“Your Highness, the Crown Prince!”

Mireille let out a shrill scream when he who had appeared out of nowhere seized her wrist.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

In a voice so cold and domineering it sent a chill down the spine, Damian demanded. Still gripping his wrist, Mireille forced an awkward smile and looked up at the Crown Prince, who was glaring at her.

“My apologies for showing you something so unsightly. I was merely educating a maid in imperial etiquette.”

“Educating?”

Damian let out a frigid laugh. Releasing Mireille’s wrist, he wiped his hand with a handkerchief as though he had touched something filthy.

“Crown Prince, what is the meaning of this rudeness!”

Startled by Damian’s sudden appearance, the Empress cleared her throat and raised her voice in rebuke. In response to her sharp reprimand, Damian tossed the handkerchief onto the floor and turned slightly towards her.

“I was about to ask the same, Your Majesty.”

His gaze was fixed on Seraphina, who was being held back by the guards. Overwhelmed by the weight of his presence, the guards hastily released her.

Damian wrapped an arm around her shoulders and stepped forward to face the Empress. Then, in a blunt tone, he said,

“Just because you’re my mother doesn’t mean you can treat the woman I intend to marry so carelessly.”

Marry?

When she heard Damian’s words, Seraphina’s eyes flew open wide. Becoming an Omega had been shocking enough, but marriage to the Crown Prince? She could barely keep up with all the revelations hitting her one after the other.

“Your Highness, I—”

As Seraphina began to speak, Damian turned his head towards her, holding her with one arm. Looking at her with unexpectedly gentle eyes, he calmly corrected her.

“Damian.”

“Damian, I have no intention of getting married.”

When Seraphina spoke, a murmur swept through the reception room. The Empress, Lady Mireille and the maids and guards standing nearby failed to conceal their agitation.

Only Damian and Seraphina remained composed.

“We have to get married, Sephi.”

Damian spoke evenly. As though tracing the line of her jaw, he gently brushed his fingers along it and added,

“I knotted you. That means I have to take responsibility.”

“But… I might not be pregnant.”

Seraphina lowered her voice when she said ‘pregnant’. Damian smiled as though he found her self-consciousness endearing.

“But you might be.”

“Well, that’s true, but—”

“Don’t make me out to be an irresponsible man. Please.”

Damian lowered his hand from her chin and took her hand instead. He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and said,

“Marry me, Sephi.”

Seraphina looked at Damian as he proposed to her. Her heart was heavy with turmoil as she considered how sincerely he was proposing.

There was someone else she wanted to marry.

What had happened between her and Damian was a coincidence born of circumstance — an accident. She could not say with any certainty that she loved him.

Was it right to marry someone just out of a sense of responsibility, without the assurance of love?

And even if she did, would he really be satisfied with that?

“…I—”

“Absolutely not!”

Just as Seraphina hesitated and began to speak, Lady Mireille screamed. She stepped between Seraphina and Damian, shouting,

“Your Highness, how can you speak of marrying another woman when I’m right here? How could you do this to me?”

“What sort of relationship did I ever have with you?”

Damian looked at her tearful face with open irritation. Raising one eyebrow, he replied coldly,

“That’s an impertinent intrusion. You have no right to interfere in the Crown Prince’s marriage.”

“But—!”

“If you wish to continue being treated as my mother’s distant relative, you would do well to keep your mouth shut.”

Upon hearing Damian’s warning, Mireille pressed her lips together tightly.

She clutched the hem of her skirt and looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears. However, Damian did not spare her a glance. Turning his gaze to the Empress, he continued in a dry tone.

“It seems the young lady has been under some misunderstanding. I don’t know why she came to believe such a thing, but she and I are not related.”

Upon hearing the Crown Prince’s words, Lady Mireille’s sobs grew louder. Wiping away her tears, she fled the reception room.

Ignoring her completely, Damian addressed the Empress.

“How long do you intend to treat me like an irresponsible piece of trash, Your Majesty? Now that the young lady’s misunderstanding has been cleared up, please grant your consent to the marriage.”

The Empress let out a pained sound under the pressure of Damian’s words. When she offered no reply, merely shifting her gaze, he sighed loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“I thought as much.”

With that, Damian turned his eyes toward the corridor outside the reception room.

Through the door left ajar by Lady Mireille’s exit, the hallway lay fully exposed.

“Please, come in.”

At Damian’s command, the attendants standing in the corridor stepped aside in unison, clearing a path. A dignified man with striking silver hair emerged from between them. His broad frame exuded the quiet grace of age, and fine lines etched by time itself were etched deeply into his face.

The moment the Empress recognized him, she stiffened with shock and rose abruptly to her feet.

“Margrave?”

“Ha ha, it has been a long while, Your Majesty. I am Wolfgang Holzbaum, Margrave of the Borderlands. May the radiant light of Eisenbart be with you.”

The margrave smiled warmly as he offered his formal greeting. Receiving it, the Empress asked in a gentler tone,

“What brings you all the way to the imperial palace?”

“Well, imagine my surprise when His Highness the Crown Prince came to see me. He said there was a woman he wished to marry and asked for my help.”

You live long enough to see everything. Adding the remark cheerfully, the margrave stroked his beard and let out a hearty laugh.

As his booming laughter echoed through the room, the Empress shot Damian a sharp look.

“I wondered why you rushed out of the palace so suddenly. So you went and brought the Margrave.”

“You wouldn’t listen to me otherwise.”

Damian replied with unbothered ease.

Watching the tension between mother and son, the Margrave smiled faintly and spoke.

“His Majesty the Emperor has already given his approval. All that remains is Your Majesty’s consent.”

“His Majesty has always been mild-tempered. He must have simply agreed to whatever you proposed.

The Empress muttered, as though it were obvious. Then she pointed at Seraphina and appealed to the Margrave.

“This is the Crown Prince’s chosen partner. A mere baron’s daughter. Even worse, she used to be a palace maid and was waiting for an opportunity to seduce the Crown Prince. How could I possibly give my consent?”

As he listened, the Margrave turned his gaze to Seraphina. His eyes examined her carefully and deliberately.

“She manifested recently. Given how faint her pheromones are… she’s a recessive omega, isn’t she?”

“That’s exactly it. If she were at least dominant, it might be different—but recessive.”

The Empress complained, seizing on his words.

Even after she had finished speaking, Wolfgang Holzbaum continued to stare intently at Seraphina, studying every detail of her face. Then, finally, he shifted his gaze.

“The young lady who ran out earlier in tears—that was the Lady, correct?”

“Yes. She must have been terribly upset—”

“Your Majesty.”

At Wolfgang’s low, weighty call, the Empress stiffened and looked at him. He let out a quiet sigh before continuing,

“As the Crown Prince’s godfather, and as the former commander of the Imperial Knights who once served him at close hand, may I dare to offer my opinion?”

“Go ahead.”

“Please grant permission for His Highness the Crown Prince’s marriage.”

Wolfgang spoke with unmistakable firmness. Looking between Seraphina and Damian, he went on,

“First, allow me to apologize. While I was waiting outside, I overheard your conversation. The young lady was hesitating about the marriage. This tells me that her decision was not well thought out.”

“…But she’s recessive.”

“Even if she is recessive, she drew out His Highness the Crown Prince’s cycle and spent it with him. That alone makes her more than qualified to be his partner.”

“If the Margrave says so…”

The Empress replied reluctantly. Turning her gaze to Damian and Seraphina, she continued,

“I will permit the marriage. However, there is one condition.”