"Orphana, Orphana! Come out now!"

Raphine immediately removed the magic block and summoned Orphana.

Then Orphana, dressed in a slightly embarrassing pajama, appeared, rubbing her eyes.

"under... Master, please be polite."

"... Do you sleep in such clothes as pajamas?"

Raphine's brow wrinkled. Orpana's pajamas were a little too strange.

No, is that a mesh or that?

Orphana frowned and made a blanket to cover me. Staring at Raphine like a pervert.

"...."

Raphine wanted to blow her fist, but held it back. Because I had work to do.

"Why are you calling me at this hour?"

"I have work to do."

"... What is it, again?"

Oddly, I was annoyed by his cocky way of speaking, but... I felt good, so I decided to hold on.

"Zerkan needs a marriage partner. Search for candidates from among the nobles of the capital, and come up with a list."

"...."

Orpana's eyes were full of annoyance.

It was definitely different from the past when he was full of loyalty. Raphine narrowed her eyes and spoke in a threatening tone.

"You, you know that when I come of age, the probability that the coordinates will appear increases, right?"

"...."

"Someday you will encounter a dark spirit, wouldn't it be difficult without the Holy Relic?"

"I'll come up with a list right away, Master."

Orphana immediately switched to loyalty mode.

As he disappeared to carry out his orders, Raphine laughed.

* * *

One day, a few days after they returned.

Raphine hummed in the warm sunlight.

It's winter, so the air is chilly, but when you walk in the sun like this, the warm sunlight wraps around your body.

As Raphine hummed with a happy face in the world, the maids who followed her also giggled and enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere.

"right. Lady Raphine, today is the day Madame Michelle decided to bring her a dress for fitting."

"Um, okay?"

Raphine nodded at the words of the maids and looked at the bright sunlight.

'A dress or something... Ha, can you be happy living like this?'

Life is so beautiful.

Rafine felt like she was walking on clouds and walked around enjoying the sunshine a little more.

After Adrian and Violet's bombshell declaration.

The two families happily started preparing for the wedding.

The emperor was also very pleased with the news, and allowed the wedding to be held in the Dynasty Hall of the Imperial Palace.

Historically, only a few of the great aristocracy had the honor of having a wedding in the hall.

The protagonists who led the war to victory and the emperor was very considerate as it was a sacrament of the great noble families that the emperor relied on.

Of course, there were people who were concerned about the union of the two families, but all of them were nothing less than jealousy of envy.

Oh, and I heard about Zerkan....

'The Emperor and Empress were extremely happy when Zerkan returned.'

It was a story I heard through Adrian.

Hearing that story, Raphine felt like a burden had been lifted from her heart.

Zerkan must have felt happy too, right?

'By the way, how did Zerkan grow up....'

In fact, in the original work, praise for his appearance was described once per page.

Even when I was young, I was remarkably beautiful, but....

'I wonder what the final form will look like.'

Coincidentally, after the return of the subjugation squad, Raffine had never faced Zerkan once.

Violet and Adrian met almost every day and had time to chat, but not Zerkan.

It was also because Raphine had never visited the Imperial Castle.

Moreover, as Zerkan was the Crown Prince, he had a busy schedule as soon as he arrived, so there was no need to go out.

'Just because I'm out, it's not like I'm in a relationship that deserves to see me.'

And when it actually came, it seemed even more strange.

'I don't think I have anything to say because it's awkward.'

To be honest, I'm sorry for Zerkan, but....

'Now I don't have to cling to Zerkan to marry me.'

It is said that when people enter the bathroom and when they leave the bathroom are different.... I felt a little guilty, but I decided not to care.

After all, the promise of marriage was too young to be honest, so I wasn't even sure that Zerkan would remember it.

Anyway, the Empress also seemed to be very busy, so Raphine deliberately did not visit the Imperial Castle.

Besides, yesterday afternoon.

Even the empress returned to the imperial castle, and the capital was very lively.

The reason was because of the saint who had come with the empress.

At the central temple in the capital, all twelve priests came out to meet the saint.

