Following Ruben into the reception room right next to the lobby, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

The spacious reception room was filled with an enormous amount of flowers and gift boxes.

Each had its own unique shape. Some were wrapped in luxurious fabric, while others were in simple, high-quality wooden boxes.

Not only that, but there were also dozens of dresses hanging on racks.

“W-What is all this?”

“These are gifts sent by Sir Hillstain Mathias, the Knight Commander, and Duke Dante Ian. Ah, there are also some sent by Young Lord Noah Ian. Those are set aside over there.”

Ruben, with a clearly reluctant expression, finished his explanation and gestured towards the window area of the reception room.

“For me? Why?”

“Rumors spread that Lady Latieana was ill.”

“Ah.”

Sir Hillstain was there that day, so he would have known, and Dante…

Was he with Edan helping to clean up the aftermath of the unbreakable wall, so he heard about it then?

Even if I was sick, why so many gifts?

I opened one of the nearest wooden boxes. It was about the size of a decent clothing drawer.

“…”

I was speechless. It was filled with jewels so dazzling that a gemologist’s eyes would spin.

Pearls, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and more. There was a diverse array of accessories, as if they had gathered everything good regardless of type.

Click. After carefully closing the lid, I headed towards the window area.

Fortunately, Noah’s gift box only contained a small bird-shaped ornament. But it was studded with an enormous amount of jewels.

“I’d believe it if you told me this entire bird was made of jewels.”

“Ah, it’s probably not entirely made of jewels,” Ruben, who had followed behind me, replied to my muttering.

“Is that so?”

But it’s quite heavy.

“The inside is likely made of pure gold. By the way, the jewels are probably top-grade royal diamonds.”

Tremble tremble. No wonder it’s heavy. How much is this one small bird worth? I carefully put down the bird after examining it.

“But how does Sir Ruben know such things?”

“I happened to study it before.”

“…?”

Studying jewels by chance? A knight?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Ruben continued nonchalantly.

“I had to provide information to the Duke when purchasing accessories for Lady Latieana in the grand castle.”

Impressive, Ruben. You must be smart too. More than qualified to be a right-hand man.

“What should we do?”

As I nodded my head in respect, Ruben gestured towards the gifts.

“The Duke ordered to dispose of everything except Young Lord Noah’s gift, saying they’re messy, useless, and make him feel dirty. Still, I showed them to you first since they’re gifts sent to Lady Latieana.”

Calling top-grade jewels such harsh names is a bit…

Well, of course, the senders aren’t exactly to my liking either.

“Anyway, he said to dispose of them as you wish. However.”

“However?”

“I can’t guarantee how the Duke will feel if you wear those dresses or accessories.”

Right. He explodes with jealousy just from holding hands, so wearing gifts from others? It would be hard to deal with the aftermath.

I turned away from the gifts without hesitation.

“But Sir Ruben.”

“Yes.”

“Hypothetically, even if I were to wear those, Edan wouldn’t know, right? How could he remember all of that?”

“…The Duke has an incredible memory. I forgot to mention this. By the way, he remembers all the gifts he gave to Lady Latieana when you were at the grand castle. Every color and design.”

“…”

Ruben briefly glanced at my shoulder where jewels sparkled, then continued.

“To add, there’s a dress room for Lady Latieana in the grand duchy as well. The dress you’re wearing now is from that room. He remembers all of those too. He’ll be pleased that you’re wearing it today.”

I’m speechless. It’s okay. I don’t intend to wear anything but what Edan gives me anyway.

“Th-Then shall we store them in the warehouse for now?”

“Understood.”

“Ah! I’ll keep Noah’s gift in my room. It’s cute.”

“Let’s do that.”

Along with Maxium, who was waiting outside the reception room, I headed out of the lobby.

As we opened the massive doors and stepped out, a brilliant and high autumn sky spread before us.

The grand duchy’s garden wasn’t particularly colorful or beautiful, but it was very spacious, and its overall monochromatic color scheme gave it a calm atmosphere.

As it was my first time seeing it in such detail, I glanced around various parts of the castle, when a cold wind blew across the garden.

Perhaps due to the warmth of the dress, it wasn’t as cold as I expected, but when I instinctively huddled, Ruben draped a robe over my shoulders.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

As I followed Ruben, he asked a question after just two or three steps.

“But are you really okay with going to the temple? You’ve been resisting all this time, haven’t you?”

“Ah…”

I hesitated for a moment, then smiled slightly.

