Diana stared at the snacks and carefully reached out her hand, like the beautiful scene would shatter into pieces the moment she touched it. Calliope sipped his beer instead of eating the snacks while glancing at Diana’s complexion.

The sadness seemed much diminished from yesterday, but hollow fatigue had taken its place. The hand resting on his thigh twitched involuntarily, seemingly about to reach toward Diana’s face at any moment.

Calliope clenched his fist and asked Diana a question in a calm tone.

“You look very tired. Is it because of the wedding preparations?”

“No. The memorial service preparations are more urgent…”

“Memorial service?”

When Calliope slightly furrowed his brow and asked back, Diana lowered her eyes apologetically. Perhaps because the wounds from what the previous Marquis and his wife had done to her still remained, her shoulders kept shrinking.

It had only been about two days since she came to the past after living a life of being criticized from one to ten. In a way, it was natural that Diana’s withdrawn appearance still remained.

Diana felt pathetic and ashamed of herself for constantly lowering her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Seeing Diana like this, Calliope’s face became even colder. Strangely, he didn’t like seeing her intimidated appearance.

“Diana, look at me.”

“I thought it would be difficult for me to participate in the memorial if we held it after the wedding, so I was a bit stubborn. If you find it unpleasant—”

“No, quite the opposite. As you know, I’m someone who wields a sword before being a noble. I was actually feeling heavy-hearted about having to postpone the memorial and prepare for the wedding first, but hearing that you’ve prepared a memorial service…”

Calliope gently interrupted her words. At the same time, he reached out and softly grasped Diana’s hand that was on the table. There were ink stains and marks from holding a quill pen on her hand, showing how much work she had done.

His hand slowly stroked over her ink-stained fingers. Diana’s body instinctively stiffened. She had the illusion that heat was rising wherever he touched.

“I’ll participate too, Diana.”

“You will, Marquis?”

“These are people who trusted me and fought on the battlefield. Of course I should participate too.”

Diana smiled sorrowfully with the corners of her eyes drooping. Though it was clearly a positive smile, it was an expression that made the viewer’s heart ache. Diana recalled the past—the reason she couldn’t help but love Calliope. That’s the kind of person Calliope was.

“You’re looking at me with those eyes again.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize.”

Diana hurriedly composed her expression and pulled out her caught hand to pick up a skewer with grilled vegetables. Calliope looked at his own hand with a slightly strange expression at the suddenly withdrawn warmth.

The meal was quiet. Having learned noble etiquette, not even the sound of clinking could be heard. Calliope occasionally only touched the beer to his lips and stared intently at Diana eating.

“Doesn’t it suit your taste, Marquis? I’m sorry for selfishly suggesting we come here.”

“Not at all. I like this place too. I sometimes came here with friends to catch up after victory celebrations.”

“…Here?”

Diana’s eyes widened in surprise. Come to think of it, how did Calliope know about this small tavern inside Count Cloud’s territory? It was a question she had never been able to ask in the past.

Calliope avoided her gaze and awkwardly stabbed his fork into the finely chopped chicken snack. His head tilted slightly and his flowing silver hair sparkled like ripples under the light.

Diana was too busy admiring Calliope’s youthful face to notice that his earlobes were tinged slightly red.

“The Cloud Count family is close to the capital, so it’s a good place to stop by.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

Diana let out an awkward laugh. The meal with Calliope wasn’t particularly awkward, but returning to the past brought a strange awkwardness like when they first met.

“What do you think about this marriage, Marquis?”

Diana, having filled her stomach, propped her chin and casually asked while looking around the interior of the shop with its cozy lighting. Calliope had also finished a fairly satisfying meal and was wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“I’m very pleased with it.”

“Actually, I am too. With you, Marquis.”

“With me?”

“I’ve been thinking favorably of you. From long ago, even when I only heard news from afar.”

Diana deliberately swallowed back the words that she had loved him. It was too early now. She had been loving Calliope for ten years and still loved him now, but he didn’t.

To him, she was just a Count’s daughter he had met twice who wasn’t bad. Even though it was a natural fact, it left a bitter taste.

“That’s fortunate. I thought you were afraid of me.”

“Why would I be?”

“I know what everyone thinks of me. Besides, wasn’t the first time you saw me when I was armed in armor?”

