* * *

Jeanne only briefly let his eyes waver while looking at Carlisle, then smiled as if it were no big deal and shrugged his shoulders.

“You mean the First Prince, who’s basically a puppet for Luke? It looks like you’ve sought advice from him again. Sorry, but I have no intention of providing any weaknesses of the Duke’s family to the First Prince, let alone considering an engagement.”

“What are you talking about, Jeanne?”

“……”

“The Prince chose you personally. He wants to make you the Crown Princess.”

In the bustling crowd, Carlisle forcefully grabbed Jeanne by the shoulder.

For the first time, an emotion darker and more unsettling than Jeanne had ever seen clouded Carlisle’s usually composed eyes.

He whispered low.

“So don’t throw yourself around recklessly where people can’t see. If it gets out that someone chosen to be the Crown Princess has a hobby of fooling around with men… it could cause some unnecessary offense.”

“I don’t want to be engaged.”

“Your opinion doesn’t matter. What’s important is that the Prince has taken an interest in you.”

Jeanne clenched his fists at the chilling statement.

It wasn’t because of Luke’s advice but due to Carlisle’s unilateral decision to push for an engagement with Jeanne.

His mind raced.

Since the Duke Efilia had developed rechargeable magic stones through their magic research institute, their status within the imperial court had risen dramatically.

The Duke, having anticipated the success of these magic stones, had bought mines where low-grade stones could be extracted, eventually securing ownership of 20% of the empire’s mines.

The imperial family wouldn’t stand by and let the aggressive investments of Efilia go unchecked.

That must be why the engagement event was happening much earlier than in the original story.

‘Of all times, why now?’

Carlisle handed over a barely touched box of Rakmolli.

Jeanne accepted it without thinking and, with a troubled expression, spoke.

“Can’t you stop this? I heard you have some personal influence. Can’t you talk to him for me? Tell him I don’t want to be engaged…”

It might seem like a trivial whim to Carlisle, but to Jeanne, it was a matter of life and death.

He wanted to avoid the engagement at all costs.

Carlisle, who had been looking down at Jeanne, opened his mouth.

His low, piercing voice cut through the noise around them.

“Why?”

Carlisle, the strongest contender for the throne, looked genuinely confused, as if he couldn’t understand why Jeanne would reject an engagement that would boost his social standing several levels in high society.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jeanne sighed, avoiding Carlisle’s persistent gaze.

“I already have someone I like.”

“……”

“The First Prince wouldn’t want a fiancée who’s in love with someone else, right?”

Jeanne’s hand, still holding the Rakmolli box, trembled slightly.

If the imperial family officially proposed an engagement, Jeanne would be headed straight for a guillotine ending.

Carlisle’s lips curved into a faint smirk at Jeanne’s pale face.

“Fine, I’ll do it. But on one condition.”

“…What is it?”

“Pretend to be my lover for just one month.”

Jeanne’s eyes narrowed in disbelief.

He stammered, “What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. Just pretend to be my lover for one month.”

“You’re insane.”

One month later, Carlisle would be officially declared Crown Prince in the original story.

Until then, Carlisle intended to use Jeanne to prevent his political rivals from spreading rumors involving women.

The condition sounded better than an engagement proposal from the imperial family, but for Jeanne, who needed to avoid a rivalry with Luke at all costs, it was practically a death sentence.

Another face popped into Jeanne’s mind.

‘What am I supposed to tell Jerome about this situation?’

He had just come to terms with his feelings and was ready to face them properly.

The sudden twist left his mind blank.

As Jeanne tried to leave silently, Carlisle grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer.

Carlisle, always so calm, now wore an amused smile.

“It’s just one month. Once everything is settled, I’ll let you go even if you don’t want to break up. It’s not worse than an engagement you don’t want.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! The First Prince is…!”

Jeanne swallowed back the words, biting them down.

Only a select few knew Carlisle’s true identity as the First Prince.

Jeanne couldn’t reveal he knew this here.

Trembling with clenched fists, Jeanne glared at Carlisle, who wrapped a hand around his shoulder.

“There’s one more condition.”

“……”

“Don’t tell anyone that our relationship is fake.”

Jeanne bit his lower lip in frustration and looked down.

Carlisle seemed dead serious about this, judging from how firm his tone was.

Even knowing he would be playing into Carlisle’s hands, Jeanne couldn’t refuse.

It was infuriating that Carlisle, who should have been fated to fall in love with Luke, was now focusing all this attention on Jeanne.

Jeanne twisted his shoulder away irritably and spoke.

“Keep your promise. Just one month.”

“……”

“Promise you’ll do whatever it takes to stop the engagement with the First Prince.”

“I promise.”

Jeanne practically shoved the Rakmolli box back at Carlisle and walked away.

The grand bell chimed, signaling the start of Freya’s ritual.

With support from Marchen, Freya took her place at the altar.

✽ ✽ ✽

Despite everyone’s concerns, Freya flawlessly completed the ritual without showing any signs of illness.

The townspeople, displaced from their homes, seemed relieved by Freya’s resilience.

Houses could be rebuilt with magic, but losing Freya, the spiritual anchor of the North, would be an irreplaceable tragedy.

Only Jeanne, Jerome, and Marchen knew that Freya was possessed by a demon, and thus, she avoided further investigation and kept her title as High Saintess.

