Lawrence came to explain the contents of the prenuptial agreement to Jill and Hadith.

Jill, who was fidgety because she had expected Geraldo to appear, felt that it was anticlimactic.

“Are you relieved it wasn’t Prince Geraldo?”

As he laid out the documents before Hadith and Jill, who sat side-by-side on the low, claw-footed sofa, Lawrence spoke as if he had seen through everything. Panicking, Jill tried to come up with an excuse. Otherwise, it’d be untoward of her.

“I-it’s not like that, it’s just—…”

“It’s all right. Prince Geraldo knows that you hate him a lot, albeit he has no clue why.”

Jill couldn’t say anything. When he pointed it out like that, it was rather awkward. Lawrence chuckled.

“Oh, I’m not blaming you. If anything, I think it’s his fault for not knowing.”

“Aren’t you Prince Geraldo’s subordinate?”

“Then, won’t you explain why? As his subordinate, I’d like to fix my master’s shortcomings as soon as possible.”

Even if he said that, it wasn’t like she could answer. The current Prince Geraldo hadn’t done anything to her.

The events with Veilburg and Georg were simply national policy issues directed by the Rave Empire, and definitely enacted with the intention of harassing Jill. From Geraldo’s perspective, his having no idea why Jill despised him so much was unnatural.

On the other hand, Jill had mixed feelings because she couldn’t simply forget everything that had happened and lead to her regression.

“…We’re just incompatible.”

“I see, prejudice. Since you deem the prospects hopeless, it’s understandable that you’d withdraw.”

Withdraw. When paired with that prince, those words just made her feel squeamish. Perhaps, ‘throw away’ would be better.

“Prince Geraldo has given up on pursuing my wife. So, why does it matter?”

When Hadith nonchalantly added that, Lawrence cleared his throat.

“Excuse me. Now, let me explain. Based on the draft you gave me, I’ve added some clauses that incorporated the intentions of the Saber family. For example, Lady Jill has to fully renounce her right to inherit the title of Count Saber. Furthermore, neither her children nor grandchildren will be able to ever inherit said title.”

It was only to be expected, as she’d be marrying into the Rave Empire. There were no opportunities for Jill to enter the right of succession from the start.

However, upon hearing it in such a formal setting, why did she feel as if she was being exiled?

“I’m all right with that.”

“Once you sign this contract, Lady Jill will officially become the fiancée of His Majesty the Emperor. Afterwards, whenever you enter Kratos, you’ll be required to undergo an examination to attain permission as a citizen of Rave, even if the purpose is to visit your home. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes…”

Urged by Lawrence, Jill nodded. Hadith followed suit.

The explanation continued. Put simply, it revolved around complicated matters. Yet all of them reminded her of the sudden and unexpected visit of Prince Geraldo.

…That kind of thing will probably happen more often from now on.

Hadith nodded to each of Lawrenec’s explanations, so it must have been necessary.

“—Next is the procedure, but there’s precedent in an old document. Around 300 years ago, there was a woman from Kratos who married an emperor of the Rave Empire. I believe it’ll be best to follow the format of that time.”

“…Is that why you brought up the subject about the national seal? Certainly, it can serve as a symbol for a peace treaty, but is there a need to go that far?”

“After all, this time, it’ll probably be something similar, right?”

Hadith sighed, but he didn’t seem to object. Certainly, applying the national seal would make the contract more authentic, so that was something to be happy about.

However—

“—Uhm, do you have it, Your Majesty?”

If he had brought something so valuable, Listeard would’ve warned him to death. Yet, Jill had no recollection of it. Hadith nodded.

“Yes, I do.”

“Of course. If it’s His Majesty the Dragon Emperor, he should have the authentic one, yes?”

Lawrence’s meaningful way of speaking struck a chord.

“Could it be… the heavenly sword?”

“That’s right. It’s not that noticeable, but there’s a mechanism at the bottom of the handle that reacts with blood. In that sense, Prince Geraldo doesn’t have a national seal.”

“What we have can be considered the same. For us, it is a conventional stamp. There are many documents that have to be stamped with the national seal, after all. I can’t just seal all of them with a weapon.”

“If so, does your holy spear come with the national seal of Kratos?”

Lawrence shook his head at Jill’s sudden question.

“No, it’s in the sword of His Majesty the King.”

But shouldn’t that be fake? Jill furrowed her eyebrows, and Lawrence continued.

“That’s probably because he tried to replicate the heavenly sword. But don’t worry, the shape of the national seal itself is different. Nevertheless, Prince Geraldo also has an authentic seal with him. Do you still have any concerns, Your Majesty?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Certainly, it’s better to stamp it with the national seal to keep it from being overlooked later. I simply find the thoroughness to all this bizarre.”

“Then, would you like to negotiate with the Southern King?”

When Lawrence asked with a smile, Hadith fell silent. Jill also knew how difficult it was to communicate with him after the Radea incident.

“I won’t tell you to change your mind. But it’d be wise for you to be gracious about it. Otherwise, the Saber family might get caught in crossfire.”

“Ah—” Jill unintentionally yelped.

“Well then, I’ll conclude this here. I’ll return with the revised proposal, so please check back later. If there are no problems, we can sign the contract tomorrow.”

“…That was pretty easy.”

Hadith remarked flatly.

“That’s because Prince Geraldo prepared everything. He’s pretty quick. Oh, right, it seems that he’s also preparing a dinner party. What will you do? Will you decline?”

Her family and Prince Geraldo would probably attend. It was akin to a signal.

“What would you like to do, Jill?”

When she waited for Hadith’s reply, he asked her that. Surprised, Jill turned to look at him, only to be greeted with his smile.

For some reason, she felt as if she was being tested, so she adjusted her posture.

“I’ll attend—otherwise, it’d be rude of me.”

“That’s great.”

Lawrence’s expression twitched, but he soon reverted to his usual smile.

“For your information, I’ll also be attending. It’ll be wonderful if I can use this chance to interact with you a little.”

“I see. Great. Give my regards to Prince Geraldo for me.”

Lawrence stood up after gathering the documents on the table.

“Come to think of it, I heard that the main force will arrive soon. I wonder if Camila and Zeke are with them, Your Highness the Dragon Princess?”

“R-right, they should be…”

“I see. Should I greet them? All right, excuse me, Your Majesty—”

“—Wait!”

Jill stood up.

“I-I want to talk to my family before the dinner party… I wonder, if that’s okay…?”

She didn’t know in what manner should she address him, so her tone became awkward. Briefly, Lawrence was taken aback, but he soon smiled wryly.

“Feel free to. Isn’t this your parents’ house? Don’t hold back.”

“T-that’s true, but won’t it lead to something weird later?”

“I understand what you mean, but Kratos is fine with it, and the same goes for Prince Geraldo. Now, it’s up to your emperor to decide.”

Lawrence shot a meaningful glance at Hadith. Flabbergasted, Jill glanced at Hadith again, and their gazes collided. He seemed to have been watching Jill the whole time.

Huh? What is this? Does he dislike the idea of the dinner party?

Or did I do something?

After being stared at by Jill, Hadith’s long eyelashes fluttered as he showed a ghost of a smile.

“I don’t mind, go ahead.”

“A-are you all right…?”

“Yes, I’m just going to rest for a bit. …Actually, just now, the magic beast motion-sickness has returned…”

“You aren’t fine!”

Was he enduring it to maintain his appearance as the emperor?

Jill hurriedly plopped the pale Hadith into the bed.

“I wonder if someone will be absent from the party…” Lawrence chuckled while helping her in taking care of Hadith.

---

***T/N: THERE’S NO WAY IT IS THIS SMOOTH!!!

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