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chapter 03
Either Way, We Both Hate It
If Lucas had looked indifferent when he first entered the engagement hall, now it was painfully obvious that he outright disliked—and was uncomfortable with—his fiancée.
“With this, in the name of God, the engagement ceremony between His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of the Tern Empire and Lady Serena Astell of the ducal house is hereby concluded.”
Fireworks prepared for the guests exploded, and flower petals rained down from the second floor. Yet between the two who had just become engaged, only cold air flowed.
“Had I known you were such a large woman, I would have added kneeling to the ceremony.”
Lucas’s words, spoken amid the noise and celebration, were directed solely at Serena.
She could no longer hold back.
“If I had known Your Highness was so small, I would have worn lower heels.”
Snap—
Sparks flew between their gazes in a standoff neither was willing to retreat from.
Unfortunately for Lucas, he was still the one looking up.
“How dare you… call me small?”
Her careless remark had struck a nerve. In his pitch-black eyes, sparks of fury ignited. The sharp angle of his eyes made his glare downright vicious.
“Compared to what I expected… yes.”
At Serena’s honest answer, Lucas scowled deeply.
“I don’t like women this big either.”
In her past life, those words would have devastated her.
But now—
“I feel the same.”
“What?”
Lucas raised one eyebrow.
“This engagement doesn’t please me either.”
Serena smiled elegantly, her lips tinted with soft pink rouge.
“I don’t like men shorter than me.”
“So you’re saying… I am?”
Instead of answering, Serena simply maintained her smile. Staring up at her like that, Lucas looked even more childish.
“Hah. Fine. The vow of a kiss will be postponed until the marriage is finalized. Until I return and the wedding takes place, your status shall remain as it was yesterday.”
The corner of the boy’s mouth twisted into a sneer.
“Well—if that day ever comes.”
The words were spoken low, like a threat.
But his sharp warning did nothing to mar Serena’s smile.
Fortunately, he was not an important figure in her life.
Though they would marry in the future, nothing that could truly be called a marriage would ever occur. In other words, this was a see-you-once-and-never-again relationship.
Still, considering the trouble she would face because of this brief encounter, Serena found no reason to be lenient—no matter how young he was.
“If such a day comes…”
She deliberately bent at the waist, lowering herself to the level of his ear.
“…I hope Your Highness will have grown taller than me by then.”
For a brief moment, Lucas froze in shock—too stunned to reply.
Serena straightened and smiled in clear triumph.
The smile she wore as she stood tall was dignified—and for the present Lucas, physically out of reach.
“This goes beyond displeasure. I’m furious. You’d be wise never to speak to me so carelessly again.”
Lucas was brimming with anger, but Serena barely cared.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
If a relationship was doomed to remain distant, it was better to give up early and live comfortably. Having experienced death once, she no longer wished to beg for affection or force herself to fit someone else’s standards.
Besides, life held countless brilliant things to pursue. A cold, distant future husband hardly mattered.
“…Hah!”
Though their exchange was meant to be private, no one missed the sight of the Crown Prince turning sharply on his heel, his expression twisted with frustration.
“Hmph.”
Naturally, the future Crown Princess was no less impressive—she turned away as well, letting out a quiet scoff.
Even if he was only fourteen, throwing a tantrum while being that much shorter than her made him look ridiculous. Mirroring his behavior felt oddly satisfying.
“This is the worst day of the year.”
Sensing the icy atmosphere, the attendants quickly ushered Serena away.
“For once, I agree with Your Highness.”
But there was no stopping the sharp tongue of the future Crown Princess, and the Crown Prince’s face turned red as the engagement ceremony somehow came to an end.
The first impressions formed between the fourteen-year-old Crown Prince and the eighteen-year-old ducal lady were disastrous—and their future relationship promised to be just as bad.
“Oh dear…”
“So early already…”
In later years, the nobles who had attended the ceremony would recall it unanimously as an engagement utterly mismatched in dignity—and astonishingly childish.
“Who’s the one going to the battlefield, honestly…”
“He certainly looks the more valiant one.”
“Oh my, you shouldn’t say such things.”
Behind elegant fans and refined attire, biting remarks slipped through, though the Emperor’s stern gaze prevented any bloodshed.
