Rozenne and Harrieus headed to the garden behind the wedding venue, where the reception was supposed to be held.

The party venue, fully prepared for celebration, was eerily empty, unbecoming of its status.

The elaborate and delicate decorations meant to please the eyes of guests now seemed out of place.

“What’s happening?”

Rozenne asked with difficulty toward Harrieus, who had been walking ahead with his back to her.

At this, Harrieus, who had been walking silently, finally stopped in his tracks.

But even then, Harrieus neither turned to face Rozenne nor made a sound.

What on earth had happened?

The longer Harrieus remained silent, the more Rozenne’s anxiety grew.

She knew that he only kept his back turned, avoiding her face, when he had something to hide—feelings he didn’t want revealed.

But such occasions were rare, which made her think this matter was truly extraordinary.

“Say something, anything.”

Please. As soon as Rozenne’s final word fell, Harrieus let out a small sigh.

And then, still with his back turned, he began speaking in a trembling voice.

“I received a letter from the leader of Wolfhard, Kal Paikan.”

“And……?”

“He wants me to hand you over.”

“What?”

It wasn’t a question. It was a murmur that escaped from her stunned mind out of sheer shock.

The unbelievable story continued.

“He says that’s the only condition for stopping further invasion of Sohara. Otherwise, he’ll personally lead his army to subjugate Sohara.”

Rozenne’s already parted lips opened even wider.

She barely collected herself from the shock that felt like being hit on the head with a hammer and managed to ask:

“So……?”

“……”

“You’re not actually telling me to go, are you……?”

“……Rozenne.”

After an ominous silence, Harrieus tried to turn around, calling out her name like a sigh.

But at that moment, Rozenne shrieked.

“Don’t look!”

At that cry, Harrieus froze in the position he was in, with his shoulder half-twisted.

“Don’t look at my eyes. If your eyes tell me to go to Wolfhard, I might……”

End up wanting to do as you say.

Rozenne turned her head to the side, avoiding Harrieus’s back.

Since childhood, she had always been particularly weak when it came to Harrieus.

Though she grew up as a pampered child under the shadow of Duke Dyer, she could never stand her ground against Harrieus and always yielded everything to him.

She did so because her first friend was precious to her, and because he was the person she loved.

She had even made him king because he wanted to be one with him, but if she looked into his eyes now, that wretched weakness might activate again.

Rozenne truly did not want to go that far.

“If that happens, I might crumble.”

But despite her pleading mixed with sobs, Harrieus slowly turned around.

Rozenne inhaled sharply and hastily raised her hands to cover her eyes.

“I won’t look. I absolutely won’t look. Just this once…… I won’t grant your request. No matter what you say……”

Just then, the sound of footsteps treading on grass approached.

The footsteps grew closer until they reached right in front of her.

“Rozenne.”

As Harrieus’s voice sounded close by, she felt him grip her wrist.

Rozenne tried to resist.

But he eventually applied force and pulled her hand down.

“Ha.”

Though she wanted to look away, she ultimately faced the eyes that were there.

Blue eyes.

Those eyes that she praised every day as so beautiful, and that the nobles of Sohara couldn’t stop admiring, were now commanding her to go.

“Is this it? This is your answer to me…? This is your choice……?”

In that moment, something inside Rozenne collapsed.

Like a sand castle disappearing without a trace when hit by strong waves, the last glimmer of hope in a corner of her heart was shattered miserably.

“Harrieus……. Harrieus, how could you……”

Even in her dazed state, her mother’s words echoed in her ears. You will certainly be happy, she had said while pinning the family hairpin.

But why?

I was supposed to be happy. Only happiness remained ahead. But why……? How?

“I’m truly sorry, Rozenne.”

Harrieus cupped Rozenne’s face with eyes soaked in guilt.

“Rozenne, I…. I am the king of this country. I have no choice but to make decisions for this nation.”

So the weighing of options ended in such a short time.

A bitter sneer hung on Rozenne’s lips.

Was this decision so simple for you to make?

