The two shared a night of love. Their passion, which began with a flutter of excitement, raged like a storm before finally leading them to ecstasy and climax.

After making love with Terran, Lea was overcome with strange emotions.

She had always thought that physical relationships were purely about pleasure and held no deeper meaning. But when her heart and body became one, she felt her love for him grow even deeper.

Perhaps it could be described as a feeling of complete joy and strengthened trust.

‘How strange. It feels like Terran has truly become my man.’

She wondered if he felt the same way.

Not simply in the sense of possessing each other’s bodies, but realizing the depth of their emotions through physical intimacy.

Lea didn’t want to open her eyes. She wanted to savor the waves of joy coursing through her body a bit longer.

But she reflexively opened her eyes at his gentle touch stroking her hair. She then turned her head towards Terran.

“Are you awake?”

“I never slept.”

Lea’s face reddened at Terran’s words. She felt embarrassed for asking something so obvious.

At times like this, the best strategy was to burrow deeper into his embrace.

Terran held Lea close to his chest as she snuggled in like a rabbit.

“It feels like a dream. Being with you all night.”

“It’s not a dream.”

Lea’s heart ached at Terran’s words.

Until recently, they had been painfully searching for each other. It hadn’t been easy to reunite, so a mix of emotions washed over her.

“Let’s forget about Basel. That’s how we can return to our normal lives.”

“If I were my old self, I would still be caught up in the fight. But not anymore.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Because I have a home to return to and people waiting to welcome me.”

“That’s right.”

Lea choked up.

She was overjoyed that Terran finally seemed to consider the duke’s estate as his home and herself and the employees as family. He was no longer the Terran who suffered alone in endurance.

“I’m so glad you broke through the barrier and came out.”

“Mm, it seems I have. I’m finally starting to see the world outside.”

Terran kissed her forehead. He knew all too well that she was the one who had broken that barrier for him.

“There’s so much to do. I need to check on the Galdencia crown princess dress right away…”

Lea clung to Terran more tightly as she complained, seemingly displeased at the thought of real-world tasks. But Terran remembered something he had momentarily forgotten.

He felt he should tell her this much.

“Grace, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Terran spoke in a serious tone as he gently pulled her away from his embrace.

“What is it?”

They sat up slightly in bed and faced each other.

“You said Allen MacDowell’s younger sister is also participating in the crown prince’s selection, right?”

“Yes, I commissioned Chainer for a lace dress. It’s finished and truly fantastic.”

Lea replied with a bitter tone.

“Grace, Allen MacDowell was the one who instigated Anna to sabotage the riding outfit.”

“What? Really?”

Lea pretended to hear this for the first time, though she already knew.

To think he would orchestrate such a vicious act after even commissioning a dress for his own sister. She had known for a while, but the more she dwelled on it, the angrier she became.

‘Allen, you’re truly the worst.’

Lea felt sick to her stomach at the thought of Allen.

“Still… since I accepted the commission, I should do my best.”

Lea’s voice trembled.

Do your best, yeah right. She had no desire to do anything good for such trash.

“I see. I thought you should know, since that man harbors ill feelings towards me. We’ve been at odds since the acquisition of the general store.”

“Why didn’t you tell me then?”

“At the time, resolving the situation took priority.”

Terran didn’t want her to be swept up in angry emotions. Of course, he had no doubt she would handle it well.

“You’re right, Terran.”

She was moved to tears anew by Terran’s consideration. Looking back now, she wondered how she had managed to complete the riding outfit at the time. She had persevered solely on the determination not to fail. But the future was now the problem.

‘Rivet must not be selected as crown princess.’

However, it was clear that Rivet was currently the most likely candidate.

Every newspaper ran articles speculating on the Galdencia crown princess, and Rivet was always mentioned.

Some newspapers even published articles as if Rivet’s selection as crown princess was already confirmed.

‘I won’t let Allen get his wings.’

For that to happen, Terran’s friend’s sister Adele would need to be chosen. From photos alone, it was hard to see her charm. Still, she had to do her best until the end.

“What do you think about seeking advice from the empress?”

Terran gave Lea hope with unexpected words.

He said that since Vivian was a distant relative of Emperor Theresa, she knew the atmosphere of the Galdencia imperial court better than anyone.

“You’re right. I should bring the dress to show the empress and ask for her advice.”

That would help determine how to plan for the future.

“Terran, what if Allen MacDowell’s sister is chosen?”

