In the commercial district of a city slightly away from Atanta, the capital of Gania. Jack, the owner of a jewelry store, stared at the woman who came to sell an ornate fan.

No matter how you looked at her, she appeared like a fairy. Red hair, deep blue eyes, white skin. Her clothes were luxurious and beautiful, but her personality was not.

“Only 20 gold! Do you think you can fool me when I bought this for so much? You need to pay a proper price. This is why common riffraff won’t do!”

This woman, who didn’t reveal her name, had been badgering Jack about the fan’s price for an hour already. Jack, being ‘common riffraff’, didn’t know the face of the crown princess of this country, and thought as he watched the red-haired woman who kept shouting tirelessly.

‘Her personality is really awful.’

Not only was her face beautiful, but her personality was also fierce, to the point where he was afraid she might appear in his dreams.

“Look, young lady. It’s difficult to sell it for the price you bought it for. What fool would buy a fan for 50 gold? We have to sell all the parts separately, the feathers are useless so they won’t even fetch 1 silver, and the jewels would be lucky to get 18 gold at best… From my perspective, even 20 gold is buying it at a high price.”

“That doesn’t make sense! How can a 50 gold fan drop to 20 gold? You should at least give me half back! Give me 25 gold!”

Did I borrow money from you?

Jack was dumbfounded, but this woman was preventing him from doing business. Even the traveler who had come in earlier frowned and left when the woman started yelling.

It was very troublesome, as travelers visiting Gania were already decreasing due to what the Franche royal family had done, and now this woman was causing a disturbance and driving away all the customers. Thinking that he needed to get rid of this woman first, Jack sighed and said.

“Alright. I’ll give you 25 gold.”

“See that! You can still make a profit at 25 gold, yet you try to cheat me? You beggar.”

“…Your words are harsh.”

“Then don’t try to cheat! Ah, forget it, just give me the money! Hurry!”

It’s not fear of dung that makes one avoid it, but its filth.

Jack took out 25 gold coins from under the counter and held them out. The woman snatched the money and left the store immediately.

The onlookers who had been hovering in front of the jewelry store witnessed the woman spit on the ground as soon as she came out. The woman sent a look of contempt towards the onlookers and trudged down the middle of the market street.

As she walked away without looking back, the woman slipped into an alley when people’s attention was briefly diverted, hiding in the shadows of a building.

+++

Despite the tight schedule, royalty and nobles from many countries gathered in Torkan. Among them were people who came riding ‘carriets’, carriages that run on magic stones without horses, which became a good spectacle.

The capital city of Torkan, Selchar, became bustling with unexpected travelers, and the owners of inns and shops screamed with joy at the visit of these precious guests.

Music resonated through the streets all day, and children danced and sang as they wandered around. Among the people in Selchar City, there was no one who wasn’t smiling.

In such a cheerful and brilliant atmosphere, the engagement ceremony of Torkan’s monarch and the princess of a fallen country took place, but no one thought of the woman standing next to Floyd as ‘the princess of a fallen country’.

An engagement hall so luxurious it made one’s eyes spin and a dress so splendid it took one’s breath away. Extravagant food never seen or heard of before, a cake so huge and beautiful that one thought several people could live inside it. Continuous performances by famous bands and dancers. Even magic stones twinkling on the floor after sunset.

People were entranced, unable to come to their senses in the dazzling spectacle of every moment.

And in that place overflowing with radiance, Roxiana and Floyd faced each other.

‘I am with this woman.’

‘I am with this man.’

‘We are.’

‘Getting engaged.’

It was unknown where the future of this engagement, meant to provoke someone’s jealousy, would lead. But they didn’t want to think about such things.

What was important was.

‘I am getting engaged to this man.’

Just over two years since being betrayed by her fiancé and friend. The heart that thought it would never feel anything but hatred for them even after 10 or 100 years, was filled with something overwhelming that it had never experienced before.

The emotion that was expected to be arduous was tinged with a peaceful hue, and in this moment of facing him, she was not plagued by cold thoughts. And so, Roxiana smiled brightly with a pure heart as she watched the engagement ring being placed on her hand.

And it didn’t even take a week for the rumors about this marvelous engagement ceremony to spread throughout the entire continent.

+++

As the sun was setting, Roxiana sat on a white bench on the terrace of the reception room, watching the sky turn red with the sunset.

