Chapter 45
As soon as Rubiana returned to the mansion, a summons arrived from her mother for tea time.
Tea time in name only — she knew very well it would be an interrogation.
Under the gazebo in the rear garden, Virginia and Stephanie were already seated at the tea table.
“Ruby, you’re here.”
“Come on over.”
Stephanie grinned mischievously at her younger sister.
She clearly had a thousand questions she wanted to ask.
But Virginia spoke first.
“How is the Grand Duke? Were his injuries serious?”
“He wasn’t badly injured on the outside. I think he wasn’t in good condition and his mana became unstable, so he was in a lot of pain. But luckily, his mana is almost fully stable as of this morning.”
Finishing her answer, Rubiana took a sip of lemon tea.
Stephanie’s expression turned concerned.
“I see. Since he lost consciousness and collapsed, I thought he’d been gravely injured. It’s good that wasn’t the case. But unstable mana? That’s unexpected.”
Elion had led elite troops at the very front in countless battles.
Yes, he’d been injured many times, but even when he bled heavily, he usually reacted with nothing more than a slight furrow of the brow.
The thought that that Elion had collapsed had frightened everyone — and learning it wasn’t from injury but from unstable mana was surprising.
“Unstable mana… that worries me. Stabilizing mana is much more difficult than treating physical wounds.”
“Well, his very capable personal physician at the Grand Duke’s estate said he’s fine now, so don’t worry, Sister.”
Rubiana smiled softly at Stephanie’s creased brow.
As expected of a knight of the Imperial Order — her intuition is sharp.
Nibbling on her cheesecake, Rubiana reminded herself that even if she and Elion had agreed on their story, she still needed to be careful discussing mana in front of Stephanie.
“But anyway, Ruby — if you spent a night out, shouldn’t you give us a proper explanation?”
Heheh. Stephanie let out a wicked laugh this time.
Here it comes.
Rubiana stifled a sigh and glanced between her mother and sister.
Virginia looked tense, while Stephanie’s eyes sparkled with eager curiosity.
She couldn’t give them detailed explanations, so dropping the bomb all at once was probably best.
Rubiana set her fork down slowly and spoke.
“I… I’m going to get engaged to His Grace the Grand Duke.”
“…”
“…”
Virginia and Stephanie merely blinked at her, offering no real reaction.
They must have thought they misheard — or that even if they’d heard correctly, their ears were playing tricks on them.
A sudden engagement out of nowhere — it was natural they couldn’t grasp it right away.
So Rubiana repeated herself clearly:
“I said I’m going to get engaged to His Grace the Grand Duke of Klitzmann. The imperial palace will probably send the proposal soon.”
“Ruby, you’re getting engaged?”
“To the Grand Duke of Klitzmann?”
She nodded slowly.
“You two haven’t even been dating very long.”
“The length of the relationship doesn’t necessarily decide when someone feels ‘this is the person.’”
“Then what about the Grand Duke made you fall for him?”
“He’s… gentle. I thought he was frightening, but unexpectedly he’s kind and warm, and I think I fell for that. And well… he’s extremely handsome.”
“You can’t live off a man’s face, you know.”
“But nearly every married lady says so. Without the fun of looking at your handsome husband’s face, marriage is miserable.”
Well… there was truth in that. Virginia and Stephanie both nodded vigorously in agreement.
But it lasted only a moment.
Then came the flood of questions — a waterfall of them.
But she’d already run through the scenarios in her head, so answering wasn’t hard.
An abandoned prince and a war maniac.
Aside from those two labels, Elion wasn’t a bad groom at all.
He was handsome, held the powerful rank of Grand Duke, and quite wealthy.
A young noble lady who had just started dating him deciding to marry him wasn’t implausible in the least.
So acting the part was surprisingly easy.
She answered each question gracefully, with a relaxed smile — until Stephanie’s next question made Rubiana’s breath stop.
“If you like him that much, why not just hold a wedding right away? Ruby, you always said so — that if you ever met the person you truly loved, you wouldn’t want to drag things out with an engagement. You said you’d want to get married immediately.”
