Kenneth was always approached by people with hidden agendas.

From the private tutor who tried to manipulate his relatives when he was young, to the classmate who would later betray him, he was always surrounded by people like this.

Yes, just like now.

Kenneth was sitting in the office of Hotel Blaise, watching the merchant opposite him stammer through his pitch. For the past thirty minutes, the man had been babbling nonsense about how everyone would benefit if the duke’s household backed a local business venture.

“—So, if Your Grace would be willing to grant us this opportunity—”

“Enough.”

Kenneth set down his pen and rose from his seat. Though he wore a smile, his eyes made it clear—he found the man unbearably rude.

“The conversation was entertaining, but let’s end it here.”
“P-Pardon? B-But—!”
“I have another appointment. That’ll be all.”
“Ah… y-yes, of course. P-please excuse me.”

Though the merchant stammered with embarrassment, none of his aides offered him any sympathy. His attempt had been feeble at best, and everyone who mattered knew the unspoken truth:

Only two people in the world were permitted to covet anything from Duke Clifford.

As Kenneth stepped out of the meeting room, he turned to Roger, who was following one step behind.

“Is everything ready for departure?”

“Yes, sir. Madam and the young lady are already waiting in the car.”

“Good.”

Kenneth responded lightly, feigning indifference, though he had known all along — and had, in truth, been looking forward to this moment.

Bibi was about to celebrate her fifth birthday.

She had chosen the presents with Ariana, but when it came to her birthday dress, she had stubbornly insisted on picking it out herself, clenching her tiny fists with determination.

“The department store! I want to go and choose it myself at the department store!”

She was the Empire’s one and only princess, and yet she insisted on going shopping in person rather than summoning a private dressmaker.
Such a thing would have been unthinkable before—but the local department store was a special place. Eager to put her experience as Damian’s unofficial advisor in Duvris to good use, Ariana had overseen the store’s opening personally.

Though still modest in size, the cream-coloured building boasted embossed carvings of blooming trees and a domed ceiling made of translucent blue glass. Resembling a miniature palace, the store was located in the south of the country.

Naturally, it quickly became the region’s new social hub —

— and Bibi’s personal playground.

On this particular day, she skipped happily into the Port Ailesia department store, holding her parents’ hands.

Benoît Faussette’s latest children’s collection had recently launched there and was already enjoying explosive popularity.

However, this meant little to Ariana, who always wore a distant, slightly pained expression whenever that designer’s name was mentioned. Nevertheless, it was impossible to win an argument with a child. No parent could stand against a determined daughter’s will.

Wading through a sea of dainty silk and airy organza dresses, Bibi finally stopped. Her eyes sparkled as they landed on one particular outfit.

“Mom, Dad! I want this one!”

At some point, she had stopped referring to herself as “Bibi.” The drawn-out baby talk and repeated syllables were becoming a rarity.

“Because Bibi—no, I’m a big sister now!”

Kenneth felt a warm surge of pride tinged with melancholy. In his previous life, he had been too foolish to hold this child properly, and in this life, he had missed most of her infancy. Ariana had kept photographs, but they could never replace the time he hadn’t spent with his wife and daughter.

He wished she could stay little for a little while longer, so that he could spend time giving her everything he hadn’t been able to before.

He smoothed a hand over his daughter’s ash-gold hair.

“Do you like this one?”

“Uh-huh! But I want it in white with a pink ribbon. On the day of the party, I’m going to wear a tiara just like Mommy.”

“Then we’ll do exactly that.”

‘She already knew how to express her wishes with great clarity.’

Kenneth glanced over his shoulder at Ariana, who was busy fastening a hair ornament in Bibi’s curls. The mother and daughter laughed together, an image that filled Kenneth with quiet joy. Yet the woman who had given their child her looks was still hopeless when it came to voicing her own desires.

‘If only she’d pester me for something…’

When you love someone, you long to give them the perfect gift.

“Ariana. Isn’t there anything you want?”

He expected the usual “I don’t really need anything. I already have enough.” He could pick something on his own, but an unasked-for gift was a mere forty-point present at best.

Instead, Ariana pursed her lips, thinking hard.
“Um… well…”
“What is it? Something finally came to mind?”
“It’s less something I want to have and more something I’d like to ask…”
“What is it?”

She stepped closer, lashes lowered, and whispered so softly he could barely hear. In broad daylight, that shy expression would fluster any onlooker—yet she seemed blissfully unaware.

