***

The southern pilgrimage where Raviel first met Shailyn was, in fact, something Raviel hadn’t wanted.

It wasn’t a pilgrimage but a process to secretly confirm the effects of repeated experiments, and he had to be dragged around like a dog to have the effects verified.

Because of this, the inner mind of the young Raviel was filled with unexpressed anger.

Around the time he wanted to give up everything, he met Shailyn.

When he helped her up after she fell crying, she came to the temple secretly every day with sparkling eyes and followed him around annoyingly.

The reason Raviel couldn’t push her away then was simple.

‘My family all hate me. So I’m so lonely……’

Because he found himself in her solitude.

Because he saw himself struggling to be loved, desperately craving someone’s affection.

After giving Shailyn a place by his side, Raviel’s life also became much richer.

Though he was called an apprentice priest, he was actually an experimental subject who couldn’t come out of the underground without permission, but he always attempted escape to meet Shailyn.

Because he wanted to see that child.

Because it seemed like he wouldn’t be unhappy anywhere as long as he was with that child who was as lonely as him…….

‘My name is Shailyn Sharofe.’

Raviel, finally recalling the small face that wiped away tears with tiny hands and smiled brightly, opened his eyes.

Why had he forgotten all this time.

The silver hair that sparkled like starlight, the eyes bluer and clearer than the summer sky, that girl who followed only him faithfully.

“Haha, hahaha……”

Burying his face in his palms, he let out laughter like someone who had lost his mind.

It was you, Shailyn.

Because she was the girl in his memory, she had been intensely imprinted from the moment they met by chance in the square.

That’s why he kept worrying about her and couldn’t just leave her alone.

There was a reason he abandoned Johanna, who could be called his tacit partner, and kept taking Shailyn’s side.

‘It would have been good if I had remembered sooner.’

The young Shailyn who cried saying no one liked her was different from the current Shailyn.

Not only were there several people around her who liked her, but most importantly, Carl stood behind her like a mountain.

‘It’s become difficult to keep the promise I made at the end.’

Feeling deep regret, he declared that he would finish the temple inspection and leave.

Having heard the news, Shailyn came to see him off.

— Ding!

【Current favorability by male lead.

Linus: 95

Chester: 100

Raviel: 100】

Upon facing Raviel, the system automatically showed her the favorability without being asked.

Shailyn, closing the window, looked at Raviel whose expression had clearly changed from before.

Eyes that were much more favorable yet mixed with slight mischief. She whispered softly, wondering.

“Raviel, do you remember who I am?”

To this, Raviel, standing close to her, whispered back.

“I’m two years older, so you can’t call me like a friend. Call me brother.”

“……Wow.”

Shailyn exclaimed in amazement at him reciting exactly the line she had heard from her first love.

You remembered. Raviel nodded as if reading her thoughts and opened his mouth.

“Shailyn, do you want to get married?”

He asked this remembering her words about inheriting a title to marry the person she wanted.

Shailyn affirmed without hesitation.

“Yes.”

“With whom?”

“I haven’t decided that yet.”

More precisely, the system hadn’t decided for her yet.

‘Surely they won’t tell me to marry all three male leads?’

Raviel, gazing at her with a mysterious expression as she felt slightly anxious, fell into thought for a moment.

Now that they had reunited after 10 years, each had their position and responsibilities, so it would be difficult to really run away and live together alone.

To keep the promise as similarly as possible, they would have to realize at least the part about living together.

The fastest and most accurate way to achieve this was marriage.

And as far as he knew, Shailyn’s long-standing taste that had spread throughout high society was blond handsome men.

Raviel, finishing his thinking, pulled his lips and formally addressed her like in the beginning after a long time.

“I heard you’re crazy about blonds, my lady.”

“Yes……?”

“Then are you crazy about me too? Enough to want to marry me?”

He readily leaned his head toward Shailyn and smiled with his eyes.

“I’m even your first love.”

“Uh, uh…… I’m not a lady anymore but a count.”

“Ah, then Count.”

Shailyn, having a flustered expression, scratched her cheek and replied.

“I would be crazy about you……?”

Since he was platinum blond, a male lead, and her first love.

However, she couldn’t give hasty assurance when nothing was decided.

Even at the ambiguous answer, Raviel smiled satisfactorily and glanced at Carl standing behind Shailyn.

Seeing his slightly crumpled face made him unbearably pleased.

“I’ll have to make you craziest about me from now on.”

Revealing his ambition with a bright face, he suddenly hugged Shailyn.

“……!”

Toward Carl, who was more surprised than the person involved, he brought his index finger to his lips as if telling him to stay still.

“See you in the capital, Shailyn.”

“Ah, yes. Return safely, Raviel.”

Shailyn, slightly surprised by the sudden hug but not feeling bad about it, greeted him.

Thus Raviel left, thoroughly scratching Carl’s insides until the end.

And two days later, Shailyn also gathered her luggage and people and departed for the capital.

Bartholomew’s letter telling her not to come and to stay there longer arrived a step too late and went unread.

The False Accusation Is Too Much

They couldn’t live with being wronged. They had to obtain what they wanted by all means.

This was the belief of the Celsior father and daughter.

From when they finally transformed from Count Dempsey’s family to ducal status, they moved as living, breathing incarnations of desire.

However, Shailyn Sharofe, appearing one day, kept interfering with their path knowingly or unknowingly.

From small things like the queen selection to big things like the engagement with the crown prince.

‘His Highness and I weren’t meant to be from the beginning. He has feelings for Lady Sharofe. We must resolve this, Father.’

Johanna, vowing revenge, persuaded her father to borrow his power.

Howard, already keeping the empress and crown prince faction in check as they gradually regained power, and wary of the Diart ducal family who was close to them, agreed.

He decided to bring down not just Shailyn but the Diart ducal family itself.

If anyone with Diart blood, whether Shailyn or someone else, allied with the crown prince faction like this, it was obvious that Celsior would fall in the next generation.

Having made up his mind, he went to find the emperor. The emperor, receiving a massage from a priest, was indifferent to Howard’s visit.

However, his eyes soon changed at what Howard brought up.

“Do you remember the registry we lost 19 years ago, Your Majesty.”

“Why are you bringing that up again. I told you not to mention it unless you found it, didn’t I?”

A heavy voice rang out sharply. Howard bowed his head before him and said firmly.

“No matter how much I think about it, I believe the Diart ducal family is holding it while pretending not to know. Didn’t Your Majesty also suspect them at the time?”

After a very important registry was stolen, they caught the culprit, but ultimately failed to recover the registry.

Several suspects including the Diart ducal family were pointed out as having the missing registry, but the truth remained a mystery.

After more than ten years had passed, Howard was again framing the Diart ducal family as accomplices.

The emperor’s eyes flashed murkily as he stared at Howard.

“So, what does the duke want to say.”

“Rather than leaving such unstable elements alone, how about pulling them out by the roots now.”

“Do you think you can just cut out a family as significant as Diart?”

“Of course not. But our Celsior will become Your Majesty’s sword.”

Howard knelt on one knee and bowed his head respectfully.

“Please wield us willingly.”

It was no different from saying that if the emperor became their backing, they would take the lead in attacking Diart.

Tap, tap, tap. The emperor, tapping the armrest while thinking deeply, asked the priest massaging his shoulders.

“What do you think.”

“If Duke Celsior steps forward, Your Majesty’s burden will be much lighter, so I naturally agree.”

The priest, having received prior notice, took Howard’s side. Then the emperor slowly nodded.

“Good. Do as the duke wishes.”