Since the emperor's coronation ceremony, there have been 12 priests who have practiced without showing their faces, so people's interest was high.

Raphine was very dissatisfied with that.

'It must have been something Empress Rebecca designed to get attention....'

Now that he has returned to the Imperial Palace, he and Viscount Tedler will work together to shake Zerkan, and it is good to see.

'But never lose.'

Perhaps it was thanks to the news of Violet and Adrian's marriage, Raphine's heart was filled with confidence that she could really change the future.

* * *

The next day, Raphine received a call from the Empress and headed to the Imperial Castle.

The moment she entered the drawing room and faced the Empress's face, Rafine felt an unknown emotion.

"...."

Strangely, a warm feeling rose from the bottom of my chest.

This is because the shadow on the empress's face, which had been mild but somewhat shady, had cleared and regained her full light.

I felt how deep the empress's maternal love for Zerkan was, and my heart was touched.

Her mother's expression when she looked at Adrian's older brother was like that too, so I knew it well.

"Raphine, come here."

The Empress welcomed Rafine with a bright smile.

After a quick greeting, they talked about Adrian and Violet's wedding.

"Then why did you call me today...."

"Hey, what was the reason we met?"

"It's not...."

The Empress rolled her eyes as if she was a little sad.

"Raphine, it seems that Adrian and Violet, whom you have been following so much, have returned and I have been pushed back."

"Your Majesty, can you?"

When Raphine spoke eloquently, the Empress laughed softly. Then, as if suddenly remembered, he asked.

"By the way, have you ever met Zerkan? I don't know if you can remember how much you followed Zerkan when you were little."

"... haha."

Raphine laughed awkwardly.

'Five... If you do this well, you might be able to put the ground rice first because you don't remember it because you were too young?'

The moment Raphine was having a rough thought, the Empress was hesitant and brought up the story.

"By the way, I really envy the Duchess that Violet and Adrian are getting married.... Actually, our Zerkan is the most urgent situation."

"Um, I guess so."

Contrary to the original work, the author's momentum was dampened when the empress went to the monastery.

Thanks to that, at this point in time, the throne of Zerkan is firmly established, so there is no need to look out for the servants....

Still, as the most important duty of the emperor was to establish a succession, even the Crown Prince Zerkan could not postpone that duty.

There was nothing that cemented the position of the Crown Prince more than getting married and creating an heir.

Usually, the imperial family tended to get married right away when they came of age.

This is because there are cases where a child appears after 1 or 2 years, but in some cases, it does not come after several years.

'Besides, Her Majesty's Majesty is keeping the 2nd Prince Antonio in check.... It seems they want to marry Zerkan as soon as possible.'

But in fact, the biggest problem for the Empress was Zerkan's heart.

'Zerkan never had any intention of getting married in the original story. That's why I proposed a contract marriage to Violet, my best friend.'

As a waste, until the end of the original work, Zerkan was a person who did not know the feeling of love.

Just trying to hold on to Violet with twisted obsession and possessiveness without affection....

Raphine's spine shuddered at the thought of that.

"Raphine, you will also receive a lot of wedding papers after this coming-of-age ceremony."

"Well. I do not know...."

The Empress had a meaningful look. Raphine couldn't see those eyes because she was eating dessert.

After swallowing the dessert, Raphine looked at the Empress with dignified eyes.

'Your Majesty, don't worry. Orpana said that more than 20 candidates were prepared.'

I didn't know Zerkan's taste, so I decided to prepare a lot for now.

Raphine smiled broadly, and the Empress did the same with a meaningful smile. The tea time of the two people, who were always in the same dream, was cordial until the end.

"Ah, Zerkan will be here soon. Why don't you go and see your face?"

The Empress, who had not sent Raffine even when it was time for her to return, said as if suddenly remembered.

"Uh, um... me? I am okay. I'll see you later anyway. There is no need to take the Crown Prince's time...."

"Hey, don't think like that. You may not remember, but you don't know how close you and Zerkan were when you were young."

"Is that so?"

Raphine pretended not to remember at all and shivered softly. But inside, my heart began to flutter.