Throughout the entire summer, Richel spent a great deal of time with the Count and Countess.

Edwin only appeared at those gatherings about once every three times.

He had been busy hunting boars and birds.

Richel occasionally joined those hunts as well, but more often than not, she spent her time with the Count and Countess instead.

Learning new things brought her immense joy.

On the day Richel was leaving, the Countess spoke with tears shimmering in her eyes.

“Next time you come here, I hope it will truly be as family. And if there’s ever anything you want, tell us without hesitation.”

Leaving behind countless lingering regrets, Richel departed from House Isle.

She had stayed with her fiancé’s family and earned the approval of his parents.

The next step was to hold the formal marriage announcement gathering that would finalize the wedding.

On the carriage ride home, Richel brought up the subject.

The marriage announcement was practically a wedding in itself, so it required quite a bit of preparation. There were many things they needed to discuss, coordinate, and settle beforehand.

“Your parents said they hoped to hold it before early winter. Even if it’s a bit rushed, I suppose they don’t want it delayed past this year.”

Edwin said nothing.

For some reason, that silence unsettled her deeply, and Richel found herself rambling on about various things just to fill it.

Things like how she planned to live once she became part of House Isle.

“I really need to study hard. Your father suggested that I help you manage the family businesses together with you. But it’s a completely unfamiliar field to me, so even when he explains things, it’s hard to grasp.”

“Together?”

“Mhm. He said he hopes I’ll be able to support you a lot in the future, so….”

At that moment, Edwin frowned sharply.

“I have no intention of getting married anytime soon. And I’m not planning to hold any marriage announcement either.”

The words struck like a bolt from a clear sky.

After their families had already become involved to this extent, there was only one meaning behind words like those.

A broken engagement.

Richel desperately tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.

She did not want to even imagine their engagement falling apart.

There was no way that could possibly happen.

“Then when…? When do you want to do it? Everyone already assumes we’re going to hold the marriage announcement….”

Edwin said nothing.

That silence only deepened her growing anxiety.

“The Countess said she hopes we’ll marry soon too. My parents feel the same way.”

Edwin’s expression hardened completely.

“That doesn’t mean it’s what I want.”

Richel stared at him blankly.

Why all of a sudden?

She could not understand what was happening.

Their relationship had continued this far because they loved each other not because their families had arranged it for political reasons.

And yet Edwin looked tense and rigid, like someone being forced into a marriage he never wanted.

“Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt your feelings somehow…?”

“It’s not that.”

After saying that, he turned his gaze away.

It was the first time she had ever seen him act like this.

Richel swallowed back the tears rising in her throat.

She could not understand why he was acting this way, but there was one possibility she refused to accept.

That his feelings for her had faded.

She could not even imagine them ending things like this.

“Is it because the wedding schedule feels rushed? Then let’s postpone it. It’s only been half a year since our engagement, so….”

She rambled desperately, grasping for explanations.

At some point, tears began falling uncontrollably down her cheeks.

After watching her for a moment, Edwin let out a sigh-like murmur.

“If news spreads that the marriage announcement is being delayed, people will talk.”

It sounded as though he were saying they should break up.

No—that was what he meant.

Crying openly now, Richel answered.

“I-I don’t care about that. Hngh… hic… as long as you still love me, it doesn’t matter.”

As long as Edwin’s heart had not turned away from her, she could endure however difficult or painful the road to marriage became.

Her voice trembled violently as she spoke.

“I really… love you. If it’s not you, I don’t want to marry anyone else. Please….”

Her confession was a mess, just like her tear-swollen eyes.

She bent forward and cried openly, unable to think about dignity or elegance anymore.

She could not bear the thought of losing Edwin.

“Please, Edwin….”

Because she could not even imagine a life where they let each other go and continued living apart.

When she could not stop crying, Edwin finally moved closer and sat beside her.

“Stop crying. What if you make yourself sick like this?”

It was the tone she had always known from him.

Not the cold, distant voice from moments ago, but the familiar warmth of someone who cared for her and worried about her.

Richel threw her arms around him.

“I-I don’t think I could bear seeing you marry someone else. Hngh… hic…. Do you want me to marry someone else instead? Have you… stopped loving me now?”

