“No, I…”

A hot sensation spread over my grabbed wrist. Perhaps because of that heat, my head went blank for a moment.

As I hesitated, not knowing what to say, Ian spoke first.

“That was a slip of the tongue.”

For a fleeting moment, Ian’s expression that had been stiffly hardened overlapped with his slightly frantic-looking face. Dismissing it as a slip of the tongue and moving on didn’t sit well with me because of that expression.

Perhaps he was displeased?

Come to think of it, it was the prince’s face and I touched it too casually.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t consider that it could be unpleasant.”

“Please don’t apologize.”

“No, this was my…”

“It was not… unpleasant.”

Ian’s face as he fumbled over my cheek looked somewhat dazed. He blinked several times in a slightly confused manner before turning his gaze to me.

“Is your wound alright?”

“It’s fine.”

As our eyes met, Ian answered while skillfully lowering his gaze. His long, fluttering eyelashes cast a momentary shadow over his sculpture-like face.

Where does that face look indistinct?

Ian’s face, with an added touch of sadness, was so handsome that it almost made my mouth ache to say it.

Could it be that he’s the type who lacks self-awareness?

“And your impression is not indistinct at all. The initial confusion was because I have some issues with my memory…”

“I also didn’t know I was the type to hold grudges. I suppose I wanted to leave a deep impression on you as my senior.”

After all, Ian was more sincere than anyone when it came to sparring, and he wanted to continue sparring with me.

So naturally he would want to look better.

“Since then, I haven’t confused you with anyone else.”

“Then why is it only me…”

Ian, who had been speaking in an impatient tone, suddenly shut his mouth. It was because the door to the training ground flung open.

“Rose?”

The one who appeared was Edwin. As I calmed my startled heart, Edwin approached with his cloak fluttering and looked back and forth between me and Ian with narrowed eyes.

“What are you two doing here?”

“We were sparring.”

There was nothing else to make an excuse for, so I honestly confessed, and Edwin’s eyes widened.

“You sparred? With Klein?”

“You’re planning to sleep in the dormitory tonight, right Ed?”

“Well, yes, but…”

I picked up the sword that had fallen at my feet, put it in the sheath, and immediately approached Edwin.

“Then let’s talk on the way. We’ll go first, newbie.”

“Wait, Rose. You need to bring your cloak.”

Taking the cloak Edwin handed me, I didn’t forget to leave a message to Ian, who was standing still.

“Make sure to treat your wound.”

After confirming Ian nodding slightly, I moved my steps outside the training ground.

“What happened? Sparring? You don’t spar with the members.”

“About that…”

Edwin, who hurriedly followed me outside, waved his hand in the air as if to say explain quickly.

Letting out a short laugh at his flapping gestures, I explained the situation to Edwin.

“Ah, so the one who actually confessed was someone else, and Klein asked you to spar, but you misunderstood it as a confession?”

Edwin, who stopped in place, burst out laughing while holding his stomach.

I knew you’d react like that.

“Be quiet, Ed. We’re in front of the dormitory.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I missed the timing to tell you.”

Edwin sent me a look that seemed to say there’s more to it than that and wrinkled his nose.

“Yeah, I was too embarrassed to say it right away. Happy?”

As if he knew it, Edwin stroked his chin and a glint flashed in his eyes.

“Klein’s skills must be quite good, I see.”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t accept the sparring match simply because you misunderstood Klein.”

Well, that’s true.

I nodded my head without hesitation.

“Objectively speaking, Klein’s skills are top-notch even within our order of knights.”

“Really? If you say that, I’ll have to work harder too.”

I was about to answer something, but I shut my mouth. I couldn’t bring myself to say that Ian’s skills were superior to Edwin’s in front of him.

As if he understood the meaning of my silence, Edwin, who was walking behind me, playfully showed his clenched fists.

But somehow his gait didn’t look very smooth. It seemed like he slightly faltered when stepping on his left foot.

“What’s wrong with your walking?”

“As expected, I can’t fool your eyes, Rose.”

“Are you hurt?”

“I just twisted it slightly.”

In the last beast subjugation, Edwin was attacked by a beast and injured his left ankle.

Fortunately, it was on the way back after completing the subjugation, so treatment wasn’t delayed, but he had to rest for two full months, devoting himself solely to recovery.

Could it be that the pain in his ankle that he injured back then has returned?

“Don’t overdo it since the subjugation is coming up soon.”

“Yes, yes, I understand. Then I’ll head in.”

*

“Your Highness, you’re late today.”

“You’re still here?”

“Someone has to handle the work you’ve tossed aside, don’t they?”

Glancing at the pile of documents, Nathan muttered as if sighing.

“That’s true.”

Ian, who was rubbing his sunken eye sockets, suddenly clutched his forehead in disbelief.

“Is that your answer? In times like this, you should at least offer some words of encouragement…”

Ian’s hand, which was unbuttoning his knight’s uniform, stopped. For some reason, Nathan’s voice seemed to be getting closer, so he abruptly raised his head.

“You startled me.”

As Ian expected, Nathan, who had been in front of the bookshelf, was right in front of his nose.

“You say that every time even though you’re not startled at all. By the way, what happened to your face?”

How brazen and nonchalant his expression was that Nathan almost doubted if the clearly visible wound was only visible to his eyes.

“You have a wound on your face, don’t you? I’ll call the doctor right now!”

“Nathan.”

At Ian’s soft call, Nathan, who had been flustered, turned to look at him.

“Yes, Your Highness. Just give me your orders.”

“You’re all talk but don’t seem urgent at all.”

Nathan, who had neatly folded his hands at some point, smiled brightly.

“Was it that obvious?”

