“There’s nothing particularly problematic about it.”

Casius’ eyes widened.

“Could I have misunderstood?”

Rodgo tilted his head at Casius, who spoke as if there had to be some kind of sacrilegious aura.

“If I must say, there is a trace of magical energy contained within.”

“Magical energy?”

Casius chuckled as if he had caught someone red-handed.

“Yes. I could feel it, albeit faintly.”

Well then, unless that woman had planted some kind of poison, there’s no way she would have planted flowers there.

Casius recalled the charred leaves he had found in the trap earlier and asked:

“Is it the energy of a curse?”

The rough baritone voice, no, even in the momentary pause between words, Casius exuded a terrifying aura.

Feeling as if he was facing a demon from hell, Rodgo carefully observed Casius’ reaction.

Somehow, everyone seemed to have expressions expecting some kind of cursed energy to arise from these flowers.

“No. It’s a protective spell.”

At that moment, Casius’ face crumpled visibly.

Rodgo raised his head with an anxious expression, wondering if he had made a mistake.

In reality, Casius was staring blankly at the flower bed he had carelessly scattered, with a dazed expression.

It was neither anger nor bewilderment, but somewhere in between – an expression whose meaning was difficult to discern.

Unable to interpret the expression, Rodgo continued to carefully observe the Crown Prince.

Only after receiving instructions from Tikan did he quickly withdraw, as if he had been rescued.

For a long while after that, Casius remained lost in thought, his fist clenched.

His mind was as chaotic as the flowers strewn across the ground.

‘Why would that woman do such a thing?’

Handing over the Benedict trade route or rushing into the trap for his sake could be explained as attempts to impress him.

But she had no reason to try to impress Lord Siron.

As Casius was deep in contemplation, Tikan’s voice brushed the edge of his ear.

“But how did Her Highness know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Rosemary is Father’s favorite flower.”

Lord Siron likes rosemary…

‘Vivian, that woman, knew something even I didn’t know?’

“It must be a coincidence.”

It had to be. He didn’t want to attach meaning to this and further disturb his mind.

But the protective spell that had been set on the flowers left another rough mark on his heart.

It could only be explained as an act of pure goodwill.

Tikan thought the same. Somehow, the conviction that these flowers were not a coincidence gradually solidified in his mind.

But he didn’t add any more words toward his lord, whose face had hardened.

Casius seemed to have made a decision in a short moment and gave an order.

“Have the rosemary flowers replanted.”

“Pardon?”

“Call the heat mages to manage them so they don’t wither throughout the four seasons. And check the barrier once more.”

Tikan couldn’t help but sigh. He couldn’t understand this charade of cutting and replanting flowers.

But what could he do? It was his lord’s order.

Above all, Tikan knew that his lord’s orders contained feelings of care for his sister and father.

As Tikan looked at Casius with mixed emotions, an unexpected additional order was given.

“Make it exactly the same as before so that Bi doesn’t notice.”

With those words, Casius left.

Tikan watched his lord’s retreating figure with a subtle gaze.

Lately, his lord had been spending more time thinking about Her Highness.

Though he didn’t seem to realize it himself.

While he should have felt disappointed thinking of his sister, Tikan, who had been observing his lord all this time, felt rather relieved.

He knew well that what his sister would want most was for his lord to break out of his shell.

Thinking of it that way, this change was a fortunate thing.

However, since the other party was Her Highness, Tikan was anxious about what outcome this precarious situation might bring.

As numerous thoughts piled up like that,

The uprooted rosemary bed bloomed brightly with new rosemary flowers.

*

Around the time the fully bloomed rosemary flowers took root as if they had always been there, the coronation drew near.

In the meantime, Casius did not come to see me, and instead of the rumors I had intended, different rumors sprouted within the palace.

The gossip-loving servants’ mouths were constantly moving with those words, and unintentionally, such words often reached my ears.

Today was no exception.

On my way to Lake Wolfdor to recover my magic power with a turbulent heart, I heard the servants’ murmuring.

“I heard His Highness is very fond of Lady Evelina Winterdell.”

“They say she’s been staying in the Crown Prince’s palace for a long time and doesn’t come out at all.”

“Well, she’s his advisor, so that’s probably why.”

“Oh, how naive. No matter if she’s an advisor, would he keep her close for so long if he didn’t like her?”

