“Are you perhaps not pleased with your fiancée? There are rumors all over Feorn that she’s as lovely and wise as a single flower in bloom…”

“Not me. She’s probably displeased at being forced to marry a man she knows nothing about.”

Startled by Edward’s remark, Beyhern responded in a rush.

“How could you say that! You’re lacking in no way whatsoever, My Lord! Be it looks or wit, there’s nothing missing. Even on the battlefield, you were the one admired by all the female officers.”

“…”

“Whenever you made a stopover, women at the port were after you day and night, to the point that I, as your adjutant, had to stay on high alert and barely got any sleep.”

“…Was that so?”

Beyhern’s expression grew slightly awkward.

“You don’t even know the half of it. I could talk about it day and night for two weeks and still not cover everything. You really have no interest in anything concerning yourself…”

Beyhern clicked his tongue, then hurried to continue.

“Don’t worry. It’s common for noble marriages to be arranged suddenly like this. You’ll get engaged and gradually get used to each other over time.”

Edward refrained from asking if his being six years older than his fiancée was an issue. A six-year age difference wasn’t much of a concern among the nobility, and Beyhern’s eyes sparkled so brightly that it was somewhat bothersome.

“The Emperor arranged this match himself. What greater honor could there be? Your wedding will be a distinguished event for us officers and soldiers as well.”

This left Edward momentarily speechless.

Compared to the Imperial Army, the Feorn Navy’s officers and soldiers were treated poorly, and after the recent war, they were quietly nursing a wounded pride.

The overly picky Army officials hardly ever provided supplies on time, causing shortages in arms and sometimes even preventing soldiers from getting proper meals.

Resentment among the officers and soldiers was unsurprisingly high.

Then they heard the Emperor himself would be officiating the Vice Admiral’s wedding. According to Beyhern, it was like a single ray of honor shining through a clouded sky.

‘The problem is that it’s not the honor I wanted.’

Feeling the weight of it all, Edward placed a hand over his forehead, and Beyhern quickly moved on to his main point.

“I’ll select the most presentable soldiers and make sure they’re thoroughly trained.”

“…And the soldiers are involved because?”

“Why, of course. It’s your engagement ceremony; they should form an honor guard, shouldn’t they?”

Edward looked down, feeling even more exhausted.

It was a longstanding tradition in the Feorn Navy for soldiers to form an honor guard at a naval officer’s wedding.

Edward was about to be promoted to Vice Admiral of the Feorn Navy, and if he didn’t have an honor guard at his wedding, it was certain to become a topic of gossip among the soldiers for years.

“I’ll have to reach out to Duke Xavier.”

In any case, he had many matters to discuss with Duke Xavier.

“While you’re at it, meet with Lady Xavier frequently. You’ll form a bond with time, after all.”

“With the Lady?”

“Were you planning not to meet her before the engagement ceremony? You’ll be spending your lives together.”

Edward crossed his legs and frowned. Spending their lives together—his adjutant was becoming somewhat daunting.

Suddenly, he recalled the girl who had looked at him with an expression that seemed full of reproach.

Her large green eyes had glistened with a dew-like moistness. Even that had made her look fresh and innocent.

‘Did I make a mistake?’

Unfamiliar with noble etiquette, Edward didn’t know precisely what mistake he had made the previous night. But Yelodia had looked deeply hurt, and Edward thought he should apologize.

“Send an official letter to the Duke of Xavier. I’d like to meet as soon as possible.”

With that, Edward stood up and gathered his papers. By then, his expression had returned to its usual impassiveness.

“When will the Admiral return?”

“Well, it seems his wounds from the war were rather severe. For now, his return is uncertain.”

Edward stopped in his tracks at his adjutant’s uncomfortable answer.

“Is he in poor health?”

“The injury from the war shouldn’t be too serious. But considering His Majesty forced Your Excellency into the Vice Admiral position, he’s probably developed an illness out of frustration. Leaving his post—it’s almost as if he’s staging a protest in open defiance of His Majesty.”

“…”

Edward remained silent.

The Admiral, who had been acting as a command center on land, had little reason to sustain an injury.

He hadn’t drawn his sword, but currently, in Feorn, there was a fierce battle over postwar interests between the nobles and the Emperor.

Although Edward, who had been away from the capital for five years, didn’t know all the details, even he could sense that things were unfolding strangely.

The Emperor wanted to suppress the nobles and strengthen his authority through this “war,” even if it meant marrying Edward off to a girl six years younger.

Less than half of the attendees showed up for the general assembly meeting that day.

Edward swallowed a sigh, feeling like he wanted to return to the battlefield where cannon fire erupted.

＊ ＊ ＊

“What did you think?”

“Of what?”

“Didn’t you meet your fiancée last night?”

