“…Young Duke?”

Click.
Julian flicked his index finger with one hand, and the box sprang open.

Inside lay a ring.
A silver band set with a small diamond.

“Are you married?”

“…What? No….”

With a sharp tap, Julian snapped the box shut.

“Then—engaged?”

His expression and voice were utterly calm.
Karin’s lips parted slightly.

She was confused. She couldn’t understand what he was doing, or why he was asking these questions.

Click.

“No. It’s not like that….”

“Not like that?”

It was true that she had been proposed to.
But she had never accepted. This ring, too, had been thr*st into her hands as if being passed off on her.

In fact, she had arranged today’s meeting with the intention of returning the ring and refusing him properly.

But she didn’t want to explain all of that to Julian.

She knew it well enough.
That her engagement to Julian was already a long-buried past.
That, to Julian, it was nothing more than a blemish.

So Karin had no right to harbor feelings like this.
And yet—still.

“…Please give it back.”

Tap.

“I don’t want to.”

At the sudden condescension, Karin’s eyes flew wide open in shock.
Julian was looking down at her with a dark, viscous gaze she had never once seen before.

She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him.
It felt as though she wasn’t even allowed to blink. Before she knew it, her breathing grew shallow. Karin let out a small, involuntary gasp.

At that, Julian’s eyes curved thinly, like a crescent moon.

How long did that moment last—long enough that it felt as though she might lose consciousness again?

Tap.

At the sound of the ring box closing, Karin flinched, her shoulders jerking. Julian held the box out to her.

“I’m joking.”

“……”

Karin stared blankly between Julian and the ring box before slowly taking it from him. Julian then turned away without hesitation, as if he had just finished dealing with an annoyance.

“I wish you happiness.”

“……”

At those words, tears welled up again, helplessly.
Drop. Drop.
Tears fell onto the ring box.

Karin covered her mouth with her hand. Even so, she couldn’t completely stop the sobs from slipping out.

She turned and ran as if fleeing. The tears didn’t stop—not even after she had left Julian’s suite, not even after she had exited the hotel entirely.

She had never imagined that being told to be happy could hurt this much, as if her chest were being torn apart. Hearing such words from Julian made her think she would rather receive no blessings from anyone at all.

She had thought she had already given up on him long ago.
But she hadn’t.

Karin still loved Julian.
With feelings no different from what they had been two years ago—not in the slightest.

***

“Are you saying a marriage proposal has come from the House of Stautte?”

Karin echoed the words, her expression stricken with shock. Her large eyes blinked rapidly, as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“The House of Stautte… then does that mean the other party is Young Duke Julian Stautte? Are you saying he said he wants to marry me?”

Karin’s father, Count Heinrich Panzner, nodded silently. He was about to offer further explanation, but before he could say anything, Karin abruptly sprang to her feet.

“I’ll do it! I’ll accept it! I—I want to marry Young Duke Stautte!”

She cried out again and again, her face flushed, as though she might lose him to another rival in that brief instant if she didn’t.

Karin’s cheeks were tinged with a pink like her beloved summer peaches, and her pride—those emerald-green eyes—shone more brilliantly than the count had ever seen them.

“Karin.”

Countess Magda Panzner called her daughter’s name in a stern, cautioning voice. But it seemed not to reach Karin’s ears at all in her heightened excitement.

“Please accept the proposal, Father. You will, won’t you? Please?”

“Hm…”

At Karin’s words, Heinrich let out an awkward groan and stroked his beard.

“Karin. A marriage alliance always involves many things that must be considered. It’s not something that can be decided on feelings alone.”

At Magda’s repeated words, Karin finally turned to look at her mother.

“A problem? What kind of problem do you mean? The ducal house was the one to propose first, so all we have to do is accept it—”

She faltered, her expression stiffening as though something had only just dawned on her.

“…Is it because of the dowry?”

Compared to its reputation, the House of Panzner was not a wealthy family. For generations, including Heinrich himself, the heads of the Panzner household had been renowned for their integrity and upright character—but they had little talent for accumulating wealth. They believed that as long as one had enough to live on, that was sufficient, and that any surplus ought rightly to be used to help those in need.

Because of that, Karin had grown accustomed from a young age to a frugal life, even by the standards of a noble lady. Even when attending banquets, she had never once worn what people would call the latest fashion in dresses… …had never worn one. But she had never felt dissatisfied about it.

She had been taught that seeking extravagance was something shameful—but that wasn’t the only reason. Karin knew well that the money it took to buy a single evening gown could keep a poor commoner family fed for an entire year. From a young age, she had accompanied her mother on regular volunteer visits to the slums.

Still, she also knew that such values were far from common. Others did not place the same importance on a noble’s moral duty as her parents did, nor did they see extravagance as something wrong.

The House of Stautte was no exception.
It was among the wealthiest families in the kingdom, living a life of splendor and abundance that rivaled even royalty. If she were to marry into the House of Stautte, a considerable dowry would surely be required.

Her buoyant excitement sank in an instant.

Karin quietly sat back down and spoke in a small voice.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through.”

Marrying Julian—it was like a dream. So dreamlike that in the past, she had never even dared to imagine it.

But even so, knowing her family’s circumstances as she did, she couldn’t insist selfishly. Karin was eighteen now, and she wasn’t that immature.

“Don’t worry. Of course, our circumstances aren’t particularly comfortable, but they’re not so dire that we can’t marry off our only daughter. Besides, the Duke of Stautte said we needn’t prepare a dowry.”

At Heinrich’s words, Karin lifted her bowed head.

“Is that really true?”

“Yes. Most generous of him.”

It wasn’t something that happened often—but neither was it unheard of. Most commonly, it occurred when a woman had multiple suitors. The wealthier the man, the more openly he would employ the courtship strategy of saying, ‘If you choose me, you need only come as you are.’

In truth, considering why the House of Stautte had chosen Karin in the first place, it would be more accurate to assume they had never intended to receive a dowry at all. But Heinrich chose not to voice such thoughts aloud.

Color slowly returned to Karin’s face.

“Then…”

“Let’s think it over carefully, little by little. There’s still time.”

“Ah—yes.”

Karin looked as though she might leap to her feet and cheer at any moment, but she was clearly forcing herself to hold back. Proof of it showed in the way her shoulders trembled slightly.

The count and countess exchanged faint, wry smiles, gazing at their daughter as if in silent agreement.