Select the third letter in the last word of each sentence.

Forming,

I love you

Kirex and TwoBitOperation (and OP)'s constant hints which made it possible to solve this:

In the story appear two names: Celeste and Laniff III, which anagrammed can be read as Select E and Final F and the III as third. If we get rid of the spare E and the spare F we obtain Select Final Third. Therefore we can reach the conclusion commented on the first spoiler: Select the third letter in the last word of each sentence.

In factit made it ridiculously easy.

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  • $\begingroup$ Nice work on this one. :) $\endgroup$
    – IAmInPLS
    Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 12:25
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    $\begingroup$ It would be great to explain why this is the answer - i.e. what are the clues in the puzzle itself so that one can reach this answer. $\endgroup$
    – Maria Ivanova
    Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 12:32
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    $\begingroup$ Nice puzzle and nice solution. It may seem "ridiculously easy" once you've got it, but it certainly wasn't at first! $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 15:59
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    $\begingroup$ @randal'thor: Nice to see you back. I am not sounding offensive, but once you see in the chat how much OP told which idea (using anagrams more time was another idea) was fruitful and which was not, and the consistent hint (OP told me to use "III" as I would pronounce it, as "the third") made it actually easy, may be not ridiculous. And the chat was a bit fun killing, as OP was there, people (including me) constantly poked OP to check the feasibility of the ideas there. $\endgroup$
    – user27395
    Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 16:23
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    $\begingroup$ The bounty system is ridiculous - the one who saw the answer to most portion of the puzzles gets zero credit, while the one who completes the puzzle by adding just a leftover piece gets all the bounty ! $\endgroup$
    – user27395
    Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 16:27
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I don't know if this is any help but taking into consideration of what TwoBitOperation said in his comment, if Laniff is an anagram for Final F and he is Laniff III or laniff the 3rd. 3 Final F are the words: Fell Laniff and Unfortunately.

So maybe the letter says: "Unfortunately Laniff Fell"? and Celeste was hanged for treason by another kingdom?

Also, in Maria Deleva's reply to TwoBitOperation's comment she said "@TwoBitOperation, you are almost on the right track. Just a little bit more and a little bit less. :)" so I didn't use "Select E" because she mentioned "a little less" and I went further with the "Final F" statement.

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    $\begingroup$ Not quite. Perhaps there is something extra that you don't need and something essential that you are missing to guide your way. In 6 hours I will be able to put a bounty on this question. I guess it deserves it. $\endgroup$
    – Maria Ivanova
    Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 12:53
  • $\begingroup$ I can't wait to read the answer, this is interesting $\endgroup$
    – DemonicBirdFlu
    Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 16:50
  • $\begingroup$ wouldn't for and of be there instead of some other letters $\endgroup$
    – Knight0fDragon
    Commented Aug 31, 2016 at 20:32
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This might be way too much, but i think the letter contained:

Dear Laniff III (or any cute name princess used for her lover, but then it would be unclear that the letter is meant for prince.)

... I'm pregnant with your child ...
Your beloved

And

as the letter didn't contain princess's name.
So, if Celeste was caught by kingdom 1, they would hang her as she had a baby from other kingdom's prince.
If Celeste was caught by kingdom 2, they would hang her as she was from other kingdom and had a baby from their prince.

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  • $\begingroup$ There is no lateral thinking tag, nor logical deduction. $\endgroup$
    – Maria Ivanova
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 10:30
  • $\begingroup$ Yes, that i missed. But again, that steganography tag is making me more skeptical. $\endgroup$
    – ABcDexter
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 10:32
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Could it be:

son (the final 3 letters of the 3rd paragraph)

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  • $\begingroup$ This is not the answer. :) $\endgroup$
    – Maria Ivanova
    Commented Sep 1, 2016 at 10:32
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Perhaps the letter:

Contained a means for the prince to meet the princess in her kingdom.
Like a secret passage leading into a fortress.

As such:

If Celeste were found with such a message she would immediately be hanged for treason because she would be "aiding a foreign nation to the harm of her parent nation".

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  • $\begingroup$ No. I need a indisputable proof what the exact message is. :) $\endgroup$
    – Maria Ivanova
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 12:22
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The message was

Let's elope. Meet me at some specified location outside either kingdom at some specified date and time (not signed)

What's going on? Why did she get on her horse?

The letter would have been evidence in Celeste's trial, so even though it wasn't delivered to the prince, the prince would learn of its contents and by context know who it was from. Being unsigned, it didn't give away the identity of the princess. Both would realise that despite the tragedy the deal was still on, so both set off at the appointed time to meet each other.

Slight weakness in reasoning:

Not sure why the letter would be treasonous. Maybe folks in this part of the world have strict rules about who the prince can marry, or it could be that suggesting the prince elope and thereby renounce his title which would leave the kingdom without an heir, could be considered treasonous

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  • $\begingroup$ No steganography was used in your answer. Or at least I can't see it. $\endgroup$
    – Maria Ivanova
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 19:44

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