Whenever such talks circulated, my story was inevitably mixed in.

“Even when he was infatuated with Lady Rachel Rosemary before, it was all because they spent a lot of time together when she was his advisor. There’s no guarantee it won’t happen again this time.”

This was about my past.

“I feel sorry for Her Highness. I heard His Highness hasn’t sought her out even once since their wedding night.”

And what followed was invariably about my present.

“Well, Her Highness looks a bit like a haughty fox, while Lady Evelina looks pure and bright.”

“What do you mean by ‘pure and bright’?”

“You know, they say she looks a lot like Lady Rachel Rosemary from before. Slender body and a face like whipped cream.”

“Oh my, now I understand why His Highness likes her.”

Each time, Marianne would step in, clearing her throat with a “Ahem” and chasing them away.

Today was no different.

“Are you alright?”

I’m not alright. But I have to be.

I should get used to these things now.

With a faint smile, I nodded and headed to Lake Wolfdor as usual.

As always, the time to recover my magic power was slow and tedious.

‘Casius is spending a lot of time with Evelina? I wonder what Casius is thinking?’

With complicated thoughts, I submerged myself in the water until even my face was covered, then resurfaced.

A pure energy filled me to the tips of my hair, and I felt the water energy fully charging my body.

Accordingly, I felt my magic power rising temporarily.

But it quickly drained away as if it had never been there.

‘If only I had magic power at times like this, I could have found that damn magical beast…’

Even if there were ominous rumors about magical beasts in both Winterdell and Snowfell, it would be difficult for Rosemary to be selected as a tourist autonomous region.

Only with Birloff’s corpse could I completely turn the tide towards Rosemary.

And ironically, I needed that heart too. To regain my magic power.

If there was any consolation, it was that Casius probably hadn’t withdrawn the holy water sprinkled throughout the Mountain.

After all, there was no reason to collect the holy water that had already been sprinkled.

‘If Birloff is caught there as I said, would Casius look at me differently?’

Even if not, if rumors spread in Winterdell and Snowfell, he might visit my chambers once a week.

The problem was that none of these things had happened yet.

‘Diarob, what on earth are you doing?’

Contrary to the expectation that he would immediately spread rumors about seeing a magical beast in Winterdell, Diarob was surprisingly quiet. If we waste too much time like this, the entire plan could fall apart…

The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became, so I finished bathing a little earlier today and came out.

Marianne, who had been waiting, immediately approached and skillfully dried my body and helped me into my dress.

“Were there any particular rumors in the world outside?”

Marianne seemed to understand my intentions and hesitated for a moment, but soon shook her head and answered.

“No, there weren’t.”

Looking at Marianne with her head bowed, it seemed that there really weren’t any rumors circulating except for the comparisons between me and Evelina.

After returning to the Crown Princess’s palace, monotonous time continued.

The rumors in Winterdell and Snowfell, and catching Birloff, were all out of my hands now, so all I could do was wait.

At that moment, Marianne entered the room with tea, as always.

It was that very tea that was supposed to be good for pregnancy.

*

The trumpets sounded magnificently, heralding the morning of the coronation.

The luxurious carriages lined up in front of the palace ranged from pumpkin orange to golden in color.

The great nobles who alighted from the carriages and the minor lords who had come up from various regions formed their own groups and exchanged greetings.

Among them were carriages of foreign design, not in the imperial style.

From arched tops to carriages with sophisticated engravings, to carriages with wide wheels from the desert, the variety was diverse.

The owners of the carriages boasted exotic appearances and hairstyles as unique as their unusual carriages.

I, who would be the protagonist of the day, was receiving makeup comparable to bridal makeup in the central waiting room.

The makeup team from the Calypse brand, brought in at Diarob’s insistence, was truly impressive in their skills.

Even the youngest maids all flocked to watch this rare spectacle, and Marianne, who should have been managing them, was also lost in admiration.

The people who had adorned me until now were also incredibly skilled, but my reflection in the mirror now was distinctly different from before.

With each pat of powder and application of color, a new energy blossomed, bringing vitality.

It was quite a beautiful appearance, but when I thought of Casius’ face, my confidence shrank like a wet sponge.

“Has there been no word from His Highness yet?”

“Well…”