Laurencia, having left the palace, quietly gazed at the man sitting in the gazebo installed beside the garden, admiring the flowers in full bloom.

The brown hair tied tightly beneath the buttons of the black cloak wrapped around his broad shoulders fluttered in the wind.

Each time the cloak billowed, the man’s large upper body—clad in a tunic and breastplate that seemed made from animal hide—was intermittently revealed.

Seeing this, a story she’d once heard from Jedrian came to mind.

Warriors racing across the plains.

It was a tale of valor about how he’d subdued in one stroke the most troublesome opponents who boasted elusive horsemanship with his own strategy.

Right now, Rubid looked like one of those warriors.

Not only was his attire suited for easy horseback riding, but the man’s massive figure—large enough to resemble a barbarian—seemed to fit the title of warrior perfectly.

That’s why she never would have guessed his status was that of a king.

She simply assumed he was another slave or mercenary picked up from somewhere.

The King of Morzen.

The king of a kingdom that nearly fell due to the betrayal of that kind old king.

‘Then I must be his enemy in many ways.’

Having clearly defined her relationship with him, Laurencia finally moved forward with light steps.

She’d barely taken a few steps when he immediately turned his head toward her.

‘Every single one of them has beast-like senses.’

Seeing a man with keen instincts rivaling Jedrian’s or Ashar’s already made her feel drained.

She wanted to postpone this meeting, but there seemed to be more information to extract from him than expected, so she forced herself to maintain a calm expression.

Soon, as she approached the gazebo, the man who had been sitting and staring intently finally stood and greeted her politely.

“Thank you for meeting me so readily despite my rudeness. Seeing you again like this makes me more nervous than before.”

The man lightly touched his lips to the back of her hand before pulling away cleanly, showing a gentle smile.

Laurencia watched him quietly, then struck at the heart of the matter with a false smile in return.

“I didn’t come out to hear words you don’t mean. I came out because I’m curious about the reason for your rudeness in visiting without an appointment.”

When she openly criticized the man’s rudeness for showing up without prior arrangement, he widened his eyes in apparent surprise, then suddenly laughed heartily.

“Ah, my. I’ve committed another discourtesy. I was so flustered by your appearance being completely different from the rumors.”

She sat down regardless, lowering her eyes as she asked.

“What rumors about me have you heard?”

“I was well aware of Your Highness’s beauty from what I’d heard. I wondered why such a person would choose to become the queen consort of Asram. But… seeing you in person, I’m even more curious about that choice.”

She’d only given him a slight opening, yet he immediately got to the main point.

She let out a small laugh at the direct question from a man who didn’t know how to speak indirectly, still keeping her gaze lowered as she sipped her tea.

After leisurely savoring the tea’s flavor and slowly setting down her cup, Laurencia responded to his blatant question with an even more blatant answer.

“So… you’re saying that since the princess praised for being so beautiful suddenly became the queen of a small kingdom—and married an old king who could be her grandfather—you came to check whether something was wrong with her.”

“No, that’s not—”

“It’s fine. I already know about those rumors.”

His expression immediately stiffened awkwardly, apparently struck at the core.

Laurencia smiled even more beautifully, seemingly truly unconcerned.

He watched her with blank eyes before quickly turning his gaze toward the garden.

At the man’s more simple-minded appearance than expected, she inwardly sneered while gauging Rubid’s usefulness.

A passing breeze made Laurencia’s red hair scatter wildly.

She frowned slightly while tidying her disheveled hair when the man sitting before her suddenly stood up.

As his large frame blocked the sun, goosebumps rose on her pale skin.

Laurencia unconsciously drew in her arms, watching with puzzlement as the man suddenly stood and began unfastening the buttons of his cloak.

Her golden eyes sparkled with curiosity, wondering what this was about.

Why was he suddenly taking off his cloak?

Her puzzlement was brief—soon the man who’d removed his cloak moved behind her.

Then, muttering unexpected words, he draped the cloak over her shoulders.

“It seems winter will soon come to Armazé as well. The wind has grown quite cold.”

Her golden eyes widened. Laurencia was genuinely surprised by the unexpected consideration.

Only then realizing that goosebumps had risen on her body, she stared blankly at the cloak still warm with the man’s body heat before belatedly letting out a small laugh.

