He could tell immediately that they did not approve of him as their sister’s husband.

Starting with Marquis Louis, they were far from power-hungry, and so were their children.

It seemed they had no intention whatsoever to use their only sister for wealth and glory.

Leopold guessed they must have been looking for someone born into an exceedingly ordinary family with a gentle character.

As Leopold and Walter approached the entrance to the office, two maids opened the doors to the office.

Leopold sat on the edge of the office desk and looked at Walter’s face.

It was a good opportunity to ask about Ariel.

“What’s she doing today?”

Leopold asked with an air of feigned indifference.

His expression seemed indifferent, but in reality, he wanted to rush to meet Ariel immediately.

“Whom are you speaking of?”

“Ariel Clark.”

“When I left for work, she was already gone from the house. I heard she went to the Holy See early this morning.”

Walter felt it was quite foreign to see His Majesty muttering his sister’s name.

Leopold was trying hard to maintain his poker face.

But his emotions were clearly visible to Walter, his confidant.

The sparkle in his eyes and the slight curl of his lips. His face looked as if he was overwhelmed with the feeling of love, just thinking about it made his heart swell.

Walter, who had been by his side since Leopold ascended the throne, blinked in surprise at this expression he had never seen before.

Despite this, Walter doubted his own eyes. He found it hard to believe that His Majesty had truly fallen in love with Ariel.

‘Had he seriously fallen in love with Ariel? They’ve only met at the commemoration ceremony.’

It seemed more credible that His Majesty had decided on the marriage because of the Marquis of Louis and the Clark family’s reputation.

“The Holy See? What’s she doing there?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t ask her directly, so I can’t say for certain, but perhaps she felt it was a time when she needed to pray.”

For a moment, Leopold’s face turned rigid. He was quite worried, wondering if she was having a hard time with the forced marriage.

“A time when she needed to pray?”

“It’s just my guess, Your Majesty. My sister has many shortcomings to become the mother of the empire, so she must have felt desperately in need of Lumiere’s grace.”

It was a plausible guess since they didn’t know about their arranged marriage situation.

Leopold looked down and stroked his chin, deep in thought.

“It seems right to go after all.”

Leopold said, looking at Walter.

He decided it was better to check on her condition with his own eyes rather than sit around worrying.

And in his heart, the desire to see her bubbled up gently.

The anticipation of meeting Ariel churned in his stomach, making Leopold feel queasy.

“Where do you mean?”

“To my empress.”

Leopold’s facial muscles relaxed, and his mouth narrowed into a thin line.

‘I haven’t even met her yet, but just thinking about seeing her face makes me smile.’

He suppressed the urge to grin foolishly, feeling quite silly, but it didn’t matter. Even if it was unbecoming of an emperor, even if it lacked dignity.

“What?”

Walter asked incredulously.

‘Could it be? Did he end the meeting hastily because of Ariel? It’s hard to believe that Emperor Leopold Diaz would be so distracted by a woman that he couldn’t focus on state affairs. And to rush off to meet her again today after only meeting her yesterday?’

Leopold, observing Walter’s wavering gaze, stood up and moved toward the office door.

“I want to tell her that she is enough just by herself.”

***

“It’s already past four o’clock… Why isn’t she coming?”

Exhausted from waiting, May stood up awkwardly in the carriage and stuck her head out.

Her eyes were wide open as she looked around here and there.

Her face showed hope that perhaps the lady had arrived, but as she looked at the empty street with no sign of her, her face darkened.

After Ariel left, May had been waiting for her mistress inside the carriage parked in front of the Holy See.

Around two o’clock, when she had just managed to eat some bread she brought with her, she thought Ariel would arrive soon.

But now it was around 4 pm, the sun had started to set, and even the chilly autumn wind began to blow.

Anxiety crept over Charles and May, who were guarding the carriage.

“May. Shouldn’t we inform the Marquis before it gets any later?”

Charles shouted towards the inside of the carriage.

“That’s right… I have a bad feeling about this. Let’s hurry!”

With the sound of horse hooves, the carriage began to shake.

Charles hurriedly drove the horses, but there was a limit to the carriage’s speed.

He gripped the reins tightly, his face set as he racked his brain for a shortcut.

Meanwhile, May clasped her hands tightly inside the shaking carriage and whispered a prayer.

“Please… let nothing have happened to the young lady…”

Finally, the Clark residence came into Charles’s view.

