Recently, rumors that the Crown Prince would not honor his engagement spread throughout the empire beyond high society circles. The rumors circulated until they reached Serena’s ears as well.

“Everyone seems to have similar thoughts.”

“My lady… Even for rumors, that’s too harsh.”

“What does it matter.”

However, unlike Anna’s serious expression, Serena’s reaction was truly cool.

“Anna, breaking an engagement is better than divorce.”

Seeing Serena shrug and smile, Anna had nothing more to say. After the years that had passed, she no longer had the energy to be surprised by Serena’s actions.

“Rather, it would be stranger if this engagement was upheld.”

“What? The sacred engagement officiated by His Holiness the Pope…!”

“The parties involved are what’s important.”

Serena knew a little about the strange world where this had happened.

The life of a woman who became a powerless empress after the Crown Prince, who had abandoned his fiancée and lived as he pleased, returned after 6 years to hold a loveless wedding ceremony.

“I haven’t met His Highness the Crown Prince or exchanged even a single letter since the engagement ceremony. Can we really call this engagement normal?”

Even for an arranged marriage by parents, the fact that there wasn’t a single letter in the 6 years since Serena left the capital clearly showed Lucas’s feelings.

“That’s… you too, my lady…”

Of course, Serena hadn’t done anything foolish like sending a letter first or inquiring about his well-being either.

[The Empress of the Empire was a woman of noble birth but with no other merits.]

In the original story, Serena’s life was truly useless.

[Far from leading high society and the inner palace, she shut herself in her quarters, passing the years without bearing any fruit in her relationship with the Emperor, and would continue to do so.]

While she didn’t know exactly how many years later this would happen, it was certain to occur after marrying Lucas and him becoming Emperor.

Moreover, there was a very distinct description that stuck in her memory – the content about her being in danger of losing even her position as Empress.

[Elise decided to take advantage of the new Marchioness’s ambition to make her only daughter the Empress.]

Elise was originally the protagonist of this story. Though she didn’t know where she was or what she was doing now, she would appear when the time came.

The problem was that the time when Elise would come into play was precisely when Serena, Lucas’s original Empress, was pushed beyond being an outcast to the point of being driven out.

“I don’t suit the Imperial Family. I don’t want to beg for affection from someone who dislikes me, nor do I need to.”

After the engagement ceremony, Serena did her best to change her life.

She didn’t want to leave regrets of having lived in vain if sudden, unjust death were to come someday. Now, every day was filled with new hope, and she looked forward to tomorrow.

“Now… I like it here, where my life has meaning.”

Serena still vividly remembered the cold gazes that saw her as somewhat different from the norm. It was also a gaze she had often experienced in her past life.

A woman growing up like that.

What good is a strong woman? Will a woman like that ever get married?

Those irritating standards hadn’t disappeared in this world either. No, it could be said they were even worse. Perhaps it was due to the added jealousy towards her title as the future Crown Princess.

But before she could think long about the capital, a shrill sound came from outside the window.

“Oh no.”

She could see a young maid who had climbed a tree and was now dangling helplessly.

“Just leave her, the servants will soon…”

Before Anna could hurriedly stop her, Serena’s body was already halfway out the window.

“My lady, be careful!”

Even for a first-floor window, it’s not easy to jump over one that comes up to an average person’s chest.

“…Phew.”

Anna worried again today as she watched the gallant Serena leap through the window in one bound like a splendid knight and catch the young maid who had been hanging from the tree.

“Indeed, this current appearance suits our lady best.”

Serena looked triumphant as she held the child who had been hanging from the tree. At first, everyone was surprised, but now in Astel, the strong and brave young lady was everyone’s pride and love.

* * *

Not far from Astel territory, jet-black eyes were watching the setting sun.

“It seems the time has finally come.”

The man who turned around after muttering lowly had a handsome yet very sturdy appearance. The sword at his waist and his broad shoulders made him look like quite a strong warrior.

“What do you think, Cedric?”

The man asked with a slightly nervous face as he ran his large hand through his disheveled hair. The brown-haired man standing beside him looked at him with serious eyes.

“I agree, Your Highness.”

“…Are you sure?”

Despite his muscular build, the man’s face still retained some youthfulness. It was Lucas, the Crown Prince who had just turned twenty.

“No. Use the wall of truth.”

Lucas strode towards the wall, hesitated, then took a deep breath before pressing his back against it and straightening his waist.

“Now, measure it again.”

Cedric measured the Crown Prince’s height with a ruler as if performing a great task and marked it on the wall. Of course, the most serious of all was Lucas himself, who had turned around to see the results.

“…Am I not growing anymore?”

The new scratch Cedric made on the wall was in the same position as before. There were already about ten scratches in the same spot. It meant his height hadn’t increased for nearly a year.

