In the vast Tyche. Different genders.

The more you hope for a coincidence, the harder it is to create. You could meet if you intended to, but Ethan didn’t want to approach directly and get formally involved, especially with a mad woman vividly alive.

It was enough to watch from a distance. As long as he could confirm her well-being, that was more than enough. So Ethan attended one of the social events, just in case. Was it a recital or a reading? It must have been something like that.

Hyacinth was nowhere to be seen, and only other nobles were greedily mingling. The same happened at the next event, a play, and the one after that, a salon.

Only then did Ethan realize.

That Hyacinth was deliberately avoiding him.

He wanted to visit her immediately and ask, ‘Do you remember me?’—a question that would seem insane to others—but he held back.

If Hyacinth really remembered him, wouldn’t she have come to strangle him? That seemed like a reasonable doubt.

Anyway… He needed to figure out the best way to watch her from a distance. Ethan painfully racked his barely functioning brain. Recently, his memory and cognitive abilities had been shattered, but when it came to Hyacinth, he could still think clearly.

He met Crown Prince Arthur at the training grounds.

After a few sparring sessions, he earned the prince’s favor and even got permission to access the royal garden.

Had he asked too hastily without building enough rapport? For a moment, he worried, but Crown Prince Arthur looked him over with narrow eyes and nodded.

‘Alright.’

A man whose thoughts were as inscrutable now as they were in the past.

Ethan chewed over this impression and then dismissed it. In truth, Crown Prince Arthur wasn’t important.

Of course, he knew Arthur was the next monarch… But would Ethan Erentis live to see Arthur’s coronation? Who knows.

Ethan hoped to be buried before then. He didn’t need a funeral or a tombstone. Actually, he didn’t need to be buried at all. Let the crows pick at his corpse. A fitting end for a sinner.

So he ignored Crown Prince Arthur’s puzzling expression and ran straight to the garden the next morning. There was no need to visit the training grounds anymore since he had achieved his goal.

Ethan climbed a tree and quietly concealed his presence. Since Hyacinth avoided him, it was only right to stay hidden.

Fortunately, ‘today’s Ethan Erentis’ was quite lucky. Shortly after lunch, Hyacinth appeared. Behind her were her nanny Seina and several maids.

Cheerful laughter. Lively conversation.

It turned out Hyacinth had various smiles. When she laughed brightly, it was pure, and when she burst into laughter as if something was absurd, she seemed mischievous. She had a variety of colors. All in pastel tones.

Light yellow. Light sky blue. Light purple… The bright colors of spring. Like tasting sweet candy.

A woman like that had once come to the monochrome Bremlin.

‘Really. You know why I came here, why I left Tyche to come here.’

Back then, he didn’t understand the weight of those words.

Ethan smiled bitterly. In his view, Hyacinth Hener was still shining brightly and beautifully. An utterly perfect light. A precious flower of Tyche, blooming gracefully in the spring sunshine.

Ethan leaned against the tree trunk, staring at Hyacinth’s hair glowing in the sunlight. Was he thinking about this because her hair looked golden now? A trivial thought crossed his mind.

But when the clouds covered the sun, turning Hyacinth’s hair back to its burning red color,

Ethan continued to watch, suppressing the rising aversion from deep within his heart. And he admitted it.

Even with red hair, Hyacinth Hener was beautiful. Noble.

Not that it changed anything. It only reinforced how much of an idiot he had been in the past…

The knot in his heart seemed to strike his throat. It was an insignificant emotion. Ethan easily butchered and killed her. His tongue was ragged from constantly biting it out of unbearable self-loathing.

Ethan considered cutting off the useless piece of flesh but refrained. If Hyacinth ever regained her memory, he would need to talk.

He couldn’t leave her feeling frustrated.

* * *

The price for stopping his training as soon as he got what he wanted came a little late. Ethan had to purse his lips in annoyance at the summons from Crown Prince Arthur, calling him to train at dawn.

…Annoying bastard.

He couldn’t ignore it, so he grudgingly went to the training grounds instead of the garden.

“Are you interested in my sister?”

The red-haired crown prince, whom he had to face again, asked with a rather innocent expression. It was a face that made Ethan want to punch him, so he looked down at the hilt of his sword, contemplating whether to actually strike.

“…She is far too precious for someone like me.”

“Aren’t your statuses similar?”

“……”

“Come on, don’t try to fool me. Yesterday, you couldn’t take your eyes off Hyce in the garden.”

