I stared at Ileana, unable to gauge whether her words were sincere or a joke.

I was afraid that Ileana genuinely seemed to find Shuri cute. How could that bear-like bulk be… Threatening rather than cute, I’d say.

“That big build… is cute?”

“It’s cuter because it’s big. Or is it big because it’s cute? Anyway, with that size already catching the eye, how much more noticeable would that cuteness be?”

When I didn’t know how to respond to her words that I couldn’t relate to at all, fortunately, a servant called me, saying the ceremony was about to begin.

I burst into laughter as Ileana encouraged me to do well and mouthed, ‘Absolutely do not grab him by the collar.’

I composed my expression as the servant looked at me with a puzzled gaze.

The servant guided me through a door connected to a spot close to the platform where the Emperor was.

‘It’s incredible…’

Lavishly adorned nobles flocked, craning their necks this way and that to get a look at me.

Were there this many nobles in the Kalovanian Empire?

The long red carpet unfurled beneath my feet was barely 5 meters, but it felt like it stretched on endlessly.

Someone with severe shyness might faint on the spot. My worry about whether I could walk to the end of that carpet soon turned into a concern about whether I might trip on the way there.

Focusing all my attention on not stepping on the hem of my dress, I suddenly found myself at the foot of the platform where the Emperor sat.

‘If I’ve walked this far, I’ve accomplished more than half.’

As practiced, I knelt on both knees and bowed my head. It would have been more comfortable to kneel on one knee like the knights, but due to the difficulty of balancing in a voluminous dress, I had to assume this posture.

After I bowed my head, the servant standing beside me recited Claire’s merits. Why she was being granted a title, how great an honor it was from His Majesty the Emperor, what title and territory she was receiving.

While listening to his long and tedious speech, all I could do was wiggle my feet hidden under the dress to prevent my legs from going numb, and stare at the Emperor’s feet visible to me as I bowed my head.

The Emperor’s shoes, made of well-tanned leather, were less ornate than I expected. Unlike nobles who desire to decorate all items with jewels, his shoes seemed to prioritize practicality above all.

There was a lot of dirt on both sides of the shoes. Though completely dry, the vivid red soil stood out.

‘Red soil…’

Most people think of brown dust when imagining soil, mistakenly believing all soil is similar in color. But just as each person has different characteristics and appearances, soil also has varying properties.

Red soil contains a considerable amount of iron and is mainly distributed in desert terrain. It’s not a good environment for plants to grow naturally. Unless it’s a plant specialized for red soil, it’s difficult to thrive.

‘Where did it come from?’

There’s no desert within the imperial palace – the soil in the imperial gardens is generally rich in nutrients, close to a dark brown bordering on black – and he hasn’t recently been to a desert, so it’s curious to see such soil on his feet.

“…the imperial family expresses gratitude, and hereby proclaims that from this moment, Claire McCain shall become Countess Claire McCain Hydrangea.”

Fortunately, when I came to my senses, the ceremony was nearing its end. If I had been lost in thought for a bit longer, I might have kept the Emperor waiting.

Ileana and the servant had so earnestly implored me not to offend His Majesty the Emperor, it could have been a disaster.

The Emperor, who had been sitting silently listening to the servant’s recitation, stood up and received the prepared rapier. He too had nothing to do but sit with a bored expression while the servant recited Claire’s merits.

His job started now.

He would tap my head and shoulders in turn with the sword, declare that I had become his subject, hand the sword to me, and this long, tedious ceremony would end.

“With this, I proclaim you have become my subject.”

As the Emperor drew the sword and placed it on my shoulders and head in turn, I was frozen as if struck by lightning.

It wasn’t because I was scared of the ceremonial sword that wasn’t even properly forged.

The voice…

His voice, familiar yet strange, gave me an odd feeling.

A feeling of forgetting something very important. Though I couldn’t recall what it was, the Emperor stirred my hazy memories.

‘What is it?’

