Detrian, kneeling on one knee before me, couldn’t look me in the eye properly.

I was just staring at the sky-blue jewel in his hand.

…Wait a minute.

Sky-blue jewel?

If I’m thinking of the right sky-blue jewel, it could only be the famous sky diamond that supposedly captured the color of the sky?

That’s… difficult to obtain and extremely expensive!

As I remained silent and just stared at the jewel, Detrian, tired of waiting, carefully raised his head.

“…Rowenloa?”

I slowly shifted my gaze to him who was calling me.

“Is this… that one?”

He tilted his head at my words.

“That one… you mean this jewel?”

“Is it the one I’m thinking of. That… the one said to capture the color of the sky.”

Detrian nodded.

“Ah, yes. Made by processing a sky diamond……”

And then, I did something I absolutely shouldn’t have done.

I slapped Detrian’s back with a smack.

“Are you crazy? Do you know how expensive this is…!”

Detrian, who had been hit once, had a blank expression before he started laughing.

Then he carefully stood up and gently grabbed my wrist, carefully slipping the ring in his hand onto my finger.

His action seemed like a proposal to me, making my face turn as red as if it were on fire.

“I’m glad your behavior toward me hasn’t changed.”

His lips touched my forehead.

He wrapped his hand around my shoulders and led me to the carriage.

I didn’t answer his confession, but I substituted my response by touching the ring on my hand several times.

It was affirmative.

The corner of the crown prince’s mouth rose gently seeing my action.

* * *

The sunlight coming through the window reflected off his hair and long eyelashes so enchantingly that I wished time would stop right there.

But unfortunately, the carriage seemed to have arrived at the imperial palace and began to slow down, and Detrian and I were enveloped in tension for a different reason than before.

The empress was plotting something at the banquet.

Veltune and Leila were connected to it.

We needed to find their connection and catch their trail here.

Eventually, the carriage door opened, and Detrian got out.

He smiled leisurely and extended his hand to me.

I also responded to his smile with ease, took his hand, and got out of the carriage.

People around us exclaimed in admiration when they saw us.

“Oh my, isn’t that Lady Masipacius and His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“The Masipacius family should have arrived earlier, right? I wondered why Lady Rowenloa wasn’t there, but it seems His Highness the Crown Prince went to fetch her himself.”

“Lady Masipacius’s dresses have always been beautiful, but today she seems to shine especially bright.”

Detrian and I smiled at them once and then headed inside the imperial palace.

As we walked into the garden, a magnificently decorated outdoor banquet hall appeared.

The splendid exterior along with the excellent-looking food…

It seemed to show how much attention the empress had paid to this banquet.

While I was assessing the banquet hall, Detrian extended his arm to me.

I looked at him with surprised eyes, but then remembered the meaning of the ring on my finger and gave him a weak smile.

I linked arms with him and stepped into the banquet hall.

The nobles who had been busy talking among themselves suddenly focused their attention on us.

“…The Crown Prince and Rowenloa Masipacius?”

“Oh my, I thought they seemed close before, but……”

People began to murmur among themselves about the relationship between Detrian and me.

Detrian frowned as if uncomfortable with their whispers, then unlinked our arms and naturally wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

Then he looked at the people whispering about us with a stern expression before giving them a slight smile.

It was an implicit command to shut their mouths.

“Oh my……”

Exclamations of surprise erupted from among the people.

Those who had been talking about what a well-matched couple we were or how they never expected us to get together quickly closed their mouths upon seeing Detrian’s blatant behavior.

“There’s still some time before the banquet starts… shall we go inside for now?”

I nodded at his words, and Detrian signaled to Erian, the guard standing beside him.

Erian began clearing a path for us to enter the castle, and Detrian and I were soon able to go inside.

“Judging by the fact that Veltune and Leila weren’t seen in the banquet hall, they’re probably waiting inside the castle for the banquet to begin.”

The crown prince led me to the center of the imperial palace, which was said to be accessible only to those with imperial family qualifications.

After having my identity verified multiple times by the guards protecting the place, I was finally able to stand with Detrian in front of a massive golden door.

