***
Delight, Zaire, and Hiel were deep in discussion. They were trying to figure out how to reach Ilnord.
“Going to the Ilnord Imperial Palace is a completely different situation from the underground auction last time.”
Back then, they could hide their identities since the location was near the border.
But this time, it was different.
Not just anywhere, but the heart of Ilnord’s capital—the Imperial Palace.
“There are only two options: war or an official visit.”
Zaire assessed the situation calmly.
“If His Majesty personally visits…”
“Of course, they’ll be suspicious.”
That alone would put them on guard, and they might move Luciel elsewhere.
“We barely managed to find out that Luciel is in the Imperial Palace. If they hide him again, it will be difficult to find him.”
Hiel expressed his concern. There were too many restrictions.
Delight shared the same thought.
“We have to find Luciel while he’s still in the Ilnord Imperial Palace.”
In the end, they kept coming back to the same problem.
“Unless we find a way to lure Luciel out of the palace…”
If entering the palace was impossible, they needed to consider alternative approaches.
Just then, they felt a presence outside the door.
“Dad, I’m coming in!”
A cheerful voice rang out as the door suddenly burst open.
Of course, it was Ollia.
She strode toward Delight confidently and spoke.
“I found a way!”
“What?”
“There’s a way for you to visit the Ilnord Imperial Palace officially with a valid reason!”
Ollia declared with conviction.
But… why was he here too?
Delight’s gaze shifted to Serdin, who was standing behind Ollia.
I stepped into the room alongside Serdin.
“Princess, you said you found a way. Is that true?”
Zaire asked expectantly.
I turned to Serdin and made a bold declaration.
“Serdin, let’s get married.”
Cough!
Serdin choked and coughed violently.
His face turned beet red as he looked at me in shock.
“W-What did you just say?!”
His reaction suggested he was on the verge of collapsing from sheer disbelief.
Of course, Serdin wasn’t the only one reacting strongly to my words.
“There’s no way I heard that correctly. Ollia would never say something like that.”
Delight was busy denying reality.
He even tried to dig into his ears as if to erase the words from his memory.
Meanwhile, Blueny stared at me, seemingly deep in thought.
She hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
“Could it be that Ollia actually likes Prince Serdin…?”
Blueny blinked in surprise, as if she had just reached an unexpected conclusion.
“Ollia, don’t worry. No matter how much Delight objects, I will always support my daughter.”
And with that, she made a firm and determined promise.
“If my daughter loves someone, I’ll do whatever it takes to bring them together!”
…That reaction was unexpected.
Regardless, I meant what I just said.
“You all heard me right. I want to marry Serdin.”
As I was about to explain the situation again, Serdin, who had initially looked like he was going to faint, suddenly regained his composure.
“I never expected to receive a proposal here. My answer is…”
Just as he was about to give a serious response, I cut in.
“The wedding is just an excuse.”
“…An excuse?”
“Serdin, you said you’d help me with anything, right?”
“Yeah.”
Serdin nodded without hesitation.
“Then let’s get married in Ilnord. That way, we can all enter Ilnord without suspicion.”
That was my real goal.
A way to go to Ilnord and find Luciel.
“This works out perfectly. There’s already a rumor that Serdin and I like each other.”
“Works out perfectly? That’s a misunderstanding we need to clear up…”
Delight, the one most against the rumor, spoke up.
But what was a troublesome misunderstanding just yesterday had now become a rumor that needed to be amplified.
“Thanks to that rumor, even if we suddenly announce our marriage, it won’t be suspicious.”
They say that when one door closes, another opens. I never expected the timing to align this perfectly.
“And since Dad dotes on me so much, he wouldn’t want to send me away to another country after marriage.”
“Of course not!”
Delight reflexively shouted.
The moment he answered, he seemed to realize he was supporting my plan, but it was too late.
I continued.
“So after the wedding, Serdin will live in Promian with me. But we’ll hold the wedding in Ilnord.”
That way, Ilnord would lower its guard naturally.
“And since it’s my wedding, of course, both Dad and Mom have to attend!”
Now, everyone had a reason to enter the Ilnord Empire.
“How does that sound?”
“……….”
“……….”
Everyone had their concerns, but the plan was too logical to reject outright.
The prolonged silence proved it.
Good.
“We have to go to Ilnord no matter what. Do you have a better plan than this?”
“……….”
No one could answer.
“It lets us enter without starting a war and—actually, we’ll even be welcomed.”
“..…….”
“It also reduces suspicion while giving us a chance to find Luciel.”
Delight anxiously bit his lip, clearly torn between reason and instinct.
Time to push him to make a decision.
“Dad, we have to do this, right?”
“…Fine.”
I pressed him, and though he reluctantly agreed, his expression twisted with discomfort.
“Mom, you agree too, right?”
“Hmm, faking a wedding bothers me a little… but I’ll support Ollia’s decision.”
“Then it’s settled.”
This was the best way to enter Ilnord and find Luciel.
Now, we just had to execute it.
But before that—
I turned sharply toward Serdin.
“Serdin, until we get to Ilnord, we have to act like a real couple.”
We had to be convincing enough to fool everyone.
“Alright. I’ll do my best.”
Serdin made a determined promise.
But that wasn’t enough.
“You need to take this seriously!”
A half-hearted effort wouldn’t cut it.
The key here was to do it properly.
“Don’t be nervous. Act affectionate! Like you’re truly in love!”
“…Huh?”
“Can you do it?”
“…Y-Yeah.”
Serdin, slightly overwhelmed by my determination, hesitantly nodded.
I had a bit of concern, but…
‘The rest can be learned through practice.’
“Alright. Since we’re already talking about it, let’s do it right now.”
“Huh? Right now?!”
Serdin reflexively stood up with me.
“Yes. Everyone’s already gathered in the banquet hall.”
Just as I was about to pull Serdin along and head out—
“I need some time to mentally prepare.”
Delight groaned as he rubbed his face.
“But that would only extend the period of their fake engagement.”
Then, Blueny casually threw in a comment.
“Let’s do it right away.”
Delight immediately changed his mind.
“Alright, let’s go to the banquet hall now.”
As I confidently spoke and moved to leave with Serdin—
“Wait a moment! Isn’t this a bit too sudden?”
Zaire hurriedly stopped us and made me sit back down.
“There’s no guarantee Ilnord will react the way we want…”
He tried to convince Serdin to think more carefully, but before he could continue, I cut him off.
“It’s fine. I have a plan.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
Huh?
Delight and I said the same thing at the same time.
“Ollia, what plan are you talking about?”
“Dad, what about you?”
There was no way we had come up with the same plan.
The one I had in mind was…
As my gaze naturally landed on Serdin, I realized—
Delight was also looking at Serdin.
“……….”
“…..….”
“…Huh?”
What was going on?
Who was supposed to speak first in a situation like this?
Our eyes met in confusion.
“I’ll speak first.”
Serdin finally broke the silence in a quiet voice.
“Actually, I have a way to make the Emperor of Ilnord willingly approve of my marriage.”
