“I……”

“Jieselgrante.”

Once again, the two opened their mouths simultaneously.

“What is it?”

“You go ahead.”

Even their attempts to give each other the chance to speak first coincided perfectly.

Jieselgrante kept her mouth tightly shut and sent him a look with her eyes.

‘If you have something to say, say it.’

Cabelased, who had been quietly looking at her face with a slight smile, soon opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“Jieselgrante… no, Trinity.”

“……!”

For a moment, Jieselgrante’s thoughts stopped.

“Just now…… what did you call me……”

“Trinity, the First Imperial Princess of the Feisis Empire. I sincerely want to apologize to you.”

“That……”

Jieselgrante’s blue pupils dilated greatly.

Cabelased could only smile bitterly as he looked at her confused face.

“……How did you know?”

As she uttered those words in a trembling voice, her conversation with the Empress suddenly came to mind.

‘It’s me, me. The very existence you desperately wanted to kill and erase from the moment I was born. The First Imperial Princess of the Feisis Empire, Trinity!’

She had never revealed her identity before. Except for that time. So if Cabelased knew, it could only have been from then.

Looking at her intensely shaking eyes, Cabelased said,

“Do you remember the day you went to see the Empress?”

“Yes, I remember. Then I suppose Duke Kardia was there too that day.”

“At first, I doubted my own ears, wondering if I had heard correctly. But thinking about it carefully, it made sense.”

Nodding slightly, Cabelased continued,

“You knew too many things that only Trinity herself would have known. The Emperor, the Empress, and even the Crown Prince. You knew the tendencies and behavior patterns of the imperial family members too well.”

“……”

“I want to compensate for your past time. For a lifetime.”

As she blinked blankly, a warm, large hand touched her cheek.

Jieselgrante raised her slightly lowered gaze to meet Cabelased’s eyes. The look in his eyes as he gazed at her was incredibly warm.

“I’m asking you formally. Will you become the Empress of the Feisis Empire?”

“……”

“I’ve thought about it a lot… and this seems to be the best compensation I can offer you.”

Originally, the role of the Empress of the Feisis Empire was by no means small.

It wasn’t simply for the sake of succession that they welcomed an Empress.

The first Emperor had to cultivate new territories devastated by the war between continents, and he took as his Empress a woman who was his closest confidant and strategist at the time.

Perhaps because of this background?

For a while, the rule of the Feisis Empire was shared by the Emperor and Empress.

But as peace continued, those born with the mark of the heavenly descendant ceased to appear.

As generations passed, the Empress’s position naturally diminished, leading to the current situation.

Although its essence has become quite blurred now, she seemed to understand what Cabelased meant by the significance of the Empress.

“And one more thing.”

Cabelased added to her, who couldn’t answer right away.

“I don’t think there’s anyone else in the empire who could fulfill the role of Empress as well as you can.”

“……”

As Jieselgrante’s response was delayed, anxiety began to show on Cabelased’s face.

Cabelased had always been relaxed about everything.

It was strange for Jieselgrante to see him showing anxiety while waiting for permission.

At the same time, her feelings became a bit complicated.

Remembering her past where she was destined to die as Cabelased’s substitute, there was still a bitter emptiness in one corner of her heart, like an unfillable hole.

But both she and he were mere infants at that time. They had no authority to choose the direction of their own lives.

Although her complicated feelings towards Cabelased weren’t entirely sorted out, she still looked forward to a future with him.

Except for those who were about to die, no one knew about the pain of her past. It was clear that no one would be able to comfort her.

So now and in the future, the only person in this world who would understand her bitter feelings would be Cabelased, and him alone.

Jieselgrante, who had been quietly observing Cabelased as he licked his dry lips, smiled slightly. Then she said in a low voice,

“Alright. I accept your proposal, Duke.”

Cabelased, who had been staring blankly at Jieselgrante’s hand extended before him, soon took her hand.

Jieselgrante shook their joined hands slightly.

“Does this seal the contract?”

“For now, yes.”

Nodding her head, Jieselgrante pondered what content to include in the marriage contract.

“Dinner?”

“Not yet. I’m just returning now, what about you, Duke?”

“Me neither.”

Shaking his head slightly, Cabelased suddenly turned towards her and asked,

“By the way, are you going to keep calling me Duke?”

