Short golden hair that looked as though it had been cut carelessly, with a sword hanging at the hip.

The height was not particularly small, but standing among the solidly built knights, the figure certainly appeared slight. The lines were slender overall, to the point that it was almost laughable how Ahin had failed to notice that Claudia was a woman, even with her wearing a knight’s uniform instead of a dress.

‘Does Ahin have knotholes for eyes?’

Around the time the war broke out and one able-bodied man was conscripted from each household, Claudia’s father had fallen ill, and her younger brother was far too young.

Those who sent no one to war were required to pay heavy taxes. Given their impoverished circumstances, Claudia, who was the head of the household, ultimately disguised herself as a man and went off to war.

‘Even so, she looks nothing like me.’

Sierra stared at Claudia and thought to herself.

Though she was no longer alive now, around the time the Duchess of Kepla had given birth to a daughter, the wet nurse of the ducal household had also given birth to a daughter.

The two children born on the same day were worlds apart in social standing, yet in terms of appearance, they shared a fair resemblance.

The Duke and Duchess of Kepla both had golden hair and blue eyes, and their daughter Claudia was the spitting image of them in that regard.

The wet nurse’s daughter had also been born inheriting her golden hair and blue eyes.

And this was where the tragedy began.

No, for Sierra, who had been the wet nurse’s daughter, it had been a stroke of luck, however brief.

She had been given the chance to live, for a time, as the young lady of the Kepla Duchy, and then for another stretch as Ahin’s wife and the Duchess of Valdevern.

Out of the selfish desire to raise her own daughter in comfort, the wet nurse secretly switched the children.

It was done with shocking simplicity, merely by placing the lace ribbon from the noble girl’s hair onto her own daughter’s head.

It would have been wonderfully convenient if the two children had simply grown up with their identities swapped and that had been the end of it, but……

Afterward, the switched identities were exposed, and the Sierra of the original story lost both her husband and her noble status in a single moment.

Having been raised in privilege as the young lady of the Kepla Duchy and having lived as the Duchess of Valdevern, what became of Sierra’s remaining years? Did she truly manage to care well for her ailing father and young brother and live happily?

Of course not.

Sierra, who had reigned as the highest-ranking person in the empire after the imperial family, could not forget her past glory and clung desperately to Ahin.

Had that been all, she might have been able to lean on the goodwill built between them over the years.

But the Sierra of the original story cursed Claudia, who had taken everything from her overnight, and sought to harm her.

‘As a result, the Sierra of the original story met an ending of exile from the country.’

Ahin attempts to k*ll Sierra for trying to harm Claudia, but Claudia prevents him from doing so.

One might think the original heroine has a truly beautiful heart, but that would be a misreading of the situation.

Sierra, who had spent her entire life living in luxury as a noblewoman, was stripped of that status and driven out to a foreign land as a commoner, so the ending was naturally far from good.

To the point where dying at Ahin’s hands might have been preferable.

‘Even if they look nothing alike now, perhaps they resembled each other just a little when they were newborns.’

No matter how closely she examined the eyes, nose, and mouth, the current Claudia and Sierra bore absolutely no resemblance to one another.

Furthermore, unlike Sierra’s eyes, which carried a subtle and mysterious hue from a slight blend of green and blue, Claudia’s eyes were a perfect, pure blue.

As if to announce that the two of them were of entirely different origins.

—

“I am so relieved that you have returned safely.”

To the butler who was continuously dabbing at his tears, Ahin asked briefly,

“Where is Sierra?”

“Ah, now that you mention it……”

Only then did the butler look around, searching for Sierra.

Sierra, who had been standing at a distance watching the scene, walked with purposeful strides toward Ahin.

“Welcome back, Your Grace.”

Sierra bent her knees slightly in greeting to Ahin. Then she exchanged a glance with the butler and stepped inside the ducal manor.

The butler, along with the other servants, could not help but frown at Sierra’s utterly cold attitude toward her husband, who had just returned from the battlefield.

Yet Ahin’s gaze remained fixed on Sierra’s retreating figure as she walked away, refusing to leave it.

“Your Grace! Please come inside quickly.”

“……Very well.”

Tearing his gaze away from Sierra with some effort, Ahin moved toward the manor and spoke to the butler.

“Prepare a place for the knights to rest and something for them to eat.”

“I shall see to it that they want for nothing.”

At the butler’s signal, the servants moved in perfect unison.

Since the knights had contributed greatly to leading this war to victory, just as Ahin had, the eyes of the ducal household’s servants as they looked upon them were filled with respect and admiration.

“And a bath as well.”

Saying that, Ahin made his way toward his bedchamber.

