“Arthur…”

A murmured voice vibrated against his throat, where it lingered.

Arthur stiffened.

Lips were touching his neck.

The moment the ticklish breath reached his throat, Arthur practically flung Reina off him.

“…!”

Heat flooded his face.

And elsewhere.

As Reina, who had reached out to him, started to tilt, just before her head hit the bed frame, Arthur, startled, caught the back of her head with his hand.

“…Haah.”

At the same time, a sigh of relief came out.

A sense of bewilderment spread between them, separated by just a sheet, at the vivid warmth and breath.

Through their bodies that touched again as he supported her head, the sensation he had avoided in shock a while ago was conveyed once more.

The unsuspecting Reina, who had been nuzzling peacefully, sought his cool skin, burrowing into his arms.

His heart dropped.

The memory of holding her five years ago came back vividly.

He saw clearly the future he could prevent right now.

Arthur’s fingertips twitched.

Bang.

Arthur, who had roughly swung open the drawingroom door and came in with two blankets, threw one at the crown prince.

“?”

While the crown prince was startled and awkwardly stared at the blanket that had hit his face.

Arthur strode over and sank into the corner sofa.

And, turning his back on the crown prince, lay down there, covering himself with his share of the blanket.

“…”

“Arthur?”

“…”

Arthur clenched his eyes shut.

“…You came to sleep with me?”

The crown prince cautiously asked.

Damn it.

Without saying a word, Arthur turned his body and pulled the blanket over his face.

Using the mourning period due to war as an excuse.

Binding all the noble young ladies, who could become candidates for the crown princess, in an unmarried state for the still unmarried crown prince.

And to consider for the young men of marriageable age, who were summoned for the duty of war, so that they wouldn’t suffer a loss or feel deprived in the marriage market upon their return.

In the empire, a marriage ban and a ban on social gatherings were imposed on the nobility.

Ordinary people were free to marry, but highranking nobles couldn’t because they hadn’t received official marriage approval from the court.

And as a result, people from the middleclass families preparing to ascend to the gentry also stopped attempting any exchanges that could potentially lead to marriage proposals, to prove their own honor and dignity.

This was considered a noble and honorable act.

Of course, there were not completely devoid of noble marriages.

But, nobles unofficially marrying only happened when a child was born before the marriage.

This, of course, was a disgraceful marriage because it did not receive marriage approval from the court, so the public marriages of the nobles naturally ceased.

At first, everyone easily accepted it because they expected the war to end in a year at most.

“…However, the war lasted for five years, and thanks to that, the noble ladies in their late teens to early twenties, the age at which marriage discussions are most active, are all beyond the ideal age for marriage without being married. Everyone is eagerly waiting for the resumption of social gatherings and the lifting of the marriage ban.”

“…”

Kevrant continued speaking.

“And so… the debutante ball this spring will be a major event symbolizing victory and the normalization of the empire, as you said. Rumors have already circulated among the nobility.”

“…”

Kevrant was the son of a prominent noble family.

He had unmarried and married sisters between their teens and thirties, so his gossip from the social world was quite reliable.

The other knights, who didn’t know much about the matters of the noble family and the social world, silently listened to his report to Arthur.

“Considering ‘Lady Christina’ is the one to kick off the opening, it’s quite natural. A 22yearold lady who missed her debutante ball five years ago, the bride of Sir Arthur, who ended this war, and a figure symbolizing the reunion with her fiancé after five years.”

“…”

Kevrant carefully continued.

“And let’s not forget Julius has become the crown prince. So, Lady Christina dancing the first dance of the debutante ball with Sir Arthur… will be a highly symbolic event. From Julius’s perspective, it’s his entrance into the social world as a topranking individual, and for the nobility, it signifies the normalization of the social season.”

At each hesitant moment, Kevrant’s difficulties in avoiding the debutante ball were conveyed.

Finally overcoming the tough hurdle, Kevrant finished speaking briefly.

“So as you say, if an invitation arrives, it seems like I cannot avoid it with a simple excuse.”

Tristan paused briefly to think, then asked.

“Is there not a male candidate who could symbolize a similar ‘normalization’, like the crown prince?”