A dignified room with an air of antiquity.
Dark wooden furniture filled the space, and above the fireplace hung a vintage gold-framed mirror. The soft glow of the fire reflected in the mirror, bathing the room in a gentle golden hue.
On one side of the room stood a sturdy bookshelf, while at the center sat a table adorned with intricate carvings, accompanied by a leather armchair. The setting exuded a quiet yet majestic atmosphere.
Yohan sat in the chair, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the table as he stared into the empty air.
It wasn’t as if he was leisurely spending time just because it was a holiday.
“….”
Rudbeckia Friché.
Lately, she had been the cause of much contemplation.
He knew he had to turn her down. He had to. But pushing her away wasn’t as easy as it should have been.
It wasn’t simply because he was weak-hearted.
The moment he rejected her, he felt as if he would lose something irreversible.
And so, Yohan had been unable to reject Rudbeckia.
‘…This can’t go on any further.’
His worries deepened.
He already knew, from their last date, that Rudbeckia harbored romantic feelings for him.
Knowing that, wasn’t it wrong of him to hesitate and not reject her outright if he had no intention of accepting her feelings? If he had already decided not to reciprocate, wasn’t he just leading her on? This was worse than cutting ties cleanly.
It was also the one thing Yohan despised the most.
Playing with someone’s feelings to satisfy oneself or to maintain the upper hand in a relationship—wasn’t that not just selfish, but outright cruel?
‘Even if it’s hard, I have to do it.’
There was no other choice.
“Yohan?”
Just as he closed his eyes, lost in thought, a familiar voice called out. Yohan opened his eyes and turned toward the door. Rudella stood there with a small smile.
“Rudella, what’s the matter?”
“No particular reason. I just wanted to see you.”
Rudella stepped lightly into the room and nestled into Yohan’s embrace.
A small, delicate body like holding a cloud. She didn’t wear perfume or scented oils due to health reasons, but the faint natural scent of her skin was more than enough to be pleasant.
“I like how big you are, Yohan. It makes me feel at ease.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“But we should stop hugging now. I might not be able to hold back.”
With a playful smile, Rudella pulled away and took a seat across from Yohan. She was so light on her feet that not a sound accompanied her movement.
“You look troubled.”
Resting her chin on her hand, she gazed at him, her sky-blue eyes fixed steadily on his.
“If it’s a problem you can’t solve, talk to me. Maybe I can help.”
Her lips curled up slightly as she watched him. Just looking at him seemed to make her happy, her gaze brimming with sweetness.
“Hmm, how should I put this…”
Yohan cleared his throat before confiding in her.
“A friend who recently joined as my aide seems to have feelings for me, but I can’t bring myself to reject her.”
“And why is that?”
“I keep getting this strange feeling… like I shouldn’t hurt her.”
Yohan pondered what exactly he felt toward Rudbeckia.
To him, she was simply a capable aide, someone he would like to continue working with in the future.
“I do feel a sense of fondness, but it’s not romantic. If I had to put it into words… my feelings for her are closer to guilt.”
Rudella listened quietly, nodding slowly before asking her next question.
“Then, why do you want to reject her?”
“Because I have to?”
“Do you have a clear reason?”
“That’s…”
Yohan started to answer but stopped himself. He didn’t have a satisfying response to that question. He simply believed that he should turn her down nothing more.
“Did she approach you purely because of your looks, or with some ulterior motive to gain something from you?”
Yohan remained silent again.
That wasn’t the case at all. Her words and actions had always been sincere.
It could be a misunderstanding on his part, but he had honed his intuition since childhood. The chances of him being wrong were slim.
“If it’s not that, then I see what it is. You’re holding back because of me and Lady Ferbache. You think that any woman who approaches you must be rejected outright.”
Rudella let out a soft chuckle.
“I don’t know what Lady Ferbache would say about this, but if you’re avoiding her just because you feel self-conscious about me, you don’t have to. I respect your choices, Yohan.”
Truthfully, Rudella wouldn’t be thrilled about him accepting a new woman into his life. But the idea of him holding back because of her was even less appealing.
Besides, even if someone new came along, Yohan would still love her just the same. Hadn’t he already given more love to a mere concubine like herself than she ever deserved?
That was why she wasn’t particularly worried.
More than anything, she wanted Yohan to follow his heart.
“I see…”
Yohan let out a small chuckle.
Now that he thought about it, all he had felt when looking at Rudbeckia was a vague and unfamiliar emotion, nothing more. He hadn’t truly seen her for who she was. He had just been fixated on the idea that he had to reject her.
“Have you found your answer?”
“Yes. Thanks.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Rudella smiled gently.
As Yohan gazed at her, the thought crossed his mind she’s lovely.
It was a sentiment he never would have dared to acknowledge in the past. Life was full of surprises.
Yohan spoke.
“Is there anything troubling you?”
“There is one thing, actually.”
“What is it…?”
His voice wavered slightly at her unexpected response, and Rudella smirked as she rested her chin on her hand.
Her sky-blue eyes shimmered with warmth overflowing with affection.
“You haven’t been kissing me enough.”
Yohan let out a laugh.
Her shameless demands were becoming more frequent as time passed.
“Well, I suppose I should fix that.”
With a small smile, Yohan lifted Rudella’s hand from the table, pressing a soft kiss to the back of it before slowly trailing his lips up along her arm.
* * *
Evening.
Francia emerged from the bathroom, still damp from her bath.
