Nicerion of the north was the most dangerous yet fascinating vassal since Lamuah became an empire. He belonged to the empire but wasn’t devoted to the emperor. There had been few emperors who had completely controlled the north so far. Sometimes the greatest rival threatening the imperial family, sometimes the most reliable ally. Wasn’t there a way to recruit him?

The crown prince groaned and leaned back against his chair, then suddenly fixed his eyes on the booklet the grand duke was examining.

“By the way, what are you doing now?”

“I’m choosing a gift.”

“Oh, for whom?”

That grand duke made of ice talking about gifts. It must be for that lady. The crown prince, who had been about to tease mischievously, decided to step back at the grand duke’s fierce gaze. If he said one more word about the ‘mysterious Miss Victoire,’ he truly seemed ready to kick him out.

The crown prince, strongly insisting as a married man that he was helping, slyly approached and glanced at the booklet, then made a disgusted expression.

“Surely I didn’t mishear ‘bribe’ as ‘gift’?”

“……Is there some problem?”

Generally, when giving gifts to women in romantic relationships, wouldn’t one think of accessories, flowers, or sweet treats?

“Who gives fine art to a lady!”

Grand Duke Nicerion tilted his head.

“Ah, I wanted to give her the most expensive and precious thing. What do you think of this painting?”

This was even a posthumous work by the renowned court painter Sir Hubert. Among collectors, it would be worth whatever price was called, but he didn’t know how it was acquired and brazenly listed in the catalog. The crown prince’s pupils shook at the terrible hybrid created by combining near-zero experience with women, racehorse-like drive, and unlimited wealth.

“Listen well. Originally, gifts between men and women getting to know each other should start with things that aren’t burdensome.”

Grand Duke Nicerion frowned, but when the crown prince shared his experience of how he had courted the crown princess, he reluctantly began to listen. In fact, the crown prince had been quite a player in social circles before settling with the crown princess.

“Now, gifts for the lady should be small but able to show your sincerity. Things like flowers, seasonal fruits, or sweet fruit wine. Especially, listen carefully to every word she says without missing anything, then remember and apply it later. When my Diane said she missed Andrette, I searched the entire empire and obtained a basket of Elaberry fruits that only grow in Andrette and offered it to her. How delighted she was!”

“Edible things disappear, don’t they?”

At the grand duke’s blunt words, the crown prince clicked his tongue.

“You don’t know anything. How effective food is! Even between political enemies, doesn’t the atmosphere loosen a bit when dining together? If you prepare something precious and delicious enough to be unburdensome and share it with her one by one, affection that wasn’t there before will spring up in the process.”

“Hmm, that sounds reasonable. Then I should go with wine.”

When the grand duke nodded as if convinced, the crown prince inwardly sighed in relief. He had prevented a national treasure-level fine art piece from going to some unknown woman.

“Yes, wine would be unburdensome and good.”

***

This man had completely misunderstood the point.

When she said she wanted to live quietly, it was meant as a refusal. Probably if she grabbed a hundred people passing by and asked them, they would understand it according to her intention.

But what kind of paradigm-overturning novel interpretation was this? Her head was spinning.

“……When did you arrive in the imperial capital?”

At her awkward change of subject, he smiled faintly. While listening to him answer that it hadn’t been long, she rolled her eyes around to gauge the timing to escape.

“I see. Then, excuse me. It’s gotten late, so I’ll be going now.”

The moment she tried to leave the balcony, he suddenly knelt down on one knee. Startled, she looked down at him, and he was looking up at her with an appealing face.

“I listened to your words. Couldn’t you spare me just a little time too?”

Was this really the protagonist of rumors who was sweeping through battlefields? He was just like a pitiful large dog. The moment she met his amethyst-like pupils beneath slightly trembling long eyelashes, she hesitated without knowing it.

“Even just a few hours would be good. On this founding festival night, I would truly be delighted if you would grant me your time.”

Alcohol throughout her brain, the handsome man before her eyes, and the forlorn atmosphere that made her want to comfort him immediately. It was truly a destructive combination. She frantically scanned the room. The empty room only had a gambling table and a few wine glasses scattered about. Actually, if she wanted to escape, now when no one was around was the right time.

Then, the Grand Ernestine Royal 1660 bottle sitting prominently on the table caught her eye.

Ah.

If she just left after receiving and consuming even Grand Ernestine Royal 1660, would she become a freeloader? If that happened, as someone who knew the value of wine, her conscience would ache considerably.

In her past life during her ignorant and innocent high school days, her homeroom teacher had suddenly asked a question during evening study hall.

