“Am I really going to become the Crown Princess?”

“Yes, who else but you could ascend to the position of Crown Princess?”

A warm atmosphere continued at the Hersher ducal residence.

Her father, Duke Hersher, had finally made up his mind and went directly to the Emperor to propose the marriage.

The marriage of Aria Hersher and Admund Wilhelm.

In fact, the Duke had thought that besides the Hersher family, there was no one else who could marry Admund.

Indeed, there were few families that could match the imperial family, except for the Hersher family.

The Hersher family was a family with a long history, having produced empresses for several generations, befitting a family close to the imperial family.

Moreover, the fact that Admund and Aria were acquainted was also significant.

The anecdote of the two being close at the academy was a well-known fact to others.

Using this point, the Duke pleaded with the Emperor.

To allow the two to be betrothed.

‘Although I didn’t receive an immediate answer on the spot.’

Odin did not give the Duke an immediate answer.

He said he would ask Admund first, but the Duke was already confident that this marriage would happen, given that he wasn’t outright rejected.

The reason for thinking this way was extremely simple.

Among the families that could be connected to Admund, Aria was the only daughter of similar age.

Most were already betrothed when attending the academy, or already married.

Aria was the only unmarried daughter of similar age to Admund from a duke or marquis family.

‘Ah, there is one more.’

But the Duke thought she had no chance at all.

The Duke frowned as he recalled the existence of one person.

The one he thought had no chance at all had recently been embroiled in a scandal with Admund.

And it was a very unsavory scandal at that.

“Aria, are you well acquainted with the daughter of the Odoi family now?”

“Do you mean Clea Odoi?”

“Yes.”

Aria paused for a moment at the sudden mention of the name.

She didn’t have a very good relationship with Clea.

Aria, who got along well with everyone at the academy, also got along well with her fiancé, Lloyd.

While Lloyd himself welcomed becoming close with Aria, the problem was Clea.

Clea, who extremely disliked Aria approaching Lloyd and being friendly with him, often bullied Aria.

Among these, there were actions that went beyond the limit, and there was even a time when Aria was almost seriously injured.

Because of this, Clea began to be disliked by people as she gained the nickname of villainess.

On the other hand, Aria was surrounded and protected by people.

While being protected, Aria found it difficult to understand Clea.

‘Isn’t it good to get along with everyone? It’s not like I have other feelings for Lloyd.’

She thought lightly.

Because the person she would marry was Admund.

Except for Admund, she hadn’t considered anyone else as a potential marriage partner.

The reason she wanted to get along with everyone was because of that.

She wanted to be of help to him somehow by his side.

‘The most brilliant person in my life.’

She examined the spot where the pattern had cleanly disappeared.

A curse.

No one had seen Aria’s pattern.

The pattern that only Aria could see tormented her and caused her pain.

Aria wanted to erase it somehow.

That’s why she still couldn’t forget what happened that day.

The moment when just approaching him made the clock hands stop, and at the same time, the pain she felt in her chest completely disappeared.

It was a miracle she experienced by his side.

‘They said true love is effective against curses.’

It was the moment she realized that Admund was the person she truly loved.

“I don’t have a very good relationship with Clea.”

“Then do you know about her relationship with the Crown Prince?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Aria, who had found it strange that Clea’s name was suddenly mentioned, was bewildered by the subject that followed.

Meanwhile, the Duke, finding it strange that Aria, who was no less than a protagonist in social circles, hadn’t heard the news, sighed and said,

“I mean the rumor that the Crown Prince had a secret meeting with the princess of the Odoi family.”

After hearing those words, Aria’s mind turned black.

“Who with whom?”

She dropped the teacup from her hand upon hearing this news for the first time.

The dropped teacup fell to the floor and shattered.

Those around asked if Aria was alright, but Aria asked the same question once more.

Then the Duke, thinking it was a disaster, called out to Aria.

“That’s impossible. The two of them had no connection to each other in the first place.”

People from high-ranking families were somehow connected to each other.

Of course, in the case of Crown Prince Admund, one had to approach first to create a connection.

Otherwise, Admund would have to approach first.

But Admund wasn’t the type of person to approach someone first unnecessarily.

The same was true for Clea, so there was no point of contact between the two.

But to hear that these two had a secret meeting.

Aria was about to rush to the Duke and ask what was going on, not believing the news.