“The form of address… I’ll try to change it gradually.”

Saying so, Jieselgrante lowered her gaze slightly.

On the way back to the mansion, Jieselgrante found herself lost in thought. And it seemed she wasn’t the only one with a lot on her mind.

As she glanced at Cabelased’s face while walking, his straight brow furrowed slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just thinking about having to get permission from your family, I mean, your current family… it’s already giving me a bit of a headache.”

Despite his words, a gentle smile played on Cabelased’s lips.

‘Permission…’

Family’s permission. As those words came to mind, two faces naturally appeared.

Family. Now, her family was Duke Amaterasu and Mikhail.

Not the people who would achieve their goals even if it meant killing her…

‘If it’s those two… I think they would like it.’

At first, there might be some resistance, but she had faith that Duke Amaterasu and Mikhail would surely give their blessing. If only she wanted it.

But she didn’t voice these thoughts out loud.

After finishing her short walk with Cabelased, Jieselgrante headed to the dining room.

“Welcome.”

Beyond the shoulders of the somewhat embarrassed butler, familiar faces were seated.

Count Preston and Marquis Howard, Cabelased’s closest confidants, as well as Duke Blatnick and other nobles of the alliance were already quite tipsy from early evening.

Marquis Howard, who spotted Jieselgrante and Cabelased, staggered towards them holding two glasses and a bottle of wine.

“Welcome! We’ve all been waiting. Would you two like a drink… oh?”

Marquis Howard’s gaze, as he approached the two, dropped downwards.

More precisely, towards the joined hands of Cabelased and Jieselgrante.

Blinking his eyes, Marquis Howard stared at their clasped hands and took a sharp breath.

“Marquis Howard? What’s the matter?”

Duke Blatnick, who had been conversing with Count Preston, turned his head this way.

Led by him, the gazes of the nobles in the dining room fell upon Jieselgrante and Cabelased’s joined hands.

“……”

A silence fell over the previously lively dining room.

Jieselgrante tried to let go of the hand she was holding.

But Cabelased, seemingly having no intention of doing so, gripped her hand a bit tighter, though not enough to hurt.

“Why so surprised? You all know Jieselgrante is my fiancée.”

After surveying the nobles of the alliance, Cabelased nonchalantly planted a kiss on her forehead.

“……!”

At his action, the nobles of the alliance gasped silently.

Among all those present, Jieselgrante was the only one whose face turned bright red.

Of course, she also understood their reaction.

Cabelased was a goal-oriented person.

He was cold to others, indifferent, and showed not the slightest interest in emotions like love.

Such a person not only openly held hands with Jieselgrante but even kissed her forehead.

For them, Cabelased’s change must have been very unfamiliar.

By now, they were likely suspecting that something might be wrong with Cabelased.

Just as everyone in the dining room was overcome with shock, Mikhail and Duke Amaterasu entered the room.

“We’re a bit late……”

The two, who were hurriedly moving towards the interior, seemed to sense the strange atmosphere and quickly looked around.

And it seemed they soon found the cause.

Ahem.

Duke Amaterasu cleared his throat menacingly while glaring at Cabelased, and Mikhail just blinked with his mouth agape.

Mikhail, who had been staring blankly at their joined hands with an unbelieving expression, soon opened his mouth.

“Cabel? What are you doing with my sister right now……”

Before Mikhail could finish his sentence, Cabelased pulled Jieselgrante closer by her shoulder. Then he very naturally drew her into his arms.

“We’re getting married. I trust you’ll give us your blessing.”

At Cabelased’s words, the nobles of the alliance, who had been blinking blankly, one by one hid their bewildered emotions and offered words of congratulation.

“Co-congratulations!”

“You look very well-suited to each other.”

Jieselgrante subtly observed her family’s reactions.

Flames were blazing in Duke Amaterasu’s eyes, and Mikhail also looked ready to pounce at any moment.

It was fortunate that the quick-witted butler of the Kardia ducal family and Count Preston were holding both of Mikhail’s arms and not letting go.

But was it her imagination that Frederick’s gaze as he looked at her seemed somewhat melancholic…

It seemed there was still a long way to go to persuade her family, but that was okay.

Because now, Cabelased was by her side.

– The End –