Chapter 35

After the celebration ended, Lauro and I got into a carriage and headed home.

Overall, it was a lot of fun, but the conversation with Lord Alexis at the end left a strong impression on me.

I never expected him to propose marriage.

But that wasn't a formal proposal.

It was in the middle of an empty courtyard, and I still have a fiancé.

To avoid making it a big issue, he probably thinks this conversation should remain a secret between Lord Alexis and me.

"Did Lord Alexis propose to you?"

"Yes, it was really sudden."

I told Lauro, my personal knight, about it casually.

He told me to keep it in my heart, but he didn't say not to talk about it.

Besides, Lauro won't tell anyone else what he heard from me.

So, Lauro is the perfect person to vent to.

"Is it common for someone to propose to a princess who is already engaged to a crown prince?"

"No, it's not. Moreover, my fiancé is the crown prince of this empire. Usually, noble men would hesitate to even talk to me."

"Even to talk to you... What about me?"

"You're my personal knight, so it's fine."

"...Is that so?"

It was a strange question, but he's worrying about the wrong things.

While the crown prince is in a higher position, Lord Alexis, as the heir of one of the four great ducal families, doesn't need to be that afraid.

I'm not afraid of Crown Prince Lewis either.

But proposing to someone who already has a fiancé, regardless of who that fiancé is, is quite rude.

What is he after? He said he likes me, but I don't know if that's true.

Well... the atmosphere made me think it might be a little true.

But since it's between ducal families, it's normal to be a bit suspicious.

Swallowing his words whole would be foolish.

"Sigh, I don't like investigating such things, but maybe I should verify it."

"...Lady Asaria?"

"Hmm? What?"

"Do you think you could consider a proposal from Lord Alexis?"

"No, because I'm engaged to Crown Prince Lewis..."

"After breaking the engagement with Crown Prince Lewis."

Ah, that's what you mean.

I've already told Lauro that I will eventually break my engagement with Crown Prince Lewis.

What I would do if I could consider a proposal from Lord Alexis.

Hmm, I don't think Lord Alexis is a bad person.

Before the regression, I thought he was aloof and hard to read, but after seeing him on the battlefield, I realized he has a sense of responsibility and is serious.

Still, I don't know him well enough to want to propose or marry him.

If I get engaged again, I want it to be with someone I truly like.

I've never liked Crown Prince Lewis, and the engagement was arranged by my father for my benefit.

So, I think I should be free to choose my next partner, and I intend to choose someone I like.

"I don't understand Lord Alexis well enough to want to propose to him."

"Still... Is that so?"

For some reason, Lauro seems a bit down, but I wonder why?

I don't think I said anything in my story that would make Lauro sad.

Lauro's expression doesn't change, but I can sense his emotions from the atmosphere.

My younger siblings, Leo and Lena, said, "Big brother is actually easy to read emotionally!" Maybe I'm getting closer to Lauro too.

Ah, thinking about them makes me want to see them.

"Lauro, can we go to your house? I want to see Leo and Lena."

"Yes, I think they'll be happy to see you, Lady Asaria."

"Hehe, that would make me happy too."

We arrived at Lauro's house by carriage.

As usual, Lauro got out first, and I took his hand to get out of the carriage.

It feels like it's been a while since I last came to Lauro's house.

By the way, since Lauro received a knighthood, Leo and Lena are now part of a noble family.

But I don't think they've decided on a family name yet.

"Lauro, you received a knighthood, but what about a family name? You refused a name from the royal family, but do you have any candidates?"

"No, not at all."

"Huh, really?"

"I wanted you to decide it for me, Lady Asaria."

"Me? Lauro's family name?"

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"Not at all... but are you sure it's okay for me to decide?"

"Yes, I always intended for you to decide."

I never thought the reason you refused a name from the royal family was because you wanted me to decide.

It's flattering, but it's a lot of pressure.

I'm not very good at naming things... but how about...

"How about 'Apazir'?"

"Apazir?"

"Yes, 'Apal' means 'protect' in some country. It fits you, my personal knight who has always protected Leo and Lena."

"Protect... where does 'zir' come from?"

"...From my name."

My name is Asaria Zir Spencer.

I took it from there, but it feels a bit embarrassing.

"Apazir, taken from Lady Asaria's name..."

Lauro murmured and remained still for a while with his usual expressionless face.

What, is it no good?

His blank expression makes it hard to read his emotions.

Leo and Lena can probably read his emotions even with this expression.

"If you don't like it, I can think of something else..."

"No... I think it's a very good name, Lady Asaria."

"Really? You don't have to be polite."

"Yes, it's a truly wonderful name. Thank you, Lady Asaria."

Lauro smiled.

I'm glad he really likes it.

Seeing Lauro's rare smile makes me happy too.

"Lauro Apazir. As my personal knight, please continue to take care of me."

"Yes, Lady Asaria Zir Spencer. I will continue to serve you with all my heart and soul."

We smiled at each other and went into Lauro's house.

Leo and Lena greeted us with their adorable smiles.

Sigh, it's so soothing.

As I thought, Leo and Lena looked at Lauro curiously.

"Hey, big brother, you look really happy."

"Really! Big brother looks super happy!"

What, that much?

If Leo and Lena say so, it must be true.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, big brother, did something good happen?"

"Did something good happen?"

"...Yes, something really good happened."

Lauro smiled gently and patted Leo and Lena's heads.

I couldn't read Lauro's emotions, but it's good that they're happy.

After that, I had tea with Leo and Lena and we all ate some sweets together.

I played with Leo and Lena for a while at Lauro's house.

As usual, I made a dog shape with fire magic, and they chased it.

After about an hour, Leo and Lena looked tired and fell asleep in the garden.

Their sleeping faces were so cute, I couldn't help but watch them for a while.

Lauro carried them both and took them to a room in the mansion.

It was getting late, so I decided to go home by carriage.

I was tired from the preparation for the ceremony in the morning and the greetings at the celebration.

"Thank you for today, Lady Asaria."

"No, thank you for all your hard work today."

Compared to knight training, today's ceremony and celebration were much easier.

But it was still something he wasn't used to.

"From tomorrow, please continue to serve as my personal knight."

"Yes, of course. Lauro Apazir will protect Lady Asaria with all my heart and soul."

Lauro knelt, took my hand, and kissed the back of it.

...By the way, Lord Alexis almost did that to me.

But thanks to Lauro's protection, it didn't happen.

Was he jealous?

No, that's not like Lauro.

"Yes, see you tomorrow."

"Yes, see you."

After seeing Lauro's slightly softer smile, I got into the carriage.

I can spend my days with Lauro, Ivan, and Father.

Before the regression, I couldn't enjoy my days like this, so I'm really happy.

All of this is thanks to Crown Prince Lewis and Saint Oriane.

Now, I can enjoy my days while getting back at those two.

But it's not over yet.

Oriane will start her work as a saint in earnest.

Crown Prince Lewis... What will happen to him?

Maybe he was just showing off being a crown prince.

For now—my revenge against those two is far from over.

I'll become a villainess and laugh at their downfall.

[Author's Note]

This concludes Chapter 1!!

The story will continue, but I will pause the serialization here for now.

I hope to resume serialization in about a month.

Thank you for reading this far!

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