The sky was turning orange at dusk.

Someone knocked on Demian’s office door as he was doing paperwork after finishing afternoon training.

It was Isaac Wind, the vice-captain of the Red Hawk Knights and the eldest son of the Wind Count family.

“Captain, are you busy?”

“What is it?”

Demian asked indifferently, not taking his eyes off the paperwork.

His face, tinged by the sunset coming through the long window, was truly handsome.

Silver hair woven like moonlight, golden eyes within delicate eye lines, a sharp nose bridge, and red lips.

His appearance alone was enough to captivate the hearts of many women and earn the admiration of men.

“I heard that Colin received an interesting letter, so I came to deliver it to you personally.”

Isaac took out a lavender envelope from his chest and held it out to Demian.

Demian paused his paperwork for a moment and furrowed his brow as he looked at the name written on the envelope.

“…Arasila Hugo?”

“Yes, you know, that famous eccentric magician from the Magic Tower. It’s from her.”

“Why?”

“How would I know? Hurry and check it out. Why did the magician write a letter?”

At Isaac’s urging, Demian opened the letter with a sour expression.

The contents written in a rather soft cursive on high-quality paper were…

「To Lord Vandermir,

It seems we should get married soon, so shall we meet before the ceremony?

I also have something important to tell you. Let’s meet on a day that works for both of us.

By the way, I’m free starting three days from now.

– Arasila Hugo of the Duke Hugo family.」

A laugh of disbelief escaped him.

“What does it say?”

“That she’s a crazy woman.”

“What? Really?”

Demian tossed the letter onto the desk. Unable to contain his curiosity, Isaac peeked at the letter.

“Gasp! Captain, are you getting married?!”

“Isaac.”

“I’m sorry, I’ll be quiet.”

At the chilly call, Isaac shut his mouth tightly and bowed his head.

But as he saw Demian pick up the paperwork again, his lips slowly parted.

“Aren’t you going to reply?”

“Why should I? It doesn’t seem to have been written in her right mind.”

“But she’s the lady of the Duke Hugo family. For smooth social relations… Oh, come to think of it, their second daughter doesn’t participate much in social activities.”

In other words, there’s no need to worry about strange rumors spreading in social circles if Arasila’s letter is ignored.

Of course, Demian didn’t decide to ignore Arasila’s letter after calculating that far.

“…But I heard her personality is a bit brazen and peculiar. Is it alright to just leave such a magician be?”

“Isaac, are you afraid of magicians now?”

“No! I’m not afraid at all!”

At the sharp question, Isaac’s body became rigidly alert.

To show fear of magicians in front of Demian, the youngest Sword Master in the empire. It was not only unacceptable but shameful as a knight.

“Be careful.”

“Yes, I understand!”

“You may go.”

“Yes, keep up the good work!”

Isaac bowed deeply and left the office.

Demian scanned the letter once more and clicked his tongue lightly.

‘They say there are hardly any sane people among magicians, I guess that’s true.’

Unlike the knights who were sweating outside, training their bodies, magicians were a bunch who holed up in gloomy towers like the Magic Tower, conducting sinister research.

Then they would go crazy and attack people, causing accidents, or in severe cases, even start rebellions.

‘Even if she’s a rare female noble magician, she’s not much different.’

He got up from his seat and threw the letter into the fireplace. The paper instantly burned up and turned to ashes.

And so, Demian completely forgot about the letter from a certain eccentric magician.

[This is the timeline separator]

Three days later.

The training ground of the Red Hawk Knights was unusually busy and noisy.

It was because of a woman standing near the entrance, wearing a yellow dress that suited spring well and holding a parasol.

Due to her unmistakable presence that couldn’t be ignored, everyone was unable to start training and was gathered in small groups, murmuring.

Unable to bear the sight, Isaac stepped forward.

“What brings a noble lady here?”

“I came to meet Lord Vandermir. I sent a letter in advance, where is he?”

Arasila stated her business directly, stopping Audrey who was about to answer on her behalf.

She had seemed beautiful even from afar, but up close, she was beyond imagination, causing Isaac to unconsciously swallow before coming to his senses.

“The captain hasn’t arrived yet. I’m sorry, but your presence here is disrupting the training…”

“My, is your superior quite lazy? Or perhaps he’s the type to oversleep?”

Arasila cut off Isaac’s attempt to send her away with a light smile.

Isaac was momentarily speechless at her boldness to disparage the captain in the middle of the knights’ training ground.

“…Please refrain from making disrespectful remarks about the captain.”

“Did that offend you? It’s alright, it’s nothing compared to your superior ignoring my letter and making me come all the way here.”

Isaac was startled by those words and looked Arasila over again.

Judging by her mention of the letter, it seemed that the eccentric magician who had sent a strange letter to his superior a few days ago was the woman before him.

Since Arasila rarely showed herself in social circles, Isaac, who was seeing her for almost the first time, became flustered.

He knew best that Demian had ignored her letter, so he had nothing to say.

As he hesitated, wondering what to say, he looked at one spot and suddenly bowed his head, shouting loudly.

