“Because... I couldn’t say it back at the Academy because of Zahid, but the truth is, I originally...”

It was then.

“Judging by how well you knew which things to say and which to keep your mouth shut about, you must’ve been quite smart as a child.”

A voice, cold as ice, rang out from the entrance.

“I just hope you’ve grown exactly that much smarter over the past nine years.”

Both Kevin and I turned around in shock.

At the entrance to the main building, Zahid was staring at Kevin with a look as if he were looking at a secret lover.

“Go on, keep talking.”

Zahid spoke with an eerie calm, his eyes gleaming coldly.

“So the truth is, you originally what?”

“Ah...”

Kevin glanced at my bare ring finger and muttered in confusion.

“I... I thought you were... broken off...”

“And?”

Zahid cut him off mid-sentence. His voice dropped further, darker.

“So the truth is, you originally what?”

“......”

His phrasing was a mess, but all three of us knew exactly why he was angry.

We all knew what Kevin had been about to say.

“Th-the truth is, I, originally...”

But in the end, Kevin couldn’t get the words out.

“I... I originally just... paid attention to everyone.”

Kevin had grown impressively sharp over the past nine years. No surprise—he’d ranked fourth at the Academy.

“Right, Kevin.”

I looked at his face and smiled like I was proud of him.

“That was a very appropriate answer, showing excellent situational judgment. Truly, you’re not lacking in the least as a team captain.”

“...Thanks, Rosie.”

Zahid, who had been staring at Kevin with a blank expression, slowly turned his gaze to me.

“When is that gonna be done?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s almost done.”

“Do you have to hold hands for it?”

“Nope. You can rub a firm, smooth muscular back or arm instead, if you want.”

“...Just finish it.”

By then, all the stains had disappeared.

I blinked and pulled my hand away. Kevin also cleared his throat and straightened up.

“Th-thank you, Rosie... If not for you, I would've been scrambling to find a priest...”

“Yeah... congrats on not dying today, in various ways.”

I gave Kevin a pat on the shoulder. Then I had no choice but to leave the building with Zahid.

* * *

“You...”

As soon as we stepped outside the main building, Zahid let out a heavy sigh and said,

“Let’s just go.”

“Huh? Go where?”

“To rest.”

His tone was gentle, but he looked like he was desperately holding something back.

“The rowing match is over anyway. No reason to stay.”

“Oh... then I should at least say goodbye to the other young ladies...”

“I already did. No need.”

I couldn’t trust that, but since he said so, I had no choice but to nod.

He looked me over and said,

“How’s your body? Are you sure you should be walking around like this? Wasn’t it Linna who dragged you out here? Did you go along just because you couldn’t say no? Why are you dressed so thinly again...”

“It’s not like that. I really came out because I feel fine. Also, it’s not even cold today. If you had skin, maybe you’d notice.”

“You’re really okay? You never said anything like that to me.”

“But seriously—why did you even come here?”

I had only informed him of my schedule briefly to avoid any missteps, but I hadn’t told Zahid to come here.

“And you didn’t have to glare at Kevin like that.”

“What?”

“From his point of view, it makes sense he’d think we broke up and try to flirt!”

At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but now that I looked back, I felt strangely resentful.

“I wasn’t even wearing my engagement ring.”

He had huffed and puffed about getting that ring on my finger no matter what, and now that everything was settled, he was acting like he’d forgotten the engagement entirely.

Once I said it, a flood of other resentments came rushing in.

“The basic condition of lovers is to want to be alone together. If that’s not there, then it’s just... vague.”

I crossed my arms and looked up at him with a sulky expression.

“Did I ever even have a chance to tell you I was fine? You were always with someone else, and it’s not like you ever asked, either.”

“That’s...”

Zahid sighed and covered his eyes with one large hand. Then he muttered in a low voice.

“First of all... are you really okay?”

“Yes! How many times do I have to say it? Even my brother gave me permission to go out!”

I got annoyed at how obsessed he was with my health.

“Do you check the newspaper for updates on my condition like it’s a daily briefing? If you were that curious, why didn’t you just ask me directly?”

“Of course I asked every day.”

He spoke in a cracked voice.

“...To Shulva.”

“...Huh?”

“Shulva always said your condition was bad.”

Ah, that’s because...

I’d felt a bit guilty lying in bed and making Shulva do everything for me by mouth...

While I hesitated, Zahid stepped forward and swept me up into his arms.

“You idiot. Do you not get why I always came with someone else?”

His violet eyes bore into me like they would swallow me whole.

“Because if I were alone with you... when you were sick, I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop myself...”

“What? Don’t tell me you were going to do something beast-like...”

“......”

“...You really were.”

Still holding me, Zahid pressed his lips to my collarbone and muttered in a voice full of resentment.

“I couldn’t even ask you directly, afraid you’d feel pressured, and just kept holding myself back until you got better... And now what? You’re out with Linna?”

Come to think of it, if he’d been getting updates about my health from Shulva and the newspaper, he must’ve assumed I was in terrible shape.

“Well, why would I feel pressured?”

As I squirmed at the ticklish sensation of his lips on my collarbone, he hugged me even tighter. Then he sighed and murmured,

“You forgot.”

“...What?”

“Our promise.”

Promise? What promise?

Just as a strange shiver crept up from my toes and I stifled a moan—

“When everything is over...”

He whispered against my earlobe.

“...you promised to come.”

And then it hit me like a lightning strike.

“When everything’s over, let’s go to the ducal estate.”

I’d said it buried in the same heat of passion, so I’d honestly forgotten.

“Surrounded only by the finest things I’ve prepared, for days and days we’ll just stay like this. In the castle I decorated while imagining only you returning to my side...”

Ironically, now that I was in a similar situation, I remembered it all like it happened yesterday.

“I’ve been holding back so I wouldn’t hug you while you were sick in bed... I’ve been patiently waiting, fixing up the ducal estate whenever I had time...”

He muttered fiercely, pressing kisses all over me.

“And you? You suddenly go off with Linna to gawk at half-naked men rowing, and end up holding hands with some half-naked musclehead while he confesses to you?”

Technically, not wrong—but the distortion was wild.

“Wearing something this ridiculously pretty too...”

Come to think of it, since leaving the Magic Tower, I hadn’t really dressed up in front of him.

It was either a maid outfit from the Idra household or practical clothes.

“Anyway, whatever.”

Zahid tightened his arms around me and said,

“If you’re all better, then let’s go keep that promise.”

“...Huh?”

“To the ducal estate.”

And just like that, I was hauled off in Zahid’s arms and placed into the Dyfenril ducal estate’s carriage.

I later found out ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ that when Linna heard, “Rosie got carried off into the Dyfenril carriage like she was being kidnapped,” she just calmly said, “Oh, I guess the kid finally snapped and made a move.”

Apparently, you need that level of insight to inherit the queen of the social world title.