“And this is just a small injury from sparring, so there’s no need to make a fuss.”

“There must be a tremendous expert in the order of knights to inflict a wound on Your Highness’s face.”

“There is. An outstanding expert.”

Nathan immediately thought of Gabriel, who had a gentle impression and a good physique. It seemed his guess was correct that the person Ian wanted to show his presence to was indeed Commander Gabriel.

‘As expected, Commander Gabriel is truly exceptional as his reputation suggests.’

“He must be really strong.”

“…A strong person indeed.”

Recalling the sparring match with Rosebelia, a smile naturally spread. The sensation of clashing real swords was several times more vivid than training wooden swords.

The moment he crossed swords with her, a tension and strange thrill swept through his entire body.

He couldn’t even remember the last time he was so immersed in something.

If the price to pay for sparring was this little wound, it was rather insignificant.

“But you should still get treatment.”

Ian was about to raise his hand to his cheek but hesitated. It was because Rosebelia’s hand touching his face without hesitation came to mind.

In fact, when Rosebelia’s hand fumbled over his cheek, Ian was quite surprised.

Her hand was too soft and delicate to be the hand of someone who wielded a sword.

‘No matter how skilled, can the hand of someone who constantly grips a sword be soft without calluses?’

“Is that possible?”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Ian, who had been rubbing his forehead as if confused, suddenly furrowed his brows.

‘But why was I angry?’

Although he couldn’t clearly understand the reason, what he felt in that fleeting moment was definitely an unpleasant and frustrated emotion.

Ian quietly looked down at his own hand.

‘Her hand was really small too.’

He had noticed that her hand was small when they were in the plaza before, but for some reason, that tiny hand kept coming to mind.

“It was about this size.”

When he clenched his hand as tightly as possible, it became a size similar to Rosebelia’s hand. Ian’s eyes trembled slightly at the small size anew.

It was amazing and marvelous that someone with such a small hand and stature had a presence greater than anyone else.

“Your Highness, are you in pain?”

‘Am I in pain?’

Recalling her face full of worry, his chest seemed to tighten for a moment. Even unbuttoning his knight’s uniform, the suffocating feeling rising to his throat did not disappear.

“Put the remaining documents on my desk and you can go, Nathan.”

Slowly evening out his breath and pressing down on his chest, he soon returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

“But the treatment… Then I’ll just bring the medicine and leave.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Pressing his heavy eyelids tightly, Ian waited as if for Nathan’s footsteps to fade away before sitting in the chair. Then he carefully examined the documents Nathan had been organizing.

“Ed?”

Ian’s eyes briefly shook upon discovering the name Ed in the documents.

‘You’re planning to sleep in the dormitory tonight, right Ed?’

Edwin Holton and Rosebelia Winters.

When seeking information related to her in order to spar with Rosebelia, the first thing he learned was that the two were close.

‘Then we’ll go first, newbie.’

“We, he said…”

Recalling the two walking away with their shoulders almost touching, strength suddenly entered his fingertips. Although he only exerted a slight and weak force, the pen he was holding had snapped.

“Why did this break? Is it an old pen?”

Ian, who had been looking down at the pen broken in two with a dazed expression, soon rummaged through the drawer and took out a new pen.

*

The reception room was quite warm. Was the sound of firewood crackling in the fireplace always this pleasant to hear?

Olivia had to control her breathing several times as she felt like humming unconsciously.

“Did you tell Rosebelia?”

“I think it’s a blessing for Rose to find a good match too. Do you disagree, brother?”

“It’s not that, but…”

As Dylan trailed off, Olivia smiled slightly, lifting the corners of her mouth. With a leisurely air, she flipped through the documents Dylan had handed her one page at a time.

“As expected, there are quite a few good husband candidates in the empire.”

“Right?”

Dylan asked back with a faint smile. He had compiled a list of potential grooms at Olivia’s request to find a match for Rosebelia.

On the very first page, he had lined up the top candidates considered the best grooms in the current empire, starting with Renart Ilyzer.

The later pages would contain relatively inferior matches, but Olivia’s hand flipping through the documents was unhindered.

“I think this person seems suitable.”

Dylan’s eyes briefly shook. Olivia had chosen the eldest son of a viscount family on the very last page.

“There are many better candidates, so why that person…”

“Really? I think this man looks pretty good.”

Olivia’s lips curved into a satisfied smile as she closely examined the portrait.

“Is there a specific reason you chose this man?”

“Why this man, you ask?”

His name was David Colin or something. His appearance was quite handsome, but…

“There are rumors that David Colin has a serious reputation with women.”

It was clearly stated in the documents, so she must have chosen him knowing that.

“Those rumors could have spread because of his good looks. There may be many women who admire David Colin, and they could have maliciously spread such rumors to eliminate their competition.”

“…Olivia, do we really have to go this far?”

The crease of Olivia’s eyes, who had been smiling brightly, faintly hardened.

“Oh my, brother. If a stranger heard this, they would think I’m deliberately trying to do something bad to Rosebelia.”

“From what I’ve learned, it doesn’t seem to be a groundless rumor.”

Still, he was the eldest son of a viscount family and unmarried, so he included him. To think Olivia would choose David, whom he had placed on the very last page, when there were so many good matches on the front pages.

“Even if it’s true, I don’t think it would be bad.”

“Olivia.”

“I think a skilled man would suit Rose. If he’s a man who has been with many women, he will be able to guide Rose well.”

“But…”

‘If I knew this would happen, I shouldn’t have included him at all.’

Dylan regretted it belatedly, but Olivia seemed to have already made up her mind.

“Please make sure to have this person attend Cayden’s birthday party, brother.”