As a result of the conversation on the balcony during the evening party, the Duke of Gondran truly did withdraw his renunciation of his right to the throne.

As expected, once factors such as his age were taken into consideration, his was made a temporary arrangement, leaving the position of Crown Prince vacant.  However, with this, the Duke of Gondran was now first in line of succession.

Thus, the issue of the succession to the throne that had suddenly fallen upon the Duke of Lancester family could, for the time being, be considered resolved.

This is truly a relief. The fundamental issue still remains, but there’s a world of difference between becoming Crown Prince and being counted as one possessing the right of succession.

While having such thoughts, Avril returned to her guest room within the royal palace.

This room, located near Alexandra’s chambers, was being temporarily lent to Avril. No matter how many times she returned, the atmosphere of the room always made her feel uneasy. She sighed out to herself.

“Only three days remain until His Highness Lawrence’s and Lady Alexandra’s coronation and wedding.”

The new king would soon be ascending to the throne, and the two of them would be taking their seats upon the throne.

As a result, strict security measures had been put in place throughout the royal capital, and entry to and exit from the royal palace had also become restricted. Avril, who served as the conversation companion of Her Majesty the new Queen, had also been staying in that room for close to a week.

Alexandra had declared she wouldn’t interfere with the Duke and Duchess of Lancester, but apparently not even she could overcome the customs of the royal palace

Avril would be going from her to Alexandra’s quarters until the day of the coronation. Only after the ceremony ended would she finally be able to return to Duke family’s townhouse.

Winter was nearing its end, and although the days were gradually becoming longer, the sky was already dim. Samuel, who had been together with her throughout autumn and winter, had finished his period of etiquette training and returned to the House of Marquis of Brandner.

Almost simultaneously, she had ended up leaving the House of Lancaster for what was effectively a form of isolation. She felt distinctly lonely.

I have nothing to do, so maybe I should just turn in early. If I do, then perhaps those three days will feel like they’ll arrive sooner!

While she had such thoughts,

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

“…Who is it?”

The only ones who knew the location of Avril’s room were Grace and Alexandra. The former had been brought from the ducal house and the latter was Avril’s employer. Grace, incidentally, had already gone back to her room. Wondering if something urgent had come up, she opened the door.

“You seem down. Is something wrong?”

“Lord Dylan!”

Avril’s eyes widened at her husband’s sudden visit.

“I’ll be staying here from today as well. I was with Lawrence until just recently, and he entrusted me with the key. I was told that if I came here, I’d find you.”

“Oh… Thank you very much for coming.”

I see, it seems Dylan is also being confined to the royal palace in preparation for the ceremony. The sense of dejection she had been enveloped in began to clear away. When she smiled at him, his expression softened as well.

“Lord Dylan, please come in.”

The room was by no means large, but it had a bed, a writing desk, and even a compact reception area. Avril naturally moved to show Dylan inside, but he hesitated in confusion and stopped.

“…As expected, I don’t think that would be appropriate.”

“? Ah, strictly speaking, this isn’t actually my room. Then let us talk outside. I’ll go prepare myself.”

Private guests really shouldn’t be invited into a room lent out within the royal palace for a ceremony. How careless of me not to realize that.

As she turned to go back into the room to get her cloak, Dylan gave a wry smile.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

“…?”

Avril, unable to come up with a reason other than general etiquette as to why she shouldn’t invite Dylan to her room, tilted her head in confusion and finished her preparations. Did I say something strange?

Although the sun had completely set, lights were on everywhere within the royal palace, and guards stood watch.

Amidst all this, Dylan led Avril to a quiet garden. Surrounded by hedges, it seemed like the perfect place for a secret rendezvous.

She knew this place was normally a place of relaxation for those who would visit the royal palace. Now, however, with movement to and from restricted in advance of the most important ceremony, it was empty.

A gust of wind blowing in from somewhere caused Avril to sneeze, to which Dylan draped his cloak over his wife’s shoulders.

“Are you cold? Shall we go back?”

“I’m fine. I’m also wearing a cloak. You will catch a cold at this rate, Lord Dylan, so I’ll return this to you.”

“At least let me do this much.”

Dylan took a step forward with those words.

His resolve was firm and he had no intention of listening any further. At the same time, kindness seeped though those words spoken with a wry smile. The epidemic had completely subsided, so he probably felt confident he wouldn’t become unwell merely from wearing light clothing.

Avril, having been treated poorly since childhood, wasn’t used to being treated as precious by anyone. Even though she knew it intellectually, the ticklish feeling that came from such treatment made her feel incredibly strange. She was enveloped in a light, fluffy feeling, and there was nothing she could do about it.

After hesitating, Avril decided to indulge in her husband’s kindness.

“Thank you very much… Then, if Lord Dylan catches a cold, please let me take care of you.”

“That’s a lovely offer, but I wonder about that.”

“Eh?!”

She was truly shocked, as she hadn’t expected him to refuse. Shaking with astonishment, Avril asked,

“Why is that…? Am I a bother…?”

She could only be bewildered by the answer, which was completely unfitting with the kindness he had been showing all this time. But Dylan laughed as though it were nothing.

“If I give Avril my cold, we won’t be able to spend time together even if we returned to the townhouse. Besides, you haven’t even put what you learned from those romance novels into practice.”

“That’s true, isn’t it…—wait, what?!”

“I believe they were The Beloved Bride Can’t Sleep and I’m Troubled by Being Loved Too Much.

Avril doubted her ears. Those outrageous titles, completely unsuited to Dylan, came out of his mouth so smoothly.

“?! You’ve only seen them once, how do you remember their names?!”

“While I can’t compare to Avril, my memory isn’t that bad either.”

“Please don’t use your excellent brain for something so unnecessary…!”

She was trembling as she responded, yet Dylan chuckled to himself. Surely, he doesn’t need to laugh that much?

To begin with, for Avril, now wasn’t the time for that. The real issue was the part where he said, ‘You haven’t even put what you learned from those romance novels into practice.’”

W-w-w-what could he mean by that?

She thought she understood it somewhat, but simply imagining the answer made her feel as though fire would come out of her face. Avril, with tears welling up in her eyes, gazed at her husband. Dylan, looking into Avril’s eyes, immediately let his guilt show.

“My apologies. I teased you too much, I’m sor—”

At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.

“Oh. Miss Avril. I was just about to visit you.”

Shifting her gaze from Dylan, she saw another familiar face. Why is he in a place like this? He was nothing more than an interruption.

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