“Ahem. Mind your words.”
At the Pope’s admonition, the gathered groups gradually dispersed.
“Hmm… Were engagement ceremonies always like this?”
The Emperor frowned, recalling the two turning away from each other after their petty quarrel.
“Marriage is full of collisions by nature, is it not?”
Duke Roger Astell, Serena’s father, replied calmly—having witnessed everything.
“The Duke is right. There is no marriage without its battles. Now then, shall we raise a toast to the fulfillment of our pact?”
“I was planning to depart west immediately…”
“Come now. Stay tonight, share a drink, and tell me of your wanderings. Watching the Crown Prince’s departure ceremony tomorrow morning would be perfect.”
With no grounds left to refuse, Duke Astell nodded. The Emperor cast aside formality and, as they had on the battlefield long ago, slung an arm around his shoulders and disappeared with him.
Regardless of the couple’s feelings, the political marriage between the Emperor and Duke Astell’s houses had taken its first step.
That alone was what truly mattered.
* * *
The Emperor and Duke Astell quickly agreed it was best to keep the two apart for the time being. Thanks to that, Serena returned to the ducal estate immediately and was excused from attending the Crown Prince’s departure ceremony the next day.
“Miss… um…”
Anna, who hadn’t spoken a word during the carriage ride, finally addressed Serena after she had changed clothes.
“You must be very tired today. You don’t know each other yet, and people’s remarks were far too—”
“I don’t care.”
Serena answered casually and drained a glass of water in one go.
“Honestly, it might be better if I went to the battlefield instead of him.”
Recalling the sharp glare of the boy who had stared her down, she couldn’t help thinking he had quite the temper. Still—being that small, could he even wield a sword properly?
“And even if I’m a bit big, he was very small.”
House Astell had produced many warriors, and Serena’s father himself was powerfully built.
“Even with a four-year age gap, I look like I’d win in a sword fight. It’s not my fault—His Highness is just frail.”
Though she claimed not to care, the remarks she’d overheard from the guests had clearly irritated her, and she redirected her frustration toward Lucas.
“His Highness is still young, so—”
“He was smaller than the aide standing next to him. Aide-de-camps are usually close in age to their lord—who do they think they’re fooling?”
“He’ll grow quickly. And this campaign won’t last long. You’ll see him again in a year.”
That wasn’t true.
According to memory, Lucas would return from the battlefield at age twenty.
And only because he stubbornly insisted on staying, refusing to return to the palace.
Perhaps one reason was the existence of a larger, rude fiancée.
“There’s no guarantee of when he’ll return.”
Even if he did, nothing would change between them. Time would pass, Lucas would become Emperor, Serena Empress—and yet nothing would exist between them.
“We’re only engaged. My status hasn’t changed.”
If nothing else, she knew one thing for certain: the present mattered. There were countless things more worthwhile than waiting six meaningless years for a fiancé she didn’t even care about.
“Father entrusted the territory to me.”
Unlike at the engagement ceremony, Serena’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“What? Wasn’t that just a formality?”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’ve been given a chance to do something.”
Serena’s life might already be written—but how she lived it was still her choice.
Meanwhile, the Empress of the Empire married at an age far past the usual season, yet the imperial couple remained cold and childless. Naturally, the imperial family and nobility began searching for a successor to the position of Empress.
That was all the original story said about Serena’s life.
Her relationship with the brat she met today would remain icy for life. The delayed wedding would be blamed on his late return from war, yet the narrative painted her as the lacking one.
“Please get some good rest today.”
“I will. I have plenty of time.”
There was no need for Serena to rush.
“Tomorrow, organize Father’s office and prepare a space for me.”
“Tomorrow?”
But she had no intention of delaying either.
“Yes. Since I’ve been entrusted with the territory, I should at least try to do something.”
Serena smiled brightly, brimming with vitality.
No matter how fertile and prosperous the lands were, with Duke Roger constantly wandering, there were surely places that needed her attention.
“Yes, I’ll inform the chief steward.”
Anna nodded, assuming this was merely a whim born from a bruised ego after the engagement.
Six years later—
No one could have predicted just how much change Serena would bring as the acting head of the ducal house.
Not even Serena herself.
