Yes, green wouldn’t be bad either. Whatever the eye color, whatever the hair color, as long as the baby was healthy, nothing else mattered. 

 Though she knew it was impossible, she desperately wanted to meet the baby. 

 Rarien tried drawing the baby’s face with conté. Though she couldn’t express colors, she could try various combinations. 

 Like taking completely after Nicki. Or taking completely after Rarien. Eyes like Nicki’s, nose like Rarien’s. Half the sketchbook became filled with drawings of five different babies. 

 It got a bit darker around her. Rarien started feeling anxious. 

 “I miss you.” 

 The hand that had been drawing various features of the child was now habitually drawing that person she missed. It was Nicholas looking intently at her. 

 He liked to observe thoroughly with his eyes slightly lowered. 

 Rarien loved seeing herself reflected in his eyes. 

 Looking at that made her feel like she too was shining brilliantly like his eyes. 

 “I wonder how he’s doing.”

She left with just one letter. He must be resenting his irresponsible assistant. 

 Still, she had no regrets about those hundred days. She decided to believe that even her clumsy mistakes were the right decisions. That it was the best she could do at the time. 

 This would probably be the last time she drew Nicholas Reinhart.

 When that thought hit her, Rarien described him more meticulously with the conté. Though no one would see it, it was purely for her own satisfaction. 

 If only she could see him just one last time. 

 “I miss you.” 

 Rarien looked at Nicholas in the portrait and made such a futile wish. 

 Though her heart grew heavy thinking of him, she was determined not to cry until the end. She held back, feeling that if she cried, the baby would learn the emotion of sadness too. 

 The hand holding the conté trembled violently. Seeing the last sunset made the end feel more real, and honestly, she was scared. But she didn’t want to teach this fear to the baby too. 

 “It’s okay.” 

 Rarien clenched her fist while pulling up the corners of her mouth. 

 The darkness descended a bit more. 

 It’s getting hard to see. Should she go in now? 

 Just as she hesitated, the sensation of metal touched her nose bridge and her vision became clear. 

 It was glasses. 

 “I told you to always wear them. Are you going to break your promise?” 

 A low voice in her ear. 

 “How careless. You forgot them so I brought them myself.” 

 Along with the feeling of lips pressing against her head, the sensation of fabric settled on her shoulders. It was a men’s jacket. 

 Surprised, Rarien lifted her head. Sure enough, Nicholas Reinhart was looking down at her. 

 Just as he had done to her crown, he lightly kissed her forehead, and then her lips with soft pecks. 

 She had been so focused she hadn’t noticed his presence. Surprised by what happened in the blink of an eye, Rarien just froze like someone who had seen a ghost. 

 While she was dazed, Nicholas sat down close on the mat and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. 

 Rarien found herself unconsciously leaning into his embrace. 

 “It’s a family portrait, but why is the most important person missing?” 

 Nicholas whispered playfully as he snatched and looked at the sketchbook. 

 “The mother is the most important one.” 

 “Y-Your Excellency, h-how did you……” 

 “Is how I got here that important?” 

 Nicholas let out a small laugh. 

 She was dumbfounded. She thought he would be furious since she ran away. 

 Even when they first met at the Southern Temple, hadn’t he tormented her endlessly because he was angry about that? 

 Why was he being so casually affectionate? And how did he know about the baby? 

 Her head was full of unsolved questions. 

 No, more than that, having this man right in front of her seemed like a lie. She could hardly believe it. 

 Rarien still wore a bewildered expression, unable to make sense of it. 

 “And I’m not ‘Your Excellency’ anymore, so stop calling me that.” 

 “What?” 

 “I quit to look for someone. Thanks to that I’m unemployed now, so the baby will have to take responsibility.” 

 Come to think of it, he wasn’t wearing his priest robes. Perhaps because he had given her his jacket, he was in just a light shirt. Nicholas in casual clothes. This was truly rare. Her heart started racing thoughtlessly. 

 “……Then what should I call you?” 

 “I suppose you’ll have to call me… Nicki, reluctantly.” 

