“Still, it would be good to make sure, so let’s summarize it again.”

The eyes that were shyly flickering just a moment ago turned aggressively towards me. For a moment, my heart pounded, urging tension.

“First of all, I have no interest in becoming a duke or anything like that. The wealth of Daiern means nothing to me either. Just…”

The dazzling silver-white hair, as if crafted from light, tickled my eyes along with a mesmerizing, languid smile.

Ah, I had clearly experienced this scene once before. But words flowed from him that were clearly different from my memory.

“Please allow me to become someone who can kiss your hands, feet, and lips every day.”

Slowly, Joseph’s face drew closer. This time, I didn’t try to lean my upper body back.

“If you grant me that, I will live as your possession forever. No one, no circumstance, will be able to plunder me from you.”

The distance had become dizzyingly close without my realizing.

“In return, you must do the same, Lieselotte.”

With a quick peck, his lips briefly touched mine and then parted.

At that moment, I could instinctively tell.

This kiss felt different from before. There was a clear desire behind it. Without realizing it, my body stiffened like an innocent girl.

“How about it? If you find the conditions satisfactory…”

His red eyes, sharpened with greed, met mine without blinking.

“Would you like to play a childish game of love with me?”

Indefinitely, if possible.

The fact that my heart fluttered at this shamelessly unreasonable proposal was probably because his voice was excessively sweet.

Sergei recovered from his injury faster than I had expected.

The attending physician was pleased, saying it was thanks to his young and robust physique.

He also reassured me that the bone would heal quickly if he kept the splint on for a few weeks, and there would be no problem with daily life at all.

However, during the period of wearing the splint, some inconvenience had to be endured.

Not by the person himself, but by those around him. Especially…

“Excuse me, but could you bring me that book?”

“Do you mean this one?”

“I’m sorry. Please bring the green cover next to it as well.”

“Here you are, Lord Sergei.”

“Oh, my. I’m truly sorry, Lord Joseph. I meant that green cover over there, not this green one.”

“…Just tell me the title of the book.”

“Ah, I keep forgetting that Lord Joseph can read the letters from the Mado era.”

I quickly covered my mouth as I saw the veins bulging on Joseph’s temples.

Unlike Joseph, whose mood had been quite good lately, Sergei’s mood was down.

I wasn’t unaware of the reason. But it was an issue I couldn’t mention. My best option was just to pretend not to know.

Anyway, perhaps because of that, Sergei became even more absorbed in something else afterwards. Namely, the legacy of Landgritz.

And a similar pattern emerged for Joseph as well. Of course, it was for an entirely different reason.

‘Now that my mind is at ease, I can finally focus on important matters.’

Thus, for the remaining journey back to Daiern, Joseph and Sergei ended up riding in the same carriage again.

To be precise, the separately arranged carriage had now become Joseph and Sergei’s bedroom, while this carriage we had been using became a mobile library.

As a result, the task of assisting Sergei fell entirely to Joseph… There was a slight problem with that.

After all, the space was too cramped to accommodate more people to assist.

But even that seemed to have reached its limit now.

About ten days.

This was quite a long endurance. Joseph, who had been ‘used’ for ten days in vulgar terms, twisted his eye corners that had been curved in a smile. He thought something like this might happen at least once…

“Ah, it was indeed written here!”

“Huh?”

“Look, Lord Joseph. Lieselotte, you should come over here and see this too.”

But suddenly, something happened that made Joseph close his mouth.

As soon as Sergei turned the cover of the book he had just received, he found the material he wanted.

Joseph and I moved our bodies even as the carriage was moving.

It was to see the page Sergei was pointing at. The problem was…

‘I can’t read Mado script!’

For a moment, I almost got upset.

The only thing I could understand was the illustration drawn below.

It was a picture of a large moon painted in red and black, with a person drawn beneath it.

“As you can see, these conditions are necessary.”

“It’s more troublesome than I thought… Hmm, in my case, I guess I was really lucky then.”

“What is it, exactly?”

When I asked, blankly staring at just the picture, Sergei calmly began to explain first.

“This book describes the conditions and process for awakening Chronomancy in the person the Mado Emperor has chosen as his successor.”

“Awakening?”

“Well, they would have lived an ordinary life until now. To awaken the senses of a magician in such a person, their body needs to change to be able to properly handle magic.”

“I see…”

I responded, but it was difficult. I wanted to ask something, but it was hard to understand, so I didn’t know what to ask.

As I kept my mouth shut, Joseph let out a breath and chuckled softly.

“You probably won’t be very interested in such processes anyway, so let me just cut to the chase and tell you the conclusion.”

“Yes, that would be better!”

My ears perked up. That was exactly the approach I wanted.

“First of all… Yes, Lieselotte. Your guess was correct.”

The corners of Joseph’s mouth curled up gently.

At that moment, I could imagine without looking in a mirror. That he and I were wearing the same expression right now.

“Then really…!”

“Prince Chelsea will be able to become a magician as he wishes. Not an incomplete ‘successor’ like me, but a legitimate ‘heir’ who has received the power of the first name from you.”

His red eyes curved kindly.

“Of course, he’ll have to go through a somewhat troublesome awakening ritual.”

Now I felt like I wanted to know what this awakening ritual was.

Adjusting my posture, I asked Joseph and Sergei for a more detailed explanation.

So, is this awakening thing safe? Are there any dangerous elements?

“Wait, Lieselotte. Before handling such a powerful force as magic, we must definitely conduct a personality test…”

Well, I had to listen to Sergei’s worried nagging on top of that.

But it didn’t matter.

‘It was worth the trouble to visit the Landgritz estate.’

That day was already in the midst of spring in April, and there were only a few days left until we arrived at the Daiern estate.

I’m sorry for Sergei, but I was so excited that I could hardly control my heart pounding with hope and anticipation for the future.

By the time we arrive in Daiern…

‘I should prepare Kardiel’s birthday party.’

The results of the academy’s exam would be out soon too. Of course, I’m not worried about passing. But when the results come out, there will clearly be one more thing to celebrate.

‘I should also tell Euphemina that it’s time to treat the scars on her arm.’

Whether my daughter prepares for her debutante or not, as her mother, it pains me to see scars on her arm.

So when summer comes, I should suggest we have fairy wing-like dresses made of cool silk chiffon and take a walk on the beach.

‘And I’ll give Chersion the good news too.’

I found a safe way to solve the memory disorder and fulfill the child’s dream.

I felt as if some kind of miracle had happened. Had there ever been a moment when my life went this well?

‘Now it seems only happiness remains for me and my children!’

Ah, there was still one small worry amidst all this. It was minor compared to the problems I’ve faced so far, but still.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Lieselotte?”

“It’s nothing.”

I just felt a little sorry for Joseph, who was facing inevitable hardship.

After all, suddenly introducing the existence of a new father to grown children is bound to raise some wariness.

But it should be fine. My lovely and kind children will eventually understand.

That having someone I love doesn’t mean pushing the children to second place in my life.

“I can see the hard times ahead for you.”

“…For someone saying such things, your expression is very bright.”

“Hehehe.”

I leaned back against the carriage seat and laughed with satisfaction.

Everything was good.

I was so at ease that Sergei’s chatter about methods to assist in casting Chronomancy as he opened another book went in one ear and out the other.

Now it was really, really spring. Not the season, but spring had finally come for me and my children, and for Daiern.

A spring that would bring warm peace to the cold north.

As I was immersed in such happiness…

I couldn’t have predicted the hell that was about to unfold.