Martha’s cheeks were flushed red, like apples, possibly from excitement. Her tightly tied curly brown hair, her thick eyebrows, and her chestnut-colored eyes gave her a determined look.

Despite Martha’s impatient question, Yelodia just blankly stared at her maid.

Impatiently, Martha urged her on.

“Well? What did you think?”

“It was just… okay.”

Yelodia replied with a slight pout, and Martha’s eyes widened.

“Just okay? That’s all you have to say after meeting your fiancé?”

“Technically, he’s not my fiancé yet. The engagement ceremony hasn’t happened.”

“If His Majesty arranged it, it’s as good as official. Don’t hold back; tell me more. Was he really that unremarkable?”

Martha’s voice grew louder as if interrogating her.

Avoiding her maid’s curious gaze, Yelodia looked down at her embroidery frame with a sullen expression.

As usual, the rose on her embroidery came out crooked. Even if she tried her hand at hyacinths or peonies, the results would be terrible.

Among all the maids in the manor, no one was as bad at embroidery as Yelodia.

‘I think I ruined it.’

Last night’s events—meeting Baron Edward Adrian—were among the most baffling moments of her life.

The food prepared by the Emperor’s personal chef was either too bland or too salty as always, and the Emperor’s gaze was as inscrutable as ever.

As for the look Edward gave her… that look…

At that moment, Martha, tired of waiting, put down the shirt she’d been sewing on her lap and sighed.

“Just as I thought, was he a scary person?”

“Scary? How can you judge someone you’ve never met?”

“He’s a soldier, isn’t he? Isn’t that why you were too worried to even eat lunch yesterday?”

Yelodia couldn’t respond, taken aback by Martha’s puzzled expression.

Now that she thought about it, she had indeed held a certain prejudice against Baron Adrian until yesterday afternoon.

‘I’d expected him to be a man hardened by five long years of war, someone with neither compassion nor mercy…’

But all those assumptions shattered the moment she met Edward.

The calm and tranquil gaze he fixed upon her was as still as water.

With a sigh, Yelodia confessed.

“He seemed serious and sincere.”

“Well… that sounds… positive?”

“It wasn’t a bad impression.”

Yelodia admitted modestly. Reflecting on Edward’s manner and expressions, she couldn’t find another way to describe him.

Edward was the calmest and most genuine man she had ever met. And he was infuriatingly handsome.

“Then why do you look so unsettled?”

“Hm?”

“I don’t know, but your expression looks… sulky? Are you upset?”

At Martha’s comment, Yelodia realized her expression wasn’t exactly cheerful.

If this churning feeling in her stomach was indeed anger, then she must have been angry.

Though she wasn’t sure why. She didn’t even want to know.

Yelodia muttered with an involuntary twitch of her lips.

“It seems he doesn’t want to be engaged to me.”

“What?”

“It’s obvious he doesn’t like me.”

Martha stared at Yelodia in shock. She almost pricked her thigh instead of the shirt she was sewing.

Putting the dangerous needle aside, Martha took a breath to calm herself.

“Breaking off the engagement… is that even possible? His Majesty arranged it.”

Martha looked extremely cautious. Her mistress’s mood didn’t seem like it would be easily placated.

Yelodia placed the embroidery frame on her lap and pressed her hands firmly against the sofa.

“Still, it’s possible he doesn’t like me, isn’t it?”

“Oh, my! Who in the Empire would dare not like you? Unless they’ve got eyes on the soles of their feet.”

“Martha, I’m really not that exceptional.”

“Not at all! You’re so beautiful! I’m sure the baron was just nervous in front of His Majesty and made a mistake.”

“He didn’t seem nervous…”

Even as Yelodia muttered, she tried to recall Edward’s expressions and gaze.

But the face of the man who had dared to suggest rethinking the engagement to His Majesty had been composed to an extreme degree. His calm cobalt-blue gaze had shown not a hint of hesitation.

‘I suppose he really doesn’t like me.’

With that thought, Yelodia’s lips pouted.

Of course, Yelodia had never expected anything from the engagement—she hadn’t even had any feelings about it.

In fact, she’d practically lived as if the word “engagement” didn’t exist.

Despite all that, she’d never considered the possibility that her fiancé might not find her appealing. Not even once.

She hadn’t expected anything, so why did she feel so disappointed?

‘Ah, I’ll probably have a loveless marriage for the rest of my life, just like other nobles bound by political unions. What a tragic life.’

Yelodia’s tendency to dramatize took her to imaginary places unknown.

She pictured herself, living a life of exchanging fake smiles with a husband who ignored her, eventually dying childless and alone…

At last, she would lie there as a cold corpse, while the baron, placing lilies on her pinewood coffin, would gaze down with poignant regret in his eyes…

She felt tears start to form.