Lea spoke with concern. If that happened, Allen would gain power as well, and would undoubtedly pressure Terran even more.

“That would be fate, I suppose.”

He answered calmly.

“Fate.”

‘Conversely, not being chosen despite wearing Chainer’s perfect dress would also be fate.’

Lea kept smiling at Terran, but inside she was burning with rage.

She wanted nothing more than to crush Allen immediately.

She wanted to expose to the world what a despicable person he was and make him pay for his crimes. No, she was determined to do just that.

‘I’ll pay him back with interest for my revenge.’

* * *

Terran introduced Grace to his new secretary. But she was quite surprised to see it was someone she already knew.

“Hello, Lady Bizac.”

“You are?”

“Yes, I’m Louis Valliere.”

She was curious how the son of a marquis came to work as Terran’s secretary. Terran then told her about what had happened with him previously.

[Shall we settle this with words? Or fists?]

Just as he grabbed Louis by the collar, Louis surprised Terran with unexpected words.

[We were disrespectful to Lady Bizac last time. So I just met her and apologized, and even arranged a carriage to take her to the duke’s estate.] [What?] [We made a mistake then. She wasn’t someone we should have spoken of so carelessly. We’ll be more careful in the future.]

Terran had thought Louis and his friends had harassed Grace and Chainer again.

But he was so relieved to hear they had apologized and even sent them back to the estate by carriage.

“Come to think of it, I never thanked you for lending us the carriage, Chainer and I.”

Lea belatedly expressed her gratitude to Louis.

“Not at all. I’m the one who should be more grateful to the duke.”

“Pardon?”

Her gaze turned to Terran with a look that asked what exactly had happened.

Terran had been about to hurry back to the estate at the time. But Louis chased after him with an odd request.

[Your Grace, would you consider hiring me as your secretary?] [What nonsense is this?] [Ha! You have no idea how torturous it is to listen to His Majesty’s philosophy lectures at the palace every day. Please save me.]

Even in such a serious situation, on the verge of reuniting with her after regaining his memories, Terran couldn’t help but laugh at Louis’ words.

He wouldn’t want to listen to Carl’s boring speeches either.

[Come by the estate when you have time.]

He had been thinking he needed another secretary besides Luke, especially with the large Bertan project underway.

But he hadn’t expected Louis to actually show up.

Just then, Chainer and Pauline came looking for Terran. More accurately, they came knowing Lea was in the office.

“Oh? Who’s that man?”

Chainer was startled to recognize Louis.

When Lea briefly explained the situation, Chainer and Pauline nodded. But once again, Chainer surprised everyone with an out-of-the-blue comment.

“Mr. Louis Ballerina will later…”

“It’s Louis Valliere, my lady.”

“Huh? Why is your name so hard? Anyway, Mr. Louis Ballerina will become a great person later.”

“Thank you for the kind words, my lady.”

Louis saw Chainer in a new light. Not because she said something nice about him, but up close, Chainer was an innocent and lovable woman.

Especially her clear eyes, devoid of any hidden intentions or schemes, were truly beautiful. He felt ashamed of his past self for looking down on her as a dim-witted commoner of gypsy origin.

“Grace, I don’t think I’ll be able to go to the palace with you today. What should we do?”

Terran apologized to Lea, saying he had a backlog of administrative work.

He needed to hold an urgent meeting with relevant personnel, having laid out bait to lure Allen with the Bertan railway project.

“Don’t worry about it, Terran.”

“Louis will go in my place.”

“Understood, Your Grace.”

Louis seemed excited about the first task the duke had entrusted to him.

“Hey, Mr. Louis Ballerina, let’s hurry! We’re super duper busy!”

Chainer said with her hands on her hips.

“It’s not Ballerina… Never mind.”

He started to correct his surname again but ended up laughing helplessly.

‘How cute.’

He found Chainer adorable as she acted like his senior.

* * *

Vivian marveled at the two dresses Lea had brought. However, since the dresses had completely different styles, it was difficult to make an assessment.

“In Your Majesty’s opinion, which dress do you think His Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty of Galdencia would prefer?”

When Lea asked directly, everyone from Chainer to Pauline, Sonya, and even Mary focused intently on the empress’s lips.

They all looked tense, their faces rigid.

“I heard this selection will be left entirely to the crown prince’s judgment. In that case…”

“In that case?”

Everyone held their breath, filled with tension.

“If I were the crown prince, I would probably…”

Vivian teased them by waving her finger tantalizingly.