“Well, if the first child inherits the family, then support the second child enough to stand on their own. That’s what I mean.”

Cassian nodded.

“That much goes without saying.”

“And there’s one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“Before the wedding, I’d like to learn what’s expected of me as grand duchess at the Lorentz family residence. So I’d like to move into the residence before we marry.”

He knew enough about her family situation not to ask why.

“Agreed.”

Raelia let out a quiet breath of relief at his consent.

It was a contract marriage, and it might look bleak from the outside.

But Raelia was glad this marriage was happening.

Juan would find it much harder to get close to her now.

And……!

‘Once we’re married, I get to see the handsome Cassian every single day.’

Even now, she was quietly studying him over her tea. His clothes today, his manner, the expressions that crossed his face. Just this much could keep her heart fluttering for days.

The thought alone made her smile.

* * *

Cassian stepped down from the carriage and walked into the residence. The butler Hill was waiting for him when he opened the front door.

“Welcome back.”

“Is Zenon asleep?”

“He played with me this morning, and he fell asleep early in the evening.”

He’d handled everything in one sitting today, the matchmaking meeting and all the contract details.

Raelia Lateran.

He hadn’t expected the young lady who’d given his son sweets during the trip to be her. Even from that brief encounter, Raelia had been striking enough to stay in his memory. There had been rumors that she was too plain-looking to appear in society, and he couldn’t understand how such a rumor had started.

A marriage made not from love but from strategy.

It might look bleak from the outside, but love had no place in his life. It was a hateful thing.

And yet Raelia seemed to feel the same way. She’d asked for duty and proper treatment in place of love.

‘Strange.’

She stayed with him, somehow, in a way he couldn’t quite explain.

He stepped into Zenon’s room and let a warm smile settle on his face. The tender feeling he showed no one else, he let it show for his nephew, his son.

The child was only five years old.

His brother had left this child behind and died, all for love.

Their parents too. Everything terrible had happened because of that wretched thing called love.

What kind of woman was Raelia.

His future wife had made a strong first impression.

He was still turning this over when Hill, standing a little behind him, spoke up.

“How did the meeting go?”

Proposals had gone out to many families, but all of them had declined for one reason or another. Hill had been surprised when the Lateran marquisate accepted. He’d worried they might come in with expensive demands. Cassian had gone into the meeting braced for that too, but his expression was noticeably lighter now.

“It went well. She didn’t ask for anything unreasonable, and the contract went smoothly.”

“You drew up the contract already?”

“Miss Lateran accepted it without hesitation.”

Hill looked genuinely surprised.

“She’s nothing like what we expected.”

“At first, she seemed so bright that I thought someone else had shown up.”

He stroked Zenon’s hair.

He watched the sleeping child for a while, then stepped carefully out of the room so as not to wake him and pulled the door shut.

“The child will have a mother soon.”

He hoped his wife would be a good partner.

A thought came to him.

What did love mean to her?

Once they’d truly become companions, he found himself wanting to ask her what love meant to her.

“We should report to His Majesty the Emperor.”

Hill’s words made Cassian’s brow crease.

“What a nuisance. He’ll pry into everything about her, no doubt.”

And then he’d probably stir up some other trouble.

“I’ll hold off on the report for a while.”

It wasn’t too late to inform the Emperor after he’d learned more about Raelia. The wedding wasn’t happening tomorrow, after all.

“And prepare the grand duchess’s chambers.”

“Already?”

“She said she’d move in early to learn what’s expected of her as grand duchess.”

Hill smiled, looking pleased.

“She sounds like someone who means business.”

“That’s what I liked about her.”

Raelia had been proactive about learning. If she kept that attitude after the wedding, they’d be able to build a reasonably good household together.

“For now, I’ll need to meet with Marquis Lateran and work out the timing.”

“Deciding on marriage after meeting just once. You really do move quickly, Your Grace.”

“I don’t have many chances.”

Even for a grand ducal family, how many ladies would willingly marry into a household where the heir was already decided?

Any lady from a distinguished family would normally refuse outright.

And yet, like a miracle, the opportunity had come.