As Aria would lose her mind when it came to matters related to Admund, the Duke was in a difficult position.

But just then, news that was no less than a savior reached his ears.

“Your Grace, Grand Duke Percy’s son has come to visit outside.”

“Aria, go and see him quickly. Hasn’t a guest come to meet you?”

The Duke, who would normally have pointed out Lloyd’s rudeness for coming without notice, hurriedly tried to send Aria to Lloyd.

Aria’s face was full of dissatisfaction.

However, thinking that she couldn’t keep a friend waiting, she moved her body to the reception room where the guest would be waiting, following the Duke’s wishes.

* * *

“Aria, have you been well?”

“Yes. I was just having tea until now.”

“I see, I see.”

Lloyd greeted her asking if she had been well, even though they had met just yesterday. Aria calmly received his greeting.

Aria, who had been looking at Lloyd’s tired face for a moment, thought.

“Lloyd, may I ask you something?”

“Anything for you.”

Clea is his fiancée after all.

Thinking this much of a question would be alright, she faced him.

It probably wasn’t even the whole truth anyway.

How much had Clea chased after Lloyd during their academy days?

There was no way she would have turned her eyes to Admund. She barely managed to calm her heart

and asked with a bright smile.

“There’s a rumor going around that Clea had a secret meeting with Admund, isn’t that funny? Clea loves you.”

Hearing those words, Lloyd looked at Aria with wide eyes.

Seeing Lloyd’s reaction, Aria thought that he too, like herself, was surprised because he didn’t properly know about the rumor, but.

“Aria, listen carefully and don’t be surprised.”

“Huh?”

But Lloyd quickly composed himself and tried to convey the truth to Aria.

The fact she didn’t want to hear, let alone know.

“I think that rumor is true. When I went to the imperial palace, Admund and Clea were together.”

* * *

Could someone be talking about her?

Feeling her ears tingling, Clea sat peacefully, looking at the person across from her.

She had hoped to make do with just a small piece of bread and soup alone, but looking at the feast set before her, she thought.

“The last supper?”

“How could that be?”

She had just received news that Admund had gone to have dinner with Odin. Clea wasn’t particularly disappointed or anything.

It wasn’t strange for family to have such gatherings after all.

The part that bothered her was something else.

It was Oberon coming into the room himself and setting down a meal for her.

“I think I asked for just a few pieces of bread and some soup to be brought lightly.”

“Would that be enough to fill your stomach?”

“At least by my standards, that would have been sufficient.”

Clea felt full just looking at the feast placed before her.

It wasn’t that she pursued a small appetite, but on days when she ate next to people she disliked seeing, she often ate just a little to avoid indigestion.

That had become her lifestyle pattern.

Clea had intended to eat only that much this time too. But unfortunately, Oberon seemed unwilling to allow that.

“You need to eat to gain strength.”

“I never thought I’d hear such words from you.”

“Aren’t you sick because you’re so skinny?”

“Then are all the young ladies in the empire sick patients?”

Clea let out a laugh.

Oberon, who had shuddered for a moment at her laughter, cleared his throat and urged her to eat quickly.

Since the effort had already been made, she decided to eat. Of course, moderately.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t treat me like a patient.”

“If a sick person isn’t a patient, then what are they?”

“Pity.”

“You see me as a cold-hearted person.”

“Weren’t you a person without blood or tears?”

Clea sighed at Oberon’s suddenly changed attitude, which felt awkward.

She was relieved not to see him rejoicing or mocking as she had worried, but this was troublesome in its own way.

Clea ate moderately and then stood up from her seat.

Oberon continued to say various things, like having a physician examine her later, but Clea, feeling bothered, ignored it all.

“Where are you going?”

“If I’ve eaten, I need to digest.”

“The outside air is still cold.”

“It’s fine. If I could die from a bit of cold, I would have been found as a corpse on that bridge. So don’t follow me.”

“Young lady!”

Looking at Oberon, she worried about what would happen if Admund were to learn about her condition due to his fussiness.

How would he react if he heard she was terminally ill after saying things like not letting her go and telling her not to regret?

As she continued walking, lost in thought, she became aware that Oberon’s voice could no longer be heard and looked around.

“Ah.”

She soon realized her situation.

As a result of wandering around for a bit of a walk and to get away from Oberon.

She had become lost inside the imperial palace.