“You’re more attentive than you look.”

Willingly accepting his consideration, she carefully wrapped herself in the cloak that smelled better than expected.

Meanwhile, Rubid returned to his seat, looked at her, then suddenly frowned.

“What is it?”

“I didn’t think it would be so… big.”

She turned her gaze here and there to check her appearance, then widened her eyes at the cloak’s hem dragging on the ground.

When she looked at the man with a flustered face, Rubid wore an awkward expression and averted his gaze while muttering.

“Ahem. You look just like a rabbit hiding in a pitch-black cave.”

“Pardon?”

A reddish tinge gradually spread across his bronze cheeks.

His brown hair fluttering in the wind tickled his face wildly, seemingly hiding the shy man’s expression.

Laurencia smiled softly again at the unexpected sight.

For a moment, the man looked like a gentle bear.

Gradually composing her smile, she quietly gazed at the man tinged with the receding sunset glow.

Prominent eyes and a straight nose. Neatly closed lips and a chiseled jawline. And a large body built with muscle, massive enough to feel like a great mountain.

Overall, he had a strong image of a rough warrior, but his handsome face and that innocent aspect made him appear different.

Her first impression wasn’t great, but actually conversing with him, he didn’t seem like such a bad person.

Enough to make her wonder why Ashar had been so angry.

Suddenly, Ashar’s warning came to mind.

‘Be careful of Rubid. He’s a scoundrel just like Jedrian.’

‘A scoundrel.’

Did that mean this appearance was all an act?

Even so, if he could fake even the blushing, he should have been on stage rather than being a king.

“Ahem. The tea tastes good.”

“You haven’t even tried it yet.”

“Ah, the aroma. Yes, I meant the aroma is good.”

Unlike the beginning when he seemed aggressive, Laurencia’s eyes narrowed slightly at the man’s increasingly awkward behavior.

If she hadn’t heard Ashar’s words, if he hadn’t appeared with Jedrian, she would have accepted the man’s current appearance at face value.

However, because there were so many cunning beasts around her, the man’s actions began to look increasingly suspicious.

Laurencia tightened her momentarily loosened guard again, cradling her warm teacup as she opened the prelude to this meeting.

“So, what’s the reason you came to see me? It can’t be just to hear why I, with the exalted status of imperial princess, became the queen consort of the small kingdom of Asram.”

The gray eyes that had been wandering, unsure where to settle, finally turned toward her.

Unlike the awkward moment before, Rubid’s gaze sank calmly.

Laurencia sipped her tea while waiting for the seemingly contemplating man’s mouth to open.

And just as she set down her teacup, his mouth finally opened.

“Jedrian—no. Hmm, are you truly planning to marry the Lokan?”

At the unexpected question, her eyes, which had been glowing warmly, instantly turned cold.

After gazing at Rubid for a moment, Laurencia suppressed her hostility and asked calmly.

“Why would the King of Morzen be curious about that?”

“That’s because…”

After pausing briefly, he spoke candidly.

“If Your Highness hadn’t chosen him, I would have been in that position beside you.”

“Are you saying… you wanted to marry me?”

“Yes. I was excited the entire journey here carrying the marriage proposal, not knowing this variable had occurred.”

Laurencia’s brow furrowed slightly.

So the King of Morzen had come carrying the marriage proposal himself, wondering why he’d suddenly appeared.

That meant this discussion had been ongoing for quite some time.

‘Wait, it takes over two weeks just to travel from Asram to here. Then when did they start proceeding with this?’

It had only been about three weeks since she’d come to the empire.

But exchanging correspondence during that time and calculating the time for him to come in person—this absolutely wasn’t something that could be arranged within three weeks.

Laurencia’s expression grew increasingly cold.

She immediately displayed hostility, asking in an icy voice.

“When did you first hear about marriage with me?”

The man she expected to answer immediately paused again.

This time, having no patience to wait, she was about to ask again.

“Can I trust that the conversation we’re having now won’t leave this gazebo?”

Understanding immediately whom he was being cautious of, Laurencia nodded with a serious face while also binding his lips.

“I trust the King of Morzen will do the same.”

“Good. Then I’ll speak honestly.”

Finally, his throat seemingly dry, the man downed his tea in one gulp and looked directly at her again.

Soon, shocking stories began flowing from his mouth.