He gradually slowed down the speed of the carriage.

“May! It’s dangerous!”

But May couldn’t wait until the carriage came to a complete stop.

Despite Charles’s warning, she opened the door and jumped out.

“Ouch!”

Her footwork got tangled because of her dress, and she twisted her ankle.

May sat down on the ground, massaging her ankle.

‘I tried to hurry and ended up wasting more time.’

As May got up, supporting herself on her knees, her face was contorted with pain.

But the thought that Ariel, who had lost her mana, might be in danger, flitted through her mind, and she limped into the house.

As soon as she reached the dining room, she collapsed, falling.

Marquis Louis and Marchioness Rose, who had been chatting over tea, stopped all movement and fixed their eyes on May due to her sudden entrance.

But Leopold, a swordmaster, had already sensed someone approaching and showed no reaction, simply lifting his teacup to drink.

“The young lady! The young lady!”

May spoke in a sobbing voice, but Marquis Louis couldn’t understand her properly and glared at her sharply.

“What is this insolence before His Majesty!”

Marquis Louis spoke harshly as if scolding her.

“No matter how long we waited, the young lady didn’t come! Something must have happened!”

“What are you talking about! Explain yourself clearly!”

At May’s words, Leopold also lifted his head and looked at May with surprised eyes.

Leopold had suppressed the urge to rush to her in the morning and had left the palace late in the afternoon to time his arrival with when Ariel was supposed to be home.

He entered the Clark residence expecting to see her beautiful face. But she was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, Marquis Louis and Marchioness Rose realized that His Majesty was serious about the marriage with their daughter Ariel, as he had shown up at their home two days in a row.

With nothing else to say, they had been drinking tea for two hours straight. The sun was setting, but Ariel had not yet returned home.

Suddenly, May burst in with the shocking news that Ariel was missing, and Marchioness Rose, closing her eyes, pressed her temples and collapsed over the armrest of the sofa.

All emotions drained from Leopold’s face as he sat opposite her.

“She went to the Norca region with a priest from the Holy See to serve.”

“What, to Norca! Why on earth did she go to such a dangerous place!”

Although Ariel had lost all her mana, she had a body that had reached the level of a master.

There was no one who could endanger her unless they were a magician or knight, but Marquis Louis, unaware of this fact, jumped up in alarm.

The impoverished Norca region, although it was on the outskirts of the capital, was an area where the imperial knights were not stationed.

“Ariel…! We should have sent Ron with her.”

Marchioness Rose got up, tearful with regret.

She remembered Ariel’s appearance that morning.

She should have told her to visit the Holy See next time and spend the day with her mother instead. Her regret was overwhelming.

“I will go.”

Leopold, who had been silently listening to their conversation, suddenly stood up with a stern face.

Before anyone could stop him, he quickly left the mansion.

“Your Majesty!”

Evan, who had been guarding outside the dining room, followed him out.

Evan was the eldest son of the Clark family and the leader of the imperial elite knights.

Leopold was an excellent archer and swordsman and didn’t need a personal escort, but Evan was assigned to guard Leopold in case of an unforeseen situation.

“Ariel has gone to the Norca region and has not returned yet. Gather all knights on duty and follow me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

After Leopold put on his leather gloves, he swiftly mounted his fine horse, Swift.

“Let’s go, Swift.”

Responding to his command, Swift neighed loudly and began to run quickly.

Leopold lay flat on the horse’s back to reduce wind resistance.

At this pace… I should arrive within 20 minutes. Ariel, what were you thinking going to such a dangerous place without any escort! How can a lady be so reckless and fearless?

‘If anything happens to you…’

His red eyes flickered for a moment.

His efforts to remain calm while listening to May’s story crumbled pointlessly.

He bit his lower lip hard, his brow furrowed like crumpled paper.

To banish the ominous thoughts from his mind, Leopold slowly shook his head atop the galloping horse.

***

“Ah… you have saved Lady Ariel. Is she alright?”

It was Liese Willington.

Liese’s face was swollen from crying so much, as she ran towards them with tears still glistening in her eyes.

Liese quickly bowed to Noah in greeting.

“There are no injuries, she’s fine. But it seems the young lady was quite startled.”

Noah looked down at Ariel with concern, who was burying her face in his chest.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness. Oh, I haven’t yet expressed my gratitude. Thank you sincerely for saving her. How can I ever repay this kindness?”

Liese bowed her head again.