“The situation has changed, hasn’t it? Back then, I wanted to hide as much as possible for my own sake, but that’s not the case anymore.”

Now, it might be Edan who’s in danger, not me.

The reason Maxium came to me today.

While I was lying sick in bed, the High Priest had been frantically contacting me almost every day.

Even though I must have sent a reply saying I was sick, he kept pushing, and in the end, he even mentioned the Emperor and Empress.

‘If you don’t come quickly, I’ll inform the Imperial family that a new Holy Maiden has appeared!’

For some reason, it seemed Killian hadn’t yet informed the Imperial family about my existence. The High Priest was using that as leverage to pressure me, and having no choice, I sent a message as soon as my condition improved yesterday afternoon.

‘I’ll come tomorrow, so just wait!’

I can vividly imagine him trembling at my blunt tone.

That damned old man. I clearly replied that I was sick, yet he kept pestering me shamelessly.

He thought I wouldn’t come unless he threatened to involve the Imperial family, but I was planning to go anyway! If only he hadn’t resorted to such threats!

As I was frowning and imagining plucking out the High Priest’s corn-like beard, Ruben, who was walking ahead, stopped.

“It’s over there.”

I spotted people at the bottom of the stairs.

In the wide space covered with shiny marble, dozens of knights were standing at regular intervals.

And at the very center, in front of them all, stood Edan.

Edan was wearing a white shirt with a harness belt diagonally across his chest, his hands in the pockets of his black pants, standing with one leg slightly bent.

His black cloak fluttered in the wind, and his well-groomed hair swayed gently.

Sometimes when I see him standing so casually like that, he really looks like a delinquent. But why is he so handsome? His face is glowing as if he’s living in a world of his own.

I stared for a long time at Edan as he focused on a subordinate who was enthusiastically explaining something while holding a quill pen and paper.

Since he was working, I felt a bit awkward about calling out to him, but suddenly Edan turned his head towards me.

Our eyes clearly met, but Edan just blinked slowly once with an expressionless face.

Without saying a word, he looked at me briefly before turning his attention back to his subordinate’s words.

The subordinate glanced at me and then looked at Edan cautiously, but seeing no reaction from him, he continued his explanation.

It must be an important conversation. I might as well wait calmly. That’s what I thought.

Edan pulled one hand out of his pocket and extended his arm towards me.

What’s this?

Since he wasn’t looking at me, I thought he might be offering his hand to someone else. So I stared intently at his hand, and Edan wiggled his fingertips.

As if saying ‘Come here’.

I looked at Ruben, but he was standing there nonchalantly, as if he didn’t want to get involved in such matters.

His hand remained extended towards me, so I slowly approached Edan and looked down at it. I gently placed my hand on his palm. He immediately grasped it tightly, as if he had been waiting for this.

“Um… W-Well…”

The subordinate’s eyes flicked to our clasped hands and then darted around nervously.

“Continue.”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

I blankly looked up at Edan as he refocused on the conversation. The wind blew, ruffling his hair, and though he slightly furrowed his brow each time, he mostly maintained a cool, expressionless face.

Looking at him like this, he really doesn’t smile. But I think he smiles quite often when he’s with me.

I had to try incredibly hard to suppress the smile that was threatening to spread across my face.

A moment later, I headed towards the carriage bound for the temple, escorted by Edan.

“If anything strange happens at the temple, don’t worry about the consequences and run to my subordinates. With Ruben there, I’m less worried, but whatever happens, I’ll take care of it.”

I nodded vigorously.

“Yes. I will.”

Edan looked at my calm face and clicked his tongue, as if displeased.

“It’s not like breaking a mere promise is the end of the world.”

Even after assigning so many subordinates, Edan didn’t seem too happy about sending me to the temple. But Edan, if I don’t go, you’ll be in trouble. And I’ve decided not to hide anymore for your sake. It won’t be easy, but I’ll do anything for you.

“I’m a good person who values promises, you know.”

At those words, Edan tilted his head slightly to the left.

“Didn’t I tell you before?”

“Tell me what?”

“I’m more perceptive than you think.”

He meant that he understood the meaning behind my going to the temple for his sake, using the promise as an excuse.

I didn’t want to make it obvious.

“I appreciate you looking out for me. But your first priority should be yourself. Understand? Don’t put me as your top priority.”

But for me, Edan is my top priority. This man is more precious to me than myself.

Seeing my silence, Edan continued.

“I can never be more important than you. Do you understand?”