Chapter : 113
In most of the empire, monsters had formed piles of corpses in their habitats.
This strange situation prompted many nobles, including Theo and Cadin, to investigate.
However, even after several days, they could not find a clear reason. Since no similar incidents occurred afterward, the piles of monsters gradually faded from people’s minds.
“You two really look perfect together.”
On the day of Rosearine’s family head appointment ceremony,
Gemma fussed excitedly as she looked at Theo and Liriope, dressed in the outfits sent by Feroce.
The couple’s outfits, combining pure white fabric with a deep, navy-like blue, accentuated their elegance even further.
Liriope’s dress, revealing her graceful neckline, displayed the most elegant figure she had ever shown in any dress she had worn before.
Leaving Gemma’s excited fuss behind, Liriope climbed into the carriage heading toward the count’s mansion with Theo. She smiled brightly as she looked at Theo, who gazed at her with tender eyes.
It was the first time she had seen Theo wearing such bright attire, as he usually wore a black uniform.
Although black suited him perfectly, the bright outfit also looked stunning on him. Liriope thought, half-amused, that the true perfection of fashion really is in the face.
“You look beautiful.”
Theo seemed pleased with Liriope’s appearance as well.
“You look amazing too, Theo.”
Liriope, feeling shy for not having complimented him earlier due to Gemma, turned her head toward the window.
“By the way, why are we taking a carriage? The travel portal is much faster.”
Not wanting to show her flushed face, she asked while still looking out the window. Theo took her gloved hand, kissed the back of it, and replied:
“Since we have a day to spare, I wanted to spend it leisurely, just the two of us.”
Liriope turned her gaze back to Theo.
“I was a bit indifferent about the idea of wearing matching outfits,” Theo said suddenly.
Liriope’s eyes widened slightly at his unexpected words.
“But now that I’m wearing the same outfit as you, I understand why lovers deliberately wear matching clothes. It feels like we truly belong to each other, and it’s a wonderful feeling.”
He kissed the back of her hand again, whispering softly.
Liriope felt so embarrassed she couldn’t look directly at him. She lowered her gaze and nodded slightly.
“I feel the same way.”
At her shy, whispered words, Theo could no longer resist and pressed his lips to hers.
Inside the carriage heading to the count’s mansion,
their long, lingering kiss began.
The head appointment ceremony of the count’s family turned out to be surprisingly simple and neat.
As in most family head appointments, the former head handed over the family’s emblem and seal to the successor, offering words of blessing to conclude the ceremony.
However, unlike other noble families’ ceremonies, the count’s event was attended by the crown prince, the duke, and even the princess, making their congratulations toward the new head brief but grand.
Liriope enjoyed the ceremony, fascinated by a family head appointment she had never seen before.
“Thank you so much for taking the time to come.”
After the ceremony and the subsequent meal, Rosearine blushed happily as she expressed her gratitude to Liriope.
“And Liriope, you look absolutely stunning.”
Seeing Liriope and Theo’s matching outfits, Rosearine smiled brightly. Standing next to her, Cadin said regretfully:
“We should’ve worn matching outfits too.”
Rosearine looked at him in disbelief and laughed. Cadin, encouraged by the conversation, turned to Liriope and asked:
“When is the duke’s family head appointment? Are you taking the position?”
“No. A relative will. I was never interested in becoming the family head from the start.”
“Then when is their ceremony? Rose, maybe we should also wear matching outfits and attend.”
Cadin, determined to wear matching outfits even at someone else’s ceremony, made Rosearine and Liriope laugh.
“Let’s head back, Liriope.”
Theo, standing beside Liriope, checked the time and spoke. She nodded and bid farewell to Rosearine.
“See you later, Rose.”
“Yes, thank you so much today.”
Smiling at Rosearine’s farewell, Liriope took Theo’s hand as he naturally offered it and walked toward the carriage. She chuckled again at the conversation she heard from behind between Cadin and Rosearine.
“We’ll definitely wear matching outfits too. Ours will be more extravagant.”
“Why are you getting so competitive over something like this?”
“It’s not competitiveness. Just… I feel a bit left out.”
“Enough, let’s hurry back to the palace. We have a mountain of work waiting.”
