“Will you carry me?”

With her arms outstretched toward him, Odelia’s elegant face gleamed with eyes as sorrowful as if they held the morning dew.

The delicate radiance of her in the soft morning light kept stealing his breath away, leaving him rambling on about whether his hands were clean or not.

‘Does she know what she’s doing, or does she not?’

Odelia had said it was all an act, but surely, making him tremble like this wasn’t part of the plan.

And the moment he lifted her into his arms, for some inexplicable reason, a faint scent—something like delicate powder or perhaps a sweet floral fragrance—wafted through the air.

He didn’t even have time to consider that Odelia, who had been up since dawn, wouldn’t have had a chance to apply any perfume. His heart was already trembling at every casual action of this cunning lady, leaving him utterly flustered.

That once-awkward girl—where did she even learn such wicked tricks?

‘When I saw her again in the royal capital, I wondered how that same girl had come to dominate the social scene. Was this how?’

If she could wield people’s hearts so effortlessly, it was obvious that no one would stand a chance against her.

‘She says she’s lost all her memories, but she’s become an entirely different person.’

It had been well over ten years since he last interacted with Odelia. But then again, he, too, had grown into someone entirely different from the ‘Cedrion’ of those days.

When his parents passed away suddenly, I had no choice but to assume the position of Grand Duke at a young age. There was no room left in his life for the kindness of an older friend looking after a younger one.

So it was only natural that the Odelia he once knew and the Odelia of today felt like two different people.

‘If not, then why did she keep making me feel like this?’

‘Like this…?’

The thought brought a sudden flush of heat to Cedrion’s face. Though his expression rarely changed, ensuring that no one would notice, he could still feel it burning.

‘She’s making a fool of me.’

In truth, the thought that followed ‘like this’ was that his heart was pounding, that he was feeling something dangerously close to infatuation. But Cedrion couldn’t bring himself to complete that sentence.

‘…She does whatever she pleases.’

Even though he knew there was no reason to resent her, Cedrion found himself blaming Odelia as he quickened his pace.

***

“Really? Lady Odelia has that kind of strategic mind?”

In the break area of the aide’s office, partitioned off to one side, the staff—who had grown even closer after days of working overtime due to the Crown Prince’s visit—were finally taking a breather and chatting.

At the center of their conversation was Greta, who had recently been assigned to Lady Odelia.

“I’m telling you, I was surprised too! She was in perfect sync with the Grand Duke.”

Greta, her shoulder-length brown hair tied back in a half-up style, nodded toward Franz.

“Considering we couldn’t stop the Crown Prince’s surprise visit, we were just grateful she was handling the schedule. But she immediately grasped the concept and nailed it.”

As Greta reminisced with dreamy eyes, the other aides’ eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“That explains why she’s engaged to His Grace…!”

“It takes more than just boldness to climb the ranks of high society.”

“Not just anyone could face His Grace in a private meeting.”

The young aides, all in their early twenties, wore unmistakable expressions of admiration.

It had been about a month since their lord had abruptly announced his engagement to Lady Odelia Lure, widely regarded as the most beautiful woman in Arcadia.

While they were aware that Angie had some connection to Cedrion’s divine revelations, they found it more significant that this had led to the Grand Duke securing a fiancée.

“She’s breathtakingly beautiful too.”

“With that kind of resolve, she’d make an excellent lady of the house.”

“Most importantly, we should be grateful she’s ensured our lord won’t remain single forever…”

As the aides chattered, they inwardly shed tears at the thought of their formidable master.

“Even the mighty Grand Duke will soften a little after marriage… right?”

Franz, who had been silently listening to his subordinates, found himself making the same hopeful prayer.

Please, Your Grace… Handle things well and make sure your contract fiancée transitions into a permanent Grand Duchess…

As Franz swallowed his unseen tears behind a faint smile and took a sip of coffee—

BANG!

With a forceful noise, the door to the aides’ office swung open.

No—was it even louder than usual today?

As the aides exchanged quick glances, they instinctively pushed Greta forward as their representative. No man would want his fiancée to hear unpleasant gossip about herself, after all.

And so, as Greta cautiously stepped out from behind the partition—

“Uh, Your Grace, are you… all right?”

Cedrion’s golden eyes, which had been staring coldly at a point on the floor, lifted to meet her gaze. No, rather than cold, his expression seemed…

Sensing that something was off, the aides peeked over the partition like a group of wary meerkats.

“Did something happen…?”

“His Grace… looks startled…?”

These young elites had been trained from adolescence to serve the ruler of Norhart. Identifying an unusual flicker of emotion in their typically unreadable master wasn’t difficult.

“That…”

As if confirming their suspicions, Cedrion’s voice carried an uncharacteristic hesitation.

