If I can find out about His Highness Arnold’s mother, I may be able to get a glimpse of why he asked me to marry him… and what he intends to do with this marriage.

But this idea was too sweet.

I don’t know if finding out about it will lead to a plan to avert war in a few years. I still feel like I need to figure out the murder of his father that started the war, and the coup d’etat…against the current emperor. And about that matter, too.

As she was making various calculations, Theodore stood up, stretching widely.

“Hwaaa~ I should probably get back…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother your break.”

“That’s right! Well, the time spent on talking about my brother is irreplaceable, so that’s fine. Oh, what time is it now?”

“From the position of the sun, it’s past three in the afternoon.”

“…”

Rishe’s prompt answer took Theodore aback.

“I want to know the time after you check your watch or make some other movement of the like.”

“It’s just an approximate calculation, not as accurate as a clock… Speaking of which, Your Highness Theodore…”

Rishe asked her future brother-in-law about a matter that has been bothering her for a long time.

“There’s a castle town overlooking there with a beautiful building with a pointed tower. What is that?”

It was a question that she asked Arnold before.

Theodore looked at the tower and answered effortlessly.“Oh, that’s a church. It’s the second largest and most magnificent church on this continent. People from other countries sometimes come to worship there. They gather once a month to pray, and once a year to sing. I heard it’s a very important building.”

“I see.”

It seemed that some things needed to be confirmed.

Rishe quietly lowered her eyes and concocted a plan.

****

After thanking Theodore and parting with him, she returned to the detached palace with the knights who had been waiting for her at a distance.

Afterward, she headed to Arnold’s office. When she was left alone with him, they each sat down on the couch facing each other.

Rishe rested her hands on her knees and called out his name with sincerity.

“Your Highness Arnold.”

“What’s with the serious face?”

“This time, I have a selfish request.”

A glance at Rishe prompted her to continue, and she spoke up flatly.

“…I’d like to officially call off the engagement.”

“…”

Arnold turned a quiet gaze towards her.

“Ah. But, of course, the previous…”

She was just about to say something when Arnold rose.

Then he sat down next to Rishe. Rishe took a deep breath when he stared at her at close range.

“If that’s what you want.”“? Yeah?”

She didn’t finish explaining, but Arnold didn’t ask further.

Since it’s His Highness Arnold, he might have anticipated my thoughts and understood my intentions this time as well.

With that thought in mind, a shapely hand reached out and stroked Rishe’s coral hair as if combing it.

“Hyah!”

Since the other day, when Rishe told him that it was fine to touch her directly, Arnold would stoke her hair like this from time to time.

The way he touched the side of her ear made her feel strangely ticklish and uncomfortable. From Arnold’s point of view, he probably thought he was petting some kind of animal, but the suddenness of his actions were bad for her heart.

To top it off, his face was so close to hers that made her feel trapped.

“Er, Your Highness?”

The man with the most beautiful face in the world, as far as Rishe knew, whispered in a voice slightly lower than usual.

“That way, I can work out plans to pester you by any means necessary.”

“…Huh?”

This declaration made her cringe.

After wondering why he stated this, she realized that there was a miscommunication.

“Oh, please wait!!　I didn’t say enough. Let me explain everything! So, please back off for a moment!!”

“I won’t. You just said that you want to break off the engagement, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but that’s not what I meant!　I’m not going to run away from Your Highness’s schemes. The engagement I want to officially call off is…!!!”

―― With her former fiancé, His Highness Prince Dietrich.

“…”

When she added that, Arnold raised his eyebrows and let out a deep sigh.

T/N: Rishe scared me there for a sec…