"What do you mean...."

"It is literally. So, how about sending a proposal letter after Raphine's coming-of-age ceremony?"

"...."

Zerkan remained frozen for a moment.

Raphine still has a heart for her?

When the Empress urged Zerkan, who did not answer, he immediately got up from his seat, said hello, and left.

'Aren't you happy?'

The Empress tilted her head. It's his son, but he couldn't really understand what he was going through.

* * *

Zerkan, who immediately returned to his office, was unable to sit down and wandered back and forth.

To be honest, it was clear what my mother was saying.

Because the Raphine I met earlier....

'He didn't seem interested in me.'

His attitude was so stiff and he couldn't be indifferent. Then why does the mother say that?

If what your mother said is true....

'... Couldn't you show it off because you were shy?'

Zerkan's forehead wrinkled slightly.

I felt weird. When he was on the battlefield, he was busy surviving day by day and protecting his colleagues, so there was no time to think about other things.

However, after returning to the capital, my mind was complicated.

I was getting dizzy with useless thoughts and speculations over and over again.

Raphine in particular complicates him the most.

To be honest, Zerkan still remembered the promise he had made with Raphine as a child, and was willing to keep it.

But if Raphine still wants it.

Marriage is something I have to do anyway, and I made an appointment with Raphine.... So if Raphine wanted it, of course he would do it.

But Raphine, far from mentioning her childhood, avoided him.

The meaning of the action was clear. Now, she has no desire to marry her at all.

It was natural. That's because the proposal at that time was a childhood thing.

Zerkan had no intention of forcing it.

If Raphine did not remember or pretended not to know, I would respect the meaning and never mention it myself.

But why do I feel this way....

Zerkan was still confused because he did not know the identity of this feeling.

"...."

The empress's attempt, which she thought was an unreasonable number, was only half successful.

At least, he succeeded in creating a different wave in Zerkan's calm mind.

* * *

The morning of the coming-of-age prom was bright.

The scale of the event was enormous as it was held together with the welcome ceremony for the return of the subjugation squad.

As it was held in the Great Hall, the largest of the Halls of the Imperial Castle, there were going to be many nobles participating.

In the evening, fireworks are held, so there are many things to see.

Rafine, like other nobles having a coming-of-age ceremony this year, was thrilled.

The last day of the 12th month.

Just after tonight, Raphine will be a real adult.

'From tomorrow, you can drink strong alcohol.'

Under imperial law, minors are not allowed to drink alcohol.

Weak wine was possible, but alcohol such as whiskey or beer was impossible.

Raphine felt like her mouth was already salivating, so her heart was excited like a balloon.

'Once after 12 o'clock, you have to drink the whiskey in the hall first.'

In the evening, Raphine changed her dress with the help of the designer and maids who made the costume.

It was a dark red dress that I don't usually wear, but it went really well with my pink hair.

"As it is a coming-of-age ceremony, it is better to avoid pastel tones. It's difficult when you look too young."

"That's right, my girl is an adult now. ho ho ho."

The maids smiled strangely and touched Raphine's clothes and hair.

"It's done."

When the haircut was finished, the maid showed me the mirror. Raphine was startled by her gorgeous appearance in the mirror.

Her hair was pulled up to reveal the neckline and a gorgeous dress design.

The hair style was directly suggested by the costume designer, and although the field was different, the designer was the designer after all, and the hair style and the design of the dress matched well.

It felt completely different from the style of dress I usually wear, so it was unfamiliar, but not bad.

"Perfect, lady."

"Now you just have to choose the last gem."

A costume designer came up with candidates for a necklace and earrings set to match the dress.

There were a total of three nominations, and Rafine chose the least glamorous one among them.

"It's an excellent choice, the jewelry should be as simple as the dress is gorgeous."

The designer smiled and hung the necklace around Rafine's neck. When she wore an elegant necklace embroidered with diamonds, the dress and neckline stood out even more.

"I thought the color red would suit you so well...."

"I am sure you will receive a lot of proposals as soon as 12 o'clock today."

The maids mumbled with ecstatic expressions.

Rafine felt burdened by the gazes of such maids and put on her shoes and went outside.

At the front door on the first floor, Luca and Lois were waiting to escort the prom today.

It was customary for aristocrats to have their parents or siblings as their first prom partner for coming-of-age ceremonies.

So Raphine also tried to ask her dad or Adrian, but....

Dad had to escort mom, and Adrian had to escort Violet.

