Empress Patricia threw the wine glass she had been holding onto the floor.

As glass shards flew in all directions, the nobles nearby screamed.

“Kenneth…”

The Empress’s gaze, calling Cain’s name in a sinister voice, reached us.

“Demian. How could you… You finally betrayed me…!”

Demian hid me behind him and said nothing.

It was Cain who quickly took control of the situation.

“Mother seems quite distressed. I should escort her back to her quarters.”

Cain called the imperial guards to personally escort Empress Patricia.

Of course, she struggled not to be dragged away, repeatedly calling for Demian.

Demian’s younger sibling, who was nearby, firmly grasped the hem of my dress.

I tightly held the hand of the child who was trembling with fear.

Eventually, after Empress Patricia disappeared and silence settled over the banquet hall, Cain spoke again.

“Now that the commotion has subsided, let me continue what I was saying.”

Cain continued with his prepared speech without any particular agitation, as if he had anticipated the Empress’s outburst. He spoke about his ascension to the throne.

***

After the banquet, I got into a carriage with Demian.

Demian was smiling, seemingly having forgotten about the commotion at the banquet.

“You knew everything when you invited me to the banquet? And this was the news?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve been busy working to get my brother on the throne as quickly as possible. I persuaded Father and the ministers. Although Father is aging, he is not going to pass away tomorrow.”

Demian loosely held my hand and continued.

“It’s unfortunate for Mother, but she will be confined until my brother’s position on the throne stabilizes and her anger subsides. Of course, as promised, we won’t touch anything that belongs to her.”

It was such a clear conclusion.

So clear that the time he spent as a fugitive, unable to resist his mother’s forceful persuasion, seemed incomprehensible.

At that moment, Demian spoke, perfectly capturing my thoughts.

“It was remarkable progress. Honestly, I didn’t expect things to work out this well. It’s all thanks to you.”

“…Me? But I didn’t do anything.”

“No. Because of you, I didn’t run away. The fact that I could reach the outcome I wanted without running away is so moving.”

“But Demian. If it gets too hard, you can run away again. Whether you’re a fugitive or become poor, I’ll love you unchangingly.”

I must have gotten a little drunk from the wine at the banquet.

I was able to speak much more honestly than usual.

“Yerena. I feel the same way.”

Demian quietly embraced me and continued speaking.

“Now I’m a free person. I can live outside the palace. That’s what I negotiated with my brother. Of course, I haven’t given up my status as a prince like before, so I can still protect Yerena.”

“So now you’ll spend more time as a guildmaster than as a prince?”

“Yes. Since it would be difficult to raise our children if we become poor, I’ll work hard to earn money with my own strength.”

“W-what are you saying! Children…”

I could hear Demian chuckling slyly after casually mentioning children.

“I’d like a child who resembles Yerena.”

“…Tsk. I’d prefer a child who resembles Demian.”

“I feel like I can finally breathe.”

He was speaking like someone who couldn’t breathe properly in the palace.

“I thought I would die from suffocation without you each day.”

“I also… thought I would die from missing you.”

Demian slightly pulled away from his light embrace and looked directly at my face.

“Are you seducing me now?”

“What if I am?”

What followed was a deep kiss.

Demian pressed against me, completely forgetting about the coachman’s presence.

The carriage rattled, and my body, suddenly lying down on the carriage seat, flinched whenever his hands touched me.

It felt like my dress might come off right there in the carriage.

I pushed away Demian’s face, which was sucking on my neck like a delicious candy.

“Haa… De-Demian. Are you thinking of doing this in the c-carriage?”

“You’re so beautiful and lovely that I simply can’t leave you alone.”

“…We’ll arrive soon. Let’s continue there.”

Demian reluctantly exhaled with a “huff.”

That breath was filled with heat.

***

As soon as we returned to my quarters, we desired each other like novices making love for the first time.

By the time our multiple rounds of lovemaking ended, we were almost in a state of exhaustion. I didn’t even have the energy to drink water.

With a slightly hoarse voice, I mentioned Bless, who wasn’t here.

“It’s fortunate that Bless went out. If he had accidentally seen us like this…”

It was something I didn’t even want to imagine.

Bless still pecked at Demian whenever I was with him. He clearly wanted me to be with him more.

But what was different from before was that he trusted Demian and went off to do his own work.

Additionally, he tactfully left us alone on days like today.

“Haha. Maybe we should make a sign. How about ‘Important business in progress, Bless, please wait outside’?”

“It sounds ridiculous, but strangely appealing.”

“Someday you might promote the idea more actively.”

“I wonder.”

Sprawled on the bed, we looked at each other’s faces and giggled.

It was a problem that even this absurd conversation was funny and enjoyable.

They say everything is enjoyable with someone you love… That seemed to be the case for me.

Following my train of thought, I said to him.

“Shall we live together?”

After saying it, I realized it sounded like a marriage proposal, and my face burned.

Although I was embarrassed, I was curious about Demian’s reaction and couldn’t take my eyes off his face.

Demian had a somewhat strange expression. He didn’t appear happy about my proposal.

Who was it that had casually mentioned children in the carriage, yet made such an expression at the suggestion of living together?

I was about to feel hurt by Demian.

“….”

Far from comforting me, Demian even got off the bed and started fiddling with his jacket.

I sat up abruptly in bed and shouted at him.

“Demian, how could you do this to me…!”

I stopped shouting impatiently because Demian knelt on one knee in front of the bed.

“I wanted to be the first to suggest living together, but you beat me to it.”