“Hey, do you kids know what the worst flower in the world is?”

To us who named all sorts of flowers like carnivorous plants, Venus flytraps, Rafflesia, etc., the teacher said this.

“It’s not chrysanthemums or cotton, but self-rationalization, you brats.”

Regardless of the classroom atmosphere that became awkward at the 1988-style wordplay, the teacher stubbornly continued. The teacher developed an argument about how not self-rationalizing and making efforts would help their future path, but if they had listened to and practiced that, they wouldn’t have been hot-blooded Korean high school girls.

Despite the teacher’s sincere advice that became flesh and blood, under the irresponsible attitude that tomorrow’s me would take care of cleaning up today’s mess, self-rationalization continued.

I can study tomorrow too, but if I don’t go to my bias’s music show today, I can’t go at all; I’m strong in actual situations, so I don’t need to study for mock exams; I’m on a diet, but I’ll eat just until today and start exercising from tomorrow, etc. If all the numerous self-rationalizations had been real flowers, she would have been a floriculture farm owner.

And today in her current life, another bouquet of self-rationalization flowers was being created.

“Just three hours.”

She couldn’t wipe her mouth clean after greedily receiving wine worth the value of diamonds. It would be something she couldn’t do as a member of Levizet either. Not paying a fair price for good wine? Ancestor Albrecht, who was called the wine marquis, would kick open his coffin lid and jump out.

It absolutely wasn’t because she felt regretful about just sending this man away. While rationalizing internally, she placed her hand on the grand duke’s arm and walked out from the balcony.

‘If you don’t want to get entangled with the original male lead, run away now, you fool.’

A small voice was heard in her head.

‘What you’re doing now is all cowardly rationalization.’

Ah, damn it. The reason that had been suppressed by intoxication awakened. Sticky hesitation clung to her moving steps and grabbed her ankles. When she hesitated in front of the door, Grand Duke Nicerion asked puzzledly.

“Is there some problem?”

“……”

She couldn’t carelessly open her mouth. What should she say?

Actually, I know the future, and you’re destined to fall in love with my new sister-in-law, and I’m a villain, so it might look a bit strange if we hang out together.

Ah, this really won’t do. No matter how much Grand Duke Nicerion had goodwill toward her, if he heard such words, he would obviously treat her as a crazy person.

Whether he interpreted her silence as something else, the grand duke’s face hardened.

It was like the expression a nephew would make when he showed his utmost charm in front of a long-unseen adult relative but noticed that he had no pocket money to give. If he had ears, they would have drooped down.

Ah, what am I thinking? I’m having all sorts of frivolous thoughts. Get it together, Alix Levizet! While performing several rounds of mental self-slapping, Grand Duke Nicerion suddenly asked.

“Is it still burdensome?”

“Pardon?”

Not understanding momentarily, she blinked, and he put the mask he had been holding back on his face. The mask cast over his clear face like an eclipse. After putting on the golden wig again too, he transformed into the gentleman of unknown identity from when they first met.

“How about this? According to masquerade ball rules, today won’t be a meeting between Mademoiselle Levizet and Grand Duke Nicerion, but an escapade between a rose fairy and a nameless prince.”

She stared at him blankly.

“Then……”

“Officially, Mademoiselle Levizet and Grand Duke Nicerion never met on this day.”

It was an indulgence as sweet as sugar.

Wouldn’t this level be okay? If she finished this short dream-like escapade and returned directly to daily life… No one remembers dreams they had during naps. After a brief hesitation, she took his outstretched hand again.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you, Your Grace.”

“Lysander.”

“Pardon?”

“I told you, didn’t I? Today there are no Grand Duke Nicerion and Mademoiselle Levizet here.”

Laughter was buried in the end of his words.

“Right now, it’s Alix and Lysander.”

“……Lysander.”

She uttered the short syllables. The airflow sound created by her tongue tip brushing against her alveolar ridge felt somehow ticklish.

“It’s an honor, Alix.”

The grand duke, no, Lysander smiled brightly.

The streets of the imperial capital Fadesa were truly a city that never slept.

Though it was dawn, the streets were packed with people. Street musicians were still playing lively music, men and women were dancing in pairs on impromptu dance floors, and the charcoal fires of street vendors grilling something unknown hadn’t gone out.

Well, after the founding festival ended, Lent commemorating the saint’s passion would soon come, and for people wanting to play to their heart’s content before Lent when they had to purify body and mind and practice abstinence, the founding festival was truly the perfect time. How could they waste this time when every hour was like gold by just sleeping because it was night?