Cedrion responded after a brief pause.

“……Yes. It was a perfect performance.”

His voice was so close that it resonated in my ear, just as if he were whispering.

The low tone lingered at my ear, sending chills down my spine. It was so deep that I felt as if my heart was being squeezed.

“Th-that’s a relief.”

I quickly raised my voice, chattering to shake off the tension.

“I was worried since I couldn’t discuss it with you in advance, but you kept up quite well.”

“I……?”

“After all, if we want to keep His Highness the Crown Prince from suspecting us, we have to truly look like we’re in love.”

“Oh, yes. We have to.”

Even after that, Cedrion remained silent for a while.

“……Is that why we’re speaking so close like this?”

“Well, um, there were so many knights earlier…….”

I shuddered as I recalled the royal guards lined up behind the dazzling white carriage.

“Ah, if that’s the case.”

A faint smile spread across Cedrion’s lips.

The man who always maintained a stern, expressionless face now had a rare ripple of warmth on his features.

His expression was so captivating that I couldn’t tear my eyes away, as if I were entranced.

His golden eyes, locked onto mine, glimmered with an unusual light, as if he had found an answer after deep contemplation.

His hand reached toward my face. He gently brushed my hair behind my ear, following the curve of my helix……

As my shoulders flinched from the sudden tension, his hand lightly traced the air, leaving behind a faint shimmer.

“You’re safe now.”

“Huh?”

“I cast a small spell. A couple in love using magic to avoid eavesdroppers—it wouldn’t raise suspicion.”

“……Ah.”

So, he had only pretended to brush my hair aside in order to discreetly cast the spell without arousing suspicion.

S-still, did he really have to do it with such a gentle touch?

“A-ha-ha, that’s amazing.”

Unaware that my own ears had turned red like Cedrion’s, I answered absentmindedly.

Thump, thump, thump……

It felt like my heart was pounding in my throat. I needed to hold Angie right away.

***

Perhaps because of the exhaustion from yesterday’s events, Angie, who usually woke up at sunrise, only fussed in her sleep instead of waking up.

That worked out well. I had been worried about leaving Mathias to tend to the garden alone all day yesterday.

“Oh dear, my little baby. Sleep tight in Nanny’s arms while the lady is away.”

“Angie, I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Mmh…… Doshing…….”

“Go back to sleep!”

“Doshing……. Huuung.”

Still drowsy, Angie mumbled in her sleep, sucking on her tiny fist in the nanny’s arms.

Ah, yet again today, Angie’s cuteness is a wonderful blessing.

I gently ran my fingers through Angie’s soft, downy hair, which had grown enough to cover the nape of her neck.

“Lady, please take care as well. You were up late last night, so you must be tired.”

“Mm-hmm. I’m fine. The medicine Dame Gwendolyn prepared helped a lot.”

That was right. After hearing that Michael had broken the wellspring of my mana, Dame Gwendolyn had been giving me new herbal tea recipes daily, and they were proving quite effective.

Despite the exhaustion from yesterday’s prolonged engagement performance, I felt surprisingly refreshed this morning.

Knock, knock, knock.

At that moment, an unfamiliar knock echoed in the quiet dawn.

“Oh my, that little rascal Mathias wouldn’t just stand outside waiting, would he?”

When the nanny gestured at Mila, the maid quickly moved to open the door. Perhaps feeling guilty over yesterday’s mistake, Mila was trying to be extra quick and efficient.

“G-Grand Duke……!”

But her effort only lasted a day—she was so startled upon opening the door that she immediately reverted to her usual flustered self.

“Huh? What brings you here?”

Standing beyond the open door was Cedrion, casually dressed in just a simple shirt.

Even though it was May, the mornings and evenings were chilly. As expected of a Northerner.

Unfazed by our surprise, Cedrion responded in his usual monotone.

“My fiancée is heading out at dawn to admire the pastoral garden I arranged for her. As a man overflowing with love for his betrothed, should I not naturally accompany her?”

Saying so, he personally draped a shawl over my shoulders.

“O-oh my…… You’re so thoughtful.”

So, in other words, he had come to keep up our engagement performance in front of the visitors from Belvo.

Ha, for a moment there, I almost misunderstood.

Was it because the warm shawl wrapped snugly around my neck? It felt like heat was rising to my face.

Perhaps it was because I had become acutely aware last night that this close distance was dangerous for my heart.

I could hear my own heartbeat loudly.

To shake off my nervousness, I lightly tapped his arm.

“You must be tired from yesterday, so you didn’t have to.”

“I should be more worried about you. Have you taken the medicinal tea?”

“I have.”

Cedrion, who might not have known that I was terminally ill but was at least aware of my frailty, was meticulous in his concern for me.

“Then, shall we go?”

“But Mathias is still….”

“I sent him ahead so he could at least fill the watering can for you to use as soon as you arrive.”

