As Viscount Ethel tried to speak hastily, Duke Elkin quietly raised his hand.

With a gesture suggesting to hear more, Maria smiled with squinted eyes and continued speaking.

“… I mentioned before that I wanted to grandly hold the engagement ceremony for His Highness. I’m thinking of having the engagement ceremony at the banquet to firmly establish my position.”

The viscount’s mouth fell open.

An engagement ceremony at the summer banquet, where the entire empire’s nobility hoped to attend. This was too risky. However, the duke raised the corners of his mouth and swept his chin with his index finger.

“…Does our nephew, His Highness the Crown Prince, know about this?”

“A surprise gift. Wouldn’t he be even more pleased?”

Maria Ethel blinked one eye without hesitation, smiling cunningly.

Duke Elkin quickly calculated as he looked at her face.

A bright golden hair and a lovely face like a fairy.

Boldness that had been swaggering around the Tiaze Palace since the time of the half-breed noblewoman. Rumors even said that he seduced the noblewoman by sending flowers in the name of the prince.

“…I should meet Empress Her Highness once.”

It wasn’t a bad move. Duke Elkin, who had finished his calculations, spoke kindly.

Maria Ethel, as if she knew he would do that, smiled brightly. Viscount Ethel, who was next to her, also burst into laughter.

“If His Grace conveys it to Empress Her Highness, then it would be much easier for me, Maria, or rather, the prospective princess, to prepare for the banquet. Thank you, Your Grace.”

Prospective princess. Maria laughed brightly at the pleasing title.

My engagement ceremony would be more splendid than any previous princess’s engagement ceremony.

I wonder how much Leopold would like it. Just imagining it was enjoyable.

Even more so when thinking about Olivia, that lowly thing, kneeling with a desperate face in front of it.

At that moment, Olivia blinked her eyes and looked at Edwin with an unbelievable expression.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

Whether she liked it or not was beside the point.
Olivia, who was looking at the dazzling jewels laid out on the table, unconsciously murmured her true feelings.

“Well, not so much that I like it.”

Edwin’s face blurred. Olivia quickly changed the subject.

“… I like it so much that I don’t know what to say.”

Edwin smiled brightly again like a flower.

Although she thought it was fortunate for that face, Olivia felt dizzy looking at the table full of jewels.

Jewelry with finely cut gemstones, meticulously crafted necklaces, bracelets, brooches, and even earrings.

Even a tiara was placed at the end of the table. A platinum tiara adorned with emeralds and drop diamonds. That was jewelry that only royalty, queen consorts, or grand consorts could possess.

Even excluding that, it seemed difficult for anyone, even the princess or the empress, to easily afford such jewelry.

Olivia knew the princess’s budget as well as she knew the back of her hand. Thanks to that, she estimated the prices of the jewels as a habit and swallowed her breath.

Edwin, who was joyfully watching Olivia, amazed by the jewels, lightly applauded.

“So, where should we start?”

“Me? Now?”

“Yes. It’s Olivia, so you have to try it if you don’t like it.”

“If I don’t like it…”

“Should I call Lord Stone and the craftsmen? Bring even more beautiful ones.”

Diane, who was silently watching the duke talk naturally, was shocked internally.

Selecting something from there was already tearfully difficult, but ‘again’? Moreover, some of the jewels I brought were already excluded because they were not pretty enough.

Diane looked at the young lady with a desperate expression. Fortunately, the young lady seemed to share my feelings and extended her hand with eyes wide open like a rabbit.

“No, I like everything. Even Her Majesty the Empress would appreciate these precious things…”

Olivia, who was casually speaking her thoughts, suddenly realized.

I shouldn’t say it, even though I don’t know exactly why, as I knew that the entire Biancadelle region was hostile to the palace.

I always thought I should be careful, but for twenty years, my thoughts still revolved around the system and the palace.

Watching Olivia choose her words for a moment, Edwin burst into laughter lazily.

“I’ll only offer you precious things that cannot be compared to Her Majesty the Empress.”

Edwin smiled as if it was nothing. In that moment of relief, Edwin took out a ring case covered in red silk from his embrace.

With a soft sound, the ring case opened, and Olivia blinked her eyes.

A round ring made of platinum, adorned with delicate diamonds. The seemingly ordinary diamond ring looked unusually special because there were only two in the world.

For some reason, her fingertips trembled a little. In addition to the red gemstone ring that occupied her mind all day, another ring that caught her attention had appeared.
“Of course.”

Edwin smiled with a squint in his eyes.

“It means that if my lady puts the same ring on me.”

“Why are your hands shaking so much? Are you cold?”

There was no time to look away from the annoying voice. I knew better than anyone how much Edwin’s hand, placed on my hand, was shaking.

“… Edwin, your hand is heavy.”

“No way.”

While immediately refuting, Edwin looked alternately at Olivia and my hand with a worried expression.

Looking at the half of my hand, which seemed difficult to support, Edwin seemed to be deeply lost in thought.

Although it was clear what Edwin was thinking, Olivia was solely focused on putting on the ring.

A long, elegant, and firm hand.

Grabbing the fourth finger of that hand and putting on the round ring, Olivia unconsciously exhaled a tense breath.

“Done.”

Edwin looked at my hand with the ring for a moment. After staring at the ring with unfamiliar eyes, he eventually extended his palm towards Olivia.

“I already put it on, you know?”

“You only put on two.”

Olivia’s eyes widened again, trying to dismiss it with an indifferent tone. It was only when Edwin chuckled and pointed to the jewels on the table that Olivia realized.

Oh my. Really, I didn’t think he meant putting rings on all ten fingers.