Chapter 94

“Haha, you’re in quite a hurry.”

Theodore spoke to him coldly.

“I am in a hurry.”

“Haha.”

“Duke Hatzbellua, I will give Mei everything I can—money, power, and the highest status. Therefore…”

Theodore stared directly into Luman’s eyes as he spoke.

“If you so much as upset Mei even slightly, I will kill you in the name of Florence.”

Luman understood exactly what Theodore was saying. If he upset Meia, there would be no forgiveness.

“Here is the engagement contract.”

The engagement contract already bore Theodore’s signature and seal, clearly marked. Meia had also signed it with her family name. The only thing left was for Luman to affix his seal.

The moment the seal was stamped, Meia would officially hold a position higher than his own. 

Luman was displeased with the current situation. However, he couldn’t refuse to stamp it either. Whether Meia married Demian or became engaged to the Grand Duke of Florence, none of it sat well with him.

The hand holding the seal trembled slightly.

Meia let out a deep sigh.

“Uncle, you may not understand, but my fiancé is a kind and gentle person.”

Luman looked back at Theodore. His cold, dark eyes stared intently at the engagement contract and the Hatzbellua seal. No, those same eyes, which were glaring at his fiancée’s uncle, were supposed to belong to someone kind and gentle?

“Th-that’s so.”

“He’s the person I chose. There’s no way I wouldn’t like him.”

In the end, after nervously stalling for time, Luman, unable to withstand Theodore’s piercing gaze, had no choice but to stamp the seal. Theodore, receiving the stamped engagement contract, carefully tucked it away as if it were a precious treasure.

“Theo, I have something to discuss with my uncle. Could you wait outside for a moment?”

“I will do so, Mei.”

As soon as Theodore left, Meia opened her mouth to speak to Luman.

“Isn’t this better than me marrying Prince Demian?”

Meia wasn’t wrong.

“I know exactly what you’re worried about, Uncle. I’m doing this to help you. So why do you look so displeased?”

“That’s not it. I’m just shocked. By the way, what are your plans for the engagement ceremony?”

“It will be held on the day of my fiancé’s coming-of-age ceremony.”

“Coming-of-age ceremony?”

“Yes, my fiancé is only seventeen years old.”

Luman was startled by the unexpectedly young age. Those eyes didn’t seem to belong to someone who was only seventeen. Luman’s face stiffened immediately.

“Still, this engagement feels too sudden. I’m worried.”

“I was also suddenly pushed out of my position as a fiancée.”

“It was a mutual agreement to step down.”

It hurt. Losing her parents and being stripped of her trusted position as a fiancée in a single day.

She hadn’t forgotten. She couldn’t forget.

“Please tell Meryl this. I don’t care if she uses informal speech or calls me by a nickname when we’re alone, but in public, she must use formal language. Remind her that the Grand Duchess of Florence doesn’t bow even to Her Majesty the Empress of the Carpen Empire. Make sure she understands that, Uncle.”

Luman knew this too. The position of the Grand Duchess of Florence was higher than that of the Empress of the Carpen Empire.

“I’ll be going now.”

As Luman was about to leave, Meia stopped him.

“Could you deliver this letter to Meryl?”

Luman accepted the letter Meia handed him.

“What is this?”

“It’s a list of items from my personal collection that I plan to donate to a charity auction. They include expensive artworks, dresses, and jewelry. Since Meryl will become the Crown Princess, she should participate in the auction and build connections with people.”

“Alright, I’ll deliver it.”

“Uncle, just make sure the charity auction items are listed under my name. Since they’re from my personal collection, if Meryl lists them under her name, it’ll cause trouble. Of course, if she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t have to. It’s not mandatory.”

“I understand.”

Meia smiled brightly. However, Luman couldn’t bring himself to smile.

As Luman was leaving, Meia spoke to him.

“Uncle, remember all the happy and joyful moments, and don’t let anything that happens make you miserable.”

Luman turned back to look at Meia.

“When you feel miserable, the things that once made you happy lose their value.”

Luman had smiled as he inherited the ducal title and happily made Meryl the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

“When something loses its value, it becomes ‘regret.’”

Before the grief of losing her parents had even faded, she had to give up her position as a fiancée to Meryl.

If she hadn’t had the Free Marriage Contract certified by the temple, she would have been sold off without resistance.

Even so, she trusted Patzraelli and the Empress until the end. The moment she doubted them, her trust would have crumbled. So she never doubted their decisions. And then, she was unceremoniously cast aside.

Her pride was deeply wounded. Her heart bore scars.

She had expected that Luman would pressure Patzraelli into replacing her as the fiancée.

And Patzraelli, under pressure, would have no choice but to choose Meryl to protect his position as Crown Prince. If only, by some chance, Patzraelli had cared enough to confide in her and discuss everything openly.

She would have used every means and all her strength to make him Emperor.

But he neither looked back at her, nor comforted her, nor even shared a single word with her. He simply delivered the message of their broken engagement. As if she were a nobody, just an orphaned lady who had lost her parents.

