“Yes, I do.”
“You kicked him squarely in the groin and punched him in the jaw.”
“And I haven’t forgotten how you used his jacket to choke him after he fell. You kept at it until he begged you never to do it again.”
Victor had happened to witness the scene. As soon as he did, he punished the officer responsible according to military law. He had also been the one to calm Ibel when she lashed out with the ferocity of a wounded beast.
“I know how to protect myself. I was just startled by the sudden greeting, that's all…”
And thanks to Victor rushing in the moment he heard the commotion, she had recovered quickly.
When the head of the household himself was looking after her first, what was there to be afraid of?
“...There’s something I’d like to show you. I only had you rest here alone because I wanted to confirm a few things first.”
“That sounds promising. It had better be something very impressive.”
At her lighthearted threat, Victor let out a faint chuckle.
“Then allow me to show you. It might help lift the mood.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to it.”
As Ibel rose energetically to her feet, Victor watched her carefully before offering his arm.
Outwardly, she seemed fine.
But he could imagine how shaken she must have been.
It wasn’t merely because of the contract between them.
Ibel was the only person who shared the same memories he did. No one else remembered the future.
And because of that, she was still someone under his care and protection.
Someone for whom he felt responsible.
“This is the master bedroom.”
“...!”
The moment Ibel stepped inside, she forgot how to speak.
The room was decorated in the color she had once casually mentioned she liked.
A blue room.
The elegant carpet was a softer shade of blue than the curtains. The bedding was arranged in white, sky blue, and deep blue, resembling gentle waves rolling onto shore.
One glance was enough to tell that everything was brand new.
And throughout the room stood pots of orange jasmine.
Star-shaped white blossoms decorated every corner, filling the air with their fresh fragrance.
“When did you...?”
“I hoped it would become a place where you could feel at home. While the glass in your bedroom is being replaced, please stay here. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
Victor spoke calmly as he guided her inside.
Ibel stared at one of the flowerpots, tied with a ribbon the same deep blue as Victor’s eyes. Lowering her head, she breathed in its scent.
She had only mentioned, in passing, a treasured memory connected to a single tree.
She had never imagined he would fill an entire room with them.
I never even dreamed of this...
Something felt strange inside her chest.
As if it were fluttering.
As if breathing had suddenly become difficult.
There was nothing physically wrong with her.
This had to be emotional.
Just a little.
Only a little.
But tears welled in her eyes.
Because she had never once expected anyone to do something like this for her.
“In truth, I wanted to fill the entire garden outside with orange jasmine trees,” Victor said quietly from behind her. “But mature trees are difficult to obtain. Given enough time, I should be able to find them.”
Ibel started to say something, then stopped herself.
Slowly, she turned to face him.
“This is already more than enough. Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me. I’m the one who should apologize for what happened as soon as you arrived. At least this allows me to save some face.”
The initiation had been rough, but being surrounded by everything she loved made her feel much better.
Not just pretending to feel better.
Actually better.
“The sofa will be uncomfortable. I should be the one sleeping there.”
“How could I possibly make a lady sleep in such a place?”
“Still. It feels wrong kicking the owner out of his own room.”
Victor considered her words for a moment before arriving at a solution.
“Then I’ll amend my statement. I shall merely take brief rests on the sofa.”
“That’s the same thing!”
There was no chance a man as rigid as Victor would suggest sharing a bed before marriage.
He was simply finding a different way to say he intended to sleep on the sofa.
Bursting into laughter, Ibel brushed a finger over one of the spotless flowerpots.
Then a simple question suddenly came to mind.
Why?
Why had Anselm done such a thing when he knew he would be punished?
The Victor she knew was fair and uncompromising.
Perhaps because of his long military career—
Ah, no. Not yet, at this point in time.
Still, he was the sort of man who dealt out punishment without hesitation, whether people understood the situation or not.
In some ways he was rigid, but as a family head he was nearly perfect.
And impossible to deceive.
There was no way Anselm didn’t know that.
Which meant his actions had been a form of protest.
“Was the bedroom originally assigned to me... Seranna’s room?”
The question slipped out almost as a certainty.
For the first time, Victor looked genuinely surprised.
“How did you know?”
“It’s the sunniest room on the second floor. Yet it isn’t the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess’s bedroom.”
So that was it.
Now it all made sense.
“Perhaps Anselm thought I was taking his mother’s place. Maybe that’s why he hates me.”
“I already explained the situation to him thoroughly two weeks ago.”
“Then it wasn’t enough. Not for a child as clever as Anselm.”
Shaking her head, Ibel tried to see things from the perspective of a nine-year-old boy.
“If it were me... I think I’d be angry too. If a stranger suddenly appeared and took away something precious.”
Seeing Victor’s puzzled expression, she immediately realized he didn’t understand at all.
With a sigh, she shook her head.
Honestly, the Grand Duke of Bayern was a peculiar man.
He could be remarkably considerate in unexpected ways, yet completely oblivious to things everyone else would notice.
“Did you remove all of Seranna’s belongings? Her blankets and clothes, for example?”
“Willen probably had them moved into storage.”
Storage.
Of course.
It wasn’t difficult to imagine what Anselm must have felt watching his mother’s belongings disappear into some dark storeroom.
“Victor, we aren’t married yet, but may I give instructions to the household staff as the future mistress of the estate?”
“You may do as you wish.”
“Then please summon the butler and Granny Vanya.”
We have a long way to go.
Clicking her tongue inwardly, Ibel waited.
A short while later, with the butler and Granny Vanya standing before her, she gave her first order.
Everything in Seranna’s bedroom was to be restored exactly as it had been.
Every item.
Every decoration.
Even the smallest trinket and its original position.
“I’m exhausted.”
That night, after sunset, Ibel emerged from her bath with Eloy’s help.
Her damp hair hung loose as she collapsed onto the chaise lounge.
Well.
She had arrived.
Somehow, things would work out from here.
The terrace doors stood wide open, letting in a gentle breeze.
The wind carried the sweet scent of orange jasmine.
It was so pleasant that...
Suddenly she found herself craving a cold beer.
Or perhaps what she truly missed were the people she used to drink with.
Lucas, Heinrich, Dominik, Florian... none of them remember any of it, do they?
They had been among the Final Twelve.
The companions who eventually became her friends.
At first they had barely known each other. Their ranks were too different.
But in the end, none of that had mattered.
Lucas, especially, had been a playful nuisance. Every chance he got, he would ruffle her hair until it was a complete mess.
Gwiebe had known everything about the stars.
He once said he had dreamed of becoming a poet.
Dominik looked cold and stern on the surface, but he was thoughtful and dependable. He was the easiest person to confide in.
More than once, she had found herself thinking that if she had ever had a real older brother, he would have been someone like Dominik.
Ah, come to think of it... where did they lock Abel up?
Or had he been exiled from the country?
She didn’t particularly care.
She only hoped he never appeared in her life again.
Ibel felt nothing for the family connected to her by blood.
If she had to define what family meant, it would be those twelve people who had stayed with her until the very end.
“I thought you might need a beer.”
It was then—
A voice suddenly spoke.
