chapter 3
Before the sun rises, Raphael Cairocen’s day begins.
With a calm expression, Raphael walked through the lands outside the outer castle walls.
Only his power could clear away the ruins left by monster attacks the fastest.
A faint light flowed from his fingertips, and the empty plots were slowly, gradually being cleared.
On one small foundation, traces showed that a child had once lived there.
Raphael offered a brief moment of silence for the child—likely killed by monsters, with not even a grave—before turning away.
5:55 a.m. The moment of dawn.
His perfectly scheduled day, measured down to every second, had just begun.
Still wearing an indifferent expression, he returned to the castle to keep to his precise routine.
And then…
“Oh dear, oh dear, Lord Raphael!”
…he was met with a rather bothersome commotion.
His adjutant, Tain.
He was a bundle of restless चिंता, fidgeting nonstop.
Throughout the workday, he kept glancing out the window and calling out to Raphael.
“Lord Raphael, please look at Her Grace the Grand Duchess. She’s walking weakly in the garden—at least try talking to her.”
“I don’t see her.”
“She’s right there, outside the window!”
“She isn’t.”
“Oh, come on…”
“I assigned Head Maid Melosi to Lady Rosemary. She’ll adapt to the household on her own. I’ve done enough. Is there a problem?”
Watching Raphael’s rigid demeanor, Tain’s worries shifted—now he feared the future Grand Duchess might try to escape the castle.
“But still… what should we do? Her Highness keeps going on walks. What if she sees the collapsed buildings and gets shocked…?”
“I see. Then we should properly begin with rebuilding Cairocen Castle.”
True to his nature of controlling even the smallest details, Raphael’s daily life was perfectly fixed.
And within it, there wasn’t even a single second allotted to Serentia.
Poor future Grand Duchess…
She would surely wither away.
Like wilted spinach.
Without even meeting Raphael more than a few times.
Raphael Cairocen, you probably think right now that you won’t have any reason to meet me, don’t you?
But I just remembered.
In the past, you used to tell me your meticulously structured schedule every single day.
“W-where are you going, Lord Raphael?”
“Exactly 3:34 p.m. In one minute, I am scheduled to visit the Reconstruction Research Institute.”
“You’re very diligent in telling me.”
“I want to share my schedule with you. That’s all.”
You may not want to share any schedule with me now—but too bad.
You’ll just have to resent your past self.
Right now, Raphael should be at the research institute!
And so, I arrived at the Reconstruction Research Institute, where Raphael was supposed to be.
But what I found there, expecting something pleasant, was…
A sword?
No—a hatchet?
Three rough-looking men were facing off, holding axes and blades.
Well, that makes sense.
They were probably testing how durable construction materials were by turning them into weapons.
I knew this well, since I had participated in the Cairocen Castle reconstruction project in the past.
But then…
“G-gasp! My lady!”
Clatter—the axe fell to the floor.
A stiffened researcher hurriedly spoke,
“T-the rumors that people in our territory attack each other with axes and practice cannibalism are not true!”
With that completely useless excuse from a socially awkward researcher, the atmosphere sank even further.
I picked up the axe, handed it back, and smiled gently.
“Mhm, I understand. It’s a very nice axe.”
I nodded—but why did he look even more wronged?
Just as everyone fell into silence—
Sensing the commotion, Grand Duke Raphael entered the laboratory.
“What is going on here?”
My gaze shot toward him like lightning.
His expression was still emotionless.
Well… perhaps there was a slight hint of irritation at the disruption to his schedule.
But that wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was that I had met Raphael.
No wonder I didn’t feel like coughing!
And then…
“What are you doing right now?”
…Perhaps I was too happy to see him.
I had stepped closer to Raphael than I intended.
And his—his body…
W-what is this?
His shoulders and arms shifted beneath his shirt.
Because the thin fabric was damp with sweat, his body caught the light and gleamed like a sculpture.
As I stood frozen in place, Raphael spoke flatly,
“Leave. Outsiders are not permitted inside the Cairocen Castle Reconstruction Research Institute. And you are currently a guest—and an outsider.”
Strictly speaking, he wasn’t wrong. We weren’t married yet.
But his words still pricked like thorns.
Before my regression, my family used to enjoy parties without me—
while placing heavy burdens on my shoulders.
And one day, during my younger sister Ivelyn’s birthday party…
“I’m sorry, but I don’t want you to come this time, sister.”
“Why?”
“My friends say you’re not very fun. And you’re not exactly someone we can proudly show off. We have our family reputation to think about.”
Back then, I had simply accepted it.
I see, I thought.
“Serentia Rosemary. No matter what, you are now a part of the North.”
Before my regression, I had never felt like I belonged—until Raphael said that to me.
But now, even Raphael calls me an outsider.
It stung a little.
Still, I looked at him bravely.
“I’m sorry for entering without permission. But I want to say one thing.”
“What is it?”
At this moment, the thing I most wanted to say, gathering all my courage, was—
“I’ll work hard so that I won’t be an outsider anymore—but your wife♡, darling!”
“An insider? No. You will never become a member of my research institute.”
Raphael stared at me and said quietly,
“I told you not to call me ‘darling.’ You seem prone to slips of the tongue.”
Dry. Cold. His gaze pierced me.
But—
Thankfully, ‘your wife♡’ went through just fine!
Yes, I’m satisfied!
I lifted my chin proudly and said,
“It wasn’t a mistake.”
“What?”
“It was my carefully planned move—to pretend it was a mistake while properly introducing the nickname ‘darling’…”
“…?”
“What did you think?”
Raphael looked at me and slowly spoke.
“Leave.”
I met his gaze, recalling my fierce inner ambition.
“Yes! I’ll take my leave here for today!”
I walked away with light steps.
But that didn’t mean I was moving away from his heart.
Raphael Cairocen. You were like this in the past too.
Whenever I gathered courage and told you that you were handsome…
“Serentia Rosemary, have you always been this straightforward?”
“I wasn’t, originally… but I just started speaking my mind. Maybe I picked it up from you, Lord Raphael?”
“I like it.”
…You liked honesty like that, didn’t you?
I know you very well!
Maybe things are different now.
Maybe it’s because we met at a different time.
The way you speak now feels a little different from before…
But someday, you really will call me ‘darling’!
So until that day, I’ll keep pushing forward.
The three worst things in unrequited love:
- Being a nuisance
- Causing harm
- Stalking
I’ll avoid all of those—beneficial to you, and enjoyable for me!
At that moment, my gaze landed on a shelf labeled “Enhanced Experimental Materials.”
…I’ve decided. Our next meeting.
After Serentia left with her firm resolve,
the members of the Cairocen Castle Reconstruction Research Team—commonly called the lab—fell into collective despair.
“We must’ve looked like barbarians, holding axes and swords like that, right?”
Silence fell over everyone.
“Well, still… didn’t Her Highness speak kindly? She even used a cute tone, saying ‘my wife’ and all…”
Listening to the three researchers, Raphael Cairocen clenched and unclenched his fist a few times.
“No. Your statements are hypotheses that have not been clearly verified.”
That damned ‘hypothesis’ again…
At Raphael’s words, cold silence settled once more.
Unbothered, Raphael checked the time and said flatly,
“Due to an unexpected incident, the ‘Enhanced Materials Experiment’ has exceeded its scheduled time by approximately five minutes.”
“Uh, well, that is…”
“Resume work immediately.”
He spoke while looking not at a person, but at the schedule posted on the wall—
calculating a day that had been disrupted by a full five minutes.
…Already that time?
One of the more important moments in his day.
