Frost, who had returned to his Grand Duke self, used a magical communication device to contact Sagredo, the greatest archmage of the North.

The image of the great mage Sagredo, with his white beard reaching down to his chest, appeared in the transparent crystal communication sphere, yawning hugely and rubbing his eyes.

[What sudden matter brings you, Your Highness?]

Frost had wanted Sagredo, the greatest mage produced by the North, to become the Tower Master.

However, when the previous Tower Master died five years ago, Sagredo scoured the continent like combing for lice. He found Ricarion Greco, an unparalleled young genius mage who constantly changed his appearance and lived a wandering life, and managed to place him in the Tower Master position before immediately announcing his retirement and returning to the North.

“Where is the Tower Master now?”

Sagredo yawned again and rubbed his bloodshot eyes with the back of his wrinkled hand. It seemed he had been pulling another all-nighter in his research lab.

[Only the goddess Yustera would know where that eccentric person is, wouldn’t she?]

Ricarion Greco, who hadn’t been able to cure his wanderlust even after becoming Tower Master, was a figure difficult to meet even for the top officials of the Magic Tower.

“You don’t even know what he’s been up to these days?”

[How could I know what he’s doing when I don’t even know where he is?]

“Right. Why would I know the whereabouts of the Tower Master when even you, a great mage, don’t know?”

[Pardon?]

“I’m asking why he’s catching my eye.”

The white-bearded great mage, who had been bewildered, unable to understand the point of the question, soon brightened.

[Where did you see him? I’ve been looking for him continuously, needing the Tower Master’s deep wisdom-.]

Frost cut off the communication with an annoyed expression and furrowed his brow.

When he saw him at the training ground, he wasn’t sure.

It was only just now, in front of the inn where the medicine peddlers were staying, that Frost could be certain.

The fact that Leon, the naive young coachman, was actually Ricarion Greco, the master of the Earth Sword Gaius and the reclusive Tower Master.

When he handed his ambitious gift to Yuriella, the aura of Gaius flowed out to the outside of the inn. It was a faint aura opened for just a moment, but Frost, who had met the Tower Master before, could clearly feel it.

To think that such great skill was being used merely to create a glass bead with a small flower inside, and to smile so innocently.

‘Why is the Tower Master…?’

Although they were both masters of holy swords, Frost had only met Ricarion Greco a few times. And those were very brief, passing encounters.

When he requested a private audience in his capacity as Grand Duke of the North, he was flatly refused.

A kind explanation came back that the Magic Tower keeps its distance from any power in the Empire, and that such a balancing act is beneficial to both parties. But Frost thought that Ricarion Greco was simply avoiding him because he found it bothersome.

This eccentric figure, who wandered the world with hundreds of faces, extremely shunned contact with people and never stayed in one place for long, quite contrary to his naturally gentle and kind original face.

But why…?

He couldn’t help but have numerous questions.

Why did he disguise himself as a coachman for a fringe medicine peddling group?

Why did he give a gift infused with his special talent to Yuriella Grande?

Frost slowly closed his eyes and recalled the moment when he was attacked by assassins.

The green aura that had enveloped Yuriella’s body was clearly the healing aura of the holy sword Aery.

Was the Tower Master looking for the holy sword Aery? Is that why he was hovering around Yuriella Grande?

If not that, was Yuriella herself the goal?

The woman who gathered the power of wind and struck down the assassin that day couldn’t have been just a mere dancer from a medicine peddling group. That posture, that look in her eyes.

Frost let out a shallow sigh as he rubbed his throbbing temples.

Just thinking about Yuriella Grande gave him a headache and irritated him to no end.

Her red eyes sparkling transparently as she thanked the Tower Master were irritating. The round eyes smiling at the Tower Master with their fine lines were extremely irritating.

The next day.

Even when Yuriella visited the Grand Duke’s residence for wedding preparations, she inevitably grated on Frost’s nerves.

While the head maid was momentarily distracted, Yuriella attempted to escape using the carriages loaded with new dresses and accessories as cover, only to be caught by the Grand Duke.

“What are you doing?”

“Shh. Shush. We can’t let the head maid catch us.”

Frost inwardly scoffed. She was so wary, not realizing she had already been caught by the one she should fear most in this house.

“Is hide-and-seek part of the wedding preparations?”

The sight of her poking out just her head and looking around vigilantly was so cute, like a squirrel wary of predators, that Frost unconsciously let out a small laugh.