Rozenne grabbed Harrieus’s wrists, which were holding her cheeks, and removed his hands from her face. Then, roughly wiping away her tears, she spoke in a cold tone.

“I made you king.”

“Yes. You did.”

Harrieus nodded with a devastated expression.

“I did everything for you. Even using my ability that I didn’t want to use! There was only one reason I did all that. Because I love you!”

“Rozenne.”

“Let go!”

Rozenne violently pushed away Harrieus’s hand as he reached out to her.

“And now you’re telling me to go as tribute to another country? And not just anywhere, but to Wolfhard?”

Unlike the civilized Sohara, Wolfhard was a barbaric land full of chaos.

Despite having the largest territory on the continent, they didn’t even claim the title of empire.

Existing as neither a duchy, kingdom, nor empire, it was ambiguous whether they should be considered a tribe or a nation.

Of course, their military and economic power was formidable, but with little exchange with other countries, the reality of their internal state—how developed or backward they were—remained unknown.

This made it a place with unusually many rumors about their customs.

Harrieus grabbed Rozenne’s shoulders and lowered his head to meet her eye level. His grip was filled with unprecedented strength.

“Rozenne, look at me. I love you. That’s an unchanging truth. Until my last breath, I will be yours.”

But Rozenne turned her head away and stubbornly refused to look into his eyes.

“Rozenne, please. Look into my eyes and read my sincerity.”

“……”

“Please.”

As if those words were some kind of spell, Rozenne finally slowly shifted her gaze to look into his eyes. Then she heard his desperate inner thoughts.

‘I love you, Rozenne, more than anything else in the world.’

Rozenne squeezed her eyes shut. Tears streamed down both her cheeks.

Harrieus pulled her body close and kissed her pitiful face and forehead.

“I will find you again.”

Harrieus, who had just lifted his lips slightly from her forehead, moved his lips again.

“I’ll gather allied nations and form a coalition to go to Wolfhard. With Sohara’s forces alone, it’s beyond our capability, but…… As soon as preparations are complete, I’ll come to reclaim you. I’m not letting you go completely.”

His breath scattered over her forehead.

Rozenne felt her stopped heart beating again and slowly raised her head.

Harrieus matched her gaze more passionately than ever and poured out his fervent words.

“But right now, there’s no choice. We are completely unprepared for their attack. My first decision as king cannot be to lead the country to destruction. Please, Rozenne. Please? Understand me.”

“What…… what should I do?”

At the words that finally flowed from Rozenne’s lips, Harrieus tightly embraced her delicate body as if he had been waiting for this.

Was he happy that she had yielded to him again? Or was he moved?

Though uncertain, Rozenne quietly listened to his voice resonating above her shoulder.

“Go to Wolfhard and buy us some time. Before they can do anything to you, I will definitely rescue you.”

“But……. how?”

Harrieus separated from her and looked at Rozenne’s face.

“For now, I’ll urgently assemble a delegation to send with you. You will go with the delegation as Sohara’s diplomatic ambassador to negotiate the restoration of severed trade. No, just pretending to negotiate and stalling for time will be enough. And……”

“And?”

“Use your ability to find out what Paikan’s true purpose is.”

‘That’s the reason I’m sending you there.’

Rozenne read everything, including the explanation Harrieus didn’t add.

It was a moment when she could somewhat understand his decision.

He had always used her ability first whenever needed to deal with political opponents.

So now too, the first solution he thought of, the most familiar and easiest card to play, would be that.

Rozenne hastily clung to Harrieus and spoke.

“Harrieus, do you swear to love me as your wife and stay together until death, in happiness and in sorrow?”

Those were the wedding vows they hadn’t been able to complete.

Harrieus looked at Rozenne with a slightly bewildered expression.

Rozenne urgently gasped for breath and asked again, urging him.

“I swear. What about you? You swear too. That you won’t abandon me, your longtime friend and fiancée.”

“I swear.”

She nodded with a bitter face.

Alright, that’s enough.

And so, Rozenne’s journey to Wolfhard was decided.