The door was so heavy that it took four guards per door to open it.

When the door opened, I stepped into their world.

Inside, decorated with brilliant colors and jewels, Veltune and Leila were sitting on a sofa, looking at us.

“As expected. I thought those two would come together……”

Veltune shrugged his shoulders as if in disbelief.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince. Although you are the crown prince who will lead this empire in the future, this is a sacred place where only imperial family members can enter. To bring someone who is not of imperial blood here…”

As Veltune approached Detrian and glared at me, Detrian pointed his chin at Leila sitting on the sofa and said,

“Is the one you brought a member of the imperial family?”

I didn’t stop Detrian’s behavior and echoed his words.

Veltune looked at me as if I were beneath him and let out a hollow laugh.

“Leila is someone who has promised to marry me. She will soon receive the Crescent name and become part of the imperial family. Mind your words.”

Veltune, whom we encountered in a place without people, was incredibly rude.

I raised my hand with the ring on it toward him.

Detrian raised one corner of his mouth slyly at my action.

“That’s……”

Leila, who saw the ring on my finger, approached us.

“How did sister get that ring……”

I looked at Detrian after hearing Leila’s words.

“Unlike some others, my lover has ability.”

In my previous life, Leila wanted a sky diamond more than anyone else but couldn’t obtain one.

None of the nobles who begged for her love could get their hands on a sky diamond.

Not only were there only three of these precious jewels imported into the Gellions Empire, but even if one obtained a diamond, there was only one craftsman who could process it.

And that craftsman was a close friend of Detrian’s.

That’s why he was able to obtain this sky diamond, process it, and make it into a ring.

Detrian and I left them dumbfounded and sat on the sofa opposite to where they had been sitting.

They sat down and just stared at us across from them without taking any other action, as if checking us.

Detrian and I smiled as we watched them act exactly as we had expected.

Eventually, Detrian opened his mouth.

“So, are the preparations going well?”

I tilted my head at his words.

“What preparations?”

“You said you were preparing for the early graduation exam. I’ve heard rumors even within the imperial palace about how difficult Gelly the On’s graduation exam is.”

Just as we expected, Leila’s eyes sparkled when the topic of the early graduation exam came up.

I gave Detrian, who was looking at me, a troubled expression.

“Well… it is difficult. I’m just studying hard as usual.”

Leila grinned when she heard my words.

She looked as if she had won something.

“Oh my. Sister, you seem to be struggling quite a bit with the early graduation exam preparations?”

I looked at Leila after hearing her words.

Veltune beside her also looked at Detrian and me with a triumphant expression.

It seemed certain that the document Leila was keeping so preciously was related to the early graduation exam.

Having learned the information we needed, Detrian and I decided there was no need to stay any longer, so we got up from the sofa without responding to her, preparing to leave.

But at that moment.

Veltune, approaching the door, threw a meaningful question at us.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, how is your relationship with your mother these days?”

Detrian’s expression immediately hardened at those words.

I could feel his hand gripping mine tighten.

I turned around quickly to look at Veltune instead of him.

“Her Majesty the Empress is extremely worried about His Highness the Crown Prince. She even called me separately after hearing rumors about His Highness and me dating.”

Veltune raised one eyebrow upon hearing that, making an expression of displeasure.

“That’s only natural.”

I smiled brightly at Veltune.

“Her Majesty the Empress is His Highness the Crown Prince’s mother, after all.”

At that, Veltune’s fist trembled, and he suddenly stood up and approached me.

Behind him, Leila watched his behavior with anxious eyes, as if she couldn’t understand his actions.

“You should watch your mouth. Have you ever considered that not everything you know might be the truth?”

Although Veltune spoke quite threateningly, I wasn’t intimidated.

“Indeed. How curious that there’s a truth about Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Crown Prince that I don’t know. You seem to know about it, though?”

When I responded without backing down, Veltune’s pupils shook violently, and then he bit his lip hard and returned to Leila’s side without saying anything more.

I also left him be and departed with Detrian, who was gripping my hand even tighter.