“She smiled warmly at Zenon at the teahouse and bought him sweets. She won’t dislike children.”

Cassian told Hill the story from that day.

Hill nodded.

Zenon had been singing the praises of the sweets she’d bought him.

If the child found out there was a marriage proposal involving her, he’d probably be delighted.

* * *

‘About what I expected.’

It wasn’t a warm, cheerful family dinner. Viloten and his stepmother Sara and half-brother Archan were talking among themselves, but Raelia ate quietly and said nothing.

No wonder Juan had found it so easy to get close to her in an atmosphere like this.

“By the way, Raelia, I heard you met Grand Duke Lorentz today for a matchmaking meeting.”

She’d wondered when her stepmother would bring it up.

Raelia looked at Sara.

Sara was only ten years older than Raelia. The stepmother with brown hair and an elegant bearing had married Viloten young and given birth to Archan.

Sara was the only daughter of Marperun, a wealthy merchant guild master. She’d entered into a political marriage for a title and wanted to make Archan a marquis.

“It went well.”

Raelia answered calmly.

“I’ve decided to marry him.”

Sara looked startled.

“You’ve only met him once.”

“We’re well-suited in what we want. It’s an arranged marriage, so there’s no need to meet more than once.”

Raelia said that and picked up the last piece of meat. The cook had put in real effort today, because the steak was particularly good.

Everyone at the table was thrown off by her matter-of-fact announcement, but Raelia finished her meal in perfect composure.

“Speaking of which, Archan is twelve now, isn’t he?”

Raelia smiled at Archan, who was blinking at her with wide eyes.

“Shouldn’t he be starting to attend banquets and things like that?”

Archan was half-commoner. Unlike Raelia, whose parents were both noble, he was treated as only half a noble by blood. Society didn’t even regard Sara as a proper noblewoman.

The reason was simple.

Society had always been sympathetic toward Raelia, so its view of Sara and Archan was unfavorable.

Because of that, Archan had reached twelve without ever attending a single banquet, and Sara, despite being married for thirteen years, had never been to one either.

Raelia, on the other hand, occasionally received invitations.

“Y-yes, he should.”

Sara studied Raelia carefully, trying to gauge whether this was mockery or something she genuinely wanted to say.

‘My stepmother is a cautious woman.’

Fortunately, she didn’t leap to conclusions and make a scene.

No matter how thoroughly Raelia searched through her memories, Sara had never treated Raelia badly. If anything, Sara had been quite kind to her.

The distance between them had formed because the original Raelia had refused Sara’s kindness and kept her at arm’s length.

That was how the current Raelia read it.

“I’d like to attend a banquet with Archan, if that’s alright.”

Raelia extended an olive branch to Archan. If the two of them appeared together, the cold looks from society would lessen.

“I looked through the invitations that came in, and there’s a banquet where children around Archan’s age will be attending too. It’s hosted by the Darhan comital family. I think it would be a good fit.”

The Darhan comital family was a well-regarded household.

Sara’s hand tightened into a fist.

“I need to stay on good terms with Archan, the future head of this family. It’ll make things easier for me later.”

Raelia set her knife on the table after finishing her meal.

Viloten cleared his throat, Sara dropped her knife, and Archan spat out the water he’d been drinking, but Raelia herself remained perfectly unruffled.

There was good reason for that. In this world, women could, rarely, inherit a title. Because Archan was half-commoner, there were retainers who quietly hoped that Raelia, with two noble parents, might become the next marquis.

“I’ll take my leave first.”

Raelia dropped that bombshell into the room and walked out of the dining hall, leaving the rest of them in chaos.

Walking down the corridor, she smiled to herself.

“I wonder how they’ll respond.”

She’d told Juan not to attend her in the evenings anymore, so Seria would be waiting for her.

* * *

Raelia enjoyed having her hair tended to. Seria stood beside her, helping pick out a matching dress.

Today was the day she’d go to meet Zenon Lorentz again, Cassian’s nephew and adopted son. She seemed to have already made a good impression on Cassian, so all she needed to do now was win Zenon over.