"……."
"Then I shall take my leave."
At Edward's farewell, Yellodia poked her head out and spoke.
"Ah, that carriage belongs to Brother Fabian's mansion."
"I shall leave it at Lord Sabie's mansion. Please do not worry."
Edward lightly bowed at the waist before returning to the carriage. Yellodia stared blankly at his retreating figure.
"Depart."
"Yes."
When Baihereun lightly flicked the whip, the carriage gradually began to pick up speed.
Until the carriage disappeared beyond the mansion wall, no one there opened their mouth.
'Quite a troublesome personality indeed.'
Leisurely in all matters, calm, and a man who spoke his mind—for Kias, such a temperament was quite attractive.
However, not all nobles appreciated such a candid and outspoken character.
Nobles who regarded concealment as a virtue would soon grow wary of Edward and regard him as an enemy.
'So is that why His Majesty paired Yellodia with him?'
Kias, who had dared to guess at the Emperor's intentions, glanced down at Yellodia, who was standing stock-still staring only at the mansion's main gate, and ultimately let out a sigh.
＊ ＊ ＊
"I'm against it. I cannot entrust Yedi to such a sinister man. With that playboy face of his, he'll obviously end up seducing every woman in Peurieo."
"That is an awfully self-centered assessment, Pabi."
At Kias's remark, Fabian set down the knife with which he had been cutting the turkey with a clack and said,
"Can't you see it, Hyung? That slick face of his has 'heartbreaker' written all over it."
"……."
Kias let out a low sigh and gulped down his wine. Suddenly, his head throbbed as if it might split.
'So you just drew your sword and barged into Navy Headquarters?'
Recalling what Fabian had done that afternoon, Kias was livid enough to want to grab the wretch by the collar and shake him.
"Even if you lack sense, how could a royal guard knight barge into Navy Headquarters and raise a sword at the Vice Admiral? If the Baron were not a broad-minded and restrained man, you would already be in the Imperial Palace dungeon!"
"So I'm supposed to just stand by and watch Yedi get sold off?"
"Fabian!"
Finally losing his patience, Kias lashed out coldly.
"How can the second son of a great noble house act so rashly! You should at least have it in that head of yours that you are His Majesty's Sword! I was so ashamed to face the Baron that I couldn't hold my head up!"
"You mean a mere baron dared to come all the way to the ducal residence and stand there so stiff-necked?"
"Fabian Sabie!"
Fabian stubbornly folded his arms. The massive muscles of his forearms, thick with bulging tendons, twitched as if reflecting his sentiments.
Beneath Fabian's heavy brows, his gaze gleamed sharply. Curses welled up in Kias's throat.
'That damned brat!'
As always, his shameless younger brother knew nothing of reflection. Since receiving his knighthood, his arrogance seemed to have grown worse.
"Give me one more chance. If we had fought a little longer, I would have won."
"I heard you weren't even a match for the Baron?"
"What? Where on earth are your eyes! Well, of course those spectators were all seal bastards, so of course they sided with their superior!"
Fabian fumed. He seemed more indignant at having been pushed back by the sword than at having Yellodia taken by Count Adrian.
Chuckling inwardly, Kias regarded his younger brother, three years his junior, with a look of exasperation.
"No matter what the onlookers judged, today you failed to reach a conclusion, and with that, your chance is over."
"Hyung!"
At that moment, Yellodia swept into the dining room in an elegant dress.
The two brothers were rendered speechless.
The pale yellow chemise dress with its puffed sleeves was as splendid as a spring blossom, and her red hair adorned with blue and green jeweled pins was incomparably graceful.
They could scarcely comprehend when their mischievous, boyish little sister had grown into such a beautiful woman.
When Yellodia sat meekly beside Kias, Fabian pouted sullenly.
Under normal circumstances, his younger sister would have sat beside Fabian and playfully showered him with affection, so he felt an indescribable sense of loss.
"Are you not even going to greet your brother anymore?"
Yellodia ignored Fabian entirely and drank her lemon water. At her unprecedentedly cold attitude, Fabian was already growing frantic.
"Yedi."
"I've decided I won't treat you like a person until you apologize to the Baron, Brother."
"Pfft—!"
Setting down his wine glass, Kias barely swallowed a burst of laughter. It seemed to be the first time he had seen Fabian make such a bewildered expression since his proposal to Rellia had been rejected.
"Yedi, that's too much. How can you say that?"
"It's not me who's being too much, Brother Fabian. If you knew how surprised I was today, you wouldn't be sitting there so calmly."
