The time spent as Serena flew by, and the day of the engagement ceremony had arrived. The white dress embroidered with the golden pattern of the imperial family was spacious enough even when Serena straightened her back.

“You’re truly beautiful. To think that the little baby has grown up like this.”

Anna still looked at Serena, who was much taller than herself, as lovingly as if she were still a baby.

“Don’t cry already. It’s just an engagement ceremony.”

If there had been someone in her past life who affirmed her appearance like this, would she have been able to straighten her back without shrinking?

“The Duchess should see this sight, but I’m so overwhelmed…”

It was said that Serena’s mother had passed away after a difficult childbirth. The Duke, who had loved her deeply, did not remarry, and as a result, Serena became the last heir of the Astel Duchy.

“She’s surely watching from somewhere.”

“My, young miss… You’ve really matured lately.”

In her past life, she had no memories of being loved by her mother. Nor did she have a family that cared for and cherished her as meticulously as Serena did. It was similar to her past self, yet vastly different.

“You’ve studied etiquette diligently, and now you don’t break things in the mansion anymore.”

“I’m 18, which means I’m an adult. It’s only natural.”

Serena had indeed changed. Her habit of always playing alone with the curtains drawn, as well as her reluctance to wear dresses due to her large frame, had disappeared. Even the dress fitting that Anna had been secretly worried about went so smoothly that it was surprising.

“Yes, you’ve become an adult.”

Anna’s intuition was not wrong. The soul residing in Serena had lived more than twice as long, so it was bound to be different. However, this also led to more troubling issues.

“Well… my fiancé is not an adult though.”

“Young miss!”

“Why, it’s true. No matter if he’s the Crown Prince, you can’t call a mere 14-year-old an adult.”

After recalling all sorts of memories up until the engagement day and gathering information from those around her, she was able to somewhat organize the upcoming events.

First, Serena’s engagement partner today was Lucas Tern, the Empire’s Crown Prince, a promising 14-year-old boy born with noble blood and outstanding talent. Yes, a boy.

“A 4-year age difference with a marriage partner is considered small.”

“…Even if the woman is older?”

“Of course.”

While it might be common sense in this world, thinking about the fact that her partner was just a 14-year-old boy made her feel conflicted about making the engagement vows.

“Even though he’s only 14?”

It was barely the age to enter middle school, let alone get engaged. What was she supposed to do with such a child? She felt embarrassed for getting excited about wearing the ceremonial dress.

“Of course. You know that the engagement was rushed because the Crown Prince is about to leave for the battlefield, right?”

“It’s alright, he’s not fighting on a dangerous front line.”

It was common for the men of the imperial family to go to war.

“I heard the current Emperor did the same.”

“You were worried, but you really paid attention to the etiquette lessons from the imperial maids.”

“Yes.”

Serena answered without hesitation.

“When I think of everything as an opportunity, I want to try hard.”

No matter how much she thought about it, her past life had nothing special.

Everyone had pressured her to work hard, and sometimes she had deluded herself into thinking she really was trying, but that wasn’t the case.

“I don’t want to regret it later.”

If she had truly put effort into even one thing in her life, she wouldn’t have had so many regrets at the moment of her death.

“Well said. As expected of my daughter.”

Serena’s father, who had been standing behind the door for a while, nodded at his daughter’s resolve. Anna, the experienced head maid, paid her respects and stepped back for a moment.

“Father…”

The Duke, said to have a wanderlust but a warm-hearted man, cast a shadow so large that it was clear why Serena was so robust. Even when smiling, he was intimidating enough to frighten most people.

“Pay your respects.”

As Serena slightly bent her knees, lifting the hem of her dress as she had been taught, the Duke frowned deeply. His face hardened like a rocky mountain.

“Oh my…”

That was what Serena wanted to say. It was quite disconcerting to see such a large man tear up.

“Marien, are you watching from heaven? Our daughter, our brave daughter, has finally learned such manners… Come, come, stand up.”

The Duke’s hand, which grasped Serena’s, was warm.

Though the face was unfamiliar, she could feel the affection in his blue eyes, which were the same as hers.

“I was worried about how you’d fare in the imperial court, but now I’m at ease. Such graceful manners… How moved this father is.”

Just how had this duchy raised their daughter? To be so moved to tears over a single act of courtesy learned in just three minutes.

“Even on my way here, I was prepared to tell His Majesty the Emperor that this engagement simply wouldn’t do if you were still hiding under the blankets in bed.”

Oh no.

If only she had known she could have called off this unwanted engagement, she would have acted differently.

“Father, even now…”

“Oh, Serena. You’re really calling me father now. I doubted my ears earlier.”

With a whoosh, the Duke embraced Serena. It was inevitable that Serena’s body stiffened at the unfamiliar warmth and display of affection.

“You’ve grown up so much, no longer headbutting this father and biting your tongue.”

Serena looked quizzically at the Duke as he released the embrace. This man… No matter how strong his wanderlust, had he raised his daughter like an animal?

“Ah, that was when you were still young. Were you 10?”

“She was 9, Your Grace.”

Anna, who had returned at some point, calmly answered. The Duke immediately let out a hearty laugh.

“Oh, was that so? Well, time flies when you’re family.”

Seeing the Duke’s nonchalant face, Serena could roughly understand her background. He seemed like a good person at first glance, but not such a good father.

“Um, Father. How about postponing or canceling the engagement, even now?”

“Why?”

“Earlier, you said you would tell His Majesty if I was still hiding under the blankets…”

“That was a joke.”

The Duke said without changing his expression.