“Your Highness is already robust. If you grow any more, we’ll have to change all the doors in the Imperial Palace.”

There was no lie in those words. In fact, until a year ago, Lucas had shown a terrifying growth spurt, changing to the point where he could be called a completely different person.

“You should know who my rival is.”

Lucas hadn’t forgotten the humiliation of that day.

The moment those brilliantly shining blue eyes approached him and said, ‘Too small.’

“You’ve already surpassed that person and then some. Even when compared to the tallest knight in the order, aren’t you taller and more robust, Your Highness?”

The Crown Prince, who had been shipped off to the battlefield right after the engagement ceremony and refused food and drink out of anger, suddenly made some kind of resolution and began to train himself ruthlessly.

At the same time, he ate everything good for his physique and strictly managed his sleep schedule, resulting in him being on track to become the most physically robust emperor in the history of the imperial bloodline.

“And Your Highness. If I may be so bold to say…”

Cedric now looked up at him as he spoke.

“How many times have I told you that it’s not right to use your fiancée as a training rival?”

Hmph, Lucas snorted and took a few steps away. At times like this, it seemed only his body had grown while the rashness of his boyhood remained intact.

“You don’t know what that woman’s expression was like, so you might say that.”

In the past, Cedric had thought the young Crown Prince’s pride was hurt by an unnecessary show of force. Of course, the Duke’s daughter who provoked the Crown Prince at the engagement ceremony was no pushover either, but in terms of childishness, they were about the same.

“Your Highness has already passed the age of majority and turned twenty.”

Despite Cedric’s earnest words pleading for him to grow up a bit, Lucas gave a haughty smile.

“Hasn’t His Majesty the Emperor also mentioned several times that he hopes Your Highness will return and assist with state affairs?”

“Didn’t I say I’m returning to the capital?”

Despite Lucas’s answer, Cedric’s expression was gloomy. The stubbornness he had counted since childhood reached its peak rather than subsiding when he turned twenty, and even now he was heading towards Astel territory like a contrary person.

In other words, it was the opposite direction of the capital.

“If Your Highness returns to the capital and summons the Duke’s daughter, that would settle matters…”

“No, I must finish the last match.”

Over the past 6 years, Cedric had grown quite weary. The hardships of being swayed by Lucas’s stubbornness during that time were beyond words.

“Your Highness, how many hundreds of times must I tell you? You are engaged, not competing in a match…”

However, there was no way those words would reach the ears of Lucas, who had finally grown robust enough to be satisfied.

“If you liked the Duke’s daughter so much, why didn’t you hurry the marriage instead?”

“Who said I like such a woman?”

His indifferent face and sharp eyes were similar now to when he was young.

“I just need to let that ill-mannered woman know that things are different now than in the past. I will definitely receive an apology.”

He didn’t try to know that Serena had actually forgotten about Lucas’s existence and was busy developing her territory.

“Yes… Since we’ve come this far anyway, do as you wish.”

Cedric muttered as if giving up. Regardless, Lucas was recalling the image of Serena, who had always been the standard in his heart.

“I wonder if she has grown more too? Like me?”

“As long as she’s a lady, that’s unlikely.”

“We’ll meet soon.”

The dazzlingly shining platinum blonde hair and eyes bluer than jewels were still vivid. No, he had never forgotten them for a single day.

Lucas had trained himself with a thorough and regular lifestyle solely to look down on her.

At first, it was out of frustration, but what was the emotion that gradually built up…? He was vaguely beginning to realize the answer.

“Now I think I understand everything. Yes… I want to see my fiancée as soon as possible.”

Watching Lucas smile with one corner of his mouth raised, just as he had when he saw her that day, Cedric muttered only to himself. Was it really necessary to take 6 years to realize that?

“I’ll send a servant to the Duke of Astel’s residence.”

“No.”

What Lucas wanted was not an ordinary reunion. If he was going to make an imperial procession, he could have just summoned her to the capital.

“I want to see how she’s really living, her true self.”

“Yes. Then I suppose we’ll suddenly barge in as we do with other territories.”

“…No. That’s not enough.”

Unlike Cedric’s sarcastic words, Lucas’s face was serious.

“How about we become wandering knights and request lodging at the Duke’s residence?”

Lucas’s black eyes were already twinkling with amusement. The closer they got to Astel territory where Serena was, the more outlandish ideas he came up with, which was quite troublesome for Cedric.

“Let’s do it tonight.”

“Yes, Your Highness…”

“Not ‘Your Highness’, but ‘my lord’. We shouldn’t be discovered, right?”

Lucas’s chest was already beating rapidly as he grinned. While the Serena in his memory was very clear, the thought of actually facing her again made his heart flutter with various emotions.