Serena, who had been looking at her notebook even in the reception room, carelessly dismissed the servant’s announcement that a guest had arrived.

“Alright.”

“Shall I bring them here now?”

“Yes.”

As a result, when Lucas entered the reception room, he could see Serena frowning and reading a notebook, her hair tied up high in a single ponytail, dressed in plain clothes.

She even had a pen stuck behind her ear and was turning the pages with a moistened finger.

“Still as rude as ever.”

As Lucas’s low voice echoed, Serena’s movements suddenly stopped. She put down her notebook and slowly raised her head to look at the guest.

His tall stature and broad shoulders, as impressive as those of Grand Duke Farel, famous for his robust build across the continent, were not concealed by the shabby hood.

“I have no reason to hear such words from a suspicious guest.”

Serena stood up and glared at the hooded man. He was the first man significantly taller than her since Grand Duke Farel.

“Especially from someone who’s hiding something.”

Her blue eyes were looking up sharply at Lucas. Lucas was momentarily speechless, simply overcome with emotion at this fact. The goal he had pursued for six years had now been realized.

“You say I’m hiding something?”

The low voice that had been familiar to her ears continued to resonate.

“Have you forgotten?”

The corners of the man’s mouth twisted in the shadow of his hood.

Although he was clearly a stranger, his distinctive low voice stirred her mind, suddenly reminding Serena of her engagement ceremony six years ago.

“Could it be…?”

Despite her words of denial, Serena’s blue eyes trembled slightly.

Just then, as the clouds in the sky cleared and sunlight poured through the window, everything became vividly illuminated.

“No. It can’t be…”

The Crown Prince had forgotten Serena.

For the past six years, there hadn’t been a single letter, and even when his fiancée turned twenty-four, the empire had not fulfilled the engagement. This naturally meant a broken engagement.

“Why, is it unbelievable that I’ve grown taller than you?”

Lucas’s face, revealed as he abruptly removed his hood, was just as Serena remembered. His sharp eyes, which had been fierce even when he was much smaller than her, remained the same, as did his mischievously twisted lips.

However, six years had also brought changes. His physique, now much larger than Serena’s, his broad shoulders, and above all, his Adam’s apple moving every time he spoke while looking down at her, exuded a distinctly masculine aura.

“I still remember what you said at our engagement ceremony.”

His pitch-black eyes were freely looking down at Serena.

“Didn’t you say you disliked men shorter than you? Why don’t you say that again now?”

“Who was it that first said they disliked women with large builds? I merely responded.”

Of course, it was true that Serena, angry at the time, had quite disdainfully looked down on her fiancé who appeared like a child. However, it was that fiancé who had started the fight in the first place.

“Ah, right. We both remember that day well.”

“Yes. It was an unpleasant day for both of us.”

As Serena coldly spoke and took a step back, Lucas completely removed his shabby hood and tossed it aside. This made his broad shoulders and chest, clad in a white shirt, even more clearly visible.

Although six years was a long time, she never expected the Crown Prince, who had been significantly smaller than his peers at 14, to return looking like this.

“And today?”

Lucas took a step forward, narrowing the gap between them again.

“Is today also an unpleasant day?”

It was already more than apparent at a glance that he had grown. However, she couldn’t fathom why he had specifically infiltrated as a wandering knight to appear before Serena.

“Not even a greeting upon meeting your fiancé again.”

Clearly, Lucas was the rude one.

However, Serena wasn’t foolish enough to flare up indiscriminately. Even if he had been just a little boy with fierce eyes in the past, he was still the Crown Prince of this empire. Moreover, she now had much to protect.

“I apologize.”

Serena, with a curt tone, stepped back two paces.

Then, lifting the hem of her dress, she formally paid her respects. As if their relationship was no different from that of strangers.

“The Acting Duke of Astel greets Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“Is that… all?”

With Serena’s head slightly bowed, she couldn’t see Lucas’s wavering gaze. She had never known his feelings to begin with.

“I beg your forgiveness for my past rudeness.”

Serena stood straight and looked at Lucas after concluding her greeting. Her sapphire-like blue eyes were still beautiful, but this was not the reunion he had imagined countless nights.

“You haven’t forgotten about our engagement, have you? Didn’t you wait for me?”

Lucas asked, unconsciously furrowing his thick eyebrows. He wasn’t the only one who had changed in six years. Serena’s height felt almost the same as before, but now Lucas’s eye level was different.

“I don’t remember making such a promise.”

Serena’s lips, which spoke with sharp precision, wore no makeup but had a natural pink hue.