“Look over there, it’s starlight!”

“It’s proof that Lady Maya is watching over us.”

The crowd pointed at the sky, faces alight with awe.

Responding to Freya’s prayers, stars and an aurora lit up the pitch-black sky like a masterpiece painted by Maya herself.

Despite Carlisle’s unsettling proposal earlier, Jeanne’s jaw dropped at the breathtaking scene.

It was a sight Jeanne wouldn’t have witnessed if the story had followed its original course, and the realization filled him with an indescribable sense of awe.

Standing there, staring at the sky, Jeanne felt someone approach him.

A soft, cotton-candy-like voice drifted into his ears.

“Jeanne… is that right?”

Startled, Jeanne turned to find Freya standing beside him, cloaked and smiling warmly.

Her complexion looked much healthier than before.

Meeting Jeanne’s eyes, she smiled awkwardly.

“I was determined to meet you again, even if I had to insist a bit. I wanted to thank you properly. You saved not only me but my two children as well.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t really do anything.”

“That’s not true.”

Freya gently pulled Jeanne’s hand, placing it on her belly.

Jeanne’s eyes widened at the faint movement he felt.

Freya smiled bittersweetly as she continued.

“Right before I fell, I saw flames in your eyes. A fierce fire with a will to live. Seeing that flame… strangely, it made me want to live too.”

“……”

“That flame must be the power of your soul.”

Jeanne blushed at the unexpected praise.

Freya, who had been watching Jeanne’s flustered expression, closed her eyes and chanted a spell.

A delicate, eye-shaped crystal materialized and slipped onto Jeanne’s finger like a ring.

It was clearly a powerful item, and Jeanne gasped in surprise.

“This is the Holy Spirit’s Ring that I’ve kept. With this, most dark attacks won’t be able to harm you. It’s nothing much, so please accept it.”

“Nothing much? If you give this to me, Lady Freya, you’ll…”

“Ah, so you do feel pressured. In that case, how about… giving the baby a name?”

“Y-you’re joking, right? That would be a thousand times more pressure!”

I laughed awkwardly at Freya, who was staring at me with bright, sparkling eyes.

As much as I respected her, it felt too much for me to name a child who hadn’t even been born yet.

Freya put her hands behind her back and leaned in slightly, her shoulder brushing against mine.

“I’m not joking. There are still many uncertainties, but in the end, this child will come into the world because of you. If the name comes from Jeanne, I’m sure the baby will grow up healthy and happy.”

“…”

“What name do you think would be good?”

Realizing Freya wouldn’t back down until I came up with a name, I sighed.

She wasn’t going to let me go until I did.

Folding my arms, I tried to think.

Suddenly, I remembered something from when I studied about seeds to plant in the guild’s vegetable garden.

“Lady Freya, do you know what a camellia is?”

Camellia, or dongbaek flower in Korean, was a red blossom.

Who knew the knowledge I’d acquired for the guild’s garden would come in handy like this?

Freya tilted her head slightly.

Seeing her crimson eyes, so red and beautiful like the camellia, made my heart skip a beat.

“Camellia?”

“Yes. The colder the winter, the stronger and bigger the petals of a camellia grow.”

“…”

“People believe that no flower can bloom from the frozen ground of winter… but there are some flowers that blossom even more beautifully because of the cold.”

Just as there are tulips that bloom in the warmth of spring, camellias bloom during the harsh winter.

Feeling Freya’s gaze intently on me, I cleared my throat and added hastily.

“It’s just a suggestion, so you don’t have to take it seriously…”

“What do you mean? I really like it.”

Freya’s red eyes shimmered as she looked at me.

She fell silent for a moment before a faint smile crossed her lips.

Looking up at the falling meteor shower, she spoke in a trembling voice.

“I hope Camellia will be like that too. The North is such a cold, lonely land.”

A meteor twinkled brightly as if acknowledging Freya’s wish.

I made my own wish upon the falling stars.

That Freya and her child would always be happy, even in this cold North.

That Ber would give up his gambling and nightlife.

And one day, even if it’s far in the future…

‘Please, let Jerome find something truly meaningful.’

I opened my eyes, finishing my prayer, to find that the meteor shower had ended.

As the crowd began to disperse from the square, I turned and followed along.

Walking back to the inn where Jerome was staying, my mind was a mess.

Since I had agreed to pretend to be in a relationship with Carlisle, I had to delay sorting things out with Jerome.

‘Actually, the bigger issue is that I can’t come clean about it being a fake relationship. Jerome and Carlisle don’t get along, and if Jerome sees me acting as Carlisle’s partner…’

But what choice did I have?

Carlisle said he’d push for an engagement if I didn’t pretend to be his lover.

I had never envied Ber, who was peacefully napping on my shoulder, as much as I did today.

‘Talk about bad timing. The moment I decided to sort things out with Jerome, this happened.’

I was trudging down the dark street with a heavy heart when a hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder from an alleyway.

Turning my head, I met Jerome’s chilling gaze, cigar smoke curling around his face.

Feeling exposed, I quickly averted my eyes. Jerome, noticing my awkwardness, laughed and asked,

“Where’ve you been wandering off to this late at night?”

“…”

“Like someone sneaking around with a secret lover.”

A cold sweat ran down my back.

* * *