…Ah. So the old Rubiana said that.
Her heart dropped, but she managed to maintain her smile.
However, Virginia interrupted first.
“That is absolutely impossible.”
Her tone was firm.
Her sharp gaze moved between her two daughters.
“Important decisions that determine your entire life must not be rushed. You will have a proper engagement ceremony. Everything must follow its proper order.”
Wow. Mother, thank you!
Rubiana swallowed a sigh of relief and nodded.
“Not just Rubiana — you too, Stephanie.”
“…Yes, Mother.”
Stephanie pouted but nodded.
Then she glanced at Rubiana — and suddenly gasped.
“But Ruby! What did you do to your face? Your skin is glowing! You look gorgeous!”
“Really? I didn’t do anything special.”
“Then it must be the power of love!”
“…What nonsense.”
Blushing, Rubiana touched her cheeks.
Her sister had been right.
Sitting before her vanity, Rubiana stared blankly at the reflection in the mirror.
The more she looked, the more radiant her face appeared — glowing, as if lit from within.
Not just her face.
Her red eyes sparkled with overflowing vitality.
Her hair was shinier than ever.
Wait… come to think of it…
So much had happened yesterday and today.
Hearing Elion was gravely injured, she rushed to the Grand Duke’s estate in worry.
Then, intoxicated by mana, she spent a passionate night with him.
This morning, she met the Emperor in person for the first time.
And under pressure from his questioning and coercion, she ended up promising a marriage she never intended.
Then she ran into the Saintess — head-on — and even saw her collapse.
After returning home, she had to survive the endless barrage of questions from her mother and sister.
And yet… I’m not tired at all. Strange.
Just yesterday, before heading to the estate, she had been exhausted.
Since the day the torrential rain began, she hadn’t eaten or slept properly.
Her face had been pale, her undereye shadows dark. Her limbs were weak; she could hardly walk straight.
But after spending a single night at the Grand Duke’s estate, all fatigue vanished without a trace.
Which means… could it be… that receiving a large amount of mana from Elion last night caused this?
The cause and effect lined up perfectly.
Rubiana was almost certain.
The mana she received last night was incomparable to the small amount she’d gotten before from holding hands or kissing.
I should visit Omar tomorrow for a checkup.
Early the next morning, Rubiana woke up feeling refreshed.
She normally slept late, so waking up early on her own was unusual.
And from the moment she opened her eyes, her body felt light — almost buoyant.
Another sign, she believed, that her theory was correct.
Waking early meant she had more time — and she didn’t want to waste it.
She wanted to test how her body felt.
After changing into riding clothes, Rubiana headed to the stables.
She wasn’t the only one there at that hour.
“Huh? Ruby? What brings you here this early?”
“I woke up early, so I thought I’d go riding. And you, Sister?”
“My dear sister, this older sister wakes up at this hour every day to train. Don’t forget I’m a spirit knight of the Imperial Order.”
Thus the sisters mounted their horses together.
Morning mist blanketed the dawn forest.
Fog drifted like a thin veil between the trees — like a soft, silken bridal veil.
“Hyah!”
“Hyah!”
The two rode side by side, sometimes racing ahead, sometimes falling behind.
Each breath filled their lungs with crisp, cold morning air before releasing it in warm clouds.
After thirty minutes of nonstop riding, they finally stopped at the lakeside.
Panting—haah, haah—they looked at each other and burst into laughter.
“I can’t believe I’m going on a morning ride with Ruby!”
“You mean you like it, right, Sister?”
“Of course!”
Throwing an arm over Rubiana’s shoulder, Stephanie beamed.
Still smiling, she looked at her younger sister again.
“But it really is strange. You, a chronic late sleeper, waking up early? Going riding? And you don’t even look tired?”
“Right? I still feel full of energy.”
“This, this… I’m starting to get a certain feeling.”
Rubiana froze mid-breath, watching her sister carefully.
