“Um… excuse me.”

Yelodia instinctively shrank back, and Edward caught sight of her earlobes. They had been unusually red for a while, looking almost painfully flushed as though blood had pooled beneath the skin.

Without thinking, Edward lightly touched the rim of her ear with his fingertip.

“Eek!”

A sudden shriek escaped Yelodia’s lips, and she hastily clapped her hands over her mouth.

She then covered the ear Edward had touched, glaring up at him in protest.

“Wh-why did you suddenly… touch my ear?”

“Did it startle you?”

“No, not exactly startled… It was just so sudden.”

She had been startled.

As her heart thumped wildly, Yelodia wiped her cheeks for no reason, trying to collect herself.

Edward wore a puzzled expression, as if even he didn’t understand why he had touched her ear.

“It was so red that I thought it might hurt.”

“Ah!”

At those words, Yelodia felt her entire body flush, as though it were suddenly ablaze. Her lips involuntarily puckered in a slight pout.

“You’re a philanderer, aren’t you?”

“…What?”

Edward’s eyes widened in surprise. His expression clearly showed he had no idea where this conversation was heading.

Yelodia narrowed her eyes, looking at him suspiciously.

“You must have been a playboy.”

“…That’s not true.”

“If you weren’t, how could you so casually touch the ear of a respectable lady and act as if it were nothing? You must do this with everyone, don’t you?”

Edward looked genuinely aggrieved.

“But you’re my fiancée, aren’t you?”

“What?”

Yelodia swallowed hard, staring at him. She hadn’t expected him to bring that up.

“But we haven’t even had the engagement ceremony yet.”

“Must we have a ceremony for you to be considered my fiancée? I already thought of us as engaged.”

“…You did?”

“I thought standing together in ceremonial attire in front of everyone made it official… except for one thing I missed.”

With those words, Edward pulled a small box from his pocket. The box was elegant and luxurious, even at a glance.

Yelodia’s eyes widened, her mouth dropping open.

“Surely not.”

Sure enough.

When Edward opened the lid, a pair of radiant rings emerged. Made of platinum, the rings were adorned with delicate aquamarine diamonds.

“Those are… engagement rings.”

“I actually came here today to give these to you.”

“Oh…”

Yelodia couldn’t tear her gaze away from the rings.

When Edward knelt on one knee before her, her heart sank as though it had plummeted.

“May I have the honor of placing this ring on your finger?”

As if under a spell, Yelodia nodded and answered, “Yes. You may.”

A soft smile played on Edward’s lips.

“Please, give me your hand.”

Yelodia did as he asked.

When Edward slipped the ring onto her left ring finger, she held her breath. It was an adorably elegant, beautiful, and graceful ring.

“It’s so lovely.”

“Everything has already been prepared by His Majesty for us. So, the wedding rings, I would like to personally commission and present them to you.”

“…”

“Now, will you put mine on?”

Still dazed, Yelodia stared at her left hand for a moment before taking the ring Edward handed her and placing it on his left ring finger.

The ring fit him perfectly.

Yelodia let out a small gasp of admiration.

Edward smiled quietly as he looked at her.

“It seems you’ve stopped crying now.”

He was right. Her tears had completely vanished.

＊ ＊ ＊

A day later, Yelodia finally felt her mind returning to normal.

At the same time, one thought consumed her:

‘I think I enjoyed it way too much all by myself.’

No matter how much she thought about it, Yelodia was the only one who had been overly excited yesterday.

If she had stayed sullen about the engagement ceremony, she should have carried on that way. But instead, she couldn’t contain herself and ended up grinning like an idiot.

It was behavior utterly unbecoming of a noble lady.

“How could anyone not be happy when he offers a ring like that?”

If there existed a woman who could refuse Edward when he knelt and presented a ring, Yelodia wanted to meet her.

“This is all his fault.”

Though she would never admit it out loud, Edward was undoubtedly a rogue.

That was the conclusion she reached after reflecting on his demeanor all night.

He was the kind of man who could captivate women just by breathing. A single gaze, a wistful expression, or even a fleeting smile could stir hearts.

Yelodia even assessed herself objectively.

“To him, I’m just like a cute little sister.”

His unconscious gestures—like wiping away her tears or touching her ear—made it clear he didn’t see her as a woman.

Yelodia had read countless romance novels in her time and prided herself on understanding the dynamics of love between men and women.

It was obvious Edward saw her as nothing more than a child.

“I shouldn’t have grinned like that at the ring…”

She pursed her lips, pouting in frustration.

But the truth was, she liked the ring.

Gazing at the engagement ring on her left ring finger, Yelodia sighed and cleared her throat. Even when she sat still, laughter would bubble up unexpectedly, leaving her worried that her brothers would tease her mercilessly.

At that moment, a knock sounded at her bedroom door.

“My lady, it’s me,” a voice called.

The person who entered was Martha.

“What’s the matter?”

“Lady Yelodia, Sona is here to see you.”

“Sona?”

Why would the seamstress be here? Yelodia’s puzzled expression prompted Martha to nod and explain.

“She says it’s about the engagement dress. What should I do?”

“Let her in for now.”

Yelodia hurriedly got out of bed.

When she reached the dressing room, Sona was already inspecting the engagement dress, which she had retrieved.

Although the dress had been drenched in rain, the maids had done their best to clean it, leaving no visible stains. However, Sona looked as though she wanted to strangle Yelodia.

“For goodness’ sake, what on earth did you do while wearing this dress? Did you visit hell and back?”

“Is it that bad?”

Yelodia’s clueless question left Sona visibly appalled.

“The dress looks like it was hit by an explosion! The lace, the frills—everything is limp and ruined. Were you seriously planning to wear this poor thing for the engagement ceremony again?”

“Is there no hope of reviving it?”

Sona glared at Yelodia before taking a deep breath and sighing.

“With it in this state, it never crossed your mind to summon me earlier, did it?”

“Sorry… I was overwhelmed. I’ve been busy with this and that.”

Yelodia fumbled for an excuse, her hand unconsciously brushing against the engagement ring on her finger.

‘Busy, my foot—you’ve been staging protests on your bed,’ thought Martha, though she said nothing to preserve Yelodia’s dignity.

Suddenly, Sona narrowed her eyes.

“That’s your engagement ring, isn’t it?”

“Yes! How does it look? Lord Edward put it on for me.”

Yelodia’s eyes sparkled as she eagerly held up her left hand.

“My, it’s truly elegant and beautiful. And you plan to wear this exquisite ring with that ruined engagement dress?”

Yelodia had momentarily forgotten that Sona’s compliments often carried hidden barbs.

She glanced around nervously before asking, “Is it going to be difficult?”

Sona let out a long sigh.

As usual, her young mistress had an innocent yet maddening knack for testing people’s patience. The frustrating part was that Yelodia’s naivety only made her more endearing.

This mischievous yet charming noble lady had no idea that Sona had cared for her like a daughter since she was a child.

“I’ll try to make adjustments. But the engagement ceremony might end up feeling a bit hotter than you’d like.”

“I don’t like the heat.”

“Then are you planning to wear this bedraggled thing?”

“Well… no.”

“Then stop complaining and listen to me.”

Yelodia widened her eyes and obediently nodded.

Thus began preparations for the second engagement ceremony.