“Alright, let’s go back, Rose.”
As the distance grew, she could no longer hear their conversation, but Liriope felt happy, thinking that everything was going well.
When she first transmigrated here, she never imagined that she and Theo would be together, or that Rosearine and Cadin would end up together. The current situation felt surreal.
Especially knowing that she would soon marry this sculpted, charming man who looked at her with such love made it feel like a dream.
Liriope suddenly thought that the short week between the engagement and the wedding might feel long.
She imagined that Theo probably felt the same, so she called him.
“Theo.”
“Hm?”
Theo, holding her hand firmly and looking at her, raised his eyebrows in response.
“About our engagement… what if we just set the engagement and wedding on the same day?”
Surprised by her unexpected suggestion, Theo’s eyes widened.
“I find it hard to wait… actually, it’s really hard. I want to become your wife soon…”
At that moment, their lips met.
A passionate kiss followed. Liriope, unable to contain her breath, pushed against Theo’s chest. Theo, slightly disappointed at the break, asked her:
“Are you serious? You really want to have the wedding without an engagement ceremony?”
His excited voice carried a joy that made Liriope blush.
Blinking in surprise, she nodded firmly.
Before she could respond, Theo kissed her again, leaving her only able to nod. Nevertheless, her intention was clearly conveyed.
“Damn. I want to do it right now.”
Theo whispered excitedly during a brief pause in their lips’ contact. Seeing how flustered he was, Liriope regretted not discussing this earlier as the carriage headed toward the grand duke’s castle.
But knowing Theo was a relentless “kiss fiend” who had not left her lips alone even on the way to the count’s mansion, she realized nothing would change.
On the return trip from the count’s mansion,
their long, passionate kisses continued once again inside the carriage.
Rumors that the crown prince, along with the duke and princess, attended Melzebuan’s family head appointment spread throughout the empire.
Some believed Rosearine would become the next empress because she had served as the empress’s proxy. Hearing that the crown prince and the dukes and princes had celebrated the count’s ceremony, the rumor that Rosearine would be empress began to circulate almost as if it were fact.
The one most angered by these rumors was Selzionel.
Having already been deprived of the empress proxy by Rosearine, she regarded her as a thorn in her side in every way.
‘She dared to take on the empress proxy, and now she’s eyeing the throne itself? Does she have no sense of her place?’
Although Rosearine had not volunteered for these duties, Selzionel misunderstood, thinking Rosearine had leveraged her connection with Liriope to take her place.
Now that Liriope was also the duke’s prospective fiancée and Cadin was unusually favorable toward her,
‘She’s getting cocky just because the princess likes her a little.’
Selzionel, who had once been unable to even breathe properly around Liriope at the academy, was irritated at how she now seemed to live as if she owned the world.
When Liriope declared her affection for Theo instead of Cadin, Selzionel had been pleased, thinking it was for her benefit. But things had become far more complicated than she expected.
‘If the princess no longer desired Cadin, of course the next to Cadin would be me, the daughter of a marquis.’
If Rosearine were absent, that would have been a natural progression. However, when the black magician appeared, the empire descended into chaos with dark magic, and even the useless sacred powers helped save the empire from the magician.
As a result, the insignificant Rosearine ended up taking the empress proxy instead of her, and now rumors suggested she might even become Cadin’s woman.
‘How outrageous.’
Selzionel could not touch Rosearine easily, as she now held the important role of empress proxy.
Moreover, with Liriope’s full affection on Rosearine’s side, she risked angering Liriope if she acted carelessly.
Knowing Liriope’s temper well, Selzionel was frustrated yet unable to confront Rosearine.
“I’ll take care of it myself.”
Understanding Selzionel’s feelings perfectly, Marquis Trivian spoke to her.
Though he loved his only daughter dearly, if she became empress, the status of the Trivian family would rise in the empire. Thus, Marquis Trivian also wished for Selzionel to become empress.
“How?”
Selzionel asked, puzzled. The marquis gave a sly smile.
“Everything has been planned. Though she enjoys the emperor’s favor now, she’s still from a mere count’s family. Tarnishing the honor of such a minor family is nothing for me.”
Selzionel’s eyes gleamed sharply at the marquis’s words.