“Was that really necessary?”

“I simply didn’t want to share a precious moment with my beloved fiancée.”

Cedrion spoke as if he had sent Mathias ahead so that he wouldn’t interrupt our time together.

N-no way… He must have considered Michael’s spies who would be watching us.

‘The Royal Guard must have no work-life balance.’

My heart kept trying to flutter on its own, so I deliberately filled my mind with sympathy for the Royal Guard. After all, they had to patrol in this chilly morning air, just to monitor the Grand Duke’s romantic life.

To make their surveillance worthwhile, I tightly embraced Cedrion’s arm, which he had extended to escort me.

Startled, Cedrion’s arm flinched, but I did not loosen my grip.

‘He should be used to this by now, yet he still reacts this way every time.’

When I glanced up at him from the corner of my eye, his ears were bright red.

‘How strange. Since yesterday, too. And he barely even feels the cold.’

However, as we walked through the garden of the Grand Duke’s estate, a peculiar awkwardness lingered between us.

We had spent countless days together alone before, yet this newfound embarrassment felt oddly unfamiliar.

‘It must be because someone is watching us.’

Rather than dwelling on the reason, I decided to break the awkwardness.

“You know,” I said.

Cedrion tilted his head slightly toward me, as if to encourage me to continue.

“I have a question.”

Understanding my intent, Cedrion traced a small motion in the air with his fingertip. A faint shimmer spread, signaling that he had cast a soundproofing spell.

“You’ve long opposed Crwon Prince Michael, saying he is unfit to be the heir to the throne.”

“That’s right.”

“Is that perhaps because of what happened in your childhood?”

“…I can’t say that isn’t part of the reason.”

A sigh lingered on Cedrion’s lips as he spoke.

As expected, his childhood friend Odelia must have been incredibly precious to him.

Then, perhaps the kindness Cedrion showed me was not truly for me, but for Odelia? Maybe he was treating me as if I were the child he had once protected.

That thought made me feel sulky, and I grumbled,

“Then, what are the other reasons? The truth is, Crown Prince Michael is the only legitimate royal heir. There’s no real alternative, so opposing him outright seems reckless.”

As I said that, a realization struck me, and I smacked Cedrion’s arm. Though it was an overly familiar gesture, I was too shocked by my own thought to notice.

“Could it be…?”

“Could it be what?”

“You….”

‘Are you after the throne?’ 

Even with the soundproofing spell, I couldn’t bring myself to say such treasonous words aloud.

Strangely enough, in this country, the direct lineage of Norhart had a stronger claim to the throne than the royal family’s collateral line. Since Michael had no heirs, Cedrion was currently second in line to the throne.

Perhaps understanding my unspoken words, Cedrion let out a sigh.

“That is not the case.”

“Really?”

“I have absolutely no interest in the throne.”

His face hardened solemnly as he said that.

“But your situation has undoubtedly influenced my decision.”

“…”

“You said it yourself, didn’t you? That he might have used black magic.”

“Oh, right….”

Black magic was strictly forbidden in Arcadia. Moreover, if Michael, a direct descendant of the great mage Arcado, had broken that taboo, it would be a serious matter.

“Of course, it’s still just a suspicion. Even if he did use black magic, he would never confess willingly, so we need proof. But that’s not easy to obtain.”

“Especially since he probably won’t make such a reckless move again.”

Cedrion did not agree with me.

“Do you truly believe he used black magic? You still suspect him?”

“There are some things that remain suspicious. Do you want to know the details?”

Cedrion’s golden eyes glanced at me. He was much taller than I was, so he naturally looked down on me, but I had long stopped interpreting it as arrogance.

Rather, his gaze held a sincerity that suggested he was ready to share everything with me.

That sense of trust made my chest feel strangely warm, so I deliberately grumbled.

“If it’s not certain, I don’t want to know.”

“I’ll tell you once it’s confirmed.”

“…Do as you wish.”

As I pouted and focused my gaze ahead, I could feel Cedrion’s eyes burning into the top of my head. After a brief silence, he let out a short chuckle.

“You are right. Since he is the sole legitimate heir, I cannot recklessly accuse him without concrete proof. My past efforts to obstruct him in the council were, in a way, a form of warning.”

“A warning?”

“To let him know that I am watching closely, so he must take responsibility for his actions.”

“Ah.”

‘How touching. What a noble friendship.’

Cedrion’s voice had a tinge of wistfulness, which oddly irritated me.

“Though in the end, it all amounted to nothing.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Just then—

“Meow.”

A cat’s cry?

No way.

Just as I feared, the tricolor cat from Baron Alterman’s estate was prowling around the garden. And to make matters worse…

“Good morning, Brother, Lady Lure.”

Michael.

Why had my garden suddenly become the hottest gathering spot at dawn?