When Lara couldn’t speak, Daphne answered for her.

“She’s a new maid who has excellent self-defense skills, so I feel at ease when she’s around.”

“Is that so? I’m glad if you feel comfortable, Sister. Now that I look at her, she does move swiftly and the tea doesn’t even ripple, so I suppose her martial arts must be impressive.”

As Fabian agreed, Lara didn’t miss her opportunity.

Lara had excellent energy sensing abilities and remarkable martial arts skills. But since coming to the capital, there was one thing she struggled with.

She had grown up in the Grand Ducal territory where skill was everything and speaking directly with only necessary words was considered virtuous. But here, not just the nobles but even the servants never seemed to speak plainly.

Everyone seemed to speak indirectly to avoid hurting others and valued relationships more than ability.

So she was quite concerned about Fabian who had appeared out of nowhere.

He was clearly a prickly person who only cared about his sister, and since she would have to see him often from now on, she tried to be clever by expressing gratitude for his compliment….

“My skills are truly insignificant compared to the man who will become the Miss’s husband.”

The bomb Lara dropped had more impact than expected.

“Husband…? Sister, what does this mean? Haha, this new maid makes such unfunny jokes.”

Fabian asked, but Daphne closed her eyes and said nothing.

Christine’s face turned pale, and Werner took the highly agitated Fabian downstairs to the first floor.

Only after ten minutes did Fabian finally calm down. Not because he wanted to be calm, but because he couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer.

“Father, what is the meaning of this! After all the heartache sister has endured, she’s to be married right away?”

Knowing that when his youngest son got angry, he could be worse than Zenos, Werner rubbed his face and let out a long sigh.

“Calm down first.”

“Father, how can I calm down? Sister isn’t some object, yet two Emperors are deciding her fate together. This is unacceptable!”

“It’s the Emperor’s decision. For Her Majesty, nothing is impossible.”

Werner spoke sternly in response to Fabian’s excessive remarks. But Fabian was now seventeen, an age when one trembles at the sight of injustice. Moreover, since it concerned Daphne’s marriage, he couldn’t help but lose his reason.

“So you obediently submitted like a lap dog?”

“Fabian, watch your words. I won’t tolerate this anymore.”

“You readily accept the Emperor’s orders but silence righteous words? I’m truly disappointed.”

“Fabian!”

Werner slammed both fists on the desk and shouted. But Fabian didn’t even blink. He even thrust his face closer to Werner’s.

“If I were you, I would have given up my position, wealth, and everything else I owned to buy my child’s freedom.”

Werner wasn’t even angered by the immature, extreme statement. However, Fabian’s next words shocked him even more.

“That’s what a father is.”

“What did you…?”

Fabian spoke quietly to Werner, who stared at him blankly.

“Whether it works or not isn’t important. Was it so difficult to promise your family, who suffered such humiliation, that you would stake everything you have to protect them until the end?”

Werner finally realized.

When delivering the marriage news, these were the words he should have said to Daphne.

It’s not that I made a deal with the Emperor, I had no choice…. These were mere excuses. Perhaps even a demand for her to sacrifice herself.

If he truly thought of Daphne as his daughter, he should have said that this father would protect her until the end.

Daphne wasn’t a child who would thank him and be happy about it. From the beginning, she would have comforted her father, saying not to go against the imperial decree and to wait calmly as there was still time.

Daphne had always been like that.

‘A child who always considers and cares for others before herself….’

Werner stood still like someone in shock. Fabian looked at him with resentful eyes before leaving.

Left alone, Werner squeezed his eyes shut.

‘What have I done?’

Werner had never been one to consider others’ feelings, let alone his own.

It would be nice to learn one step at a time…. But the rapidly unfolding situation made each day shocking.

Thanks to Fabian’s sudden return, the noisy dawn passed.

