Petria, who had been nodding eagerly next to Eledrun, quickly pulled over a box. Petria, looking more excited, blushed and opened the box.

Inside was something pure white.

Only after Petria took it out could one tell it was a dress made of white rabbit fur. The dress, which slightly revealed the shoulders, emitted a dazzling white light from top to bottom.

“Instead of sleeves, I’ve prepared fur gloves that come up to the forearms. Of course, this dress alone might be a bit plain. So like this.”

At Eledrun’s nod, Petria opened another box. Inside were a bright red coat and a jet-black coat, one of each. Both were very ornate with gold and silver embroidery.

“We’ve also prepared coats. The moment you take off one of these coats you’ve been wearing.”

Eledrun and Petria had ecstatic expressions, as if they had already witnessed the scene. Petria clasped her hands together and said.

“It will be dazzling. Everyone will only look at the princess.”

“But I’m not going to a party…”

“It is a party, princess. It’s a party.”

The wise Eledrun, having observed the situation so far, had some idea of what Roxiana’s trip to Kanta meant. Eledrun held Roxiana’s hand tightly and said.

“It must be a grand party for the princess.”

Meeting the old lady’s firm gaze, Roxiana felt a lump in her throat and nodded.

“Yes.”

“I wish I could go along and look after everything… But I’ve told Petria everything, so she’ll do well as your hands and feet.”

“Yes, Petria has always done well.”

Though it wasn’t such high praise, Petria wore an expression of deep gratitude. Eledrun was still holding Roxiana’s hand tightly.

“You will come back, won’t you, princess?”

“Of course. I’m just going to do some work. I’ll come back when I’m done.”

“Will you return as a princess then?”

“The country has already fallen, so I won’t be a princess, but I’ll return as Roxiana Franche.”

It meant that by then, she wouldn’t have to hide this name anymore. Eledrun nodded meaninglessly, swallowed her tears, and said.

“You must be careful. Dress warmly so you don’t catch a cold.”

“There are still days left until the departure date, yet you’re acting as if we’re saying goodbye right now.”

As Floyd’s voice was heard from the side, Eledrun loosened her grip on Roxiana’s hand.

“Your Highness.”

“Why is the lady more worried and sadder than when I went on a subjugation mission?”

“Your Highness is so healthy, but the princess is rather delicate.”

“True. I’m afraid she might fly away if the wind blows.”

Roxiana blushed.

When she was in Kanta, only her family members saw Roxiana as delicate, but in Torkan, everyone treated her like fragile glass, making her embarrassed and unsure how to react.

“I came to see if the preparations were going well, but there was no need for me to come.”

“How could there be? Women are better at taking care of women’s things. Your Highness need not worry, I will prepare everything without fail, so please set your mind at ease.”

“Yes, I’m relieved that Lady Hills is here.”

Eledrun wore a proud expression at the Grand Duke’s praise and disappeared along with Petria.

Left alone, an awkward silence fell.

It had been a while since Roxiana and Floyd had met face to face, as they had both been busy. The emotions they had let slip in busy times bloomed clearly as they faced each other.

I, this man.

I, this woman.

Love. Have been loving. Have loved.

In the silence, a clear and large emotion stirred, but they were each so absorbed in their own feelings that they couldn’t sense the other’s emotions.

Floyd looked down at her, who was slightly bowing her head. Her light golden hair flowed down, making it impossible to see her face properly. But her straight forehead and high nose bridge were briefly visible, and that alone was enough to make his heart feel moist.

But as always when he looked at her, feeling that this level of moisture was not enough, feeling an extreme thirst, he unconsciously extended his index finger and brushed her hair to the side.

The moment Roxiana raised her head in surprise, the moment that lovely face leapt into view, though it wasn’t a face he was seeing for the first time, his heart pulsed anew at how pretty she was.

Floyd, suppressing the desire to explore her mouth right away, barely managed to say.

“Shall we go for a walk after a long time?”

“Yes, I’d like that.”

They walked along the long path inside the Grand Duke’s palace. Past the gravel path, beyond the flat stone path, there was a back gate, and beyond that gate led to the forest.

