Serena finished her dinner simply and sat on the sofa in the reception room. Anna brought out tea and Peter entered to give his report for the day, but the atmosphere was quite different from usual.

“Peter, I heard you had a conversation with Sir Cedric today?”

“Yes.”

Originally, Peter had attempted to talk with Cedric to gather information at Serena’s request, but when he brought up stories from their knight days for the first time in a while, the passion had not yet cooled.

“Don’t stand there so stiffly, sit down and have some tea first.”

“No, I cannot.”

Peter’s heart had completely returned to his days as a knight. Seeing that resolute expression and angled posture, Serena was perplexed enough to be slightly taken aback.

“Young lady, Sir Cedric is an excellent knight.”

Peter, who was always cautious and quiet, continued with an elevated tone.

“To possess such knighthood at the young age of twenty… I can only be moved and amazed.”

She had sent Peter to gather information.

“Ah! I envy Sir Cedric’s youth so much. The glorious battlefields you two experienced and the spectacular sights that only the truly brave can witness…”

But now, the information gatherer had fallen completely for his target.

“As a knight, it is a blessing to travel the world alone with your lord in your youth and train yourself. I, too, felt my heart burning as I recalled the days when I accompanied His Grace.”

It was the first time Serena had seen Peter so excited. It was also surprising that such passion existed in the heart of the always prudent and meticulous head servant.

“Despite his noble status, His Highness the Crown Prince voluntarily endured hardships and overcame all sorts of crises together with Sir Cedric.”

Now, he was even praising Lucas.

“Usually, a knight serving a royal or high noble must suppress their great dreams and passions. But I was able to enjoy everything together with His Grace in my youth.”

Wrong. No one could stop Peter now.

“His Grace disregarded his noble status and set out on a journey with me to uphold the path of men and knighthood.”

His eyes were filled with half passion and half longing.

“Listening to Sir Cedric’s story, it seems His Highness the Crown Prince experienced many adventures and long journeys over the past 6 years. A real man’s journey, not the false claims other nobles make about accompanying him!”

“I know that too.”

Serena said indifferently.

“He wouldn’t have grown to be as he is now without any effort.”

“You are right, young lady! Especially, it is even more moving that despite his noble status, he spared no effort in constantly training himself.”

This was not the story Serena wanted to hear from Peter, but she couldn’t stop his words at all.

Besides, she was curious whether Lucas had really given up his crown prince status to accompany Cedric.

“But still, with his status, he wouldn’t have been completely like others…”

“No. His Highness the Crown Prince, despite Sir Cedric’s dissuasion, directly fought on the frontlines of the battlefield to protect the people. Every single time.”

Whew, no matter how overflowing Peter’s passion was, someone had to stop this one-sided praise.

“Peter. Peter!”

Serena clapped her hands and barely managed to cut off his words.

“Yes?”

Peter looked at Serena with a face that didn’t know what the problem was.

“I understood the adventure and knighthood part. So what’s the conclusion?”

“Yes, the conclusion is that both His Highness the Crown Prince and Sir Cedric are excellent knights to an unbelievable degree at that age…”

“No, not that!”

Serena raised her voice in frustration. However, it was Peter’s fault for forgetting his original purpose.

“Did you find out the contents of the letter? Or His Highness’s inner thoughts or plans regarding restarting this engagement?”

What she had asked Peter to do was to form a bond with Cedric over knighthood and then find out Lucas’s inner thoughts and plans.

Now that Lucas was bringing up the absurd engagement from 6 years ago, she needed some information from their side.

“Ah…”

But Peter had forgotten his mission after forming a bond over knighthood.

“Don’t tell me, you only talked about that all day?”

“But it was such an excellent story… Also, I wouldn’t have been able to pry out information. Because Sir Cedric is a knight who knows loyalty.”

Peter was clearly on Serena’s side, but she didn’t know why he looked so proud. He didn’t seem regretful at all about not being able to gather information, rather he just seemed proud of them.

“So, while I’m suffering a headache because of an engagement that ended long ago, you just bonded with Sir Cedric?”

“Hmm… well.”

Peter coughed emptily as if embarrassed.

“Young lady, but didn’t we gain one new piece of information?”

“What’s new?”

“His Highness the Crown Prince didn’t just claim to accompany him. He is truly a model for all knights and a true young man of this empire.”

Now Peter was openly taking Lucas’s side. Serena frowned in absurdity, but he was so immersed in the glory of his knight days that he didn’t even notice.