Although her platinum blonde hair was casually tied in a single braid, it shimmered more brilliantly than he remembered under the sunlight.

“We exchanged engagement vows.”

Lucas spoke in a low, almost whispering voice, gazing intently into Serena’s blue eyes.

“That we would surely marry and become husband and wife.”

It wasn’t just that he had grown taller and his physique had become robust. The 14-year-old boy who had been raised preciously in the imperial palace had traveled the world and become a young man.

Now, the scent emanating from him was that of a full-fledged man, albeit somewhat rough and unrefined.

“Isn’t that vow heavier than any promise?”

Lucas slightly lowered his head to meet Serena’s eyes. As if confirming the bewilderment that had crept into Serena’s previously cold expression.

“Where has all that spirit from the engagement ceremony gone? Have you lost your words?”

His pitch-black eyes swept over Serena’s elegant features. His gaze was so intense that it felt scorching wherever it touched.

“You greeted me earlier as the Acting Duke of Astel, didn’t you? I didn’t come to see such a person.”

With each reverberation of his low voice, it felt increasingly difficult to breathe. Despite being in the familiar ducal residence, she felt like a cornered herbivore with nowhere to escape.

“Serena.”

The name Lucas had repeated countless nights finally left his lips.

“I came to see my fiancée.”

She had thought the engagement was already a thing of the past. But now, with the person in question appearing and calling her his fiancée, even Serena’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Aren’t you pleased?”

“No, not at all. Conventionally speaking, isn’t our engagement considered null and void?”

Seeing Serena speak so decisively despite her confusion, Lucas’s lips twisted.

“That temperament of yours remains unchanged.”

Now Serena was glaring at him too. However, the situation was very different from their engagement ceremony.

As proof, Lucas reached out with his large hand and grasped Serena’s wrist.

“Ah…!”

Had she ever been grabbed so unilaterally by someone before? Moreover, Lucas’s hot hand pulled her towards him as if about to envelop her in his embrace. The force was so strong that Serena could barely maintain her balance.

“This behavior… is disrespectful.”

Serena said, raising her eyes. However, even if she tried to forcibly break free, she couldn’t shake off Lucas’s hand.

“I’m no longer the 14-year-old boy you remember.”

To call himself a boy, it seems Lucas had indeed grown.

“You could say it’s all thanks to you, Serena.”

Seeing Lucas smile mischievously, it was clear his words couldn’t be taken at face value.

“I don’t remember doing anything.”

“Didn’t you say you disliked it?”

Whoop, Lucas’s face drew closer.

“Because I was shorter than you.”

Simultaneously, Lucas pulled on Serena’s wrist. This caused her barely maintained balance to crumble, and her body stumbled into his embrace.

“I disliked it too.”

The man whispering in Serena’s ear was not the fiancé from her memories.

“I despised being shorter than you.”

His hand holding Serena was still tense. They were close enough to hear the strong beating of his heart.

“But not anymore.”

With each word Lucas uttered, his Adam’s apple moved. Belatedly, Serena realized that the hand gripping her wrist was calloused. And just how long those six years had been.

“Let go!”

Serena slapped Lucas’s hand with her free hand.

“Unless you trained to subdue me by force.”

Her provocative blue eyes still seemed to pierce through Lucas. Perhaps because of this, Lucas’s grip momentarily loosened, and Serena was finally able to shake off his hand and stand upright.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince. We have no marital fate.”

Serena’s calm eyes turned towards Lucas.

“The engagement ceremony was an unavoidable event, and as it left only bad memories for both of us… we simply aren’t meant to be.”

Bad memories? Lucas involuntarily furrowed his brow.

“You say we have no marital fate?”

Words dripping with resentment leaked from Lucas’s mouth.

“Yes.”

He had endured all the humiliation and anger from the engagement ceremony, training with the thought of meeting Serena again.

“Why?”

He was born as the emperor’s only child and immediately became the crown prince. If it weren’t for those blue eyes looking down on him that day at the engagement ceremony, there would have been no need to voluntarily undergo training and become stronger.

“Serena, you are my fiancée.”

Of course, not all of his training over the past six years was solely for Serena. However, she was clearly the catalyst for his decision to become stronger.

“I…”

“Now I’m taller than you. I’ve even become stronger. I’m not a 14-year-old boy anymore, but a 20-year-old fiancé.”

Unable to control his surging emotions, Lucas grabbed Serena’s shoulders and pulled her towards him.

“I.”

The strong masculine scent and the loud thumping of his heart momentarily halted Serena.

“Not for a single day have I forgotten you.”

His rough and clumsy confession was clearly conveyed.