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Chapter 7
“Why? Am I not allowed to?”
I instantly got irritated and glared at him sharply, but Lionel merely shook his head calmly.
“I was simply wondering if there was any reason for you to visit here often.”
“There is. My fiancé is here.”
I stared hard at him, silently asking Do you even realize you’re my fiancé?
Lionel answered in the same composed tone as always.
“You mean you’re coming to see me?”
“Of course! We’re supposed to get married someday, aren’t we? Then shouldn’t we have meaningful conversations and get to know each other better?”
Of course, whether we’d truly end up marrying was still uncertain, and what I actually wanted was to observe whether or not he’d eventually turn dark—
But still!
“Leo, is there anything you know about me?”
I placed my hands on my hips and interrogated him.
Lionel blinked once before listing information like a machine reciting stored data.
“Cecilia Roheim. Sixteen years old. Youngest child among one son and two daughters of House Roheim. Born in winter. Has never attended the Academy, but studied under the Frost Tower Master…”
“Wait. That’s enough.”
What the—so he had investigated me?
Feeling slightly less hurt, I cleared my throat awkwardly.
“So you did look into me.”
“Yes. Though there was less information available than expected.”
“That makes sense. I’ve never really participated in public activities.”
Officially, anyway.
“Still, Leo, do you really think that’s enough to know about the person you’re going to marry someday?”
“Then what more should I know?”
Oh my god, this is frustrating!
I nearly grabbed the back of my neck and collapsed.
I’d been thinking this for a while now, but he had a talent for saying things that could sound sarcastic if misunderstood—except he delivered them with such complete sincerity that you knew he genuinely meant them.
The fact that he truly didn’t understand made it even more problematic.
“Beyond things like age and family background, you should at least know what I like and dislike, what scares me, what bores me…”
“……”
“As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to intimate relationships like marriage, no matter how much you know about each other, it’s never enough.”
I honestly feared he might ask why again, but unexpectedly, Lionel simply nodded.
“There is no end to learning.”
…That’s not exactly what I meant.
Well, whatever. As long as the destination’s the same, the route doesn’t matter.
“So you agree then?”
“Yes. I’ll set aside separate time for it. Maxim.”
At Lionel’s call, the aide waiting nearby immediately opened a notebook and began furiously scribbling something down.
That schedule looks painfully complicated…
Well, not my schedule.
Good luck!
I withdrew my gaze from the poor aide and looked back at Lionel.
“I came without notifying you today, so I should probably leave now. And… Uni.”
Eunice immediately understood the meaning behind my glance and stepped forward, presenting the gift box she’d been carrying.
“This is a personal engagement gift.”
“An engagement gift…? You didn’t need to prepare something like this.”
“Don’t be so cold. Hurry and open it. Are you planning to reject my sincerity?”
Lionel let out a small sigh, but eventually unwrapped the package and checked the contents.
Inside the luxurious wooden box lay a fountain pen.
Its sleek black body carried a subtle sheen, delicately engraved with rose patterns, while tiny blue gemstones adorned the cap and clip.
“For the record, those gems are blue diamonds.”
“You made a fountain pen out of blue diamonds?”
“They’re small, so what else was I supposed to do?”
If they’d been slightly larger, I would’ve made cufflinks instead.
“Still, among all the blue diamonds I own, these matched my eye color the closest, so I treasured them quite a bit. Since I’m specially giving them to my fiancé, you should think of me often whenever you look at it. Understood?”
Lionel lowered his gaze thoughtfully for a moment before shaking his head and holding the box back out toward me.
“I truly cannot accept something this valuable. Please take it back.”
“Are you saying you can’t accept the token of love your fiancée is giving you?”
“That’s not what I meant—”
“Ahh, I see. You feel sorry because you didn’t prepare anything yourself? That’s alright. You can give me something later. I can wait.”
After speaking haughtily, I left the box on the table and stood up.
Then I emphasized firmly,
“You mustn’t lose it or give it to someone else. Think of it as a symbol of my affection and treasure it carefully. Got it?”
“……”
“Understood?”
After I pressed him repeatedly for an answer, Lionel finally nodded slowly as though surrendering.
“…Understood.”
His answer felt dark and heavy, like something sinking into a swamp.
And because of that, I could already predict the future awaiting the fountain pen I’d given Lionel.
* * *
About two hours after Cecilia left—
Knock knock.
“Your Highness. The First Prince has arrived.”
Lionel’s hand paused.
He had been busily working through the pile of tasks delayed during the thirty minutes he’d spent with Cecilia.
A faint sigh escaped his lips as the situation he’d expected finally unfolded.
Without even realizing it himself, Lionel rose neatly from his seat to greet Kaien.
“Welcome, Brother.”
“Yes… It seems you’ve been busy again today. My capable little brother.”
Pale complexion. Frail body.
Even the way Kaien walked from the doorway to the sofa in the middle of the office looked weak enough to make observers anxious.
Yet despite that, his presence was undeniably imposing.
Perhaps it was because, unlike Kaien—who sprawled lazily across the sofa—Lionel stood before him with perfect posture and impeccable composure.
“Why are you just standing there? Sit down. My neck hurts.”
“Yes, Brother.”
Even though it was his own office, Lionel only sat once permission had been given.
The tea brought in afterward was not served by attendants of the Second Prince’s palace, but by Kaien’s own servants.
Previously, after drinking tea served by one of the Second Prince’s attendants, Kaien had coughed up blood.
Though a thorough investigation revealed no poison in either the tea or cup, the servant who had served it was expelled from the palace anyway.
“I heard everything. Lady Roheim came for bridal lessons and stopped by to see you afterward?”
“Yes.”
“What did you talk about?”
Kaien’s tone was sharp, almost as though he suspected the two of them had formed some improper relationship.
By contrast, Lionel answered in his usual emotionless calm.
“She said that since we would someday become husband and wife, we should spend time talking and learning more about one another. She requested that we set aside time for future conversations.”
“And you agreed to that?”
“Yes.”
“Hah. Husband and wife… husband and wife.”
After muttering quietly to himself, Kaien fell silent.
Lionel also remained silent, seated perfectly upright.
Only the tea—once hot enough to steam—slowly cooled between them.
“I’ll be going now.”
In the end, Kaien rose from his seat without touching the tea even once, as though he had nothing more to ask.
“Oh right. I heard Lady Roheim left you a gift?”
It wasn’t surprising that Kaien knew.
Ever since the tea incident got an attendant expelled, the servants rotating through the Second Prince’s palace were far more loyal to Kaien than to Lionel himself.
“Yes.”
“What is it? Show me.”
From the beginning, refusal had never been an option for Lionel.
Even if he declined, Kaien’s servants would simply search the room themselves.
And Lionel didn’t want the office to become even messier when work was already piling up.
So without complaint, he opened the drawer, retrieved the wooden box, and handed it over.
“A fountain pen? …I see. That certainly sounds like the kind of gift Lady Roheim would give.”
Kaien tested the pen in his hand several times before even spinning it carelessly between his fingers.
Though he himself had called it a valuable item, he handled it extremely roughly.
Yet the only person bothered by that fact—even subconsciously—was Lionel.
Each time the pen nearly slipped from Kaien’s fingers and almost hit the floor, Lionel visibly flinched.
After fully enjoying Lionel’s reactions, Kaien finally placed the pen back into its box and closed the lid.
Then he stood while holding the box.
“As it happens, my favorite fountain pen recently broke. You don’t mind if I take this one instead, do you?”
“You mustn’t lose it or give it to someone else. Think of it as a symbol of my affection and treasure it carefully.”
Suddenly, Cecilia’s voice echoed through Lionel’s mind.