“Captain, you’ve arrived!”

Audrey, who had checked behind her before her master, was startled and bowed her head. Arasila turned around leisurely.

In her view, she saw the hem of a lightly fluttering dress, a white parasol with lace, and in front of that, the chest of a man in uniform.

Arasila tilted her parasol back and raised her head. Glass-like blue eyes met intense golden eyes.

The man’s face was perfect and beautiful like a sculpture, tall enough that even she, who was much taller than the average woman, had to look up.

“Hello, Lord Vandermir. I’m Arasila Hugo. Did you hurt your hand?”

Arasila opened her mouth with a pointed greeting. Demian responded calmly.

“Hello, Lady Hugo. I’m Demian Vandermir. I’m not injured.”

“Ah, I thought you might be hurt since there was no reply, so I came in a hurry. I’m glad that’s not the case.”

With a smile tinged with resentment, Arasila prevented him from discussing her visit.

In reality, if Demian had just replied properly, Arasila wouldn’t have had to come here.

Keeping his gaze on her small face, Demian spoke to Isaac.

“What are you doing here, Isaac? I believe the training start time has passed.”

“I’m sorry, Captain.”

“Everyone run 50 laps around the training ground.”

Isaac accepted the punishment obediently. As he went back to gather the knights, Demian spoke again.

“Shall we move to my office, my lady?”

“Alright.”

[This is the timeline separator]

For a while, only the sound of teacups clinking could be heard between the two people sitting face to face on an antique sofa.

Then, Demian was the first to speak.

“I apologize for not replying to your letter. I was busy and forgot.”

“Well, if your memory is poor, that can happen.”

“But if that’s why you came, please go back. I have no intention of marrying you.”

After a formal apology, he immediately got to the point. At his firm rejection, Arasila sipped her tea as if she had expected it.

“Do you know that there’s a promise of a political marriage between our families?”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“I suppose so. I only found out recently myself.”

Her snow-white fingers silently set down the cup.

For someone known as an eccentric magician who was crazy about magic and had abandoned her duties as a noble lady, Arasila’s demeanor was elegant and flawless.

“Because of that promise, we have to get married.”

“I refuse.”

Despite the immediate rejection, Arasila wasn’t hurt. Rather, she sighed and shook her head.

“This isn’t a problem you can just thoughtlessly refuse.”

Before Demian could retort to her tone, which was like dealing with a disobedient child,

“And why do you dislike it?”

Arasila asked as if she couldn’t understand at all.

“Top entrance and graduation from the Academy’s Magic Department, and top entry into the Magic Tower.”

“…”

“First-class merit received for dealing with a large-scale magical beast outbreak in the south at the end of last year, and the title of Count.”

“…”

“Current personal assets of 3 billion gold, excluding what will be inherited from the family.”

Self-praise flowed smoothly from her red, plump lips. It was so natural and unhindered that Demian momentarily thought Arasila was talking about someone else.

“And though it’s a bit embarrassing to say myself, superior looks that made me one of the Three Goddesses during my time at the Academy.”

Arasila brushed back her lavender hair that flowed down like waves to make her face more visible.

Among all the boasts she had recited earlier, the last one was the most irrefutable.

Her features, as if painted with a brush, were more splendid than anything seen in masterpieces, to the point where one might think she had excellent self-objectification.

“Honestly, doesn’t this make you want to marry me?”

Arasila smiled confidently. Not stopping there, she tried to drive the point home.

“Marry me, Lord Vandermir.”

Throwing out a loveless proposal, she added.

“You want to push aside your brother and take the Duke’s position, don’t you? I’ll help you.”

Demian flinched greatly. Emotion flickered across his face, which seemed carved from ice.

Internally, the successor to the Vandermir Duke family was firmly set as Oscar. Demian had been hiding his claws and biding his time, trying to wedge himself into that gap.

On the surface, he acted as if he had no interest, staying in the capital and leading the Red Hawk Knights, while behind the scenes, he was waiting for an opportunity.

How did this noble lady, whom he was meeting for the first time today, know about a fact that only a few of his closest confidants were aware of?

‘…Did she investigate me?’

Demian’s eyes sharpened. Either unaware of or ignoring the wariness on his chilled face, Arasila remained composed.

“It would be hard to find a wife as smart, beautiful, and capable as me anywhere else. You know that, right?”

“…”

As Demian stared at Arasila, who was smiling leisurely while waiting for an answer, his mouth slowly opened.

“In last year’s southern magical beast subjugation, were you the magician who sneakily took credit for what our knight order had completely dealt with?”

“…Pardon?”

Arasila was taken aback by the unexpected response. She had naturally thought he would accept her proposal.

Soon, her face contorted.

“Wow, after I saved you from near death, you call me sneaky? If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be sitting here. You’d be buried in a coffin in the dirt!”

“That’s not even funny. Didn’t you just wait and watch the whole time, only stepping in when you thought you could gain something?”

“What? Hey!”

Unable to contain herself, Arasila jumped to her feet.