Even in a situation where I felt like losing my mind, I, well-trained through repeated practice, quickly but without haste, received the sword bestowed by the Emperor.

‘Voice alone isn’t enough… If I could see his face, I feel like I might remember something…’

It seemed that if I could see his face, the vague memory would become clear. Though I remembered Ileana’s warning not to make eye contact with the Emperor, I had to check.

But when I raised my head, it was too late.

The moment I rose from my seat, the Emperor was leaving his place. I stared at his back for a long time.

“I wanted to check…”

Only after the Emperor’s back disappeared from view did I come to my senses and shook my head.

As weapons were not allowed in the banquet hall, a servant approached to take the sword. That ceremonial sword would be sent to the mansion, they said.

As I nodded at the servant’s words, my eyes met with Ian’s, who was standing beside the platform. I was surprised, not having known he was there as I had kept my head bowed the whole time.

“Ian…?”

I unknowingly called out his name aloud. Startled by my own voice, I quickly shut my mouth.

Fortunately, it was a quiet murmur to myself. I was certain that no one had heard my voice in the hall filled with people and music.

‘He’s lost a lot of weight…’

He looked extremely tired. His lips were cracked at the edges, and dark shadows had formed under his eyes.

Ian had always been a light sleeper, but he’d never looked this pale since I first met him.

Did his face become so haggard after hearing the news of my death? Thinking that he might have grieved over my passing filled me with guilt. I, the person in question, had been too busy adapting to my new life to think much about him.

The strange feeling I had when hearing the Emperor’s voice must have been because of Ian.

‘If Ian were to reach middle age, he’d probably have such a deep, mature voice.’

By the way, why is Ian staring at me so intently? There’s no way he could have recognized me as Jane, and was he acquainted with Claire? Or… surely he didn’t hear me say ‘Ian’?

He was staring at me with a peculiar expression. He seemed to have no intention of taking his eyes off my face. Although I was consciously avoiding his gaze, I began to feel uncomfortable.

Ian’s gaze persistently followed me.

‘Instead of just staring like that, why doesn’t he say something… Why is he looking at me so pressingly? Should I go and ask him?’

“Claire!”

Before I could approach Ian, Shuri McCain appeared. If he hadn’t shown up, I might have run to Ian out of curiosity and asked, ‘Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?’

“Congratulations. You’ve now become Countess Claire McCain Hydrangea. Should I call you Lady Hydrangea?”

With the title Hydrangea, Claire’s name became even longer, with her original surname McCain becoming her middle name.

Shuri tried to joke casually as he addressed me, but seeing his reddened eyes, it seemed he had been crying somewhere, just as Ileana had said. I pretended not to notice his eyes and thanked him.

Standing face to face like this, I acutely felt the difference in our builds. It was hard to believe that Shuri and Claire came from the same womb, given how different their body sizes were.

The funny thing is, if you stare at Shuri’s face, you can somewhat see Claire’s features. Things like the big, round eyes, or the dimples that appear deeply when smiling. I could somewhat understand why Ileana found him cute.

“Aren’t you busy with work? Ileana said you barely have time to eat properly.”

“I’m eating well in between work. What about you? Are you feeling unwell anywhere? If anything feels off, tell me right away. Of course, Ileana will take good care of you, but don’t hesitate to let us know about anything. You’ve always been the type to keep quiet even when you’re sick, not wanting to worry others unnecessarily.”

His eyes became moist again. If I left him like this, all the effort he’d made to hide during the conferment ceremony would be in vain, so I said to him,

“You said you’d be my first dance partner, didn’t you?”

“Yes. *sniff* To think you’ve grown so big already…”

I asked for a dance to prevent him from crying, but it seemed to have stimulated his tear ducts even more. He’s already noticeable, standing a head taller than others, is there any need to show off his sobbing to everyone around…

“If you cry, Ileana will be upset.”

At my words, he swallowed hard with a “*sniff!*” and roughly wiped his face with his large hand before extending it to me.