They had deliberately waited for the rumors about the engagement to spread sufficiently.

“Let’s go to Gania at a leisurely pace.”

Floyd, sitting next to Roxiana, said.

Although they were engaged, nothing had changed. He still stayed in the main palace and came to the Lily Palace to meet Roxiana.

Tomorrow, they will depart for Gania.

“Yes, I want to look for Ranian on the way. He might have drifted even here.”

Floyd thought that was unlikely, but nodded.

“When we arrive in Gania, I want to look for Engis Braisa while searching for Ranian.”

Engis Braisa?

To the puzzled Floyd, Roxiana said.

“Engis Braisa, who was the prospective crown princess. She went missing, remember?”

“Ah, that was her name. It’s already overwhelming to search for your brother, do you need to look for that woman too?”

“There’s no need, but I still want to try. I know how it feels to have a family member go missing.”

If there were at least a corpse in front of them, they could grieve and despair to the fullest, and eventually endure and rise up. But a disappearance was different. They had to live in a hell of constant hope and disappointment, repeating every day, every moment.

Although she had no connection with the Braisa ducal family, she knew all too well the feeling they must have losing their daughter, so she wanted to find even a corpse to return to them.

“Alright, spread your wings as much as you want. If you fall, I’ll pick you up.”

He spoke monotonously, but those words were very reassuring. Roxiana stared at his arm draped over the back of the bench and his slightly drooping fingers.

“Thank you. Without you, it would have taken much longer to get this far. I wouldn’t have had the luxury to think about others’ feelings.”

“I don’t know about that. I think you would have done well even without me. You’re an insolent enchantress, after all.”

Roxiana’s cheeks turned red.

“How long are you going to remember that?”

“I’ve never thought about it, but hmm. Maybe when we’re old, when it’s hard to move our bodies and we spend more time lying in bed than walking around, when our minds start to wander, then it might be forgotten.”

“I wish you’d forget it sooner.”

“When?”

“Maybe tonight?”

“I was planning to lie in bed tonight and sing a song about an insolent enchantress before falling asleep.”

“Carl…”

As Roxiana called his name while glaring at him intently, he grinned and suddenly grabbed the back of her head, pulling her in for a kiss. At first, his lips just gently covered hers, but then they opened, softly sucking on Roxiana’s tightly closed lips.

Unable to bear the moist stimulation, her lips parted, and he pushed in. The humid heat stimulated everywhere, and the thrill that spread wherever the heat touched flowed down to the tips of her toes.

His lips, which had been touching hers, slowly moved to trace her earlobe and then fiddled with her neck. Roxiana, unable to bear the sweet sensation, let out a small moan, but startled by the sensual sound, she quickly closed her mouth.

“That’s nice.”

He stroked Roxiana’s lower lip with his thumb, then inserted his index and middle fingers into her mouth. His fingers busily searched for Roxiana’s tongue. Roxiana tried to avoid it, but couldn’t escape his persistent fingers.

While his fingers and the moist flesh intertwined, his lips savored Roxiana’s skin exposed outside the dress. His excited breath penetrated into the dress. Not knowing what to do with the outrageous sensation spreading wherever he touched, she gripped his arm tightly.

It felt like her body was floating, yet also heavily sinking. Engrossed in the strange sensation, she didn’t even notice the strings at the back of her dress being untied. Only when the dress draped over her shoulders slipped down did Roxiana snap back to her senses and push Floyd’s shoulders away.

He surprisingly separated easily, but the desire filling his ash-gray eyes seemed to grip Roxiana’s throat.

He traced Roxiana’s collarbone with his moistened fingers.

“I want to possess you. Touch you. Devour you.”

His lowered voice crept from her neck down to more intimate places. Even though his lips were apart, it felt like he was stimulating her entire body.

For a moment, mischief flickered in his eyes.

“Bewitched by an enchantress.”

Roxiana glared at him for a moment before gently closing her eyes. The lips that softly covered hers now didn’t hesitate. He touched and deeply permeated every place she had never shown before.

A secret heat passed between them, and sounds never made before filled the room. Breaths intertwined and scattered, hard flesh and soft flesh that seemed about to melt touched and separated repeatedly. The sounds deepened and the heat intensified.

That night, they lay on the soft bed, but neither could sleep, spending a passionate time together.