Good heavens. He had no idea at all. Why else would all those crowds have swarmed to that triumphal arch? From what she heard in the past, he received an enormous number of marriage proposals—far more than a frontier Marquis in charge of the desolate western border should receive.

Yet he thought women would fear him just because he was armed in armor.

“You need to see yourself objectively, Marquis.”

“My appearance?”

“Yes. You’re someone whose face would shine even if covered in blood. Um, and I’m curious about something too.”

“Please speak.”

Diana hesitated a bit before asking a question she had never been able to ask.

“Why exactly did you choose our Cloud Count family, Marquis? As the hero of this war, you must have received many proposals from other good families.”

Calliope thought for a moment before giving an answer in an unselfish, calm tone.

“There was no better family. And Diana, there’s a misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

“I didn’t propose to the Cloud Count family—I proposed to you, Diana.”

How could he say such things without batting an eye? Diana kept drinking the innocent water on the table to cool her heating face. But the heat wouldn’t subside.

Had he been like this ten years ago too? The memory was too old to recall properly. Her first impression was that he was a bit more cold and distant, but the problem was that after living through ten years, he didn’t feel that way.

Diana unnecessarily rubbed her chest area with her hand.

“I can only be grateful that you say such things.”

“I spoke the truth. Since we’ve finished eating, shall we look around the streets?”

Diana placed her hand on Calliope’s arm and toured the market. When Diana returned from touring the market, a small bracelet hung on her wrist.

The carriage smoothly stopped in front of the castle gate, and Diana bid Calliope a reluctant farewell. When the carriage disappeared from view, Bell, who had been waiting at the gate, came running out to greet her.

“Miss! What’s that bracelet? Don’t tell me the Marquis gave it to you?”

Bell discovered the bracelet and smiled contentedly. She had been a bit worried since it was an arranged marriage, but seeing that they had even toured the market today, it seemed she could be relieved.

But Diana couldn’t smile.

“Bell, I want to rest. Let’s go in.”

Remembering when she received this bracelet still made her blood run cold.

* * *

While touring the market, Diana discovered a stall with a shabby tent precariously set up.

“Excuse me, may I help you set up the tent again?”

At Diana’s polite question, a small person wearing a hood came out from inside the tent. The figure hunched over with a cane resembled an old woman, but somehow the face glimpsed under the hood looked young.

“Thank you.”

Diana forgot she was wearing a dress and lifted the tent support to install it properly. The problem was that the very top needed to interlock but was loose. Diana untied the ribbon that had been around her wrist and used it to firmly secure the interlocking point of the supports.

“There, now it’s done. Well then.”

“Miss, may I read your fortune as my thanks?”

“Of course.”

Diana readily nodded. The old woman reached out and placed her hand on Diana’s forehead.

“Strong desires can make anything come true.”

The old woman removed her hand from the forehead.

“This life was obtained entirely by your own will. Protect it. Even if your life isn’t too precious to give up.”

It was a young woman’s voice, not the old woman’s voice. However, neither Diana nor Calliope noticed this. The words she spoke were too shocking to question her voice.

Calliope also had no mental capacity to listen to the voice as severe headaches struck him like lightning upon seeing the rare purple eyes staring piercingly at him from under the hood.

“Here, this is an amulet that wards off bad luck. Do you need it?”

While Diana stared blankly at only the old woman with wide eyes, a gold coin suddenly appeared.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll go inside now.”

With that, the old woman quickly took the gold coin Calliope offered, placed the bracelet on Diana’s palm, and disappeared into the tent. Calliope carefully took the wrist of Diana, who was still standing dazedly, and put the bracelet on her.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was thinking of something else for a moment…”

Diana, who had suddenly come to her senses, covered her mouth with the back of her hand and made a troubled expression. Only then did Diana notice the bracelet was on and looked up at Calliope with eyes demanding an explanation.

“She said it wards off bad luck, so I hope you’ll keep it with you.”

“Thank you. I’ll definitely carry it with me.”

Diana smiled faintly and examined the bracelet on her arm. It was shaped like purple round gems threaded on a string. There was small writing on the knot, and Diana gasped in surprise when she saw it.

“What’s wrong?”

“Look at this!”

The knot decoration had ‘Barbara’ written on it. Calliope also seemed quite interested as he bent down to examine the bracelet knot closely, which brought them much closer together.

“It really does. If it’s true, this might really be an effective bracelet.”

“How mysterious.”