“In the future I saw, you were happily married to Lady Celia.”

Magnus recalled the conversation he had with her a few days ago and let out a bitter laugh.

After reciting dozens of times that he liked her and loved her, the answer he got was too painful.

To Serena, the future she saw was far more important than the actions he had shown.

‘…The reason why she seemed strangely uninterested in me…’

It must have been because she had given up, thinking not to be interested in someone who belonged to another.

A bitter laugh escaped involuntarily, so he lightly touched the corner of his lips. He entered the imperial palace and headed straight for the Crown Prince.

Knock knock.

Standing in front of the Crown Prince’s office door and knocking, he heard a voice from inside telling him to come in.

Magnus entered.

Inside were familiar faces.

The Crown Prince, the Crown Princess, and rarely, Marquis Lavernia, and lastly, Lady Celia Roelen.

Since they met often, Celia Roelen and Magnus were quite familiar with each other.

‘Why on earth would I marry her?’

Magnus couldn’t understand.

Because he had never once thought of her as a romantic interest.

She was just, to put it nicely, a friend, or more distantly, a colleague doing the same work.

“You’re late, Magnus.”

“I’m sorry, I was lost in thought and didn’t realize the time passing.”

He was about to sit on the sofa with the others gathered in the reception room when he hesitated.

It was because the only seat left was next to Celia Roelen.

He pondered for a moment and then looked at the Crown Princess.

“I’m sorry, but could you change seats?”

At his stiff question, Rosia, the Crown Princess who was looking over documents, raised her head.

“Hm? Suddenly?”

“Yes.”

“…There’s an empty seat right there?”

“I can’t sit next to her.”

Celia Roelen’s brow furrowed slightly as she was tilting her teacup.

“Magnus, what are you saying all of a sudden?”

“…My wife is very jealous.”

Magnus, who had mistakenly taken Serena’s medicine, naturally sold the lie.

They couldn’t help but be a couple of drug peddlers.

“…You’re saying my daughter is jealous?”

The surprised voice came first from Marquis Lavernia.

“Yes.”

After all, didn’t she say that she couldn’t like him because Magnus was going to be with another woman?

If you turn that statement around, it’s basically jealousy…

Magnus healed his wounded self by thinking arbitrarily.

He was truly the owner of a solid mentality.

“…Why, jealous.”

Marquis Lavernia, who had frowned slightly, glared at Magnus with an expression that suggested something was not to his liking.

Magnus shrugged his shoulders.

He stared blankly at Magnus for a while and then let out a deep sigh.

In the meantime, Magnus, who had finally changed seats, sat down.

“Celia Roelen.”

“What?”

“Aren’t you getting married?”

Magnus asked with a serious face.

Since the other party didn’t seem to believe in his innocence at all, the only thing left was for the woman in front of him to get married.

If he completely trampled on the possibility, Serena wouldn’t say such strange things anymore.

He thinks the future can be changed as much as possible.

At least Magnus did.

There is no predetermined future. Isn’t this world where things change according to what people set their minds to?

“What are you saying all of a sudden? You’re acting strange today.”

“I think you should get married. How long are you going to live alone? Marriage is good.”

Magnus says, not knowing that it was because of that marriage that he became a drug peddler.

“Marriage isn’t something I can do alone. Don’t I need to be seeing someone?”

Magnus nodded at her reasonable words.

Just as Celia Roelen, thinking the other had understood, was about to grasp her teacup again.

“How about I introduce you to someone suitable?”

“No…”

Celia Roelen finally put down her teacup.

She couldn’t just laugh it off because he kept pressing the issue.

“Why are you suddenly like this? Really.”

She asked with a somewhat displeased expression.

Of course, she knows that time has passed for her, but to be honest, there’s no one she’s interested in.

Above all, the fact that she, a workaholic, doesn’t have many opportunities to meet people was also a problem, if it was a problem.

“I want you to be happy quickly.”

Magnus unknowingly voiced the direct speech he had recently become accustomed to.

“…What?”

“Your happiness will be my happiness.”

He uttered words likely to cause misunderstanding without any hesitation.

In fact, if we were to examine the truth of it, it meant that if you get married, Serena won’t say the same thing anymore, so I’ll be happy, but still.

“You, shameless man…!”

Marquis Lavernia drew his sword in anger.

“…Wait, Marquis?”

The Crown Prince raised his hand, looking at Marquis Lavernia who had drawn his sword without permission.

