Crave, whom Sig hadn’t seen in a while, looked rough with his scruffy beard.
“You’ve changed a bit,” Sig remarked, and Crave puffed up with pride.
“Can you tell? I’ve put on some muscle.”
“It’s your beard I’m talking about. I can’t really tell about the muscle.”
When Sig commented that Crave still looked fragile, Crave chuckled awkwardly.
“Look who’s talking! The one who has to pass the Southern-style test before the wedding is acting all tough!”
Crave raised his eyebrows and explained the rules.
“Somewhere in this building, your bride is hiding. As the groom, it’s your job to find her.”
“That sounds easier than I expected.”
“You’re confident, huh? Just be careful. If you don’t find her by sundown, there won’t be a wedding.”
“…What?”
“It’s a Southern tradition. That’s how it works.”
Crave laughed, mentioning there had been times when weddings were actually called off the day before.
“That sounds serious. You could miss the wedding, My lord.”
The vice-captain, whose legs had healed thanks to the priest’s divine power, teased with a smirk.
“Since it’s winter and the days are short, you’d better hurry.”
With that, Crave nudged Sig forward, and the hide-and-seek began at the Lockhart mansion.
The thought of possibly not getting married fired Sig up, and he immediately set off to find Britia. He searched everywhere—behind closets, curtains, and even rummaged through boxes that Britia might fit into.
“Britia.”
From the roof of the woodpile shed next to the mansion, Leon called out to his sister.
“You said she was inside that building, yet here you are. Isn’t that against the rules?”
Leon asked Britia while watching her gleefully observe Sig from the side.
“I can sneak in a little later.”
“…I was worried a mad dog would play with you. But now it seems like you’re the one playing with the mad dog.”
Leon admitted his mixed feelings of relief and concern as a younger brother.
“Hey, Sig is your brother-in-law now. Can’t you stop calling him that?”
Britia shot a glare at Leon for calling Sig a mad dog.
“It’s just a habit… I’ll try to change it.”
“And it’s not playing; it’s just a little teasing.”
Isn’t that the same thing?
Leon thought to himself. But seeing Britia’s cute expression while watching Sig through the open window made him keep his mouth shut.
“Well, if you and, uh, brother-in-law are happy, that’s fine by me.”
Leon barely managed to correct himself, but the term “brother-in-law” left a sour taste in his mouth. He couldn’t believe he had to accept Sig Turas as his brother-in-law.
Oh, and if we’re talking about things that don’t sit well, there was one more.
Sitting on the steps leading into the mansion, Leon shot a glare at the vice-captain, who was chatting leisurely with Crave.
He felt frustrated, realizing how much he still had to improve in his swordsmanship after sparring with Sig. But the vice-captain of Altem was different; he felt like he could win, yet he never managed to seize the advantage.
As he grumbled about why he couldn’t win, the vice-captain chuckled and pointed out his lack of experience.
Damn it. Who doesn’t know that?
Noticing Leon’s gaze, the vice-captain turned to him.
“Sis, I think you’ll be found out by, uh, your brother-in-law sooner than you think. That guy over there spotted us.”
“Who? Oh, it’s fine.”
Britia waved her hand at the vice-captain, smiling as their eyes met.
“I have someone who likes teasing Sig even more than I do, so there’s no way I’ll spill the beans.”
If Britia really wanted to call off the wedding with this, Leon knew she was just teasing Sig. So, he wouldn’t interfere with Britia’s plan to jump into Sig’s arms and ask why he had taken so long to find her.
“You actually believe that knight?” Leon said with a pout, and Britia chuckled, leaning against her brother’s shoulder.
“I do believe him. But he’s not the knight I trust the most.”
“It’s me, right?”
“Nope. It’s Sig Turas.”
Britia’s playful reply made Leon’s eyes narrow in surprise. Britia couldn’t help but laugh.
“You’re not a knight anymore since you left Valenderg.”
As Britia pointed out, Leon had indeed left the Valenderg Knight Order.
There was no way he could just send the fragile Lockhart couple off to a dangerous place like Taraf.
“I’m still a knight. Our lord appointed me as a knight of Taraf.”
Leon puffed out his chest, claiming to be the number one knight.
“Is there a number two knight too? You’re the only knight around here, aren’t you?”
“…Well, there is a number two knight.”
Leon seemed reluctant to delve into that topic and quickly tried to change the subject.
“Ah, poor brother-in-law. Even if you rummage through the kitchen, you won’t find her there.”
“Trying to change the topic, huh? Are you upset that Philip is the number two knight?”
“What? You knew?”
“I just guessed.”
Britia smiled slyly.
“When will you accept Philip’s feelings?”
“Why would I accept that guy?”
“Whether you like it or not, if you have no intention of accepting him, you need to be clear about it. He’s given up his hometown and his career as a knight to chase after you; how long are you going to let that go on?”
Britia’s words were a gentle reproach, and Leon’s expression grew complicated.