“What?”

Only then did I discover what Demian was holding in his hand.

It was a ring case.

“Since this is my first time doing something like this, I might be a bit clumsy, but I had a feeling that if I stayed still, Yerena would propose first.”

Demian opened the case and held out the ring inside toward me.

“Yerena, will you marry me?”

He was proposing to me with the most splendid smile in the world.

When did he prepare a ring?

Since when had he been waiting for the opportunity to propose?

My heart was racing, making my previous hurt feelings seem foolish.

Love was what I wanted most since becoming Yerena.

The fruit of that love was unfolding before my eyes now.

There was no reason to hesitate or measure.

I honestly accepted the ring he had prepared, following what my heart told me.

The ring fit perfectly on the ring finger of my left hand.

“Let’s get married. Even tomorrow if possible.”

If I married him, I could see his face every day, always eat meals together, and always share the same bed.

It was a wonderful thing just to imagine.

“Yerena, thank you for accepting the ring.”

“No need to thank me. I accepted it because I love you. I should be thanking you for preparing something like this.”

I embraced Demian.

Then I pointed out something he hadn’t thought of.

“By the way, Demian.”

“Yes?”

“Do you realize something?”

“Was there a problem with my proposal?”

“…You proposed to me while n*ked. A proposal made in the n*de. I think I’ll never forget it even after I die.”

“…!”

I could feel Demian’s body trembling in my embrace.

He seemed to have forgotten what state he was in because he was so focused on proposing.

“Ha… Can I do it again?”

“Absolutely not. It was a completely special proposal!”

“Don’t tease me… I feel like I’m dying of embarrassment right now.”

“I don’t know why my man is so lovable and cute.”

“You’ll have to take responsibility for me—lovable, cute, and occasionally peculiar—for the rest of your life.”

I pressed my lips to Demian’s, who had shamelessly acknowledged his own charm.

“You can never escape from me.”

“I’m honored.”

Demian, with a happy face, showered my face with indiscriminate kisses.

“Since it’s still dawn and Bless hasn’t returned yet, may I desire you a bit more?”

It was as if we hadn’t spent the night exploring each other. I answered with the energy of someone completely refreshed.

“I want to be close to you.”

Demian lightly lifted me up and laid me back on the bed.

Feeling his body temperature rising rapidly, I thought about what might happen in our future together forever.

Of course, our future wouldn’t always be smooth.

The three troublemakers and Empress Patricia, who are quiet now, might trouble us again.

But we had already experienced the trials they had given us.

And did we just experience them?

We overcame them splendidly.

We knew how to overcome hardships.

Therefore, no matter what trials came our way, we could be happy without wavering.

“Yerena, I love you sincerely.”

Demian’s voice, whispering love, broke hoarsely.

I quietly gauged how many more love confessions I would receive from Demian in the future.

And rather than worrying about obstacles that hadn’t yet arrived, I decided to love him to my heart’s content.

I decided to sincerely love not only Demian but everything I cherished.

Dawn was breaking.

That blue light looked especially beautiful today. It was as if it was foretelling that our future would be bright and brilliant.

I also whispered my love to him.

“Demian, I’ll love you forever.”

The word “forever” sounded more romantic than ever today.

I’m done being the heroine’s stand-in End

T/N:  And as always, at the end of a story: My unsolicited opinion! After pouring hours into translating this story, I think I’ve earned the right to complain a bit or give some praise. Don’t you agree? (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

I started translating this story when I developed an interest in Guideverse stories. The cover (which misleadingly made me think it was a reverse harem) did the rest. If only past-me had known the disappointing truth…my hopes wouldn’t have been this crushed. (=🝦 ༝ 🝦=)

Since it’s been a while since I translated the first chapters, my aggression toward the 3 Troublemakers has had enough time to subside. I confess I enjoyed the kidnapping story arc more than I probably should have! (˵¯͒〰¯͒˵)

I wouldn’t be opposed to a “What If” story where Yerena gives Benjamin and Lambert a chance. Don’t start going on about how badly they treated Yerena, when there are much worse MLs out there who are basically non-recyclable trash yet still end up with their FL.
Baron is too fixated on Olivia, so he can stay with her.

Speaking of Olivia: A thousand thanks for not falling victim to the “OG FL is evil” plot twist, though I still don’t like her. How she spoke about Benjamin at the end and the insights into the original story were just bad. ̶I̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶o̶p̶e̶ ̶r̶a̶n̶d̶o̶m̶ ̶g̶i̶r̶l̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶s̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶s̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶o̶o̶k̶s̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶b̶e̶l̶o̶v̶e̶d̶ ̶d̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶s̶o̶n̶.̶

The part where Bless was human was somehow a bit awkward. Or was it just me? It felt like the author had planned to use him as a second male lead, but thankfully abandoned the idea.

What was that about Kenneth/Cain and his illness? Why did he keep it secret from Demian? Why did I think for an entire chapter that he was dying soon, based on how it was written? And why on earth didn’t that seem interesting enough to resolve properly instead of being pushed aside in the novel? ⊙▂⊙

And hello?! Why introduce us to cavity-inducing Abel only to have him appear in just 2 chapters?

And then Empress Patricia… are you really sure it’s such a good idea to let her off so easily? I think a little suffering would have done her some good…

But the truly worst part was those final chapters…cries in R15 (┳◡┳)

My conclusion: Despite everything, I still really like this story. And as always, let me know your thoughts about this masterpiece of questionable plot decisions! (⺣◡⺣)♡

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