“……”

Through the quiet stillness, the music of the ensemble inside the banquet hall drifted in very faintly.

Darkness and moonlight and soft music.

Ines bit the inside of her cheek gently to calm the heart doing as it pleased. Already loving him deeply, her emotions ran wild without restraint whenever she met Killian’s eyes.

Just then, he seemed to pause and consider for a moment before slowly opening his lips.

“I hear the imperial soldiers are leaving in two days.”

Ah. The imperial soldiers. Those words were more than enough to clear her hazy mind.

Ines naturally dropped her gaze.

“……I see.”

“They said they would leave in the morning two days from now, so if we keep a close watch today and tomorrow, it should be enough.”

“The sorcerer…… have you found them?”

At her careful question, Killian shook his head.

“No, not yet. It seems that since entering Rupert, they have neither performed any sorcery nor used any related tools.”

Both of them understood that Killian’s answer was premised on ‘if there truly is a sorcerer among the imperial soldiers.’ They simply did not say it aloud.

In truth, Ines still found it a little hard to believe.

Even if it was only conditional trust, the fact that Killian had ultimately believed words that could have sounded quite far-fetched; the fact that she could call him by his name; the wedding day that was the same as before and yet entirely different.

Many things had changed, even beyond Killian, each by a small degree.

Cecile, who had already grown fond of her. Marisa, blunt and upright but with a deep warmth inside. Ivan, who bowed with a kind smile every time they crossed paths. Merry, with whom she had exchanged greetings for the first time in this life just a little while ago.

People who had been so distant even after five years together had grown this close in only a matter of days.

And so this life was already precious to Ines beyond measure.

“In any case, today and tomorrow are what remain, and I think tomorrow is more likely.”

Ines, who had been firming her resolve once more, blinked at Killian’s words.

“……Why do you think so?”

In her past life too, the demonic beasts had come the day before the imperial soldiers returned to the capital.

But even after learning the full truth of the sorcery incident, Ines had never understood why they had chosen the day before departure rather than the wedding day, when vigilance would naturally be lower.

As she looked at him steadily, as though demanding an answer, Killian gave a small laugh.

“When you look at me like that, I have no choice but to tell you.”

“……You’re teasing me again, aren’t you?”

“Not at all.”

Killian shrugged and pointed at the sky with a smile.

“Tonight is a full moon, is it not? It’s not a particularly good day for performing sorcery.”

“……What does a full moon have to do with sorcery?”

In truth, apart from warning Killian that there was someone who could use sorcery and that he should be on guard, Ines did not know much about sorcery itself. Knowing facts from what she had experienced and heard in the past was not the same as truly understanding them.

She was not the only one who knew little about sorcery.

About five hundred years ago, in a world where magic had already declined, sorcery had spread like wildfire. That wicked yet powerful force had stirred the desires of many, and countless lives had been lost because of it. As a result, all the nations of the continent had united to eradicate every sorcerer and declared sorcery itself a taboo.

By now, sorcery was as good as extinct.

If not for the Emperor, Ines would never have known that sorcery still existed in this world.

“Hmm. Sorcery is of a dark nature, so its potency is not fully intact under bright sunlight or moonlight.”

“……I understand sunlight, but moonlight too?”

“It is not as strong as sunlight, of course, but a complete full moon has a comparable effect, according to what I read. Moonlight has been considered to carry a sacred power since ancient times. Though, of course, I read that in an old text a long time ago.”

“Ah……”

But wait, wouldn’t a book with information about sorcery be forbidden……?

Ines caught herself mid-thought and glanced at Killian. Whether she was bad at managing her expression or Killian was simply too perceptive.

“Ah, dear. Please keep the fact that I have read a forbidden book a secret.”

Killian smiled, not looking particularly flustered.

Ines was surprised once that he had read a forbidden book, and surprised again that he had admitted it so readily. He could have conveyed the same information without mentioning the forbidden book at all.

Sorcery was treated as a grave crime, not only for practicing it but even for reading related forbidden texts, punishable by having both eyes gouged out, and if caught in possession of such material, by execution.

So Killian, who had done both, had in a sense committed a serious offense.

Of course Ines had no intention of reporting it or blaming him for it, but……

“……Killian, do you trust me?”

“Yes, I do.”

Ines’s expression, which had been oddly uncertain even as she asked, went wide at the answer that came back without a moment’s hesitation.

This was not the conditional trust premised on something, as it had been when they spoke of the imperial soldiers. And it did not sound like something said in passing.

That is to say, Killian was saying right now, sincerely, that he trusted her.

“……”

Ines sat there for a long moment, lips moving without producing words, and Killian gave a quiet laugh.

“You look as though you’ve heard something you weren’t meant to.”

It is not so different from the truth.

“……I didn’t expect you to answer so directly. And I am the Emperor’s daughter, after all……”

“You told me once before. That you hoped Rupert would not suffer any harm.”

It was what she had said to Killian on the first day she arrived at Rupert.

Ines nodded slowly. Killian gave a look that said ‘there you have it’ and shrugged.

“That is why I trust you. You hope Rupert will be safe, so I thought you would not wish harm on me either.”

“Ah……”

“Am I wrong?”

His deep, cool eyes softened just slightly when they curved.

Ines met those eyes, which she had looked into several times today, and finally nodded.

“You’re right. I want both Rupert and you to be safe.”

“That is reassuring.”

Killian smiled.

Ah, how is this life so kind.

* * *

It was a tradition at Rupert’s receptions that they could go on until sunrise, as long as there were people who wanted to stay.

Of course, that did not apply to Killian and Ines, the couple at the center of it all. The two of them had to spend their wedding night together, one way or another.

“Are you very tired, Your Highness?”

“……Mm, a little.”

At Cecile’s question while drying her hair, Ines smiled sheepishly and nodded.

Having been up since before dawn and throwing herself into preparations, her eyes had been drifting shut since the middle of her bath.

“You all did all the work of getting me ready, and here I am the tired one. I’m a little embarrassed.”

“Oh, what are you saying! A wedding is no ordinary thing. The older girls say the bride is always the most exhausted person on the wedding day.”

Ines gave a small laugh at Cecile’s chatter.

But the drowsiness lasted only until then. Standing before the door to the bedroom where she would spend her wedding night, her heart began to pound loudly, and sleep had already fled.

‘Why am I so nervous……’

Ines already knew that their wedding night would pass without incident.

In her past life, Killian had brought her a warm cup of tea when she was rigid with nerves, then sat on the sofa reading a book until she fell asleep.

Half-asleep, she had dimly heard the rustle of bedding as someone lay down beside her, but when she woke in the morning, Killian was already gone.

In truth, in a noble society where political marriages were commonplace, this was not unusual. And given that their marriage had been forced on both of them by outside pressure, the fact that Ines had not been turned away was remarkable enough.

In any case, that was how their wedding night had passed.

After that, they had each used their own bedrooms, and they never shared a bed again. Except for exactly one day.

‘……What am I thinking.’

Ines laughed weakly to herself and pushed the stray thoughts aside, then took hold of the door handle.

Stepping inside, a soft light brightened her view.

Her cautious gaze swept the room and stopped at the figure rising from the sofa.

“Ines.”

“……Killian.”

After exchanging each other’s names once, a brief silence followed.

It was Ines who took the first step.

“You came early.”

Fortunately, her voice came out without embarrassing her.