When he was part of the Southern aristocracy, he had some hidden motives for keeping Philip close.
“You’re my hostage. If your father brings people here again, you’ll come in handy.”
Leon never forgot how he had become a hostage when Philip’s father led the starving mobs to Lockhart Castle.
So, he had threatened Philip, taking him along to get back at his father. But the fool thought he needed him and kept sticking around.
What a real idiot. Did he think he would jump into a fire just because he said he was needed?
He snickered inwardly. But lately, things had turned a little frightening.
“I don’t need you anymore.”
Leon thought he had made his rejection perfectly clear. He had left the knight order, along with his cheerful Southern friends, including Philip. Yet, when he started to feel the absence of those who were always by his side, Philip reappeared.
He said he’d asked Crave to become a knight of Taraf.
“I said I didn’t need you. What is this nonsense?”
“Where I go is up to me. Why do you care?”
Why should he care when he chose to follow her so willingly?
“I didn’t tell you to do that. You’re the one deciding all this on your own.”
Leon scowled, letting his annoyance slip out.
“Both of you are just too proud.”
Britia let out a small laugh.
A matter of pride? Was that really all it was?
Leon sank into his thoughts.
“What do you want with me? Do you want a kiss or something? Fine, I’ll give you one, just once.”
And just when he thought that would satisfy him, what had Philip done? He had turned away without a second glance, as if he were the most pathetic person in the world.
At that moment, Leon felt an inexplicable sting to his pride.
“I don’t know. That guy just annoys me whenever I see him. I have no idea what he’s trying to do, and it just frustrates me.”
Leon grimaced, thinking that his brother-in-law wasn’t cute like his sister, even if he didn’t do much.
“More importantly, I think he’s getting desperate. If you don’t come out soon, he might actually break down the door to our house.”
Leon pointed with her finger at Sig, who was forcefully trying to rip off the locked door.
“What the hell are you doing? That place was locked for a reason!”
They could hear Crave’s desperate cries. He had asked them to find someone, not destroy the house. A struggle broke out between Crave and Sig. It didn’t seem to resolve peacefully, as Sig pushed past Crave and headed toward the wall.
“Oh no, he’s going to wreck our house!”
As the door disappeared, Sig started to tear apart the wall, trying to see if there was a hidden room. Crave grabbed the hem of Sig’s pants to stop him.
Ignoring Crave, Sig suddenly whipped his head around. When his eyes met Britia’s, she flinched in surprise.
For a moment, his face lit up. Sig effortlessly shook off Crave’s grip and stepped outside.
“Britia!”
At Sig’s shout from below the storage area, Britia peeked out from behind Leon.
“Well, I guess there’s no turning back now. I have no choice but to get married.”
Britia pretended to sound nonchalant, but her bravado faded when she looked down to see how far it was to climb down.
It had been easy climbing up because Leon had pulled her up, but going down was a whole different story.
“Britia.”
Sig called out to her, wondering why she hadn’t come down.
“I have a problem, Sig. I can’t get down!”
She had planned to make a graceful descent and ask why he had taken so long, but now everything was a mess.
No, it was fine. She could still recover from this. She just had to find a way down on her own.
Resolutely, she placed her foot on a brick of the storage building to start her descent. But then her leg slipped, and she barely managed to grab onto the roof. Now her arm muscles were screaming in protest.
“Sig! What do I do?!”
“Just let go. I’ll catch you.”
Let go? That was a terrifying suggestion!
But her arms were getting weaker by the second.
“Will you really catch me? Can I trust you?”
Britia glanced at Sig and exhaled sharply.
What made her think she would gain any glory by climbing onto this roof? It felt like she was being punished for teasing Sig.
“Britia.”
“If you don’t catch me properly, I won’t forgive you!”
With her eyes squeezed shut, Britia let go.
“Ahhh! Aah, ah….”
It didn’t take long for her to fall into his arms. From above, it had seemed so high, but in reality, it wasn’t that far.
It made sense, considering the storage building wasn’t that tall, but how could she have forgotten? Feeling embarrassed, Britia couldn’t bring herself to look Sig in the face.
“I caught you properly.”
“…Thank you for catching me.”
At the sound of Sig’s quiet chuckle, Britia bit her lower lip. She felt his lips brush against her forehead, but she was too embarrassed to open her eyes. She wanted to disappear for a moment.
“Now, can you put me down?”
“Can’t I just take you away like this?”
Sig asked, giving her another gentle kiss.
“In the North, the groom takes the bride to his house the night before the wedding.”
“Uh… that custom doesn’t exist in the South.”
“But Lockhart is already part of the Northern aristocracy.”
“Umm… Crave!”
Britia opened her eyes, looking for her twin to help her.
“I’m scared that if I say no, Sig will destroy our house again.”
Britia gaped at the gesture for him to just take her away.
The next morning, a wedding was held in the palace for the Emperor’s most cherished nephew and his favored maid.
