“……Aha.”
At last, I understood.
All that remained to my father now was a single title, and Rastan was someone who could wipe out even a collapsing House like House Krone without leaving so much as a trace that he had intervened.
‘On top of that, I heard that Huan has started gambling these days, taking after our father.’
In that case, even if no one deliberately tried to destroy House Krone, they would completely fall into ruin before long.
‘In that state, just slipping them a little money would be enough for them to do whatever Rastan tells them to.’
When Rastan went last time to obtain the written consent to our engagement, I had worried that my father might try to bargain with him, but it turned out to be a completely pointless worry.
‘Rather than being bargained with, he went and thoroughly threatened them instead, didn’t he?’
That meant I would have no reason to pay any attention to my father or to Huan as I went on living.
From now on, they would live lying low as if dead, occasionally carrying out Rastan’s instructions.
When we arrived at Rastan’s office, I used a letter knife to open the purple envelope in question.
“Hm?”
My eyes widened slightly at the unexpected contents. Rastan, apparently curious as well, glanced this way and asked casually.
“What does it say? I cannot even guess what business the Imperial Family would have with you.”
I turned the letter in my hand and showed it to him.
“It is a tea party invitation. Hosted by Her Highness the Imperial Princess.”
“The Imperial Princess?”
Rastan’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“By any chance… Did you tell His Majesty the Emperor about our engagement?”
The thought crossed my mind that the Imperial Princess might have summoned me to vent her anger, believing I had stolen a potential marriage partner from her.
Rastan seemed to realize what I was thinking.
“Not yet. But it does not seem like the Imperial Princess invited you with ill intentions.”
“Why do you think so?”
At that, Rastan hesitated slightly, as if searching for an excuse, before giving his answer.
“…I know the Imperial Princess’s personality roughly, and she is not that malicious or underhanded of a person.”
“Hm. Then are you saying it would be safe for me to go?”
“I believe so. But if you are worried, I can speak to the Princess and arrange it so you do not have to attend.”
So there was even the option of ignoring an invitation from the Imperial Family.
‘The power of House Blake really is something else.’
I found myself looking at Rastan with renewed admiration, but I shook my head.
“No. If she did not invite me to harass me, then it is fine. I can take this opportunity to look around the Imperial Princess’s Palace as well.”
I had very little experience attending social gatherings in my life.
It was partly because I had no money, but more than that, it was because my father disliked me going out, saying it was embarrassing to have a daughter without an ability.
And now, a tea party hosted by the Imperial Princess.
‘It’s not an opportunity that comes often.’
Rastan looked at me and let out a silent sigh.
“Understood. Then please allow me, at the very least, to accompany you and watch from a distance. It is a place where hyenas swarm.”
For a moment, I wondered if the place I was going wasn’t the Imperial Palace but a savanna grassland, but I decided not to worry in advance for no reason.
“I would be grateful if you did.”
I nodded with a smile, and just then, a crow flew in through the office window.
The moment it landed on the floor, it immediately transformed into a human.
From this handsome young man’s appearance, the only parts that still resembled the crow were his violet eyes and jet-black hair.
“I have returned, my Lord! The Young Lady is here as well.”
Having seen it a few times already, I had grown accustomed enough that I no longer jumped in surprise when Raven transformed between human and crow.
But even so, it couldn’t help but still feel amazing.
I watched absentmindedly as Rastan and Raven went over to the desk and talked about routine work matters.
Raven, whose true form I couldn’t even tell whether it was human or bird, and Rastan, who seemed capable of controlling human actions.
I was always curious about what they really were, but nothing came to mind beyond “mages”.
‘Rastan said he’d tell me after we got engaged, so I should ask when the two of us are alone sometime soon.’
After finishing a brief report, Raven turned to head toward his own desk off to the side of the office.
But Rastan stopped him.
“If you’re done, get out for now, Raven.”
“What? I still need to write my next report at my desk.”
Raven answered like a perfectly reasonable office worker, but Rastan was firm.
“Take it outside.”
Raven made a sulky face, but without further protest, he began gathering up the documents from his desk.
He was usually quite playful, but one way or another, he seemed to follow the chain of command strictly.
“Yees, I will make way for youuu.”
He did leave behind some strange final remark, though.
When Raven’s footsteps gradually faded and could no longer be heard, Rastan approached me and naturally wrapped an arm around my waist.
I could immediately tell what he was trying to do.
These days, whenever we were alone, he kissed me as if it were only natural.
“Huh, again? Here and now?”
“Is there any reason it wouldn’t be allowed?”
“…”
Seeing him grin as he lightly pressed a kiss to my cheek, my words caught in my throat.
“If it’s reasons why it is allowed, I could name ten.”
“Did you leave your lips with me or something?”
I said it out of disbelief, but Rastan replied seriously, as if thinking it over.
“Hm… Something like that. I do have a certain degree of rights, after all.”
“What did you say? What does that even mean…?”
“It is in the contract, is it not? That the two of us must do everything we can in order to purify my nightmares.”
I did feel like I had seen a clause like that. But the content and nuance felt subtly different from what I remembered.
“Was it not that we must do our best to purify your nightmares?”
“That wording is also correct in terms of meaning, but the contract itself is probably written the way I said it.”
Considering I had skimmed through that thick contract, remembering even this much could be said to be a fairly decent memory.
Still, the chances of Rastan being wrong were extremely low. After all, he had drafted the contract himself, and he was famous even among educated high-ranking nobles for his sharp intellect.
And what we had entered into was a contract with clear legal binding force.
Though it was unlikely, if we ever ended up in a legal dispute over this contract, every single word written in it would be scrutinized for its meaning.
Whichever side had followed the clauses precisely would win the dispute. I knew very well that this was how contracts worked, but because I trusted Rastan, I had signed without being overly strict or meticulous…
‘Should I have forced myself to read the whole thing thoroughly three times, even if it was exhausting?’
A faint sense of unease brushed past me.
“Do you remember the clause stating that you cannot refuse my legitimate demands?”
At him saying that, I realized I had absolutely no memory of such a clause.
“Ah… no. There was something like that…?”
“There was. Probably at the bottom of page 287.”
All this time, he had been standing close, one arm pulling my waist into his embrace.
After saying that, he lowered his head and lightly pressed his lips to mine.
After brushing my lips lightly two or three times, he pulled back just a little and spoke softly.
“Of course, you may refuse if you are unwell, or if you truly dislike it. That is written on the line below that clause.”
And then, instead of kissing me again, he stayed perfectly still in that position.
I realized that this meant “If you dislike it, express it now,” and let out a silent, amused smile.
“Alright.”
At that, Rastan’s body stiffened slightly.
Suppressing the upward curve of my lips, I lifted both hands and wrapped them around his neck.
“For now, I am not unwell, and I do not dislike it too much.”
As I spoke, I slightly pushed my lips forward, letting my lips brush against his.
The moment our lips touched, something like a breath of relief briefly slipped from Rastan’s mouth.
Then he immediately cupped my cheeks and showered me with kisses.
‘He seems to be getting bolder and more daring as time goes on…?’
When we first kissed, he at least pretended to be cautious, but in just a few days, things had changed rapidly.
It was true that, in order to erase his nightmares, the more contact there was between the two of us, the better.
But perhaps because he had confessed his feelings for me, his kisses now carried something ecstatic and deeply earnest.
Before I knew it, I had forgotten words like contract and obligation altogether, clinging to Rastan’s neck and focusing solely on the deep kisses he poured into me.
