It was an evening celebration honoring a victory.

The nobles couldn’t easily avert their gaze from the man standing expressionless on one side of the banquet hall, dressed in his uniform.

His short, neatly groomed hair was a lustrous black, his shoulders broad, and his build slender with long limbs, making the dark navy uniform suit him perfectly.

His left chest was adorned with numerous medals and commendations, and perhaps because of this, the nobles stole glances at him yet hesitated to approach.

It could have also been due to the precarious and dangerous aura of a man who had repeatedly faced life and death on the battlefield.

Just then, someone who had been nervously lingering beside the man finally broke their silence, as though their patience had reached its limit.

“Instead of standing there so intimidatingly, why not engage in some sociable conversation with others?”

“I will.”

“You don’t mean right away, I see.”

Edward only half-listened to his aide’s complaint, his gaze fixed on the entrance to the banquet hall.

But the person he was waiting for showed no sign of appearing.

Edward asked his aide a question he had already posed multiple times.

“No word from the duchy?”

“We sent a letter as soon as His Lordship arrived at the palace, so it should have reached them by now. Just a little longer, please.”

The aide, accustomed to his superior’s impatience, tried to calm Edward.

“So, when will that be?”

“Well, it was sent ten days ago.”

“It’s been ten days since we sent the letter?”

“Yes. Didn’t I explain this yesterday as well? I hate to say it, My Lord, but… could you please try to stay calm?”

Aide Beyhern was on the verge of tears. He couldn’t tell the hero who had led them to victory against Lota to just keep quiet.

‘Why is he acting this way when he was always so composed on the battlefield?’

Despite Beyhern’s anguish and concern, Edward couldn’t quite settle himself.

After a week of victory banquets, he was quite drained.

The Emperor had wanted to take Edward wherever the nobles gathered to showcase him, and Edward, who had led the soldiers on the frontlines, understood the Emperor’s feelings.

However, he no longer wished to be part of the Emperor’s political displays.

It was exhausting for him, a man with a fiancée, to endure the greedy stares of the nobles and the subtle glances from noble young ladies.

“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll bring some champagne.”

Edward couldn’t refuse his aide’s ploy to soothe him with alcohol.

As time passed, his throat grew parched, his nerves fraying, as if only a strong drink could settle him.

Just then, a commotion erupted at the entrance of the banquet hall, and a woman, elegantly dressed and wearing a pure white veil, walked in.

As curious gazes turned toward her, Edward’s gaze naturally followed.

“…”

For a moment, it felt as if the surrounding noise had vanished.

She was a strikingly beautiful woman, enough to draw admiration at first glance.

Her red hair, cascading to her waist, was lush and vibrant, and her small, pale face and long, graceful neck were elegant and beautiful.

Her slender waist and delicate wrists exuded the allure of a mature woman.

Whether aware of the gazes on her or not, the woman glanced around the banquet hall with an uneasy, restless air, as if the event made her uncomfortable.

With each movement, her vivid red hair swayed softly.

‘…Hmm?’

In an instant, Edward’s gaze narrowed.

The petite, fair face and the soft waves of red hair struck him as oddly familiar.

Yet her silhouette seemed far more mature than the woman he remembered.

‘Who on earth…?’

Just then, as if she sensed Edward’s curiosity, the woman lifted her flowing veil.

“…!”

As her long eyelashes revealed deep, blue-green eyes beneath, gasps and murmurs of admiration rippled through the crowd.

Edward found himself staring at her, spellbound. The uniform that had felt like a part of him suddenly felt constricting, as though it were tightening around him.

With a bewildered expression, Edward called out the name of his fiancée.

“Yelodia?”

As if she had heard his voice, Yelodia turned to face him. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Ed…!”

She parted her lips, but then quickly pressed them together, gazing at him in a daze.

The summer heat had seeped into the palace, and beads of sweat dotted Edward’s neck.

Yet he felt no warmth.

“Yelodia.”

“It’s… been a while, Baron.”

Yelodia gripped the skirt of her voluminous cream-colored dress and curtsied. Her cheeks, flushed like a blooming rose, looked as if they would stain with color at a touch.

Edward studied her blushing cheeks, her large, expressive eyes, her proud nose, and her full lips, one feature at a time.

In the two years they had been apart, his once-adorable, endearing young fiancée had blossomed into a fully mature woman.

Suppressing an inexplicable sense of longing and impatience, Edward slowly approached Yelodia.

“…”

Yelodia held her breath, looking up at him. Her elegant, long lashes trembled faintly.

When he noticed the slight anxiety in her gaze, Edward’s chest tightened.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“…It’s not that.”

Yelodia couldn’t complete her sentence. Edward was intently watching her lips, as if contemplating a kiss.

He had imagined their reunion countless times over the past two years, yet he hadn’t expected it to unfold this way.

During the war, Edward had transformed into a more mature and strikingly charismatic man.

His tailored uniform accentuated his well-trained physique, and his deep, dark blue eyes looked sharp as a finely honed blade.

Edward respectfully extended his right hand to her.

“Then, will you offer me your hand… as you did in the past?”

“…”

Yelodia swallowed hard before slowly offering her left hand.

Finally, Edward clasped her hand.

“Ah…”

A murmur of excitement spread through the crowd once more.

Edward, almost reverently, pressed a kiss to her engagement ring.

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest.

“I missed you.”

Edward whispered softly, looking up at her.

His intense, dark blue eyes shone beneath his long lashes as they fixed on her, causing her to catch her breath.

Unconsciously, she noticed a deep, glimmering light in his gaze.

“I longed to see you, Yedi. Every single day for the past two years, without exception.”

“…!”

Yelodia held her breath. Edward pressed his lips to her delicate hand and wrist as well.

The warmth of his lips on her wrist felt searing, and her fingers trembled slightly.

Suddenly, Yelodia felt the urge to flee somewhere.

She wanted to escape the strange, overwhelming feelings that bewildered her.

Sensing her apprehension, Edward tightened his hold on her hand, as if he would never let go again.