A servant of the Grand Duke’s household, waiting outside the drawing room, entered.

He silently handed the Grand Duke a luxurious box small enough to fit in one hand.

It was the very same box that had been meant for me yesterday.

Click. The Grand Duke opened the box with one hand, revealing a radiant and large gemstone, just as I had glimpsed the day before.

A transparent jewel shimmering with iridescent light, the ring’s edges are adorned with tiny pink diamonds that enhance its brilliance.

I clenched my eyes tight, resisting the urge to widen them in astonishment.

‘For Odelia, this is probably nothing at all…!’

The Grand Duke studied my most composed expression for a moment before speaking in a slow voice.

“You have always loved shiny things.”

Again, that tone made it seem like he knew something about Odelia.

“This is a ring passed down to the mistress of Norhart for generations.”

Pushing the box toward me, he continued.

“This, too, could be a reason for you to come to Norhart. Thanks to the blessings of the Snow-White Mountain Range, Norhart has many such treasures. You may have as many as you wish if you become my wife.”

“I’m tired of things like this now.”

“Huh?”

I made sure to speak as Odelia would—aloof, almost spitefully.

Given my recent plain attire, it should have made some sense, yet the Grand Duke seemed to take it as a hastily made excuse for rejection.

“I’d rather have freshly harvested cherry tomatoes. They’re much prettier.”

“Cherry… tomatoes?”

The Grand Duke looked bewildered as if he had just heard something nonsensical.

I had no reason to explain further.

‘High-quality cherry tomatoes are dazzling.’

And I had been waiting all year for the summer harvest of those vibrant little jewels.

As if ending the conversation, I simply took a sip of tea.

His proposal. My rejection. A brief silence settled over the drawing room.

“Uh… u-um… ummaa….”

Sensing that the situation was taking an odd turn, Angie rolled her golden eyes anxiously.

Then, all of a sudden—

“Uwaaaah! M-mama… uwaaah…!”

He burst into tears as if he had just lost her homeland.

***

“So, this is the engagement ring?”

The Grand Duke of Norhart had left behind the mistress of Norhart’s ring, an enormous diamond encircled by pink diamonds.

“A man in love will do anything to win over the one he adores.”

Yet, he made that statement with a face that showed no hint of being in love before taking his leave for the day.

My nanny, however, examined the ring with a face brighter than ever perhaps because it was an engagement ring, or maybe because it was the mistress of Norhart’s ring.

“The Snow-White Mountain Range is rich in gemstone mines, producing the finest jewels. On top of that, they’re crafted by dwarves, so Norhart’s jewelry is considered the best… But thanks to you, my lady, I get to see such a treasure up close.”

“Because of me? It’s thanks to Angie.”

“Mmmaa…”

Hearing her name, Angie stirred slightly in my arms, half-asleep.

Since she started wailing in the Grand Duke’s arms, she hadn’t stopped crying until the Grand Duke had left.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was entirely thanks to Angie that the Grand Duke, who had come with the determination to settle things today, had given up and left.

Perhaps that was why—her still tear-streaked face and slightly hoarse voice were unbearably pitiful.

“Are you upset because I refused your father?”

“Hmm…”

“I’m sorry. It’s not because your father is a strange man. You do feel that he loves you, don’t you?”

“Uuum.”

Angie let out a sleepy murmur and burrowed deeper into my embrace.

‘Of course, I can’t say I feel that love myself…!’

Since Angie had started crying when I rejected the Grand Duke’s proposal, I wondered if this clever little child had somehow understood what was happening.

‘Does Angie want me to go to Norhart with her?’

Of course, assuming that she had actually comprehended the situation in the first place was probably a mistake.

I gently patted her small back.

“…The ring is stunning. What a waste, what a shame.”

My nanny lifted the box, tilted it under the lamp’s glow, murmuring. Her voice was laced with deep regret.

Seeing the faint shimmer of tears in her eyes also made my heart ache.

‘She knows as well as I do that accepting this proposal is impossible…’

For Odelia, who lost her mother at birth, this woman was like a mother—though not by blood. Even when Odelia had acted out so terribly, she had always protected her and pitied her.

That warmth, so unfamiliar to me, held my gaze in silence for a while.

“…Hey, Nanny.”

“Yes, my lady?”

“Norhart and Meldorf are neighboring territories, right? You once said I visited the Blue Roof Manor when I was young.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I swallowed dryly, then, with great caution, asked—

“Could it be… that I knew His Grace the Grand Duke when I was a child?”

If I could understand the inexplicable familiarity he had with me, I could be certain in my rejection.

“When you were a child?”

“Yes.”

I nodded at my nanny’s question.

‘I intended to go with the flow since this possession is only for a year…’

Yet, the Grand Duke acted as if he had known Odelia for a long time, and the male lead, Michael, had placed the barrier around the Blue Roof Manor.