The only ones left naturally were Luca and Lois.

The two offered to escort them together.

Raphine wasn't happy with it, but she had to accept it.

When I went down to the first floor with the users and headed to the front door, my parents and Adrian left for the Imperial Palace and did not see only the twin brothers giggling and talking to each other.

"Raphine is here...."

When Luca noticed that Rafine had arrived, she paused. So it was the same with Lois who turned his attention.

"who are you?"

Luke asked smartly. Just looking at it, his eyes were full of playfulness.

"Do it in moderation."

Raphine spoke harshly, and the two began to giggle. Even so, she glanced at Raffine as if it was surprising, and said.

"But are you really like someone else? It was my coming-of-age ceremony, so I was really excited."

"So. Why is your head up? How about just getting off? Your neck is too revealing."

"that's right. It's a bit annoying...?"

So, even after getting into the carriage, Luka and Lois began to accuse each other.

"The dress is too red. Why did you choose this color? You have a very different image than usual."

"that's right. You look so mature."

"Who is the costume designer? I have to fire you right now."

"Hair is.... How about getting off?"

Raphine pretended not to hear all of those words and blew it out through one ear.

The light quarrel between Luca and Lois was so familiar that it didn't even hurt.

The wagon quickly arrived in front of the Imperial Castle.

Raphine marveled at the splendid entrance to the imperial castle decorated with all kinds of lights. Various colorful carriages were lined up in front of the entrance to the Hwangseong Fortress.

'It's like a fairy tale.'

It was surprising because I had never attended a ball at night before.

'There must be a lot of alcohol in there.'

Raphine swallowed her saliva and inflated with extraordinary anticipation.

When the carriage stopped, Luka and Lois got out of the carriage first with distasteful expressions.

And he reached out to Raffine at the same time.

"thanks."

Raphine equally took both of them by the hand and got off the carriage.

Above the stairs was the entrance to the great Great Hall. Raphine held their hands and strode up the stairs.

Upon entering the hall, it was full of nobles in colorful costumes.

Among them, the first thing that caught Rafine's attention was the alcohol served with colorful finger food.

'Whiskey over there, Cognac over there. And.... That's wine over there.'

Wines with little or no alcohol are now filtered.

Rafine checked the location of the liquor and greeted the people she encountered.

Most of them were friends from the academy's seniors. Most of their gazes were also directed towards strong alcohol.

'Everyone's life is the same.'

Raphine greeted the familiar faces with a sense of unity even without saying a word.

Meanwhile, someone tapped Raphine on the shoulder.

Turning her head, she saw Violet in a yellow dress.

"Raphine!"

"sister."

"Wow, our Raffine is so pretty, isn't it?"

Violet put her hand to her lips in admiration and looked at Raffine evenly.

Violet, who said that, was really beautiful today.

Guess who wasn't the original heroine, today Violet really looked like a fairy tale heroine.

Unlike the original, Raphine hoped that Violet would have a happy ending like a normal fairy tale.

'I'm sure I'll make it that way.'

As I shared a hug with Violet with a fresh promise, Adrian came closer.

"Raphine, I'm sorry, but Violet is my partner today. I want to refrain from excessive hugging."

Violet grinned and patted Adrian's side with his elbow.

Adrian moaned while leaning on his back, and Raphine smiled slightly as he saw the two of them playing around.

Then, the orchestra started playing. It was the sound of music that signaled the start of the party.

The nobles, who came of age this year, naturally came out holding the hand of their first dance partner.

Rafine also went to the stage holding hands with Luka, who had decided to dance for the first time. Luca skillfully led Raffine to the center of the stage.

"Why are you going to the center, really?"

"This oppa is always used to the middle."

As Luca smirked, Raphine looked at him with a frown on her eyes, and then shut her mouth.

So the first dance began.

It was a dance to change partners by touching the palms of the partners and turning them gracefully in a circle, and then moving sideways when the music returns to the first place.

"Is that good enough?"

"I learned it from Lois oppa."

"Chi. Because I dance better?"

It was when he and Luka were playfully laughing and dancing, and then took a step forward to change partners.

The moment I was about to overlap the palm of my hand with the unknown young-sik I saw on the other side.

Suddenly, someone came out and blocked her.

"...!"

And the moment when a large, cold palm overlaps the back of her hand.

It felt as if I had touched the first snow that melted away as soon as I touched it.

The face you see after that....

It was Zerkan in a uniform.