"So you're saying you won't look at me at all?"
"Yes. I won't."
Yellodia answered bluntly. When it came to stubbornness, Yellodia was second to none. If she said so, she would undoubtedly keep her word.
'This isn't how it was supposed to go.'
With a troubled expression, Fabian scratched the back of his neck.
When he had first received the thunderbolt of news from the Knight Commander, his only thought had been to tear Count Adrian away from his sister.
He could not stand by for even a moment and watch some sinister wretch sweet-talk the innocent Yellodia.
But Yellodia's reaction was completely different from what he had expected.
Not only had she donned men's clothes and rushed to Navy Headquarters, but she had also intervened in a duel with real swords—it was unimaginable to him.
"……Is your knee alright?"
"It's bruised."
Fabian furrowed his brow as though the pain were his own. Soon, he made a sulky expression.
"I'll send an ointment that works well on bruises through a servant. If you apply it properly for about three days, it'll heal cleanly."
"……What about the apology?"
Yellodia asked, her lips pouting. Fabian's brows twitched.
"I still cannot trust him. Yedi, you have to understand me. You are a sister more precious to me than my own life. If you were ever to become unhappy, I could never forgive myself."
"……Then you can at least try talking to the Baron. You can't even do that?"
When Yellodia looked up at him with her transparent green eyes, Fabian gritted his molars with a grunt.
His problem had always been that he was absurdly weak when it came to his sister.
"I'll make time this weekend. If he's not busy, Hyung, please arrange the meeting."
"I shall."
Kias readily answered. As the young duke of House Sabie, Kias was more than capable of arranging a meeting between Edward and Fabian.
Yellodia let out a sigh of relief.
However, she was soon engulfed by an inexplicable fear.
If her second brother was this adamant, she had no idea whatsoever how her third brother would react.
＊ ＊ ＊
The Empress's Palace was renowned as the most elegant and splendid place within the Imperial Palace.
Servants, attendants, and even nobles were so spellbound by the resplendent pillars and ceilings decorated with jewels and gold visible the moment they crossed the main gate of the Empress's Palace that they lost their senses.
Especially the second-floor reception room was the place the Empress cherished most; from shelves to even small decorations, every piece was the work of a renowned artisan personally selected by the Empress.
The five ladies gathered in the center of that reception room each displayed dazzling grace, as if unwilling to be outdone by the splendid space.
"Have you heard that rumor?"
"If you mean that rumor..."
At Empress Vivian's answer, the Countess of Cheshire subtly lowered her voice as if she had been waiting. The deep blue emerald earrings hanging from the Countess's ears sparkled.
"Have you not yet heard the most clamorous rumor within the Imperial City? It seems His Majesty is thinking of pairing Baron Adrian with the young lady of Duke Sabie."
"If you mean Baron Adrian, do you speak of the one who received the baronial title from His Majesty last month?"
The Empress's question became a decisive spark.
The ladies plunged into the conversation enthusiastically, each and every one.
"It seems Baron Adrian achieved great merit in the recent naval battle. They say His Majesty recognized that merit and bestowed not only the baronial title but also the position of Vice Admiral. Because of that, dissatisfaction is rife among senior naval officers and commanders."
"The Admiral of the Navy even submitted his resignation because he could not endure it. That says it all."
"His Majesty seems to favor him considerably. To the point of bestowing his only legitimate daughter upon him."
"No matter how much he favors him, attaching a mere baronial family with no roots whatsoever to the ducal house of Sabie... It seems His Majesty has grown impatient."
The ladies who possessed the qualifications to come and go in the Empress's reception room displayed their keen insights as if they had been waiting for just this moment.
"To think she must marry a worthless soldier. Poor Yellodia must have been thrown into confusion."
Empress Vivian paused, her teacup half-raised, and let out a rueful sigh.
At that pitiful demeanor, the ladies exhaled sighs and lamentations simultaneously.
"His appearance is rugged and his gaze fearsome; they say the nicknames attached to the Baron are 'Ghost of the Phoenician Sea' or 'Pirate.' They say even Duke Sabie, who listens to everything His Majesty says, fiercely opposed this marriage at first."
"Indeed, if Princess Anais were still alive, such a thing would be unthinkable. His Majesty has gone too far this time."
"They say Baron Adrian even has a history of a broken engagement. How much more wounded must Duke Sabie feel?"
"A broken engagement, you say."
Empress Vivian opened her eyes wide and turned to the Countess of Cheshire.
"You mean to say that Yellodia's betrothed has a history of a broken engagement?"