Rex and I arrived at the capital not long after.
As befits a nation called an empire, it occupied most of the continent, and its capital was no exception.
Naturally, it was vast and developed, far surpassing the territories of Serigard or Rigmond.
And then, Rex and I got lost in the capital.
“…Did I hear you correctly?”
“No, you heard right.”
“…Perhaps your fiancée is playing a prank on you?”
“I don’t think that’s the case.”
“Then how could she not send you the address! And what kind of fiancé comes without even knowing the address!”
“…”
As Rex said, Ilia’s letter didn’t mention where she was staying.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t thought much about it and had rushed to the capital, resulting in us getting lost.
‘I need to find Ilia…’
As mentioned earlier, the capital was incomparably larger than Serigard’s territory, making finding Ilia here akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
‘What should I do…’
As I pondered, someone tapped my shoulder and spoke.
“Excuse me.”
A pleasant voice, still carrying the faint traces of a girl who hadn’t yet reached adulthood.
I turned to see the owner of the voice.
Brown hair and brown eyes, common in the empire.
Yet, she was a stunningly beautiful lady, enough to make anyone’s face flush.
As I stared at her in a daze, she frowned slightly, displeased.
But it was only for a moment; when she opened her eyes again, she wore a serene smile.
“I seem to have lost my way. Would you mind accompanying me?”
She batted her eyes as she spoke.
“How could I refuse such a beautiful lady’s request?”
I offered her my arm, and she took it eagerly.
Seeing this, Rex called out in confusion.
“Uh… young master?”
“Yes?”
“That lady doesn’t seem to be your fiancée…”
Even Rex, who was oblivious to rumors, knew the symbols of the imperial family.
The divine symbols of pure white hair and golden eyes.
Neither of which were present in the lady holding my arm.
To Rex’s words, I smiled and replied.
“Just stay quiet and follow.”
It seemed my fiancée didn’t want to draw attention.
I swallowed the rest of my words.
“Is that knight coming too?”
The lady glanced at Rex and asked me.
Her gaze implied annoyance.
Rex bristled at her look.
“What are you doing clinging to our young master? He has a fiancée!”
The lady was about to retort, but I spoke first.
“I’d prefer to go alone, but my knight and I just arrived in the capital and haven’t found a place to stay yet, so we can’t separate.”
The lady then took out a piece of paper and a quill, writing down an address.
“Your knight can go to this address. Then we can go alone, right?”
She looked up at me, and I chuckled.
“When did you prepare that?”
“I happened to have some leftover paper from writing letters to my fiancé.”
“You have a fiancé too?”
“Yes, a rather clumsy one I’m embarrassed to show off.”
“Did you get lost trying to meet him?”
“Well, let’s say that.”
Listening to our conversation, Rex seemed to realize something and opened his mouth, but I quietly put a finger to my lips to silence him.
“Rex, go ahead to the address written there. I’ll accompany the lady for a while.”
“…Understood.”
This time, Rex left without another word.
After confirming Rex was gone, I spoke to the lady.
“So, what kind of game is this?”
“Oh my, it’s not a game. I genuinely got lost while looking for my fiancé.”
“Then you have no reason to be lost now. You’ve found your fiancé. The clumsy one who gets lost.”
She smiled at my words.
“I didn’t expect you to hold a grudge over that. You’re quite petty.”
I retorted, not wanting to lose.
“My fiancée forgot to send me the address.”
She sighed at my words.
“I’m sorry about that. It was my first time writing a letter, so I forgot to include the address.”
“At least you realize it now.”
I pulled Ilia’s arm closer to me.
“Then, as promised, I’ll escort you, my lady.”
I kissed her hand, and she blushed.
“I don’t remember it being like this at the engagement ceremony.”
“I’m trying to meet your expectations, my lady.”
“I just wanted to see your face while I was in the capital…”
“I wanted to see you too, my lady.”
I smiled at her.
“Ugh… you can stop with the cheesy attitude now.”
“I can’t do that.”
This was a side of Ilia I’d never seen before.
I wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip.
“By the way, why the disguise magic?”
Brown hair and eyes, a slightly altered face, and noticeably smaller chest.
The transformation magic was so precise that even I wouldn’t have recognized her.
“The emperor might have sent spies.”
“Hmm… the emperor would do that.”
“And since I finally met my fiancé, I thought we could have a leisurely date.”
At her words, I blushed.
Seeing my reaction, she smiled mischievously.
“Now you’re blushing.”
“It’s unavoidable.”
“You’re not hiding your feelings for me anymore, are you?”
I sighed at her words.
“Even if I tried, it’s already been discovered.”
I had intended to hide it.
I had failed to protect Ilia once before.
I knew how shameless it was to confess my love to her, so I wanted to keep it hidden.
The only thing I hadn’t anticipated was that Ilia had noticed my feelings first.
“Well, honesty is good. Now, escort your lovely fiancée.”
She said, taking my hand in hers.
It reminded me of the time we spent in the shadowed village of Rigmond before the regression.
Reflexively, I blushed.
“You were fine holding my hand earlier, but now you’re shy.”
“…Please just pretend not to notice.”
“I don’t want to.”
“…What?”
Ilia just smiled meaningfully at my question.
I was puzzled by her reaction but had nothing to say.
“By the way, my lady.”
“Not ‘my lady,’ call me Ilia.”
“Alright, Il…ia.”
It felt awkward calling her by name after so long.
I blushed again.
“…Heh.”
“…Don’t laugh.”
“I’ll try. Heh.”
Her laughter was clearly intentional.
“So, why did you call me?”
I regained my composure and asked.
“How did you know I’d come at this time?”
Thinking about it, Ilia’s actions, greeting me as if she had been waiting, were strange.
She couldn’t have used communication magic.
It couldn’t have been a coincidence.
To my question, Ilia replied nonchalantly.
“I’ve been waiting all along.”
“All along?”
“Yes.”
“So… since right after sending the letter?”
“Yes. But it’s only been two days, yesterday and today.”
If what she said was true, she had been waiting in one place for two whole days.
Even though I came immediately after receiving the letter, I felt inexplicably guilty.
“Don’t make that face. It was my mistake.”
Ilia smiled, and I stared at her smile.
Thinking about it, I had been seeing Ilia’s smile more often since the regression.
‘I hope she continues to smile like this in the future.’
The sight of Ilia’s smiling face was something I had longed for.
Perhaps I had regressed just to see that smile.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Just something on my mind.”
“Thinking deeply with such a pretty fiancée by your side, what a bad fiancé you are.”
I chuckled at her words.
“Indeed, I’m not a good fiancé.”
“Good that you realize it.”
She continued playfully.
“By the way, Aren, have you had lunch?”
“No, not yet.”
I had skipped lunch to come to the capital.
It was already 2 PM, a bit late for lunch.
But Ilia smiled and said.
“I haven’t eaten either. Shall we have lunch together?”
“Let’s do that.”