 He seemed embarrassed to say it himself, looking elsewhere. 

Nicki? He’s allowing the nickname he was so shy about. This felt like a dream, not reality. 

 “Well, or… you could call me husband. That would be better.” 

 Nicholas suddenly took Rarien’s left hand and slipped a ring on it. It was the very ring that had been on the Grand Duchess Reinhart’s finger. 

 “W-what is……” 

 “Let’s get married. The two of us.” 

 His eyes curved gently. They held a warm gaze like the red-tinged sunset. 

 A proposal? Of course she was happy. Her heart was so full she felt like crying from happiness, but…

 Knowing the time she had left, she couldn’t accept. 

 “I’m sorry but I can’t……” 

 “Why, was the proposal too presumptuous?” 

 “That’s not it……” 

 “Then I’ll do it again.” 

 He came in front of Rarien and knelt on one knee. Then he pulled her left hand respectfully and firmly kissed her ring finger. 

 “Rarien Claude. Will you marry me?” 

 His eyes were desperate. Seeing those eyes, her words caught in her throat. 

 She needed to tell him she only had one day left. That she couldn’t accept his feelings because there wasn’t enough time left. But the words wouldn’t come out. 

 “I don’t want to rush you, but please answer quickly.” 

 “Nicki… I, I……” 

 “We only have one day left. Sorry, but since we don’t have time, I can’t give you time to hesitate.” 

 Rarien’s eyes grew impossibly wide. 

 “How did you know that?” 

 “Is how I knew that important?” 

 The same response again. 

 “Ah, I forgot to mention. This isn’t a proposal, I’m forcing you.” 

 Nicholas Reinhart was still as forceful as ever.

She wanted to ask how he learned about the curse, and how he knew to find her here. But as he said, there wasn’t much time left. 

 “You have to give me at least the last day.” 

 Was it her imagination? Nicholas’s voice trembled slightly. Rarien gazed intently at his face illuminated by the sunset. 

 “Even if it’s just for a day, I want to be your husband. No, I’ll be Rarien Claude’s forever.” 

 As if to prove those words, his golden eyes shining like the sun held only her in them. 

 “So please marry me.” 

 “……” 

 Tears welled up and her vision blurred instantly. 

 All the times she had to give up thinking about practical matters flashed before her eyes like a kaleidoscope. 

 Of course, she should do the same now. 

 But…… 

 “Whether we have a day left, an hour, or even just a minute, nothing is more important to me than spending time with you.” 

 The man before her was too sweet. 

 “You are my flaw and my weakness… and my everything.” 

 Too desperate. 

 “We have to give the baby a dad too.” 

 Too amazing. 

 “……Will you allow it?” 

 Too miraculous. She couldn’t refuse. 

 Her lips that were going to say no were consumed by sobs and trembled endlessly. 

 And before she knew it, she was nodding. It was because she was properly enchanted by this arrogant, thoughtless, and willful man and couldn’t refuse. 

 Nicholas removed her glasses and gently kissed away her tears. 

 “Is it because you’re going to be a mother? Such a crybaby.” 

 “Hic, hic……” 

 “You must have been scared. It must have been so hard alone all this time.” 

 Ironically, being called a crybaby made her cry more. Hearing that it must have been hard made her start hiccuping foolishly. Could this man who was usually so poor at empathy stir her heartstrings this much? 

 When all her tears were wiped away, she could see Nicholas’s face again. 

 That look in his eyes saying she was adorably cute. That look hadn’t changed at all. 

 “Have you done all the items from your wish list?” 

 “Not yet……” 

 “Let’s do the rest gradually, but add one right now.” 

 He smiled brightly. 

 “A kiss with your husband on a quiet beach.” 

 No sooner had the words fallen than his lips overlapped with hers. The sun had already set and darkness had descended. 

 Rarien decided to spend the last night with Nicholas. 

 The next day, the moon waned and a new sun rose. 

 But Rarien Claude was not dead yet. 

 Only Nicholas Reinhart knew how this came to be.