Even though it was September in Torkan, it was still hot, and the forest was enveloped in deep greenery, surrounded by trees in full foliage. Following the humid air emitted by trees and grass, a cliff overlooking the sea appeared.

From that cliff, the downtown of Selshar City could be seen well.

In the shade created by a large tree at the edge of the cliff, several small benches were placed, which, according to Hexten’s explanation when they had come here together before, was where the knights occasionally gathered to drink.

Floyd and Roxiana sat on one of those benches and looked down at the scenery of Selshar City.

Floyd opened his mouth.

“A reply came from Casar. He said he welcomes us.”

“I see.”

“How did you know? That Casar would accept us without suspicion.”

Floyd had only sent a letter to Casar and was preparing to depart for Kanta without even receiving a reply. If Casar refused, he was prepared to break down the city gates and find Roxiana’s family by force if necessary.

But today, a reply came from Casar’s side.

As they weren’t close enough to call each other brother, Casar’s hospitality was suspicious, but Roxiana had said she would start with Casar’s side.

−”Count Casar Pelur will surely welcome Your Highness’s visit, so you don’t need to worry.”

Roxiana didn’t answer for a while, staring at the distant sea, then opened her mouth.

“I don’t have a separate friendship with Casar. I’ve seen him a few times, but we’ve only exchanged greetings, never had a deep conversation. But I had many conversations with Lucas. Usually, Lucas would talk and I would just listen. As I listened, adding appropriate responses, Lucas would tell many stories.”

Roxiana smiled bitterly, recalling her days with Lucas. Back then, she thought he talked so much because he loved her. She thought he showed everything inside him because he loved her, because he trusted her.

Thinking about it now, Lucas just liked talking about himself. He had no interest in Roxiana, so he didn’t ask anything, wasn’t curious about anything.

“For example, about the damned bastard from the southern country. Or about the guy he wanted to kill.”

Floyd realized that referred to him and laughed loudly.

“To think he would talk about me even to his fiancée. I must have really captured Lucas’s heart.”

“Indeed. And Lucas also often talked about his arrogant, show-off, fearless younger brother. So I thought, this person really hates his brother. Then his brother must really hate him too.”

“I see.”

“I’ve also heard that Count Casar Pelur is quite a tactician. If he’s such a skilled person, I wondered if he might be dissatisfied with his brother sitting in the crown prince’s seat just because he’s the eldest son, not himself.”

Floyd nodded.

“I’ve heard that too.”

“Don’t you know Count Casar Pelur well, Your Highness?”

“I only know what I’ve heard. When I left Gania, Casar was too young. After that, I hardly had any opportunities to meet him, and even if we did meet, we didn’t even exchange greetings…”

“I see. Your Highness, why…”

Roxiana stopped there and closed her mouth.

She wanted to know in detail what had happened to him in Gania, why he had fled, how he had come to possess the fire spirit. But it seemed impolite to ask when he didn’t want to talk about it first.

“Princess, do you know? There’s nothing more frustrating and annoying than someone starting to say something and then stopping.”

Seeing Roxiana’s face turn red, Floyd grinned.

“Are you curious? About my past?”

“…Yes, I’m very curious.”

“That’s nice. That the princess is curious about the past of someone like me.”

Roxiana’s eyes widened.

“Someone like Your Highness? How can you say that? Your Highness is the Grand Duke. You’re the ruler of this country.”

“That’s right. I’m the Grand Duke and the ruler of this country and the lord of those knights, but strangely, when I stand before the princess, I become someone like me. Maybe it’s because I received something from the princess.”

She could feel that ‘received something’ didn’t refer to something received now.

‘Come to think of it, the Grand Duke had been indebted to our Ider Palace before. Yes, the Grand Duke recognized me at once when he saw me trapped in the box. Then it means we had a conversation in the past…’

No matter how hard Roxiana tried to recall, she couldn’t remember her past with Floyd. There were always so many visitors at Ider Palace that she couldn’t remember everyone she had briefly met as a child.

‘But it’s impossible not to remember someone with such a strong impression…’

Floyd, looking down at Roxiana lost in thought trying to remember the past, said.

“Beg me.”

“Pardon?”

Floyd gently held Roxiana’s chin with his index finger and thumb, lifting it up, and said.

“If you beg me, I’ll tell you. About my past.”