Unable to stop the tears that suddenly flowed, whether due to pregnancy or recent loneliness. When Elise suddenly burst into tears, Lucas got up in surprise.

“Why, why are you crying all of a sudden?”

“The baby……”

“What’s wrong with the baby?”

“It feels like the baby isn’t growing well……”

“What?”

“The doctor said…… it’s because I’m very stressed……”

Lucas’s expression darkened. He also knew how Elise was treated since entering the palace.

But he thought Elise would have known such problems would arise, so she should handle it well on her own. It was also something she should handle on her own.

For a moment, the thought that it was annoying crossed his mind, but looking at Elise’s slightly swollen belly, he pushed away the irritation. She’s the woman carrying my child. The baby being born healthy is most important.

“So?”

“For our child, I want to buy the best clothes and shoes. I think imagining the child wearing them will strengthen my heart, Your Highness. So…… No, you must be having a hard time too, I shouldn’t have complained. I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

Seeing Elise lower her head while wiping away tears, his heart softened. To think he found this woman trying so hard annoying. She’s even the mother of my child.

“Don’t say such things, Elin. You’re the mother of my child, and my child will be the king of this country someday, of course we should provide the very best. I’ll give you the money you need, so don’t cry. Think only good thoughts, Elin. It may be hard now, but once the child is born, everyone will acknowledge you.”

Elise left the Crown Prince’s palace holding a pouch containing 100 gold. Her face crumpled terribly as she headed towards the Crown Princess’s palace.

She felt like she had glimpsed Lucas’s true heart with a mere 100 gold. As expected, there are no allies for me here. So no matter how much it costs, no matter what methods I use, I must make many allies.

Elise immediately sought out a merchant and acquired a valuable fan. While at it, she bought one more precious ornament.

Now it’s time to meet Madame Histine.

+++

Arsen raised his head to stare at the large black form sitting at the treetop.

“What are you looking at?”

Adrian asked.

“That eagle has been appearing often lately.”

“Shall I shoot it?”

“……Why?”

“Don’t you want to shoot it? Should I bring you a bow?”

“Don’t you think it’s a problem that Sir Tellis always wants to tear and kill something?”

“I don’t think so. That eagle, its feathers are so glossy…… If we catch it and make a fan with those feathers for the princess, wouldn’t she like it?”

“Hmm. She probably would.”

As if overhearing the two men’s conversation, the black eagle took flight. Adrian watched the eagle fly away and said,

“Come to think of it, I wonder if Elise Hailis bought that fan?”

When they tried to catch and dispose of a crow heading towards the Great Temple, Roxiana said,

-“Could you collect some of those crow feathers for me? Oh, and I need some pretty stones too……”

Since the princess said she needed them, the spectacle of knights racing to catch crows and going to the shore to pick up stones unfolded.

The next day, looking at the mountain of crow feathers and pretty stones piled up, Roxiana muttered “I didn’t need this many.” Then, smiling brightly, she said,

-“Thank you so much. You must have worked hard.”

Everyone thought that if the princess smiled at them, any hardship was worth it.

The knights knew that Roxiana still made drinks for them every morning by grinding fruit herself.

Even though she could now just bestow blessings with her power and have employees do the rest, Roxiana still made the drinks for the knights with her own hands.

The princess is the one working hard.

The knights very much liked the princess who did such things without showing it, and even blocked their lord’s intense flames.

Since their hair didn’t sizzle and burn when Roxiana was nearby due to Floyd’s flames, they secretly and earnestly wished she would stay attached to Floyd every day, every hour.

“Since the princess said she would buy it, she probably did.”

Roxiana called an artisan and had a fan made with crow feathers. It was a fan with oil applied to the feathers and many small pretty stones attached to the handle. Small engravings of mythological scenes were inlaid on each rib of the fan.

When it was finished, it did sparkle beautifully, but the fact that the materials were crow feathers and stones remained unchanged.

“Still, it’s an investment of 150 gold, won’t you call an expert to check? An expert would know that it’s not worth even 10,000 trang.”

“That’s true.”

“Want to bet? Whether Elise will buy it or not.”

“Let’s do it.”

Adrian’s eyes widened at Arsen’s answer, who had never participated in bets before. He was even more surprised when he heard the amount he was willing to bet.

“I’ll bet 150 gold.”

