Noticing my gaze, Hadel answered with a serious expression, as if making an excuse.

“If I step on your foot, I might break your bones.”

“That’s my line.”

While Hadel merely moved his toes slightly, I had quite a vigorous step, perhaps due to my long time in the military.

‘Since I’m not wearing boots, I probably won’t get hurt that badly.’

Ah, as Hadel said, I might be in more danger. After all, Hadel is wearing thick riding boots right now.

‘I should dodge well. Should I use the same tactics I used to avoid slimes before?’

As I was thinking this nonchalantly, Hadel, who had become sulky, suddenly lifted me up in his arms.

“Eek!”

I reflexively wrapped my arms around Hadel’s neck. Hadel laughed softly.

Pressed so close, all I could see was his slightly upturned lips. And the vibration of his Adam’s apple tickling my fingertips.

It was a laughter that made even my shoulders tingle for no reason.

“You’re so light, what’s the matter.”

“Uh……”

I’m not that light, though.

Although I was on the thin side, I was also quite tall, so my basic bone weight was quite heavy.

‘But he must be able to carry me if he’s holding me like this, right?’

It wasn’t the first or second time Hadel had suddenly picked me up like this. As I was contemplating asking him to put me down for a moment, I soon relaxed and clung to Hadel’s body. Feeling me relax, Hadel laughed again.

“I like it when you rely on me like this.”

“At this rate, I’m going to become spoiled.”

Even my father didn’t carry me around like this, I think.

At my small grumble, Hadel answered in a low voice.

“It’s fine even if you’re spoiled. I just need you.”

It was an unbearably sweet whisper.

Pleasant times tend to pass quickly.

I thought I had gained a whole day, but in an instant, a day passed and night fell.

“Mmm.”

A faint moan escaped from Marian’s lips as she slept, dreaming of something. Hadel wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his body.

“Mm.”

As if she was groaning from the cold, she wriggled in her sleep and burrowed deeper into Hadel’s embrace.

‘Cute.’

Seeing her fall back asleep, breathing softly like a baby, he couldn’t help but smile. But soon that smile faded.

As they got closer to the capital, Hadel’s heart grew uneasy. It was because of Marian.

‘What if Espen tries to take Marian away?’

Marian had spoken indifferently, but from Hadel’s perspective, Espen’s obsession was far from ordinary.

Even an ordinary person would be troubled by the obsession of an ordinary madman, let alone a madman who had transcended 100 years of time.

‘It’s not that I don’t trust Marian. It’s just that the opponent is such a lunatic.’

Hadel’s gaze naturally turned to the deep pink stone, about the size of a thumbnail, dangling from his wrist.

At this moment, Marian must be just as anxious. But instead of transferring her anxiety, she had graciously considered even Hadel’s feelings. Even making this simple artifact for him.

The smooth pink surface felt as if she was always by his side. Hadel stroked the surface with his thumb and sighed with regret.

‘I should do something to protect her too.’

There was only one thing he could do for her. The only power in this world that only he possessed.

The flame.

Using the flame had never brought him any good. Hadel bit his lip as unpleasant memories from the past surfaced.

But he wasn’t as afraid as before.

‘I don’t care if I’m a monster. As long as I can protect her.’

And he was no longer a monster. After meeting Marian, he made white ash bullets and protected his subordinates with flames. Now the people of the North no longer feared him.

‘I need to use stronger power. Without hesitation.’

No matter what kind of person Espen was.

‘I will never lose.’

Hadel made a firm resolution.

Under the warm sunlight, a round parasol was placed in the center of the garden.

And beneath the parasol, beautiful ladies in colorful dresses were chattering like sparrows.

Officially, it was the Queen’s salon hosted by the Queen of the kingdom.

But the person hosting the salon was Cecil Forte, the fiancée of Prince Saedel.

The Forte baronial family was so insignificant that they could never have imagined becoming in-laws with the royal family. So when Prince Saedel named Cecil as his fiancée, the social circles were abuzz for a while.

“How romantic.”

“Aren’t they a well-matched pair?”

“I never knew the always calm Prince Saedel had such a passionate side.”

