Ah. Only then did Satin realize why Rublier suddenly brought the Ka Dillon family’s holy relic. He must have remembered Satin’s criticism about the succession on National Foundation Day. He had brought it home on purpose to tell this story.

Satin somewhat understood the strong faith Rublier had in Kirion. It was a faith with reason. If the family’s holy relic had proven it, it was bound to move one’s heart. On the other hand, she was relieved. It wasn’t just a desire to push an old friend as a successor. There was no reason to be disappointed.

Huh? Relieved?

And disappointed…….

Lately, various side thoughts kept creeping into her mind. Satin pushed them away with a diversion.

“It’s a bit unfair.”

“What is?”

“Each family received the same holy relics, so why does the Ka Dillon family’s relic have additional functions? More knights are produced, they receive hints about the successor even before the oracle……”

“So you’re envious?”

The symbol of loyalty, Del Mare, was undoubtedly something to be proud of, but who wouldn’t want an extra feature on their holy relic? Satin nodded honestly.

“I’m envious.”

Rublier gestured to the relic with his chin.

“No need to be envious. You can pass it down to our child.”

If it’s a relic to be passed down, she already had one. Satin quickly asserted.

“Del Mare comes first for me.”

“Make the firstborn for Del Mare. Ka Dillon can have the second.”

“Of course.”

It was only natural that her firstborn would carry the Del Mare name. What kind of family is Del Mare? Satin, who had been responding proudly, soon squinted her eyes. She was discussing family planning with Rublier while talking about family matters.

“Wait, how did the conversation turn to this?”

“What do you mean? The issue of succession within the Guardian family is extremely important.”

“No, I mean, why am I discussing it with you, Sir Ka Dillon?”

“Who else would you discuss it with? Leaving your husband right here.”

“When did we ever talk about……”

They hadn’t even kissed, let alone have children. Others would misunderstand if they heard. Besides, it was a marriage with clear limits.

Satin, shocked, tried to argue.

“Sir Ka Dillon, we’re going to—”

Get divorced.

It was something they had talked about often. Moreover, she was the one who first demanded a divorce. But now, she couldn’t bring herself to say it again. Satin stared at the two pairs of hands stacked together. Rublier always lived as if divorce wasn’t even a consideration. His casual remarks always reflected that.

Is this his way of holding on, telling me not to run away?

Even Gjorn had said it was surprising how well they were getting along. Though she had angrily retorted, Satin somewhat agreed.

Maybe she angrily retorted because she secretly agreed. She was the one who first told Rublier she had no intention of trying to make it work. She demanded a separation right after the wedding.

“……This kind of marriage wasn’t in my life plan.”

Swallowing the words she was about to say, Satin kept an awkward silence for a while, then began in a rather blunt tone.

“It wasn’t in my plan either.”

Rublier agreed, then quickly corrected himself.

“It’s not that you weren’t in the plan, but that there was no way to include you.”

Satin didn’t bother to ask what he meant by ‘there was no way to include you.’

“I’m only asking now. Why me?”

Instead, she asked directly. She worried that her voice might tremble, but it came out surprisingly calm.

Even someone with no sense would understand by now. What he wanted from this marriage. When she asked if he needed the value of her family’s name, he answered that there were other reasons for the marriage.

‘We’re married, Satin.’

‘Why not try to make it real?’

‘How long are you going to keep running?’

These weren’t things someone would say if they entered the marriage lightly or as a joke. Not to mention, his proposal at someone else’s wedding was an extraordinary decision. Even a fool would notice. Such directness was rare. He wasn’t a man who beat around the bush.

“Because you kept appearing?”

“That’s all?”

“For five years, you kept appearing.”

“…….”

“Actually, I didn’t realize it either until one day Kirion asked why I kept looking at the girl from Del Mare. That’s when I realized.”

Satin’s memory was similar. Rublier always seemed to be nearby, no matter where he came from. He would tease, meddle, annoy, and even when Satin got annoyed or retaliated, he would take it.

“……We didn’t see each other for four years after graduation. You could have forgotten about me, thinking I was just some kid from your childhood.”

“So, did you forget about me?”

Satin hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. She had forgotten for a while, but when they met again before the wedding, the past came flooding back.

Her school memories were sparse. Ordinary students avoided the Guardian family members, so her only real friend was Gjorn.

But because Rublier always hung around, everyone mixed up and linked her with Rublier, blending misunderstandings and assumptions. So, surprisingly, Rublier occupied a significant portion of her memories. Perhaps even more than Gjorn.

Yes. When thinking of her memories at the academy, the only people who came to mind were Gjorn and Rublier. It was probably similar for Rublier. His only friends were Kirion and Gjorn, and the one girl who kept catching his eye.

Five years is not a short time, but with so few people filling those memories, they stood out clearly.

“Same here. After graduation, I joined the Holy Knights immediately. The intense training every day isolated me from everyday life. I was too busy rolling through each day to remember anything. I don’t even want to remember my time at the Knights because it was exhausting. It was very different from the academy. Then, just as I was finally catching my breath after being ordained as a Paladin, you reappeared.”

He wasn’t just any holy knight; he had been groomed as the successor by the previous leader from a young age. He must have undergone much more intense training. Now I understood why Rublier hadn’t appeared at many public events.

It wasn’t that he deliberately avoided them, but rather that he couldn’t, with the Pope and the Ka Dillon family’s consent, because of his urgent duties as a Paladin.

“It was tearfully delightful. After three years without memories or recollections, and then a year of catching my breath, meeting you brought back old memories. The emotions from that time were vivid. It felt like I had returned to my school days.”

Rublier’s words suddenly came to mind.

‘Gjorn is Gjorn, and I’m Sir Ka Dillon?’

‘Gjorn is my fiancé, and Sir Ka Dillon is Sir Ka Dillon.’

‘It wasn’t like that at the academy?’

‘We were young then.’

Yet here she was, married to that man, facing her ex-fiancé together. And quite well. Satin pondered for a moment before asking.

“Have you ever thought that marrying another woman, without the fuss of divorce and disputes, might have made your married life easier?”

While Satin and Gjorn stayed at their family homes after graduation, focusing on their studies and wedding preparations, Rublier must have been busy adapting to his role as a Paladin.

So, even if it didn’t happen immediately, after getting used to his role as a Paladin and when his family started pressing him for marriage, he could have chosen someone suitable and married them.

Being a man from a prestigious family and a Paladin, he could have had a very easy and comfortable married life.

“Well, after watching my friends get married one by one and a few more years passing, I might have been pushed into marriage by my family. But what’s the point of predicting something that won’t happen? I’m already married to you. I don’t want to waste energy on useless imaginings.”

Satin listened to Rublier’s clear conclusion with mixed feelings.

“Satin. Why you? Because I’ve liked you for a long time. I wanted to live with the woman I like, so I married you.”