When Ezra asked in surprise, Gis glanced at the dean. The dean, sensing the need for privacy, tactfully left the room for the two of them.

Since they had been close friends since childhood, when alone together, they often addressed each other by name and spoke informally.

“You hate the academy, so why are you here?”

“Is that really the first thing you’re going to say to a friend you haven’t seen in a while?”

“We met ten days ago. If that counts as a long time, should we just move in together? Or you could enroll at the academy.”

Their way of confirming things with each other until the other agreed was how these usually quiet friends expressed their friendship.

“Should I?”

“Stop joking. What’s the reason you called me out?”

“I want to ask you for a favor. It won’t be difficult.”

“You just show up out of nowhere without even asking if I’m free? I don’t have time. I need to get home now. Because of you, my sister left before me and now I don’t even have a carriage to ride.”

Ezra got up with a displeased look.

Gis, seeing his friend brush off his request so lightly, spoke again—this time not as a friend, but with the authority of royalty.

“What if it’s not a favor, but an order from the prince?”

“What…?”

Ezra, who had been about to leave, stopped and turned around.

* * *

Shortly after dinner at the marquis’s residence, just as everyone had returned to their rooms, a message was delivered to each one.

Even to Ailis, who was just about to change clothes.

“Young Lady, you are requested to come down to the first-floor lobby immediately.”

And to Beate, who was busy heading to the kitchen to finish preparing for tomorrow’s tea time.

“Miss, you are to come straight to the main building’s first-floor lobby.”

Even the marquis and his wife received the summons.

“Master and Madam, you should go out to the first-floor lobby.”

Everyone asked the same question.

“Who’s calling us?”

“It’s Young Master Ezra.”

Ailis grumbled in a prickly voice as she left her room.

“What? Who does he think he is to order us around? Just wait until I see him.”

Lotus and Sophia, worried that something might have happened to their son, headed to the lobby.

Beate was tense. She’d been prepared, but now she would finally have to face Ezra in person. Her fingertips trembled, and she clenched her fists tightly.

Casey accompanied her to the main building. Seeing Beate’s nervousness, Casey tried to ease her worries.

“Young Master Ezra is truly beautiful.”

If only he would smile, Casey almost added, but stopped herself. Since he rarely smiled and usually wore a stiff expression, mentioning it might make Beate even more anxious.

Already knowing Ezra, Beate nodded in agreement at Casey’s compliment. That much, she admitted.

“Both his personality and appearance. The marquis and his wife often joke that Ailis and Ezra should have been born with each other’s gender.”

Nod, nod. That too, she agreed with.

“Oh! Right.”

Casey smacked her forehead.

“…?”

“I almost forgot to tell you. There’s something you need to be careful about when talking to Young Master Ezra.”

Careful?

Beate listened closely to what Casey had to say.

“It’s fine if you accidentally call the spirited Ailis ‘older sister’, but if you ever call the quiet and pretty Ezra ‘older brother’ by mistake, you’ll be in big trouble. He’ll never speak to you again. There was only ever one exception who could call him that…”

As she spoke, Casey thought of Riley. When Lady Riley was little, Young Master Ezra would willingly be her playmate whenever she asked.

He’d even smile and accept being called “older brother” by her.

Even without Casey explaining further, Beate could easily guess who that one person was.

Riley, the only sibling to whom Ezra ever showed a gentle side.

Thinking about meeting Ezra, Beate felt like an awkward stone that had rolled into Riley’s place, making her feel even more timid.

She knew his cold and difficult nature all too well.

If she had managed to win Ezra’s favor in her past life, it would have been easier to win the emperor’s as well, but Beate failed both times.

Ezra was as difficult to deal with as Gis.

‘I’m sure he’ll oppose my being adopted into the family. Even if I manage to be adopted, he won’t recognize me as family.’

Recalling the coldness she received from him in her past life, Beate realized she had no desire to become family with Ezra either.

If possible, she would have preferred to avoid him altogether, just like the emperor.

Still, Beate wanted to be adopted into the marquis’s family in this life. She wished to hide safely under their protection.

Even if there was danger from the Dowager Grand Duchess, the marquis’s family was powerful enough to rival the grand duke’s, and there was no safer place in the empire.

Ezra was only sixteen now.

‘Maybe our relationship won’t be as hopeless as when we met as adults.’

Beate tried to encourage herself as she made her way to the main building’s lobby.

As the central lobby at the end of the corridor came into view, she saw Ezra standing alone in the middle.

No one else had arrived yet; thanks to Casey’s quick steps, Beate was the first to arrive.

Honestly, she wished she could have arrived last and blended in with the others.

She hoped to avoid Ezra’s gaze as much as possible, but Casey seemed to think it was better to make a strong first impression and quickly brought Beate to the lobby.

She thought she was prepared, but seeing Ezra’s back made her feet freeze. Even though he looked younger, he was still intimidating.

‘This is our first meeting. He has no reason to dislike me yet. This time, I’m not the Grand Duchess’s person. I know all this, so why am I so nervous?’

Beate tried to calm herself.

At the sound of cautious footsteps approaching, Ezra turned around.

The moment she saw his face, Beate stopped in her tracks and froze. The memory she wanted to forget resurfaced.

* * *

The dawn after she spent her first night with the emperor.

Before sunrise, Beate quietly got out of bed, careful not to wake Gis. The white sheet that covered her waist left her upper body bare.

His broad shoulders, strong arms, and the fine muscles of his back were clearly visible—details she hadn’t noticed during the night.

Seeing him lying on his stomach, it all felt like a dream—that she had become one with someone she once thought untouchable.

Beate stared at the sleeping Gis for a while, then, regaining her senses, gathered her clothes and tried to leave the bedroom.

She had come out at dawn to avoid being seen by anyone, but she nearly screamed when she ran into a dark figure in the hallway.

Ezra stood at the end of the corridor, where he could see the emperor’s room, looking like a statue bathed in moonlight. She had no idea how long he’d been there.

Ezra looked at Beate with cold eyes and held out a vial.

“Drink this.”

“What… is it?”

“It’s a potion to prevent pregnancy.”

“Is this His Majesty’s order?”

“His Majesty does not wish for an heir, so it is his will. It’s also for your sake, my lady.”

“What if I refuse?”

Ezra’s eyes answered instead of words. If she didn’t take it, he might kill her right then.

“…Give it to me.”

Intimidated, Beate had no choice but to take the vial. That wasn’t the end. He didn’t leave. He waited.

“I’ll drink it.”

“Please drink it in front of me.”

He didn’t trust Beate. He had been wary of her ever since the former Grand Duchess recommended her as the emperor’s maid.

Beate opened the vial. She slowly lifted it to her lips. The bitter taste lingered on her tongue as she held it in her mouth, not swallowing.

She thought she could just spit it out later to escape the situation—it was only a mouthful.
But he was thorough. He never let anything slide.

“After you swallow, open your mouth. I’ll check.”

Caught in her intentions, Beate clamped her mouth shut in embarrassment. Her cheeks puffed up noticeably.

“Swallow.”