“…At night.”
“…?”
What?

“At night. When it’s just the two of us.”
“….”

‘What is she talking about?’

Kenneth gave a quiet nod, then calmly held out his hand towards his daughter, who was shouting with glee.

“Daddy, I want this one too! And this one!”

But the rest of that afternoon was a blur.

His nerves were set ablaze with an unfamiliar heat, all of it drawn towards Ariana.

In contrast, Ariana, walking beside him, looked utterly serene.

She looked so soft and gentle, yet she was an unexpectedly formidable opponent.

***

Time crawled by at a painfully slow pace that night.

Usually, he would have spent the evening with Ariana and Bibi before going to bed. But tonight, his heart was racing ahead.

Thankfully, after tiring herself out at the department store, Bibi had collapsed onto the floor, clutching her new doll in a satisfied embrace.

Carrying his sleeping daughter to bed had become part of Kenneth’s nightly routine.

On most nights, he would linger at her bedside to watch her sleep for a while.

But not tonight.

With quicker steps than usual, he made his way back to Ariana’s room.

The southern estate had separate bedrooms for husband and wife, but it was rare for them to sleep apart.
If he wanted to wake to the sight of Ariana’s sleeping face, peaceful in exhaustion, they needed to fall asleep in the same bed.

As he opened the door, a strange anticipation tugging at him, he saw Ariana rise from her vanity where she’d been brushing her hair.

Backlit by the soft glow spilling in from the balcony, the sheer white nightgown she wore revealed the delicate lines of her silhouette.

‘What is she planning?’

“Kenneth. You’re back. Did Bibi fall asleep without waking?”
“Yeah.”

Kenneth gently placed a hand on the small of her back. As his fingers traced the smooth line of her spine, she leaned into him instinctively, as she always did.

He would usually have paused to enjoy the way she melted into his arms without any resistance.

But tonight was different.

“So, what was it you wanted to ask me earlier?”

“Ah… well, about that…”

Ariana slowly placed her hands on his shoulders, gently biting her lower lip as she blinked up at him. The slip she wore clung to her body like waves beneath his palm—smooth and flowing, stirring his senses.

Kenneth’s gaze grew touched with intrigue.

‘Ariana Clifford.’
‘Has she finally realized how beautiful she is… and decided to use it on her husband to full effect?’

But just what could she possibly want to go through all this effort?

The answer she gave, however, was far more innocent than he expected.

“Um… I was wondering when you first started liking me.”

“…? Why are you suddenly curious about that?”

“I-I don’t know? Just because.”

Ariana’s cheeks flushed as her eyes darted away. She already regretted asking, but it was too late to take it back.

The reason she’d gotten curious in the first place was trivial—something she had no intention of explaining in detail to Kenneth.

While chatting with a few close friends, the conversation naturally turned to how they had ended up marrying their husbands.

As expected, most had received traditional proposals and had formal engagements. Many had even fallen in love before getting married.

Although they all said it was ‘nothing special’, the soft smiles on their faces told a different story — those were treasured memories.

‘Why do everyone else’s stories seem so sweet? And why did I spend so long lost in a love that only ever made me feel inadequate?’

Some might say it didn’t matter anymore — after all, she was married now and happy.

But in her previous life, she had been the one doing the chasing. She had always been on the losing side of their relationship.

It would have been nice, to see Kenneth flustered because of her — to watch him stumble and worry, tangled up in feelings he didn’t yet understand.

The more she gave in to that quiet ache, the more she found herself wanting to know how Kenneth truly felt back then.

“You already knew how I felt. I mean, I was the one who invited you to the opera first! That was a pretty obvious sign!”

“I clearly remember you never actually said you love me.”

“Well—! I didn’t say it out loud, but anyone could tell from the atmosphere!”

Ariana shrank back in embarrassment for a moment, but quickly rallied with a stubborn pout.

“This isn’t fair. I want to ask, too.”

“……”

“When was it? When did you start loving me?”

Kenneth tilted his head slightly under Ariana’s persistent gaze.

She had always provoked something in him—even from the time they were children. But admitting that he’d started loving her that early didn’t quite sit right with him.

Then when, exactly, had he begun to see her as a woman?

“Hm.”

He rubbed his chin, feigning deep thought as if the memory were hazy.

But in truth, he remembered the moment perfectly.

It was the day of Ariana’s debutante ball—the day they had argued beneath the open sky, their hands still tightly clasped together.