What benefit could Prince Saedel gain by getting engaged to a young lady from an insignificant family? Everyone thought the reason for their engagement was ‘pure love’.

That’s why the interest and reaction from social circles was even more intense.

Afterwards, if there had been any flaws in Cecil, the excessive attention would have backfired, but Cecil observed etiquette as well as an etiquette teacher and used elegant speech as if she had been born into a noble family.

As she ended up substituting for many events the Queen should have done, Cecil’s position in social circles naturally became established.

Naturally, everyone called her ‘Lady Cecil’ instead of ‘Baroness Forte’.

The Queen’s salon was the prime example of such events. As Cecil took charge, the age of participants became much younger, so it would be more accurate to call it a gathering of young ladies now.

Today too, young ladies of similar age to Cecil were chattering away in the front yard of the palace.

Just as the salon atmosphere was reaching its peak, an incident occurred.

“Oh my!”

The hem of a young lady’s dress caught on a thorny vine as she tried to approach Cecil.

If she had calmly removed it, nothing would have happened, but the young lady was too flustered and hastily pulled at her dress, causing it to tear badly.

“What should I do.”

She had chosen her prettiest dress to wear, and now this disaster. As she was about to burst into tears, Cecil gently comforted her.

“Here’s a handkerchief. Quickly, wipe it. Your dress will stain.”

Thanks to Cecil offering the handkerchief, she realized that not only was her skirt torn, but the drink she was holding had spilled, soaking her chest as well.

“B-but……”

Even if she wiped the stains, her dress would still remain torn. As she was about to burst into tears, Cecil patted her.

“I’ve prepared spare dresses just in case something like this happened. Please guide her inside.”

Preparing spare dresses is not as easy as it sounds. Everyone has different body types.

Since it showed how much preparation had been done, everyone nodded and praised Cecil.

“Lady Cecil is truly thoughtful and kind.”

“She’s perfectly suited for the position of Queen of this country.”

Cecil smiled silently. Seeing her humble attitude without any arrogance, the young ladies once again marveled among themselves at Cecil’s elegance. But the reality was a bit different.

‘Well, it might happen if no one else catches his eye.’

Cecil knew Prince Saedel too well to be arrogant.

The Saedel she knew was a cold and heartless person. Because he was far from sweet words like love, Cecil could ascend to the position of Queen like this.

In the end, it all depended on his heart.

‘But no one knows when or how his heart might change.’

There was a time when she had worked hard to repay him for choosing her.

It didn’t take long to realize that it was all in vain. He just left Cecil alone because he didn’t bother with her.

‘It’s all meaningless.’

Would she be happy even if she ascended to the position of Queen like this?

‘Is it enough that it looks happy to others?’

Because she was also skilled at hiding her helplessness, the salon ended in a cheerful atmosphere.

After completing her duties for the day, Cecil finally received an inspection from Prince Saedel’s aide.

“Did you say you had something to tell me separately?”

“No.”

The aide’s answer was sharp. This was also a frequent occurrence, so Cecil wasn’t intimidated. But she didn’t forget to throw in a slight jab.

“You haven’t been showing your face lately.”

“He’s busy.”

“I don’t think he has anything to be particularly busy with……”

At Cecil’s words, the aide made a cold expression as if it wasn’t worth answering. Cecil bowed her head.

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

Due to the aide’s reaction, Cecil’s expression also naturally became expressionless.

‘Things have been strange lately. It’s rare for him not to seek me out for such a long time.’

Saedel had never been kind to her. However, there was always enough interaction to appear romantic to others.

‘But I haven’t seen him even once since he returned from the North.’

Previously, Saedel would call for Cecil and just stare at her blankly. It was literally just a time of staring, frowning when she spoke.

Every time, Saedel’s gaze was so wistful that Cecil vaguely thought like this.

‘Does his first love look similar to me?’

Cecil’s appearance was quite unique. Straight pink hair and deep blue eyes. No one she had met in the capital had pinker hair than her.

Cecil summed up Saedel’s gaze like this:

‘He must be looking at me so longingly because it’s someone he can never meet anyway. It doesn’t matter.’

But when he treats her this coldly, she can’t help but think.

Could it be, ‘Has he found the pink-haired girl?’ she wondered.