It was then that Marquis Lavernia took off the glove he was wearing and threw it towards Magnus’s face.

Magnus easily dodged the glove flying in a straight line by bending his waist.

“……”

“……”

It was commonly called a knight’s disgrace.

It’s not common for someone to naturally dodge a glove thrown suddenly, but usually, they don’t dodge it.

Because they know that the moment you dodge here, you become the laughingstock of the world.

“Did you just dodge?!”

“Yes, I have no intention of fighting with my father-in-law.”

“What father-in-law…!”

“Of course, even if we fought, Serena wouldn’t care.”

“That’s not…!”

Marquis Lavernia, who was about to refute, slumped down on the sofa.

Because it seemed that what he said wasn’t wrong after thinking about it.

“…It’s not… likely to be otherwise.”

Magnus, who had finally almost fully transformed into a frog, smiled quite proudly.

He was now looking at Marquis Lavernia as if he was looking at a friend who was born much later than him and even slower in development.

“…It seems you’re quite close with the Duchess.”

“We’re not that close.”

“…Huh?”

A rather firm and quick answer flowed out to the Crown Prince’s courteous question.

“She’s suspecting my relationship with Celia Roelen.”

Magnus blurted out words that had cut off both the beginning and end.

Marquis Lavernia’s eyes suddenly widened.

Lady Celia Roelen was equally surprised by the unexpected name.

For her, who was slowly expanding her position as a young head of the family, being called a young marquis¹T/N: she’s the daughter of a count so I also don’t understand why she’s called a 소후작 (young marquis or the next marquis) because there was no heir, marriage was actually a necessary task.

However, she had never once harbored feelings for Duke Magnus, who could be considered a close friend if she were to say so.

“Are you crazy?!”

So she raised her voice sharply, removing her composed appearance.

That expression mixed with contempt and disgust looked as if she had heard something really unpleasant.

“……”

Magnus was a little hurt.

Of course, he had no such intentions either, but he wondered if he was so unlikable to be despised to that extent.

“Your Majesty! From today, I’m going to find someone to marry right away!”

Celia Roelen shouted almost like a scream.

It was the moment Magnus’s heart was torn to shreds.

* * *

Back to work, she thought it would be nice if a day had 48 hours instead of 24.

‘…Huh?’

She seemed to have had this thought somewhere before.

Thinking carefully, it was something that happened in the not-too-distant past.

No, maybe it could be distant.

‘…Lemerun?’

Why does Professor Lemerun come to mind?

She took a deep breath and shook her head.

She decided to take a break, putting down the documents she was examining.

‘Still… I’ve mostly finished treating the Marchioness, and His Majesty is showing improvement…’

She recalled the to-do list in her head.

[First. Proceed with divorce proceedings

Second. Retrieve the emergency fund account from the ‘Lavernia’ family.

Third. Clean up the mess I’ve made.

Fourth. Find a reliable agent to partner with

Fifth. Wrap up the business well with Magnus

Sixth. Send Drukan back to the saintess.

Seventh, Save the Marchioness and His Majesty the Emperor

Eighth, Make a prosthetic arm for Drukan.

Ninth, Set up Celia and Magnus.]

She started to erase the items she had recalled in her mind one by one.

Divorce proceedings?

Failed.

The emergency fund account was retrieved.

I’m impressed that I managed to snatch my wallet so quickly.

I nodded and proudly erased the item from the list.

The third is cleaning up the mess I’ve made.

I thought it was over with an apology, but it seems I’m involved in a much more complicated incident than expected.

Fourth, I found one, but the fifth came as a package deal.

I erased the fourth, but because the fifth arose, it’s all for nothing.

The sixth… failed spectacularly.

Failed so spectacularly that I’m at a loss for words. I might never be able to erase it in my lifetime.

The seventh seems like it can be erased soon, and the eighth is completed.

The ninth… I’m too scared to even bring it up now.

‘Still, the reaction wasn’t as bad as I thought.’

Considering I spoke honestly, that is.

Anyway, Serena thought as she crossed out some items,

Hmm, life really doesn’t go as planned.

Maybe the saying ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’ wasn’t such a difficult concept after all?

Serena sighed and scratched her cheek.

Looking at the piled-up documents, accumulated work, and things to do only builds up depression.

Just as she was about to start processing the documents.

Nyx, who suddenly appeared from somewhere and hopped over, abruptly held out a sketchbook to me.