We first returned to our base.

Upon returning to the base, we explained the situation to the members.

About what the Emperor was doing in the imperial palace and how we would deal with it afterwards.

Some were angered by the Emperor’s actions.

Some feared the worst that could happen due to those foolish actions.

And some laughed. At the Emperor’s stupidity itself.

While everyone’s reactions to the story told by me and the Captain were different, they all agreed on one thing.

That now was not the time to go around closing rifts.

We had to pause our usual mission of closing rifts and start making other preparations.

In case we failed to persuade the Emperor this time, we had to gather weapons and head to the imperial palace according to the Captain’s will.

Fortunately, there was no opposition within the knighthood.

Everyone swore with a solemn face to follow the Captain.

It must have been thanks to the time we had fought together that bound us with a bond stronger than anything else.

So, our entire knighthood was to head to the northern Duchy of Habicht.

The Duchy of Habicht, the Captain’s territory, was the perfect place to secretly prepare before carrying out the task.

Yes, we had to prepare to bring down the sun in the duchy.

We had to sharpen our swords as we might have to pierce the heart of the sun.

However, as soon as we arrived at the duchy, I heard an unexpected proposal from the Captain.

“A wedding? At this time?”

When I expressed such bewilderment after hearing about a wedding out of the blue while unpacking in the bedroom, he nodded and explained.

“Yes, it would be better to have the wedding first before we take action in earnest. By doing so, we should properly announce our relationship and receive congratulations for the life in your womb.”

“I agree that we should announce it, but does it have to be now? A wedding when everyone is already confused…”

A wedding in a situation where we’re talking about overthrowing the Emperor and opening a new era.

It felt like the timing wasn’t right.

Facing me who was showing signs of reluctance, he continued to persuade with a resolute face.

“It’s absolutely necessary. If we have the ceremony and officially recognize our relationship, it will be good for propaganda to the imperial citizens.”

“Propaganda?”

“Yes, the House of Habicht and the House of Schnestern. Two ancient houses strongly bound by marriage joining forces to stop the Emperor’s eccentricities and open a new era… Wouldn’t that make quite a good picture?”

It was a reasonable point.

If the House of Habicht and the House of Schnestern were deeply connected through marriage, we could gain a bit more support from the imperial citizens.

If the story of a new life being conceived also spread, even if a civil war broke out because of us, the resentment of the imperial citizens would subside a little… just a little.

“So let’s have the wedding.”

He added one more word as if to emphasize.

I thought for a moment and then answered.

“Hmm, alright. If it’s necessary, we should have the ceremony. So how shall we prepare?”

“There is a long-standing wedding tradition unique to this Habicht territory. If we prepare according to that tradition, it will be even more meaningful. By the way, what’s your favorite flower?”

“Among flowers, I like white roses the best. But why ask about my favorite flower…”

“It’s a flower that suits you perfectly. I’ll keep that in mind.”

The Captain lowered his head and gently pressed his lips to my forehead.

It was a tender kiss as if to reassure me that there was nothing to worry about.

Thanks to that, I was able to feel a little at ease.

After reassuring me like that, he left our bedroom.

Judging by his already busy steps, it seemed there was quite a lot to prepare.

Left alone, I absentmindedly looked out the window with complicated feelings and muttered.

“A wedding…”

Even though I was pregnant, for some reason I hadn’t even thought about a wedding.

The situation I suddenly faced was a little exciting, a little bewildering, and also a little depressing.

It definitely wasn’t depressing because I was forming a marital bond with him.

My depression was stemming from a memory of the distant past.

Ernant.

I inwardly repeated the name of the one who had planted gloomy memories in me.

Long ago, when I had just turned twenty, I had told Ernant.

If I ever got married, I wanted to get married surrounded by white roses in full bloom in a field where sunlight gently settled.

At that time, Ernant had said exactly this:

―”But Yulia, roses are pretty and showy flowers. They don’t really suit you. Why are you dreaming such a girlish dream? People will laugh if they hear it.”

He had rebuked me like that when I had mustered the courage to confide in him.

He must have been venting his frustrations on me because he was in a bad mood.

It might have been just a moment of venting for him, but those words became a big wound for me.

The fact that I still remember his words exactly without forgetting a single letter shows that.

“……”

I tried to shake off the bad thoughts that had needlessly surfaced.

I had briefly recalled an unpleasant memory due to hearing about the wedding, but there was no need to be bound by it.

Whether Ernant had laughed at me or not, the Captain would surely prepare the best wedding for me anyway.

I believed.

That our wedding would be so beautiful and brilliant that it would completely erase these bad memories planted in me.

In the imperial greenhouse full of blooming flowers, Ernant was enjoying dessert.

He wasn’t alone.

Across the table where he was sitting, a lady with her blonde hair elegantly twisted up was constantly smiling at him.

She was the only daughter of the Heisenberg Marquis family who had consistently supported Ernant, and this was already their third meeting.

Even so, he wasn’t particularly interested.

He was just casually meeting her to hold onto even one more of his own support base.

The lady, in whom he had little interest, opened her mouth towards Ernant.

“Your Majesty, do you know? I’ve always loved white roses. So when I have a wedding, I want to decorate the venue with white roses.”

“Hmm?”

Ernant, who had been halfheartedly dealing with the lady, finally focused on her words.

“Wedding… white roses?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Isn’t it such a beautiful flower? The white petals look just like a wedding dress. They also look like the whipped cream on top of a wedding cake.”

“Ah…”

While responding perfunctorily, Ernant traced back his memories.

Come to think of it, there was a woman in the past who had said something similar.

Did she say she wanted to get married surrounded by white roses?

At that time, he had just come from an argument with his vassals so he was in a bad mood and had rebuked her, but he couldn’t remember well who it was.

He glared at the white roses blooming in the corner of the garden and tried hard to recall the memory.

Who was it?

After pondering for a long time, he finally remembered the name of that person.

“Was it Yulia…?”

“Pardon?”

The lady’s expression hardened upon hearing another woman’s name suddenly come out of the Emperor’s mouth.

She had begged and pleaded with her father to arrange this meeting to capture the heart of the handsome bachelor Emperor.

Yet the Emperor was not focusing on her and was calling another woman’s name.

Ernant, who didn’t notice the lady’s hardened face as he was recalling Yulia, muttered to himself.

“Why was I so cruel then… There was no need to openly rebuke Yulia like that.”

“…Your Majesty, it seems you’re not enjoying our conversation.”

“Hm? No, I’m listening with pleasure. What were we talking about?”

“……”

The lady, who could no longer bear it, abruptly stood up from her seat.

She had long harbored a one-sided love for the Emperor, but she couldn’t stand listening to him talk about another woman during their tea party.

Ernant didn’t bother to chase after and hold back the woman who left with a miserable feeling.

Instead, he approached the white roses blooming in one corner of the greenhouse.

When he reached out and broke the stem, it easily came into his grasp.

It wasn’t difficult at all.

It wasn’t a rare flower, he just had to break one that was blooming in the corner of the greenhouse to get it in his hand.

It was this easy.

Yet he had never given Yulia a white rose as a gift.

If I had given you this flower as a gift instead of laughing at your modest dream, would our relationship have been different now?

Throwing such a question inwardly, he grasped the rose.

Regret for the irreversible past pricked his skin painfully like sharp thorns.