“Ah, I don’t want to anymore.”

Adrian quickly said.

“Seeing how confident you are, it’s better not to.”

“Are you avoiding the match?”

“I am. I’m a coward, you know. And I don’t have that much money.”

“Where did you spend all the money you’ve received so far?”

“Drinking, eating, giving some gifts to ladies, there’s nothing left.”

“……Wouldn’t it be good to save some for the future?”

“When I’m too old to hold a sword, give me a place in your mansion.”

“I don’t have a place to give you.”

“Why? Your kennel is big. Just give me one of those. I’ll guard the house.”

It didn’t seem like a joke at all, so Arsen firmly closed his mouth and quietly moved away.

While Arsen was shuddering at Adrian’s aspirations for old age, Roxiana was sitting with Floyd in the lily palace garden, discussing how to enter Gania.

“The best way is to smash it. It would be most impressive if I burn it all down and you blow it all away, princess.”

As he said this and raised his index finger, Roxiana gently took it and folded it down. Floyd pulled her hand that had grabbed his and kissed it while smiling.

Roxiana liked seeing how his eyes narrowed finely when he smiled.

“What’s the second best method?”

“Will you get engaged to me?”

Such an out-of-place statement popped out that Roxiana thought she had misheard and slowly closed and opened her eyes.

“I think I heard wrong, could you say that again?”

“Get engaged to me, Roxy. No matter how I think about it, there doesn’t seem to be a better way than this.”

Roxiana swallowed hard.

They were in a relationship where they had confirmed their feelings for each other. If a man and woman of this age love each other, the next step could be engagement.

But.

“Your Grace. You seem to have forgotten something, you are the Grand Duke and I am just a princess of a fallen country. I’m nothing here.”

“Nothing? What do they call you here, princess?”

“That’s just because you call me princess so everyone follows suit. In reality……”

“If we need such things for our engagement, shall I grant you a title?”

“That’s not what I meant……”

Hot lips overlapped her lips that were moving restlessly as if troubled. He firmly held the back of Roxiana’s head as she tried to avoid him, and sucked on her lower lip as if biting it.

A thick heat enveloped the inside of her mouth. Even amidst the bewilderment and embarrassment, an odd thrill stimulated her whole body.

Swallowing her quickened breath, Roxiana gently pushed his chest. He looked down at her wet lips as if to devour them and whispered softly.

“Whether it’s engagement or marriage, I do it with the person I want to. Even if I said I’d catch a dragon to marry, there’s no one in this Torkan who could stop me.”

“Of course you would. But, Your Grace. I……”

I had never thought about it. Engagement to the Grand Duke of Torkan? Marriage?

I don’t know if it was love, but I was at least betrayed horribly by a fiancé I trusted. After experiencing such a thing, how could I embrace the idea of engagement or marriage again in my heart?

From the beginning, even when I knew of his love, even when I told him I loved him, I didn’t dream of ‘our future’. I only saw and felt this reality I shared with him in every moment, I had never imagined days of marrying him and living happily.

Floyd gently pulled the ends of Roxiana’s long hair. As her green eyes that had been lowered looked at him, he said playfully.

“I said I only look at the present, Roxy.”

“Engagement is……”

“It’s the present. I want to get engaged to you now.”

Roxiana bit her lower lip, not knowing how to answer.

Is there a reason to refuse? If what he wants to do now is get engaged, and I don’t find the idea of engagement to him terribly unpleasant, is there a reason not to do it?

Of course, there may be virtues that should be engraved in the heart of a country’s ruler’s fiancée.

‘This man probably wouldn’t even think of such things. He wouldn’t expect it from me either.’

He who acts least like a ruler, who pulls out snacks from his pocket and munches on them, would not expect Roxiana to be careful in her words and actions as a Grand Duchess.

“Your fiancée running wild saying she’ll take revenge wouldn’t look very good.”

“Well. I think it would be pretty, more than anyone else.”

“That’s only in your eyes.”

“If it’s pretty in my eyes, that’s enough. Who else do you want to look pretty to?”

“That’s not it, but……”

Floyd happily watched as Roxiana’s cheeks turned pink as she blinked her eyes.

Roxiana clutched her skirt, then picked at the tip of her index finger, then pursed her lips, then relaxed them, then as if having made up her mind, she took a deep breath and said.