“…It’s not that. It’s not because I dislike you….”

Edwin trailed off, unable to continue for a long while.

Only much later did he finally wrap his arms around her and speak quietly.

“I just hated the idea of marrying because my parents pushed for it. I didn’t want to get married that way.”

Richel could not truly understand his words.

If he loved her and genuinely wanted to marry her, then what difference did it make if they married a little earlier because their parents wished for it?

But she said none of that.

Because she did not want to lose the arms that had finally embraced her again.

Edwin did not want to let her go.

For now, that alone was enough.

Richel reached up and gently cupped his cheek.

He was still her dazzling, beloved fiancé.

Richel pressed her lips against his.

A moment later, Edwin pulled her tightly into his arms.

***

Their relationship eventually returned to the way it had once been.

While resting on a small island in the southern region of the empire, the two of them spent what seemed to be a fairly happy time together.

Edwin showed her the same affection as always, and Richel responded no differently.

A relationship unchanged from before.

Between the two of them, that may have felt natural enough, but to everyone else, it looked strange.

People believed Edwin did not take Richel seriously.

After all, dragging out an engagement endlessly without marrying usually carried that exact meaning.

“This is today’s shield.”

Edwin fastened a necklace around her neck.

It was a sapphire with a dazzling cut that immediately drew attention from anyone who saw it.

Whenever there was a gathering or a ball, Edwin always gifted her expensive jewelry.

It was his own way of taking responsibility for the situation, ensuring no one dared look down on Richel.

Richel stared quietly at the necklace reflected in the mirror before giving a faint smile.

“At this rate, aren’t you going to go bankrupt?”

“Then you’ll have to support me.”

Joking lightly, Edwin pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.

For a moment, Richel genuinely wished that would happen instead.

The gifts weighing heavily against her skin brought her more bitterness and sadness than joy.

Edwin acted as though he loved her more deeply than ever, and yet he never once brought up marriage again.

A little over a year after their engagement, Richel was summoned by her father.

Count Rainer, her father, stood inside his study without even removing his outer coat.

The moment Richel entered, he got straight to the point.

“How much longer do the two of you intend to delay this marriage announcement?”

Until now, he had waited in silence.

When Richel stood there unable to answer, he suddenly exploded in anger.

“If he has no intention of marrying you, then end things with him already! You clearly still want to marry him, which means he’s the one refusing!”

“Father.”

“What exactly is lacking in you for you to be treated like this?! House Isle may have money, but it’s a family that hasn’t even held its title for three generations!”

“No, it’s not that he doesn’t want to marry me. He just doesn’t want to rush into it….”

“What a ridiculous excuse! If he simply wanted to take things slowly, then all he had to do was set the date further back not keep his mouth completely shut like this!”

Richel lowered her head, unable to say a single word in response.

Tears fell uncontrollably before she could stop them.

Because she, too, had been exhausted by all of this.

Having to proudly display extravagant gifts like obligations in order to prove Edwin’s feelings had not changed.

Being unable to confide in Edwin even when she felt hurt, fearing he might see it as pressure to marry.

Every part of it was exhausting.

“…I’m sorry, Father.”

At the sight of his daughter crying, Count Rainer could no longer stay angry.

His daughter had always been clever, diligent, and capable of accomplishing more than what was expected of her.

In fact, she had handled things so well all her life that he had scarcely needed to worry about her at all.

“What do you possibly have to apologize for? Don’t cry.”

Swallowing down a sigh, he pulled his weeping daughter into his arms.

“If it’s difficult for you to say it yourself, should I meet with Count Isle? I’ll go and settle the matter directly.”

It had already been a full year since the engagement.

Whether it ended in marriage or in a broken engagement, it was time for things to finally reach a conclusion.

Swallowing back another sob, Richel shook her head.

“No, Father. I’ll contact him myself.”

She did not want to force the situation toward an ending by borrowing someone else’s power.

No matter how it ended, this was a relationship she herself had entered into.

Even if that ending turned out to be separation rather than marriage.

Count Rainer let out a quiet sigh.

“Alright, then stop crying. When you were little, no matter how much I scolded you, you never shed a single tear. Since when did you become so tearful…?”

Richel nodded but she still could not stop crying.