His large hand reached out to touch her long, luscious strawberry blonde hair.

Startled, Yuriella opened her red eyes wide.

“W-What are you doing?”

“Something was stuck in it.”

Though considerably flustered by his unconscious action, Frost casually dusted off his hand. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to notice his reddened earlobes.

“I’m going to play hooky today!”

Her lively eyes sparkled like jewels.

“Leon said he saw a lost parrot in the forest. I thought it would be nice to make it friends with our yellow parrot, so I’m going to go look for it with him. And have a picnic with Leon while we’re at it.”

The woman smiling brightly, her small shoulders shrugging with anticipation, greatly irritated Frost.

Moreover, the fact that her companion was the suspicious Tower Master was quite disconcerting.

“What a shame. The chef prepared a special menu today and said he really hoped the young lady would taste it. He put a lot of effort into the dishes to be served at the wedding reception.”

“Really? He’s already so skilled. And he put in extra effort? What kind of menu is it?”

As Yuriella tilted her head slightly, intrigued, a deep smile spread across Frost’s face.

In the end, Yuriella couldn’t go on a picnic with the Tower Master.

The chef cried his eyes out preparing the special menu that the Grand Duke had hastily made up.

Yuriella made the chef cry and then laugh as she repeatedly exclaimed in admiration while tasting the food.

After neatly eating even the macaron crumbs served for dessert, Yuriella gave Frost, who had come out to see her off, a bright and wide smile that made him feel it was worth lying.

“Thank you so much! I never imagined the Grand Duke would even name our yellow parrot!”

That’s right.

Frost had even named the yellow parrot ‘Ren’ because he didn’t want to see Yuriella going on a picnic in the forest with the Tower Master.

Anxious about Yuriella’s gaze constantly drifting towards the forest, his mouth opened before he knew it.

[Even the flowers by the roadside have names. Yet your bird still has no name.]

The bird’s owner immediately felt remorseful. Frost rejected every name she came up with after much thought.

[Names are very important. When you call its name, it truly becomes that being.]

Only after the moon had risen high and the picnic plan had been completely erased from Yuriella’s mind did Frost offer the name ‘Ren’.

Alexis, who was serving tea, widened his eyes in recognition that ‘Ren’ was the middle name of Frost’s grandmother, but he neatly ignored it. The satisfaction that she didn’t end up going on the picnic was greater.

‘Why am I acting like this?’

Even as he entered his office, instead of going straight to the pile of documents waiting for him, Frost opened the terrace door and watched the carriage carrying Yuriella away.

He even waved back to Yuriella, who was leaning almost halfway out, vigorously waving her hand.

[Don’t give me your affection. Not even dislike. They say even dislike can turn into love when it builds up.]

Ah, surely not…

Frost shook his head as he approached the pile of documents he had to deal with before the wedding.

*

The Grand Duke’s residence was bustling with wedding preparations.

Jewels, accessories, and dresses ordered directly by the Grand Duke arrived daily. The servants were busy decorating not only the ceremonial hall where the wedding would take place, but also the banquet hall and ballroom where the reception and ball would be held.

The Grand Duke’s residence was so crowded with wedding gifts sent by nobles from the North, East, West, and South that there was hardly room to step. There was also fierce underground competition among noble ladies for the position of the bride’s bridesmaid.

The busiest person of all was the bride, the protagonist of the ceremony!

Yuriella had to prepare to become the mistress of the Grand Duke’s household, being dragged around by the head maid until she was exhausted.

‘This feels like riding the rapids at Neretto Falls.’

She had lost count of how many dresses she had tried on.

The pink dress to wear at the pre-wedding dinner the night before. The wedding dress for the ceremony. The red dress to wear at the reception after the wedding.

The yellow dress to wear on the wedding night. The holey lace dress to wear under the wedding night dress. The see-through dress to wear under the lace dress…

The sparkly see-through dress was so transparent that even her down was visible, and Yuriella was perplexed for a long time, unable to understand why she had to wear it.

‘This rag would be perfect as a torture device. A captured enemy soldier would have to spill secrets out of embarrassment. But they might bite their tongue and die from shame before that, so it might not be effective…’

Yuriella almost threw the designer who was trying to undress her to put on the see-through dress.

Rosalinne, the head maid, watched the bride-to-be quietly and then went to find the Grand Duke in his office.