Odelia’s unknown childhood occasionally felt like an essential missing piece.

‘I could get through the year without knowing, but the Grand Duke keeps coming daily, acting like there’s some deep story.’

Moreover, considering Baron Alterman’s suspicious behavior, my doubts only grew stronger.

“I did come here when I was young, right? I have no memories of it, and it’s frustrating. You’re the only one I can ask, Nanny.”

To avoid raising suspicion, I trembled my platinum lashes ever so slightly, portraying the tragic fragility of someone with limited time left.

My nanny tilted her head before responding.

“I’m not sure about His Grace the Grand Duke… You have never visited Norhart, nor has His Grace ever come to Meldorf.”

“Are you certain?”

“Why would I lie about something like this? Especially now that His Grace has even proposed.”

I studied my nanny’s face for a while, but there was no sign of evasion.

Then what was going on?

‘Did they meet after growing up at the royal palace? And it just wasn’t mentioned in the original story?’

As I frowned slightly, lost in thought—

“My lady, do you… remember something?”

My nanny asked cautiously, examining my face.

Her tone was suggestive, and I quickly spun my thoughts.

“Oh, that monster incident.”

“Yes, yes?”

“It happened when I was staying at this villa with His Highness Michael, didn’t it?”

“Ah, well… But my lady, you weren’t harmed at all!”

Whenever I asked about Odelia staying at the Blue Roof Manor, my nanny always responded awkwardly, as if struggling to answer.

Sensing an opportunity, I quickly pressed further.

“I only remember that His Highness Michael placed the barrier. But I don’t know why. Can I ask why? I wasn’t hurt, so… was His Highness injured?”

At that moment, my nanny’s usually warm and gentle expression turned cold as if ice had formed over it.

What was this?

Suppressing some deep emotion, she took a long, deliberate breath. Her slender throat hollowed slightly beneath her collarbone.

“…If my lady does not remember, then I have nothing to say.”

“But precisely because I don’t remember, you should tell me.”

My nanny bit the inside of her lip before replying with difficulty.

“It was a promise with the Marquis.”

Regret was evident in her voice.

***

One day earlier, at the Grand Duchy of Norhart.

“I am getting married.”

“What?!”

Franz Nielsen, who had been about to report on his trip to Meldorf, instinctively rummaged through his coat. His stomach medicine and hair loss prevention pills were both in place.

“All of a sudden…?”

“To Odelia Lure.”

“…”

Given that his lord had never been involved in any scandals with women, and she was the only lady he had met recently, Franz wasn’t entirely surprised by the choice.

But why? For what reason? And what about the lady’s opinion?

More importantly, did his lord even love her?

Wiping away a bead of cold sweat in his mind, Franz asked carefully,

“So… are you proposing a political marriage to Lady Odelia?”

“Political marriage?”

“The two of you have barely met… right?”

Cedrion gave a short chuckle.

The nuance was that they were not strangers.

‘There’s clearly a story here…’

Yet, as always, his lord was characteristically unhelpful, not explain his chief aide.

‘If he wants me to handle things, he should at least give me something to work with!’

Once again, Franz Nielsen swallowed the words he could not voice aloud.

“Is this about the baby?”

“She keeps following only her.”

“Ah, she’s still doing that. Then perhaps… you should be more affectionate—”

“Speaking of which.”

Cedrion dismissed his aide’s nagging and lowered his voice.

“Prepare something she will like.”

“Oh yes, because if there’s one thing Your Grace has, it’s money—”

“Pri.”

“And an abundance of it. Lady Odelia has not accepted yet, has she?”

Franz assumed as much and swallowed his amusement before casually inquiring,

“She said she dislikes marriages without love.”

“Ah.”

“She turned red in the face—”

“…Pardon?”

Red in the face? No, surely she had simply been blushing out of shyness. After all, his lord’s best feature, as far as women were concerned, was his face.

His lord, having long suppressed his emotions, was also unskilled at reading those of others. Franz quickly pieced things together but decided to extract a small compensation for his own suffering.

“You didn’t threaten her, did you?”

“She refused to come to the Grand Duchy for her reputation, so I merely proposed marriage.”

“And you didn’t growl at her this time?”

Cedrion casually snapped his quill in half.

Franz, pleased to have mildly irritated his lord, smirked inwardly.

“…Have you been working late too often lately?”

“Yes. I barely remember my mother’s face.”

Franz dramatically dabbed at imaginary tears.

It had already been over two weeks since Cedrion started frequenting the Blue Roof Manor to secure the baby. With the decision-maker absent so often, the Grand Duchy’s staff was being overworked.

“You didn’t intimidate her, did you?”

“…I didn’t think I had.”

Cedrion sighed and rubbed his face.

Franz, caught off guard, momentarily forgot his teasing.

‘His Grace… sighed?’