Her moist hair clung slightly to her forehead, and tiny droplets of water glistened on her skin, still warm from the steam. A subtle rose-like fragrance lingered around her as she leisurely wiped away the remaining moisture.
“I’m fine,” Francia said with a gentle smile, approaching Yohan, who was seated at the edge of the bed. A soft, pleasant scent tickled his nose.
“I respect your choice too. This time, I realized that your love for me hasn’t changed.”
Yohan had shared his concerns with Francia, just as he had with Rudella. What she had just said was her response to that.
“I expected you to turn her down.”
“Fufu, I trust you, Yohan.”
Francia smiled brightly.
She truly was fine.
Of course, as a person, she didn’t exactly welcome the idea of a new concubine joining their household. But she respected Yohan’s choices. It wasn’t as if he played favorites.
And, knowing that the woman in question was Rudbeckia, Francia actually hoped Yohan would accept her.
As long as she remained his number one.
“But… I’m a little hurt that you told Miss Rudella first.”
“…I’m sorry. It just… came up in conversation.”
“Well, it’s fine. Those things tend to come up naturally.”
Having finished drying herself off, Francia set the towel aside and took a seat beside Yohan.
“Oh, right. A letter arrived for you.”
“A letter?”
“Yes. It’s from Father.”
“…”
Father……
The Duke of Ferbache.
Yohan’s entire body stiffened.
Now that winter was over, the Duke would have more time on his hands. And with Francia’s term of service soon coming to an end, the long-delayed discussion of marriage was bound to come up.
But…
‘How on earth am I going to explain this?’
There was no way to explain Rudella to his future father-in-law.
He wasn’t even married yet, and he already had a concubine. A concubine who, on top of that, had gotten pregnant first.
And in one of the Four Great Houses, which strictly adhered to monogamy?
The Duke’s fury would be enough to shake the heavens.
If their roles were reversed, Yohan knew he wouldn’t be able to contain his rage either.
‘Will I even make it out alive…?’
Yohan’s expression grew dire. His tense eyes blinked rapidly, his mind spinning. Suddenly, he felt a sharp headache coming on.
“Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything properly,” Francia reassured him, watching his face carefully. She reached for his hand, gently squeezing it.
“If we tell him everything that’s happened, Father will understand.”
“That’s…”
Would he, though?
When Yohan first met the Duke, the man had been one step away from killing him on the spot.
A man who had taken his daughter’s first time when she had never even dated before? If Yohan were in his shoes, he wouldn’t have been able to forgive himself either.
If anything, it was impressive how much restraint the Duke had shown by merely observing him all this time.
There was only one possible course of action.
He would have to bow his head and beg for forgiveness.
“…I suppose I should meet with him first.”
Yohan’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Honestly, even if he explained everything in perfect detail, he doubted it would change much…
* * *
The North.
As winter neared its end, the once-piercing winds had begun to calm, and the surging magical energy that had caused rampaging dungeons to overflow had also subsided.
Thanks to this, the Duke and the Ferbache Knights no longer needed to patrol the northern regions constantly, and for the first time in a while, they had some room to breathe.
“It’s finally time to proceed with the wedding.”
Inside the study of the Ferbache estate, the Duke set his teacup down as he spoke.
“Then I’ll begin the preparations immediately. I’ve already looked into a few potential locations where would you like to hold it?”
His aide, Enrique, responded without hesitation.
As a capable assistant, he had already anticipated the Duke’s needs and made the necessary arrangements in advance.
“I had originally planned for it to be held in the North, but now that our son-in-law has become a Duke himself, we can’t afford to be greedy. Public perception is also important.”
Rising from his chair, the Duke gazed out the window.
The ground outside was blanketed in untouched, pristine snow—like the first snowfall of the season.
“Then the Rahardt territory would be best.”
“Yes. Holding it in the capital would attract too much unwanted attention.”
Hosting the ceremony in the imperial capital wasn’t a bad option, but it would inevitably drag them into political entanglements.
With two ducal families coming together, it would seem as though the wedding had been arranged for the imperial family’s benefit.
It would essentially force a member of the royal family to make an appearance.
“Still… I never expected my son-in-law to rise so far. He even managed to shake off that damned Crown Prince and Grand Duke who were clinging to my Francia.”
The Duke chuckled in satisfaction.
When he had first met Yohan, he’d been this close to throwing him into the dungeon and torturing him. But now, the man stood as his equal.
“Indeed. It was already remarkable when he earned the title of Count with his unprecedented abilities, but to think he would go on to execute traitors and claim the title of Duke… It was beyond anyone’s imagination.”
Enrique nodded in agreement.
For someone to become a Duke outside of wartime was an unprecedented event across the entire continent.
“Well, it was a combination of both luck and skill. That’s how he got where he is today.”
The Duke smirked.
He was proud of his son-in-law.
“But… what about the issue of succession?”
Since Yohan Rahardt was unable to join the Ferbache family as a son-in-law, the problem of succession was inevitable.
With no other heirs, Francia Rahardt would now become the sole successor.
“There’s no other choice but to raise their child as the heir.”
“In that case, the peaceful retirement you’ve been dreaming of will be out of reach.”
“Haha, what does it matter? It’s for my daughter. I can do without rest.”
Even without seeing his face, Enrique could tell the Duke was in an exceptionally good mood.
“You must be very proud of your son-in-law.”
“How could I not be? He’s the Empire’s second Duke, after all.”
Looking up at the sky, where white snow continued to fall, the Duke let out another satisfied chuckle.
The wedding was not far off.