He quickly stripped off his soiled clothes and armor and headed straight to the bathing room.

Sinking his body deep into the tub filled with hot water, the reality of it all finally sank in anew. The war was over, and he had come home.

Ahin leaned his head back against the edge of the tub and let his eyes slowly close.

He no longer needed to lose sleep wondering when the enemy might attack. This would ensure peace for at least a few years.

If Sierra was willing, it would not be a bad idea to think about securing an heir and finding some stability.

Having thought that far, the corners of Ahin’s eyes flushed a faint red.

Over the past two years, just as Ahin had grown, Sierra had become a proper young lady. Far more beautiful than he had seen in his dreams, more than he had imagined……

Yet the gaze of a wife looking upon a husband who had returned alive from the battlefield had seemed rather cold.

“……”

Ahin deliberately pushed the thought away. Hoping it was nothing more than excessive worry.

—

As if in celebration of the war’s end, smiles were spread across the faces of the knights.

Warm food made from fresh ingredients and the finest wine.

The table of the Valdevern Duchy was abundantly generous, and the manor was filled with a warm and comfortable air. The victory banquet continued in that cheerful atmosphere, yet Ahin’s expression was not particularly pleasant.

“Where is Sierra?”

Ahin asked, scanning the row of knights.

“Ah, well, that is……”

The butler scratched his forehead with an uncomfortable look.

“Where is she?”

“……She will likely be in her bedchamber.”

There was no elder in the Valdevern Duchy who would give Sierra a firm word even when she acted as she pleased.

“That figures.”

As Ahin furrowed his handsome brow and lifted his wine glass, the butler spoke.

“As you can see, Your Grace has grown into a fine and dignified Duke of Valdevern.”

Ahin understood the implication, that he should say a firm word to Sierra himself.

“I will handle that myself.”

At Ahin’s warning gaze, the butler quickly bent at the waist.

“I spoke out of turn.”

Ahin headed straight for Sierra’s bedchamber.

He had not expected a passionate kiss or an embrace.

But he had at least expected her to offer some token words to a husband who had returned alive from the battlefield.

Something like, you must have had a hard time of it, or congratulations on returning safely……

Ahin was climbing the last step with his face set in a rigid expression when the bedchamber door opened.

Two maids carrying large travel bags walked out from inside. Upon encountering Ahin, the maids stepped aside and bowed.

Shortly after, Sierra walked out of the bedchamber.

At the sight of her wearing a large hat and gloves that reached up to her elbows, Ahin let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha……”

Was she planning to attend a ball at this hour of the night? Or was she intending to appear at the banquet hall dressed like that?

“You are late.”

Sierra looked at Ahin and blinked for a moment.

Her eyes were full of puzzlement as to why the guest of honor of tonight’s banquet was standing here. But she soon opened her mouth with an expression that seemed to say, well, what does it matter.

“Ah…… this is actually convenient. Do you have a moment? There is something I would like to say to you.”

“Go ahead.”

Ahin gave a small nod as if to say, if you have something to say, then say it.

“It is a bit awkward to talk here…… would you come inside for a moment?”

Sierra gestured with her eyes toward the interior of the bedchamber.

“……Inside?”

“Yes.”

Her expression was that of someone wondering if there was a problem.

‘Inviting a man into a lady’s bedchamber at this hour of the night?’

He wondered if she was in her right mind.

But then he realized that in this entire world, the only man permitted to enter Sierra’s bedchamber was her husband, himself.

“Very well.”

Ahin looked around Sierra’s bedchamber once. The interior decor, which had always carried a precocious quality for someone her age, remained the same, and it was not greatly different from what he remembered.

But the moment he stepped inside the bedchamber, the faint, sweet personal scent that drifted toward him was different from before.

Ahin’s gaze lingered on the bed for a moment. The place where Sierra always slept……

Ahin deliberately cleared his throat with a quiet ahem and drew his brows together.

“What is it you wanted to say.”

“Before that……”

Sierra dropped her gaze for a moment as though choosing her words, then looked up at Ahin.

“Both you and I are adults now, are we not?”

“……”

Adults. Why bring up that particular word? And in a bedchamber where the two of them were alone, no less?

“……!”

A bolt of sudden realization struck Ahin as he tried to read Sierra’s intention.

‘So she means to have an heir after all.’

Ahin and Sierra had married far too young, and having lived together in the Valdevern Duchy since childhood, they had grown up more like friends, or perhaps siblings.

Because of that, despite being husband and wife in name, they were not at all like a married couple in practice.

Before coming of age, they had been separated when he left for the battlefield. So it seemed she was now suggesting they have a child.