“His Majesty the Emperor and I are not only sovereign and subject, but also comrades on the battlefield. Moreover, we made a bet on this marriage arrangement, so it can’t be undone.”

“You made a bet on this marriage arrangement?”

“Yes. On the battlefield, there’s a lack of entertainment, so we always made bets.”

The Duke’s face grinned as he recalled the past, apparently quite amused.

“And you… bet on me?”

“As it happened, I had just received a message that my wife had given birth to a daughter. I never thought His Majesty would lose.”

Serena blinked slowly.

“Haha, His Majesty also had the Crown Prince four years later, so it must be fate.”

“…So, because His Majesty lost the bet, I’m to be the Crown Princess?”

“Aye. It was a great match.”

This means that the Emperor didn’t win the bet, but as a consequence of losing, he had to accept Serena as his daughter-in-law. In other words, Serena was the penalty.

“Later, the Grand Duke’s family asked for you, but we couldn’t overturn that great match.”

The life of Serena that she had pulled from her memories was not very smooth.

Rather, it was unhappy. And the cause of that was right in front of her.

“Oh my!”

The Duke unknowingly took a big step back.

“What’s this, I felt a moment of killing intent… Was it my imagination?”

It seems his instincts honed on the battlefield hadn’t completely disappeared.

“Anyway, I’m glad our daughter has grown into such a, um, flower-like beautiful lady. It’s a very happy thing! Well then!”

The Duke marveled at his daughter, who had grown almost as tall as himself. In the past, he never imagined that the daughter of Marien, who was called the Empire’s greatest beauty, as delicate as a single flower, would grow up so robust.

“I have to pay my respects to His Majesty separately after the engagement ceremony is over, so keep that in mind.”

“Are you leaving again?”

“Yes, this time I’ve finally found a clue to excavate the ruins of the past civilization. In the west…”

As the Duke’s words were about to lengthen, Anna shook her head.

“Even though you’re having the engagement ceremony today, the wedding is still far off, so now you should take care of the Duke’s residence and the Astel duchy.”

Having made his decision jovially, Duke Astel, Roger, instinctively left the place quickly.

Perhaps he had seen Serena’s fist clenched tightly under her ceremonial dress. It was a wise decision.

* * *

Soon, a grand imperial engagement ceremony was held in the capital’s largest cathedral.

The Pope himself stood at the altar, and the Emperor stood beside him, displaying his majesty.

“Today, I, the Pope, in the name of the great God, will officiate the glorious engagement of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Due to the interest in the future Crown Princess, all eyes were directed not to the altar, but to the end of the carpet.

“Serena Astel, step forward.”

With the white veil over her face as per custom, Serena could see nothing but her own feet. Whether due to the small shoes, her feet were already aching, and she barely managed to walk in a straight line to stand in front of the altar where she could see the Crown Prince’s shoes.

“This sacred engagement is not only the fulfillment of the beautiful promise made in the past between His Majesty the Emperor and Duke Astel, but also follows the will of God…”

As the Pope’s words dragged on, her feet hurt more and more, gradually losing sensation. When she even heard whispers among the guests saying something about the bride, her anger suddenly surged.

“Now, Your Highness the Crown Prince, you may lift the veil and kiss her forehead as a sign that the engagement has been made.”

Unlike her imagination, the veil was not lifted smoothly. More precisely, it felt like fumbling after failing to remove it in one go.

“Your Highness… you may lift only half of the veil.”

The Pope whispered softly, but the Crown Prince’s rough hands finally threw the veil over her head.

“Your Highness, as this is an engagement, you don’t necessarily have to kiss her forehead.”

As the veil was completely removed, the reason became clearer.

Serena’s 14-year-old fiancé was much smaller than his peers, a boy with only fierce eyes. Yes, a completely small boy who didn’t even reach Serena’s shoulder height.

“A kiss on the cheek, or… even on the back of her hand would be sufficient.”

The Pope belatedly noticed the clear height difference between the two and tried to salvage the situation.

It wasn’t just the height that was an issue. While Serena exuded the freshness of a woman just coming into bloom, the 14-year-old Crown Prince, no matter how one looked at him, appeared to be nothing more than a boy slightly smaller than his peers.

‘To think I’m engaged to such a child…’

Today’s fiancé, who had inherited the characteristics of the Tern imperial family with black eyes and black hair, would surely become a noble being in the future, but it would take a very long time.

“The lady’s expression is not pleasant.”

She hadn’t particularly frowned, just not smiled, but the Crown Prince’s remark had a sting to it.

“It’s understandable. You’ve ruined the engagement ceremony by being unnecessarily tall.”

Serena already knew that she was much taller than the average woman of this era.

‘He doesn’t even consider that he’s small!’

She had thought she was okay with such treatment as she was used to it from her past life, but hearing it from a boy smaller and more impudent than her made her suddenly angry.

Moreover, because the Crown Prince was much smaller than his peers, didn’t it make Serena’s tall stature stand out even more?

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, you need to give the engagement kiss to conclude the ceremony.”

The Pope whispered just loud enough for the two of them to hear, with a benevolent smile on his face.

“Indeed, it’s unpleasant.”

It was Lucas speaking as he looked up at Serena. He was trying to speak in a low voice like a grown man, and Serena wanted to retort, but if this continued, the engagement ceremony would never end.

“Then, Your Highness the Crown Prince, please kiss the back of the lady’s hand as a token of the engagement being made.”

As the Pope desperately tried to proceed, Serena decided to put aside her pride for a moment.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince… please, on the back of my hand.”

Serena said, almost resignedly, looking at the boy who appeared almost like a child.

With a sigh and a frown, Lucas fulfilled his duty by barely brushing his lips against the back of her hand.