“Meia, what do you mean by that?!”

Luman asked, slightly exasperated.

Meia set down her teacup and spoke calmly.

“Uncle, I will allow you to use my name when we’re alone.”

Meia raised her right arm and pointed toward the door.

“But the moment you step outside that door, you must show me ‘proper respect.’”

Luman clenched his fists tightly.

“If you truly don’t understand, I will answer your question.”

Meia’s blue eyes glinted coldly.

Luman understood what Meia meant.

Meia smiled brightly and spoke leisurely.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“No. I’ll take my leave now.”

***

Theodore took out the engagement contract he had carefully stored in his chest and gazed at it in awe.

‘Is this a dream? No, it’s reality.’

In his 17 years of life, he had never been this happy.

His heart felt like it was about to burst.

He wanted to run around the training grounds without stopping and scream with joy.

As he tried to calm the overwhelming emotions and imagined a bright future, he was interrupted.

“Excuse me.”

A man’s voice suddenly broke the silence, and Theodore turned his head.

It was a man with dazzling blond hair and kind-looking green eyes.

“If you’re waiting for someone, may I sit on the sofa across from you until they arrive?”

Theodore immediately responded.

“Yes, you may sit. I plan to leave as soon as my fiancée comes out.”

Theodore emphasized the word “fiancée.”

“You’re waiting for your fiancée, I see.”

“That’s correct. I’m waiting for my fiancée.”

Theodore smiled brightly, eagerly waiting for Meia to appear.

***

Meanwhile, Patzraelli teleported directly to the Mage Tower. He informed the mage of his purpose.

“I’m here to meet Lady Meia Hatzbellua.”

The mage retrieved a crystal ball from his dimensional space and examined it before replying.

“I’ll ask if she’s available to meet. Please wait in the first-floor reception room.”

Patzraelli then entered the Mage Tower through the door.

The reception room on the first floor was quite spacious. A sofa and table were visible directly ahead, and there was a man sitting there.

The man, with striking black hair and black eyes, sat on the sofa staring intently at a piece of paper. He smiled broadly before folding it carefully and placing it in his chest.

“Excuse me.”

Even if someone was sitting alone on a sofa, it would be rude to sit across from them without asking. Thus, Patzraelli approached the man and asked politely.

“If you’re waiting for someone, may I sit on the sofa across from you until they arrive?”

The man, his face slightly flushed, replied that his fiancée would soon be out and that it was fine to sit.

As Patzraelli sat on the sofa, he thought about Meia.

What should I say when we met? Should I ask for forgiveness?

First, he needed to meet her. Only then could he even begin to ask for her forgiveness.

Frustration welled up inside him, and he let out a sigh.

As he sighed, Patzraelli glanced at the man sitting across from him, who appeared to be in his early twenties.

Although the man’s face was expressionless, his lips curled upward whenever he uttered the word “fiancée.”

Patzraelli couldn’t help but envy the unknown man who had a fiancée he loved so much that he couldn’t hide his smile.

The man picked up the tea in front of him and drank it. The fragrant aroma of the tea filled the table.

‘This scent…’

It was undoubtedly strawberry tea. However, the sweet and tangy flavor of strawberries wasn’t something most men preferred.

Patzraelli himself didn’t particularly like strawberries, but he had tried strawberry tea once because Meia liked it.

Even so, it wasn’t a flavor he found particularly enjoyable.

It was fascinating to see a man drinking such a tangy tea with a happy smile.

“You seem to like strawberry tea.”

At Patzraelli’s comment, Theodore smiled and replied.

“It’s my fiancée’s favorite tea.”

“I see. You must love her enough to drink the tea she likes.”

Come to think of it, Meia’s favorite drink was strawberry tea.

<Crown Prince, you don’t like tangy flavors, but I love strawberries more than anything in the world.>

<Strawberries are good for you!>

Meia enjoyed strawberry-based foods and snacks, but her favorite was undoubtedly strawberry tea. Seeing the tea brought back memories, making Patzraelli’s chest ache as if he were suffocating. If she would take him back, he would dedicate his life to her.

“From today onward, I will like strawberry tea too.”

Even though he didn’t enjoy strawberry tea, he would drink it with her.

Hearing Patzraelli’s words, Theodore finished the remaining tea in one gulp, stood up, and spoke.

“It’s not about loving her enough to drink it; it’s about being grateful to share it with her.”

In truth, Theodore had intended to ignore the man’s words and move on.

However, seeing him linger over Meia’s favorite strawberry tea while making such remarks annoyed him. His words didn’t sit well with Theodore either.

Patzraelli retorted to Theodore’s comment.

“To love someone enough to do something you dislike shows ‘effort.’”

Theodore smirked slightly and responded.

“With that mindset, you can neither move someone’s heart nor win it.”

Theodore’s words made Patzraelli bristle.

“Effort never betrays you.”