“Putting status aside, there is no other man as wonderful as him. Above all, didn’t he do all that training to stand tall before you, young lady?”

Huh, Serena openly let out a hollow laugh.

“Peter, whose side are you on now?”

“I am always on your side, young lady.”

“It doesn’t seem like it at all? Do you want to go to the annex and serve His Highness the Crown Prince right now?”

Seeing Serena’s face full of discontent, Peter came to his senses belatedly.

“No. I was just… bringing back information. Isn’t that what you ordered me to do, young lady?”

“But what if you come back taking someone else’s side?”

“I’m not on anyone’s side, I was just telling you the accurate facts.”

This was Peter’s true feelings. Anna was also already leaning towards the crown prince.

“I also thought His Highness was a wonderful person when I met him in person. You should also look at him with fair eyes, miss.”

“Even you, Anna?”

Serena blurted out in disbelief and leaned further back on the sofa.

“Both of you said you would stay by my side even if I remain single forever!”

Despite Serena’s resentful cry, their expressions were serious.

“Of course. But… there’s no need for you to be alone, miss.”

“Yes. What Mrs. Anna says is right.”

They had decided to protect and follow Serena for life since she came to Astel, but if possible, they hoped she could achieve ordinary happiness.

“Especially with such a wonderful marriage partner.”

“I agree.”

Whew, Serena sighed and looked back and forth between the two.

“What I want is a single life.”

“Of course, there would be nothing more to wish for if things go as you want, miss.”

Anna respected Serena even if it was a thought she couldn’t understand.

“But if you must get married, His Highness the Crown Prince would be the best. Not just because of his status… he courageously came all the way to Astel to express his sincere feelings to you.”

“I think so too. There are few men among the recent noble gentlemen like that.”

The two valued Serena’s happiness more than anyone. Even when Duke Astel was wandering around with his urge to roam, Serena was not lonely at all because she had those two.

Moreover, even when she was suddenly dropped into an unfamiliar world where everything was strange, she was gradually able to feel attached to this life because she had those two.

So even if their words didn’t please her at the moment, it was clear that they truly cared for Serena.

Now even those two were giving Serena a headache. Serena got up pressing her temples, stomped her feet with a thud, and went into her bedroom.

“Why is everyone like this, really?”

Serena threw herself on the bed as if throwing her body and closed her eyes tightly.

“No one’s on my side? Gosh…”

It was according to plan that Grand Duke Farel came to the ducal residence after hearing the rumors. However, he bid a lonely farewell today and even Peter and Anna whom she trusted took the crown prince’s side.

“Yes, his status is that of a crown prince, and despite that he chose to suffer hardships which allowed him to return so robust, and it was all to stand tall before his fiancée which is me, so he’s the perfect husband material?”

She blurted it out in anger but for a moment she was almost persuaded herself.

“Hmph. Enough.”

The humiliation of the engagement ceremony was still vivid. They say bad memories are hard to forget, and that was exactly right.

“It’s been 6 years.”

Although she tried to live pretending to be nonchalant, the wound she received at the engagement ceremony still remained as a big scar in Serena’s heart.

Of all things, that wound was for the same reason that had hurt Serena throughout her previous life, and now she didn’t want to have the same regrets.

“That thing he calls training, it’s all for himself. It’s selfish.”

Serena clearly remembered the ridicule directed at her at the time. If she had not been the first to sever and discard the existence of her fiancé, she would not have been able to live properly at all.

“I can live well on my own. Just as I cultivated Astel, I can manage the rest of my life on my own.”

Serena bit her lip at the end of her monologue.

“Why, only coming back now…”

If he had never returned, she wouldn’t have had to worry about this. But Lucas had returned, and shaken Serena.

“Why did you change so much…”

If she had not seen his words that he had trained only for her sake for the past 6 years, or the eyes that proved those words were sincere, her heart would not be in turmoil now.

“You’re so selfish.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but Lucas’s existence was shaking Serena’s heart right now.

She had firmly resolved not to give her heart to others again, nor to be hurt because of it, but the man who suddenly appeared shook everything too easily.

– Let’s get married.

Lucas’s jet-black eyes were sincere.

– Let’s become husband and wife.

There was not a shred of falsehood in his upright and honest confession.

So her heart was in turmoil. To the point where she couldn’t fall asleep at all, her heart was so noisy and tumultuous all the time.