Christine sent urgent messages to Zenos and Ludwig, saying the whole family should gather after so long. The servants were busy cleaning Fabian’s long-empty chamber and preparing the evening banquet.

Then one maid came running breathlessly.

“Miss Daphne, Young Master Fabian…!”

The maid had run so quickly that she had to catch her breath before continuing.

“He’s being held in the central hall right now!”

Haah.

Daphne hurried down to the central hall, practically running after the maid.

She knew Fabian better than anyone. She had specifically asked Anton to keep an eye on him, and sure enough, he must have been caught trying to do something.

Even before reaching the central hall, she could hear Fabian’s angry voice.

“Anton, I just want to go meet some friends! Why are you stopping me?”

“Young Master, how could I dare stop you from meeting your friends? But wouldn’t it be better to say goodbye to Miss Daphne first?”

The sharp-witted Anton wouldn’t have stopped him if he were truly just going to meet friends. Fabian raised his voice in response.

“I’m not a child! Get out of my way!”

Such behavior was as good as openly declaring “I’m suspicious.” After all, even Werner, the head of the family, had never raised his voice at Anton.

He clearly had something to hide.

When Daphne entered the central hall, she saw Fabian fuming, his path blocked by two guards.

Despite having traveled all night, he couldn’t stay still for even a moment. Daphne almost envied her brother’s energy as he buzzed around like a ground wasp.

Finally cornered, Fabian was about to push past the guards.

“Bibi?”

When she called him with that infinitely gentle voice, Fabian froze in place.

There was one thing that Fabian, who usually just grinned at whatever Daphne did, absolutely hated: the nickname from his childhood. It sounded just like a pet’s name.

As Daphne intended, Fabian immediately fell silent.

“Sister, please, anything but that name……”

“Where are you going?”

“…Just to see a friend.”

“Which friend?”

Fabian tried to make up an excuse quickly, but when he met those clear purple eyes, his mouth automatically closed. His previously defiant attitude subsided instantly.

Only then did the guards and Anton breathe a sigh of relief.

Daphne didn’t let him off and asked again.

“Do I need to keep calling you Bibi until you tell me the truth?”

“Sister, well……”

He scratched his cheek before confessing.

“I was going to meet Her Majesty in person to discuss your marriage again.”

“Her Majesty is not your friend. She’s not someone you can meet just because you want to. It seems you’ve forgotten that fact after being abroad for so long.”

“Of course not.”

Fabian pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Daphne.

“Before I left to study abroad, Her Majesty gave me this.”

Daphne opened the envelope and took out what was inside. For something bearing the Emperor’s seal so prominently, the content was quite….

「The Empire’s Sun will meet Fabian Armin whenever he wishes.」

Since Fabian left to study abroad three years ago, the Emperor must have written this when she was ten years old. Even with the most generous interpretation, it was hard to believe a ten-year-old wrote this.

‘Not even “granting the right to an audience,” but “will meet”?’

Daphne had to purse her lips to suppress her laughter.

Moreover, the crooked handwriting showed such force that the last character of “will meet” had a small hole punctured through the paper.

Daphne folded it, put it back in the envelope, and returned it to Fabian.

“She bestowed quite a precious gift on you. You must be happy, Bibi.”

“Sister, please, that nickname……”

“Why? You’re doing something I hate, so you shouldn’t be upset about a mere nickname.”

“Hate? Then, sister, do you actually want to marry that monster-slaying man?”

Fabian’s face turned white, and the gazes of Anton and the guards all turned toward Daphne. They understood the context of this conversation, but Fabian’s statement was so shocking that it was all they could focus on.

Hoo.

Daphne blew out a breath and first corrected his form of address.

“His Highness the Grand Duke.”

“What?”

“If you mention monsters one more time, I’ll go to your graduation ceremony and call you Bibi.”

Hearing those words, Fabian’s face was filled with despair. The graduation ceremony wasn’t the issue.

“Sister, whose side are you on? Not mine, but his?”