Claude’s daily routine hadn’t changed much since returning as a hero after his outstanding achievements in the frontier war.

Dawn training, breakfast followed by morning training, lunch followed by afternoon training, dinner followed by training until late at night… His life essentially began and ended with training.

“Captain, shouldn’t you rest your body too?”

“Muscles deteriorate while resting.”

“If they’re overworked like this, even existing muscles will run away!”

He forced his opinions on his men, letting their complaints about exhaustion go in one ear and out the other.

“I bought plenty of recovery potions, so speak up if you’re struggling!”

“Captain, that’s too harsh!”

Although they had returned victorious from war, there was no guarantee how long peace would last, so they needed to prepare for war even during peacetime. Due to Claude’s rigid and inflexible thinking, his subordinates were suffering.

“Choose whether you want to train after drinking the potion or train without it.”

“Fine, I’ll drink it.”

Just as his men said, excessive training could destroy muscles, so no matter how much he insisted, extended training sessions weren’t feasible. Yet, these prolonged training sessions were possible thanks to the potions purchased from the shop.

When Claude heard about a mage who made exceptional recovery potions, he didn’t fully believe it.

“Come on, trust me just this once. You won’t regret it.”

Persuaded by his friend’s enthusiastic recommendation, he went to buy one with slight skepticism but was amazed by the potion’s miraculous recovery abilities. He almost regretted not knowing about the shop sooner.

“Whoever you are, just wait until I catch you! I’ll kill the mage who made these potions.”

Naturally, the resentment of the men who had to endure hellish training after consuming the recovery potions was directed toward the mage, but that was none of Claude’s concern. He only cared about the potion’s effectiveness, nothing else.

After training thoroughly with his grumbling men until late at night, he finally returned home to find his father, Marquis Usta, waiting for him at the door seemingly having anticipated his arrival.

“Why were you waiting for me?”

Claude asked in a blunt tone.

The Marquis had never waited at the door like this except for the day Claude returned victorious from war. So him waiting again clearly indicated he had something urgent to discuss.

“You leave early in the morning and return late in the evening, and even after coming home, you go straight to the training grounds saying you need to train alone. When do I have time to talk with you? The only way to have a conversation is to wait for your return time.”

The Marquis’s face was full of discontent as he grumbled.

“Then please speak.”

“You want me to talk here? Good grief. Follow me right now.”

Thinking it absurd that his son seemed to consider the conversation location unimportant when they might have significant matters to discuss, the Marquis clicked his tongue and headed to his office, with Claude following behind.

“Do you see that?”

Marquis Usta asked while opening the office door. At the end of his gaze were letters piled high on the desk.

“Yes, I see them.”

Claude looked at his father with an expression that seemed to say, “So what?”

What an insolent child! Though it was his own son, the Marquis let out a small sigh over his excessively stubborn child.

“Isn’t it about time you got married? Those letters are from families of young ladies who want to marry you.”

Marriage…

Though he was well past marriageable age, Claude had never seriously thought about marriage. So his gaze at the letters contained no emotion.

“I’m not interested.”

“Saying you’re not interested without even checking who sent them… Isn’t this your business!”

Angered by his son’s complete indifference, the Marquis barely restrained himself from collapsing and spoke again.

“Do you have someone in mind? Are you rejecting all these letters from noblewomen because there’s a woman you like?”

The Marquis was prepared to step back if his son already had someone he cared for.

“No, I don’t.”

Contrary to the Marquis’s thoughts, Claude didn’t have a woman he liked.

How could he? His mind was entirely focused on building strength.

Claude’s purpose in building strength was far from the wholesome desire to maintain the empire’s peace. He simply wanted to show off his power.

Becoming a war hero was related to this. He went to the battlefield because he wanted to confirm and display how much strength he had built. Of course, returning victorious was just a bonus.

With his mind completely filled with thoughts of how to become stronger, he had no interest in the opposite s*x. No matter how beautiful a woman approached him, in his eyes, she was just a stone.

“Then that’s fortunate. I have a woman in mind. Marry her.”

Marquis Usta said with a sigh of relief.

“No.”

Claude answered immediately without a moment’s hesitation.

“What? Didn’t you say you don’t have a woman you like?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you want to get married?”

“From the way you said ‘her,’ she seems to be a high-ranking noblewoman, so I don’t like it.”

“Why don’t you like it?”

The Marquis asked in a calm voice, barely containing his anger.

“I just don’t like high-ranking women.”

“…”

Marrying into a high-ranking family would bring glory to our house, but what nonsense is he talking about…

The Marquis felt his insides burning black, knowing that once Claude became stubborn, he wouldn’t back down at all.

“Then how about this lady?”

The angry Marquis strode to the desk, picked up a random letter, and asked.

Claude took the letter, didn’t even read its contents, and immediately threw it to the floor. The letter fluttered briefly in the light breeze before dropping with a thud.

“No.”

Claude answered without even glancing at the fallen letter.

“Why don’t you like this lady?”

The Marquis asked, fixing his gaze on the letter on the floor.

“I don’t like the family name.”

“…”

The Marquis clenched his molars, furious at his son who was making excuses using the family name.

Who wouldn’t know he’s just making any excuse because he doesn’t want to get married?

“If you reject everything, I’ll proceed with the marriage according to my wishes. She’ll be my daughter-in-law, so I’ll choose someone I like. Remember that!”

Blood vessels bulged at his temples as he raised his voice in anger.

“No.”

Claude answered firmly.

“What do you mean, no!”

“It’s my marriage, not yours, Father. Why are you suddenly trying to proceed with a marriage when I’ve said I don’t want it?”

“Imperial Princess Natalie wants to marry you. It’s a truly great opportunity. She’s already sent a gift, so don’t think about rejecting it.”

“If you want to marry the Imperial Princess so badly, why don’t you do it yourself, Father!”

“Yes, I understand… What?”

The Marquis’s eyes widened as the absurd words reached his ears.

“You crazy fool, talk sense! Your mother in heaven would be wailing. You ungrateful child!”

The Marquis’s wife had been naturally weak, and after giving birth to Claude, she gradually became ill and passed away when he was seven years old.

Afterward, the Marquis had missed his wife so much he nearly left the world himself, but he eventually managed to overcome his grief. Now this troublesome son was reopening his wounds.

Ugh. Feeling that further conversation would only give him a headache, the Marquis stopped the discussion. Instead, he decided to proceed with the marriage on his own, knowing his son would never listen.

‘Just you wait. I’ll definitely make you marry the Imperial Princess!’

Everyone knew that Imperial Princess Natalie was deeply infatuated with Claude, but since he hadn’t shown any reaction until now, the Marquis had simply heard the rumors with a pleased heart.

But now that a letter had come from the imperial family, the situation had changed. The Emperor would also want his beloved daughter to marry according to her wishes, so he needed to use this opportunity.

That boy wouldn’t be able to refuse once the Emperor’s order came down, so although it was cowardly, it seemed better to use the imperial command as an excuse to create a connection with the imperial family.

“Tsk.”

Claude looked at his father’s expression with displeasure, suspecting he was plotting something, and promptly left the office.

Seeing how determined he was to force a marriage, it seemed the Imperial Princess Natalie was quite appealing to him.

Imperial Princess Natalie… From what he remembered, the Emperor had two daughters. And the only one he had actually met was Imperial Princess Natalie.