“The guest is being excessively suspicious.”

The guest—meaning the Crown Prince. A sudden tension filled the room.

“He was following me and Odelia into the garden at dawn just to verify our relationship.”

“Oh dear, my goodness…” A sigh spread among the aides.

“Then, Lady Odelia must have been quite flustered, right?” 

“She must have… been.”

At Greta’s composed question, Cedrion covered his mouth with his hand.

‘If she were merely putting on an act to forget her guilt, his hatred wouldn’t run so deep.’

His hatred ran deep.

Though Odelia had spoken rather calmly, it was clear that Michael had done something while they were briefly left alone.

‘But how can she be so composed?’

Was it because she had lost her memories, or because it no longer mattered?

Odelia seemed to have buried everything Michael had done to her in the past and was now facing him with a completely new perspective.

Meanwhile, I was still stuck in my own regret, replaying the helplessness I felt back then.

‘I should have asked her exactly what he said. Like a fool, I completely forgot.’

That was because, at that moment, my mind had gone completely blank when I realized Odelia was holding my neck.

I had carried her when she collapsed on the first day she arrived at the Grand Duke’s castle, so why was I suddenly so affected now…?

While Cedrion was lost in such turmoil, a heavy silence fell over the aides’ office. The aides, with stiffened expressions, exchanged glances nervously.

“Dame Greta.”

It was Franz who took charge of the situation. It was the chief aide’s duty to step in when their lord malfunctioned.

“Go to the Lady and check if she needs anything or if there’s anything troubling her.”

“Yes, Viscount.”

“And… I believe our course of action is now clear, isn’t it?”

Franz’s pleasant smile turned to his subordinates. A ‘pleasant smile’—as Odelia had put it—though his subordinates interpreted it quite differently.

That different interpretation immediately made the aides snap to attention and raise their voices.

“We will make sure that His Highness the Crown Prince does not approach Lady Odelia personally by keeping a close watch on the annex staff!”

“We should also ensure that His Grace’s deep affection for Lady Odelia is clearly conveyed.”

“Since His Grace cannot stay by her side all day, we will make it known that the aides’ office is heavily monitoring the east wing.”

“Not just the aides’ office—what if we show that the entire Grand Duke’s castle supports their engagement?”

Franz’s eyes and lips curved into an even deeper arc. That meant they hadn’t yet reached the conclusion he wanted.

To get there, the aides exchanged glances, searching for someone to step forward with the final answer.

“Oh! Today’s banquet!”

The youngest aide, Toma, quickly spoke up.

“We will decorate it in a manner befitting Lady Odelia’s grace, upholding Norhart’s honor!”

“Excellent, excellent.”

Unlike Franz, who was filled with satisfaction, Toma’s face bore an expression of doom.

He was dead. He had spoken up unnecessarily.

Now that he had voiced it, the responsibility for elevating the banquet’s quality and scale had fallen squarely on his shoulders.

“What do you think, Your Grace?”

“……”

“Your Grace?”

“Ah.”

All the while, Cedrion was still thinking about Odelia.

Franz shot a sharp look at his absent-minded lord, as if to say, ‘What on earth happened out there?’ This was a rare opportunity—one could not normally glare at their lord without consequence.

“We intend to make tonight’s banquet even grander than planned so that no one can possibly doubt Your Grace’s love for Lady Odelia.”

“My love for… Odelia.”

Love.

Cedrion rolled the word awkwardly in his mouth.

‘…Was that what this was?’

He had heard Franz mention love multiple times when discussing his contract engagement with Odelia. But never before had the word struck him so strangely.

Cedrion’s face grew solemn.

And as he observed this, Franz’s face also twisted into something peculiar.

‘Ah. So it really is happening.’

Well, given that two people with such a deep history had reunited as adults, perhaps it was only a matter of time before emotions developed.

While Franz had no personal experience with romance, he was an expert at reading his lord’s moods. And so, he let out a small, knowing chuckle.

“Then, we will put Your Grace’s personal funds to good use once again.”

While Cedrion remained deep in thought, the aides bustled into action, each carrying out their assigned tasks.

***

“Are you absolutely sure nothing happened with His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Mmm, well… I was really fine.”

Dame Greta, who had begun escorting me in place of Viscount Nielsen since the day before yesterday, asked with genuine concern.

“That’s a relief. His Grace seemed quite worried.”

“Worried…?”

He was probably just being cautious in case Michael caused trouble.

I thought lightly of it and smiled—until.

“Starting today, the number of staff assigned to the east wing will be doubled. A select squad from the Norhart Knights will be designated as your personal guards. Additionally, the corridors connecting the Crown Prince’s annex to the east wing and your private garden will be completely sealed off.”