Always waking up at the same time, meeting the same people, and going to sleep at the same time—Belige’s days as the commander of the Holy Knights were monotonously ordinary.

Until he coincidentally encountered that woman.

Thud!

“O-oh, I’m sorry…!”

On his way to the library, Belige collided with a woman, causing the books she was carrying to scatter on the ground.

Picking up a fallen book and following the woman who was hurriedly gathering her scattered books, Belige picked up a book that had fallen off her pile and handed it to her.

“You dropped this.”

“Oh, thank you.”

As the woman, who was bending down to pick up the fallen book, received the book he offered, she paused without accepting it. Belige also froze the moment he faced the woman.

As if time had stopped between them.

Jet-black hair and violet eyes that sparkled like the moonlight reflected on the night.

A woman reminiscent of a pitch-black night.

“But why does she seem so familiar?”

It was undoubtedly the first time he had seen her today. Why did she feel so familiar, as if they had known each other for a long time?

Despite feeling intrusive with his curiosity, the man stared through the woman’s face.

Meanwhile, the woman was also staring blankly at Belige’s face.

While their gazes were entwined in the air for a while,

“Belige.”

He turned his gaze at the thin voice coming from behind.

“Milady.”

“You were here.”

With her silvery hair sparkling in the sunlight, Saint Madelia approached them. As she did, the stiff woman hastily collected her belongings and stood up from her seat.

“Uh, then I’ll be going now…”

“Hey, wait a moment…”

Without giving him a chance to catch the woman fleeing, she swiftly moved away like a nimble squirrel right in front of him.

In response, his hands floundered in the empty air.

“Why are you acting like that? Do you know her?”

Staring at the empty corridor with nothing but curiosity, Saint Madelia looked puzzled at him.

“…It’s nothing.”

Why did her face remain in his mind like a faint trace after staring at a strong light? He turned away, thinking it was just his imagination. However, not long after, he found out the reason.

“The disgraced princess of the Durnamis family. Heard she manifested green even from such a prestigious family?”

“Durnamis?”

His steps came to a halt at the familiar name that echoed from afar.

“She even got criticized because her magic manifested too late, probably because she’s a child born outside due to the late manifestation.”

“Fortunately, she wasn’t driven out just because she was born with the emblem of the Durnamis family.”

Only then did he recall. The little girl he encountered in the Durnamis territory when he was young.
“I feel a familiar sensation somewhere.”

The image of a young girl, drenched in cold water, shivering all over, came to mind.

“So that’s what happened back then…”

He reminisced about a past incident that was too malicious to be considered a mere child’s prank.

He had vaguely heard about the Durnamis family before.

A precious child, born to the long-awaited couple who couldn’t conceive for a long time, brought joy as she manifested magical potential.

It was evident how much expectation they had poured onto the heir.

But when the heir failed to meet those expectations, disappointment and frustration undoubtedly turned into anger directed at the child.

Even with just a fleeting glimpse of that day, he could roughly imagine the kind of childhood she must have endured.

“It must have been difficult.”

With a hint of sympathy, he felt sorry for that woman.

Raised with the weight of the family’s expectations, she couldn’t meet those expectations. Perhaps he, too, could have ended up like her.

He, too, received the family’s expectations, possessing the symbols of strong sanctity with silver hair and golden eyes.

However, he had the powerful sanctity to meet everyone’s expectations, and he ascended to the position of the Holy Knight Commander and became the head of the Duke’s family as if it were the predetermined order.

“Similar yet different.”

Both born as heirs burdened with family expectations, but he fulfilled those expectations, while she did not.

Sympathy and regret for the heir without abilities. His admiration for that woman was limited to just that.

Yes, it had definitely been like that.

“Are you talking about marriage?”

“Yes, His Majesty proposed the marriage with the Saint before you. It’s a great opportunity. This way, the sanctity of our future family’s children will be even stronger.”

Marriage with the Saint.

It wasn’t just something his father desired. The Emperor and even the temple subtly hoped for the union of the two.

And he, too, had thought that someday, if special circumstances didn’t arise, he might marry the Saint.

But today, for some reason, the fact felt strangely oppressive.

“So, shall we announce the engagement around next month?”

“Next month, you say?”

“Yes, it’s what both sides want already. Why postpone it?”

Saying both sides want it when he hadn’t even been asked for his opinion.