“…Lord Hadith is preparing souvenirs?”

“Oh, right… He looks so enthusiastic; I wonder what I am supposed to do…”

“Well, considering that Lady Jill is about to return home, why don’t you prepare something novel instead of what is already available to general public?”

“Hmm… you have a point. But, hear this—my biggest souvenir is His Majesty himself!”

Towards Jill’s affirmation, Sufia showed a slight smile.

“That’s right. If you entrust everything to Lord Hadith, everything’ll be fine.”

“After all, they don’t get to see the real live version of dragon emperor very often, so they’ll definitely be pleased!”

“…I-it’d be nice if we could pave the way to peace with this. Above all, I’d be happy if both countries were to recognize your engagement.”

When Sufia, who was once a fiancée candidate for Hadith, said that to her, Jill felt somewhat guilty.

“Come to think of it… Lady Sufia, have you managed to find a nice groom?”

Part of the reason why Sufia left her hometown of Veilburg—the water city—for the imperial capital was to be Jill’s tutor. As for the other reason, she was looking for a groom.

After turning against Hadith, her father—Marquis of Veil, was stripped of his rank. Meanwhile, Sufia had accused her father on behalf of Hadith. As a result, her peerage was to be decided by Hadith. Thus, it had been decided that the husband chosen by Sufia would become the new Marquis of Veil.

“It’s still too early, Lady Jill. After all, it hasn’t even been a month since I arrived in the imperial capital.”

“Well, there’s that, but what about something like a fateful encounter?”

“It’d be nice to have one, but that man will also have to govern the water city of Veilburg in the future…”

The water city of Veilburg, located in the territory of Marquis Veil, was the closest to the capital of the Kingdom of Kratos in terms of transportation. The official transit was the Leirzatz territory near the border, but it was actually located in Veilburg. As such, that place couldn’t be treated lightly—either militarily or politically.

“Certainly, governing Veilburg is difficult, isn’t it? You’ll have to be able to deal with Kratos in both diplomatic and military affairs. Moreover, you also have to keep an eye on the domestic issues…”

“Even more so after considering what my father did. Rather than based on my personal interest, I think that he has to be someone that everyone can trust. Therefore, the first thing is to do is make friends.”

“Basically, information gathering!? Got it!”

Sufia smiled at Jill who was nodding.

The intelligence capabilities of ladies couldn’t be underestimated, after all.

“I hope that I can find a suitable groom, but I shouldn’t be putting myself before the Rave royal family. While Crown Prince Vissel already has a fiancée, neither Princess Elynsia nor Prince Listeard do. The same can be said about Princess Natalie.”

“Speaking of which, yes… As for Her Highness Frida, it might be too early for her, considering she’s 8-years-old.”

“I’m sure that the successive deaths of the crown princes has made it difficult for them… Nevertheless, I’m sure there will be many opportunities in the future. Especially for Princess Natalie. With her age and position, she may be able to be engaged soon.”

Upon hearing that, Jill stiffened slightly.

Natalie Theos Rave.

Certainly, she was the most ideal candidate. Not only was she a princess, she was also 16-years-old. It was time for her to start thinking about getting engaged. Unlike her older sister, Elynsia Theos Rave, she didn’t hold any important positions in the empire.

In fact, in the future Jill knew, Natalie was engaged at the age of sixteen. Then she—she died…

In the Kingdom of Kratos.

As far as she knew, the truth was still shrouded in mysteries.

…B, but it’ll be different, right?

The time had passed, and the person who had arranged for her engagement was gone.

“However, that’ll have to wait until after the wedding date for Lady Jill and Lord Hadith has been decided. There’ll be many more celebrations to come.”

“T-that’s right!”

“—Jill-onee-sama!”

As Jill forced a smile and nodded, a small shadow flew into the room. There wasn’t even a knock. Jumping to her feet, Jill blinked.

“Your Highness Frida, what’s wrong?”

“E, excuse me, but Natalie-onee-sama is going to marry into Kratos royal family…!”

“Eh?”

Frida, who tended to be shy, desperately clung to the frozen Jill.

“M, my brothers are discussing Natalie-onee-sama’s engagement with the prince of Kratos…!”

Prince of Kratos.

In the present and in the future, that title could only refer to one person.

Geraldo De Kratos—Jill’s fiancé from her first life.

In fact, when the topic of Natalie’s engagement came up, the other party was Geraldo.

Without waiting for an explanation, Jill stood up and ran.

---

***T/N: YOOO WHATTTT?!?!?!?!

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