TBULF 1

1. Prologue

“The preparations to receive the Madam are complete.”

After the monster war ended, everything in the North had been utterly destroyed.
In truth, almost nothing but ruins remained, and reconstruction was urgently needed.

Even so, the bride said she didn’t mind.
In fact, she insisted she would pack light and head north immediately.

By the time rumors about this unusual bride-to-be had spread throughout the castle,
the Grand Duke of Kairosen of the North stood before the castle gates to receive her.

And then…

As if to announce her southern origin, a pure white carriage slowly cut through the pitch-black forest and approached.

Even so, the Grand Duke of Kairosen stood there without the slightest change in expression.
He did not look like a man about to meet his wife for the first time.

At last, the carriage stopped before him.

The young lady from the South, Serentia Rosemary, stepped down from the carriage with a coachman carrying her modest luggage and a maid attending her.

“Hello, Your Grace.”

She greeted him lightly with a curtsy.

It was clearly a political marriage—one she had been practically sold into.
And it wasn’t as though she hadn’t heard the strange rumors that Grand Duke Raphael Kairosen had slain hundreds of monsters.
She must have seen the devastated northern lands on her way here.

Yet strangely enough, she was smiling brightly.

“Oh, right! Instead of just calling you ‘Your Grace’… would you allow me to use your name?”

As if the cold at the northern gates didn’t bother her at all, the lady chirped warmly like a bird.

The “Monster Grand Duke,” Raphael Kairosen, who had been staring at her, replied coldly.

“No. I will not permit that.”

Meaning she should continue calling him “Your Grace.”

At his icy response, everyone held their breath.

But Serentia’s eyes still sparkled.

“Ah, I understand!”

“Yes, then—”

Just as Raphael gave a stiff reply and turned to leave,
Serentia tucked her long silver hair behind her ear and said shyly,

“Then… may I call you ‘dear’ from now on?”

“…Dear?”

“Yes, dear!”

Raphael’s cold gaze struck directly at Serentia’s radiant face.

“Is that the name of a monster?”

“‘Dear’? ‘Is that the name of a monster?’—seriously…”

“Be quiet.”

A few minutes later, inside the Grand Duke’s office.

Right after bringing Serentia into the inner castle, Raphael sat across from his aide, Tain, his expression as cold as a winter frost.

“That really was shocking, Your Grace.”

“Close your mouth.”

“You really do live long enough to see everything. I never thought I’d see the day Your Grace would be at a loss for words!”

“Close your mouth and check the official marriage contract. It needs to be divided between me and Lady Rosemary on the wedding day.”

“Ah, yes.”

Three seconds after his crisp reply,
Tain flipped through the documents and muttered,

“Ah, not this old-fashioned stuff. Your Grace’s expression earlier—that was something I’ve never seen in my life…”

Watching his aide grin foolishly, Raphael spoke quietly.

“Forget it.”

“Y-Yes, I’ve forgotten. But you see, Your Grace, you only have two expressions, right? And today, for the first time since I was born, I saw your third expression.”

Tain alternated between a frown and a blank face, then grinned.

“That means you haven’t forgotten.”

“…Anyway, what I mean is—I’m very curious whether the future Grand Duchess will be able to move Your Grace’s heart.”

“I will live as I always have, and the Grand Duchess will govern the household as per the contract between our families. That’s all.”

“Wow… an iron wall…”

“We’ll hardly meet. And there will be no reason to mix in unnecessary emotions.”

He truly was a fortress of emotion.

Tain scratched his head awkwardly.

‘Well… who could ever break through that?’

This marriage, too, was a hastily arranged one—forced upon Raphael by the council of elders and the emperor.

The storm stirred by Serentia quickly faded.

The office returned to its usual—very, very quiet—atmosphere.

Raphael silently gazed toward the castle gates.

The carriage Serentia had arrived in was still visible at the main entrance.

It was remarkably simple, with barely any luggage—just a small bundle.

Only one maid, and even she was said to be leaving soon.

It was certainly strange.

But not something worth his attention.

Raphael withdrew his gaze from the gate.

After unpacking in a guest room of Kairosen Castle,

I, Serentia Rosemary, thought to myself.

I had tried once more to bring up the nickname “dear” on the way in, but…

“If it’s not the name of a monster, I have no interest.”

“It’s not a monster’s name! Since we’ll be married in the future… we should at least have an affectionate nickname like ‘dear’ or ‘honey’!”

“Address me as Grand Duke Kairosen. Now, show the lady to the guest room, head butler.”

…And I was quickly rejected.

Well, to Raphael, I’m just a stranger he’s meeting for the first time.
Even if we’re to be officially married in three months, for now, I’m merely a guest.

So calling him “dear” was probably too much, too soon.

In the end, Raphael left coldly without even looking back at me.

‘I feel like I might cry…’

So I entered the guest room alone, wiping away tears—

‘But I’m not someone who cries easily!’

…I didn’t cry.

Instead, I fanned my flushed face with my hand to cool down and looked around.

Under the pale sunlight,
it finally felt real that I had escaped the Rosemary family and come here.

‘I’ve finally arrived. At Kairosen Castle.’

And beyond the window, the northern sun was rising.

‘Because I have a very, very, very important goal!’

I sat down on the sofa and steeled my resolve.

Then, a rough-looking head maid appeared before me.
With black hair and eyes, and a height that must have been at least 180 cm, she looked imposing.

I met her gaze with a dignified expression, absolutely not intimidated.

“Greetings. My name is Melosi. I will faithfully attend to you until your marriage, Lady Serentia. But why are you trembling? Are you cold?”

I’m not trembling. N-not scared at all.

I confidently extended my hand.

“…I’m not cold. N-nice to meet you. So, what should I do now?”

Melosi, who took my hand without much reaction, spoke.

“Please look at the schedule.”

And then, finally—

With a flourish!

The schedule she had prepared appeared before my eyes.

The first thing I checked was my meetings with Raphael.

But at that moment, I realized a truly shocking reality.

“I’ll only meet my husband three times for dinner over the next three months…?”

In the absurdly relaxed schedule Melosi handed me,
there were only three meetings with Raphael.

Thud. Thud.

It felt like stones were rolling around noisily inside my head.

With lifeless eyes, Melosi replied,

“Yes. As you know, Lord Raphael is busy rebuilding the Kairosen territory.”

W-wait… that won’t do.

According to my grand plan,

I absolutely had to meet Raphael every single day.

Because…