To think he had been observed so closely without noticing… Ethan felt a headache coming on. It was a clear sign that everything about him was falling apart.

He hadn’t dealt with that woman yet. He couldn’t afford to be this broken yet.

Ethan slowly offered an excuse.

“I was fascinated by her picking roses.”

“Ah. Well, roses wouldn’t bloom in Bremlin. So, what color was the rose Hyce picked yesterday?”

How should I know what color it was?

“It must have been red.”

“It was yellow.”

“……”

“Should I play matchmaker?”

Excuse me. In my previous life, you foamed at the mouth in opposition.

Ethan sighed and thoroughly ignored him.

* * *

Every spring.

When the roses bloomed, Hyacinth would beautifully arrange them and present them to her family. A red rose for King Kendrick, a yellow rose for Queen Johanna.

A deep pink rose for Arthur and his wife Beatrice.

As expected, this year, Hyacinth visited Arthur with a deep pink rose. Arthur’s face lit up with a broad smile at the gift from his beloved sister.

“By the way, Hyce.”

“What is it?”

A white rose was tucked into Hyacinth’s beautiful red hair. It must have been the work of her nanny, Seina. Seeing the white symbolizing purity, he thought it was about time she got engaged, if not married.

Honestly, isn’t he a good match?

Their statuses are compatible. Their looks match well. As Mother said, Duke Trisel is handsome enough to make Tyche buzz. His silver hair was mysterious, and his sharp features were dignified.

Didn’t he steal glances at Hyacinth during the audience? He must have fallen for her at first sight. It’s obvious!

Our Hyce is indeed beautiful. Arthur, proudly showing his doting side, nodded at the rose.

“It seems the Duke likes you.”

“Who?”

“Who else? Isn’t there only one unmarried Duke in the kingdom?”

But Arthur did not expect his cousin’s reaction.

Hyacinth, who had received many proposals due to her perfect lineage and looks, had always gracefully and elegantly declined them with a polite ‘Thank you, but no.’ This time, she showed an unusually blatant rejection.

Oh dear. What’s wrong with her?

Arthur felt a chill run down his spine.

He was genuinely relieved that the Duke wasn’t present. If just watching made him feel this uneasy, how much worse would it be for the person involved?

“So?”

Hyacinth, barely managing to hide her sour expression, squinted one eye.

“No, more importantly. Why are you telling me this instead of the Duke himself? Are you a matchmaker? A mailman? Did you change jobs?”

“Sorry… That, that’s my fault…”

“And so what if he likes me? Is that my concern?”

“You’re so cold…”

But too cold?

Even objectively, the Duke is handsome. Good conditions. When a handsome man with a good background shows interest, don’t women usually like it? But why…

Arthur suddenly grabbed Hyacinth, his expression serious.

“Did the Duke do something to you?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Tell me the truth, Hyce. I’ll handle it quietly if I need to. Really. I can deal with it discreetly.”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what?”

Hyacinth puffed out her cheeks—she looked like a red squirrel—and then deflated them one side at a time. She rolled her eyes this way and that.

Did she just mutter something about a ‘dream’?

“I just…”

“Yes.”

“Don’t really like silver-haired men.”

Arthur stared at his sister blankly.

Of course, everyone has their own preferences. For example, Beatrice wouldn’t forgive him if he didn’t shave. She’d kick him out of bed. She couldn’t stand the sight of a beard.

So Arthur shaved every morning, whether he slept for one hour or ten. He understood that such preferences existed… But…

“Father would cry if he heard that. He’s already feeling down because his hair is turning gray.”

“That’s white hair. To be precise, I don’t like ‘young men with silver hair.'”

“Just say you don’t like the Duke.”

“No, it’s not the Duke. I don’t like young men with silver hair.”

Arthur grabbed his sister’s shoulders and asked seriously.

“Hyce, how many young men with silver hair do you think are in this kingdom?”

“……”

“Just say you don’t like the Duke.”

“No!”

Hyacinth pretended to hit him with a rose. She didn’t actually hit him, but it looked like she was getting some sort of revenge.

Arthur chuckled at her cute playfulness.

He could understand why Ethan Erentis fell for his sister.

But Hyacinth didn’t like him. Blood is thicker than water, so Arthur’s loyalty was clear. As long as the Duke hadn’t done anything to Hyacinth, he would let it go. Really.

As Hyacinth said, he wasn’t a matchmaker.

* * *