“Your Highness. Lady Grande seems to be a very pure and unsullied person.”

Frost looked up briefly at Rosalinne from wrestling with his backlog of papers.

“And?”

Rosalinne chose her words carefully several times, seeming reluctant to bring up the matter.

Even though she had raised him on her knee, he was still her lord.

“I was worried because they said she danced to attract customers in the medicine peddling group. But it seems that man who raised her brought her up preciously.”

It was a sensitive matter to speak of out loud. Moreover, it was about the person who would soon become the mistress of the Grand Duke’s household.

To Frost, who was waiting for the next words without expression, Rosalinne whispered softly.

“It seems she hasn’t even held hands with a man yet.”

“She has.”

“Pardon?”

“She grabbed the hand of that medicine peddling group’s coachman for giving her an insignificant birthday gift, and the hand of that barrel-shaped apothecary too.”

Recalling the unpleasant memory again, Frost furrowed his brow.

“That’s not what I meant, by man… I mean that experience…”

“Speak clearly about what you want to say. The bride-to-be is pure. Unsullied. What else?”

“Send away Lady Shavell, Your Highness.”

Rosalinne, with clenched fists, advised in an uncharacteristically firm tone.

“Even a woman with angel wings wouldn’t tolerate the sight of her husband keeping a mistress. Moreover, two women under one roof.”

A pause. Frost’s hand holding the pen tensed.

Rosalinne had never mentioned Shavell even once until now.

Not when Shavell appeared at the Grand Duke’s residence looking like a beggar.

Not when the Grand Duke took Shavell into the house and personally tended to her bath, not letting even the maids touch her.

Not even when the people of the North pointed fingers at the Grand Duke, saying he was bewitched by a woman who would ruin the country.

The woman who sometimes disobeyed God’s commandments but always followed and supported whatever the Grand Duke did, today for the first time lit up her eyes fiercely!

“Clean up your relationship with Lady Shavell and welcome your bride, Your Highness. That’s the proper courtesy for a lifelong companion you’re promising eternity to.”

“Shavell will remain in this house even after I’m married.”

“Your Highness!”

“Lady Grande has agreed to it as well.”

“It can’t be her true feelings.”

“I even got a promise. That she wouldn’t mind or interfere.”

“Please don’t make that pure person cry with an improper affair.”

“It’s not your place to meddle.”

“Even if it’s a political marriage forced upon her, no woman enters the bridal chamber without a handful of expectation and excitement. And there’s certainly no woman who can share a roof and bed with her husband’s beautiful mistress.”

Frost put down his pen on the desk with a thud and stood up.

“Rosalinne Aldante. How much more do I have to tolerate?”

“It’s not Your Highness who’s tolerating, but Lady Grande. The tyrant forcing her to tolerate is you, Grand Duke! I absolutely cannot bear the sight of Lady Shavell living under the same roof as the Grand Duchess!”

Sparks flew from Rosalinne’s grey eyes as she stood her ground.

“You can’t bear the sight of Shavell in this house. And I must keep Shavell in my house. Then there’s only one conclusion. The one who should leave this house is-”

Even though he thought he would regret it once he said it, the Grand Duke was about to utter the final words.

Although Rosalinne had raised him in place of his deceased mother, Shavell was the future lord he had chosen.

But fortunately, Captain Leo burst in and interrupted their conversation.

“Your Highness! Lady Shavell…”

“What about Shavell?”

Leo, who seemed to have run in during training with his hair tied up high, rolled the ends of his hair with his thick-jointed fingers, trailing off as if in difficulty.

“…No. Just, it’s better if you go see for yourself.”

Leo gestured with his chin for Frost to go quickly.

“…?”

*

The place Leo led the Grand Duke to was behind the annex. It was the site of the small training ground that the Grand Duke had ordered built for Yuriella.

The workers had stopped clearing the site and stood back with their mouths agape next to the high piles of granite blocks and timber.

Lime spilled from a large wooden barrel mixed with last night’s rain, making the dirt ground muddy.

And on top of the muddy slush, two mud lumps were tangled and rolling around…!

One golden head dripping with sticky lime and mud.

One rose-blonde head dripping with sticky lime and mud.

“How dare a bastard of Grande seduce my darling lord! I’ll crush you!”

The mud lump with the golden head was giving her all to act out a scene that would go down in Northern history, immersed in playing the role of a jealous mistress…!