ITMFYWCLBU 1

Spring had arrived, and the almond trees—the national flower of the Kingdom of Roberius—were in full bloom, their pink blossoms scattering everywhere.

In stark contrast to the sparkling sunlight that poured down on this gentle morning, perfectly befitting the phrase spring in full glory, Clarisse’s expression was dark.

In the end… I couldn’t dissolve the engagement.

According to her plan, she should have broken up with Alexis yesterday and already begun walking a life different from the future where she was killed.

Instead, not only had they failed to part ways, he had even hurled those words at her—“If you try to escape from me, I’ll chase you to the very ends of hell!”—like some sort of parting threat.

She regretted it. She had handled everything wrong. But there was no going back.

The Alexis who stubbornly refused to break up would not yield so easily.

But it’s still all right. The wedding is scheduled for the spring when I turn eighteen… which means there’s still a year. If I can break up within this year, I’ll be safe.

The problem was how to break up with him.

Annoyingly enough, Alexis was a near-flawless young man. Just as he had boldly declared yesterday, his interactions with women other than Clarisse were probably limited to nothing more than polite social formalities.

He even said he’s never held hands with another woman… well, except me.

For a moment, joy bubbled up inside her—but Clarisse hurriedly shook her head.

What was there to be happy about? She had to seal away her feelings and settle things with Alexis using a heart as cold as ice.

Desperately, she traced her memories from two years later, recalling the rage and despair she had felt when she learned of his betrayal.

Yes—no matter how admirable he was now, the man he would become in two years was different. The resentment of a woman who had been betrayed and wounded ran deep.

If there was no sign of another woman around the present Alexis, she couldn’t use infidelity as a reason to break off the engagement.

More than that, in the Kingdom of Roberius, noble marriages required the king’s approval. The moment their engagement was formalized, the king had already approved the union between the House of Brantome and the House of Luvelier. To dissolve an engagement, one needed to explain the reason to the king and obtain his permission.

She had rushed things yesterday—but “because you’ll betray me in the future” was not a valid reason by any stretch.

“Haah…”

A heavy sigh slipped from her lips.

At that moment, Ellen, her maid, spoke to her gently.

“My lady, shouldn’t you begin getting ready?”

“Oh—has it gotten that late already?”

After having breakfast with her family, she had been idly lost in thought in her room, only to realize that there was just one hour left before it was time to head to the castle.

Clarisse served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Félicité of Roberius, partly as a form of etiquette training.

Besides Félicité, the king had one concubine, but the only prince was Crown Prince Gracian, born to the queen.

Gracian was the same age as Alexis—nineteen—and the two were friends who went beyond the bounds of mere lord and retainer.

Just as Ellen finished helping Clarisse get ready, the butler came to summon her.

“My lady, Lord Alexis has come to escort you.”

The butler was still young—only thirty-two. His father, the former head butler, had passed the position on to him last year. The former head butler was still alive and now mainly assisted Clarisse’s father, Count Brantome.

Just as she was about to leave the room, Clarisse stiffened at the mention of Alexis’s name, then frowned in confusion.

“…Alexis is here to escort me?”

“Yes. He said his duties start later than usual today, so he came to pick you up.”

As a knight and one of Gracian’s close attendants, Alexis normally arrived at the castle earlier than Clarisse. Since he often stayed overnight for work, he even had a room there—and by his own admission, he spent about half the year living at the castle because it was too much trouble to return home.

Had he ever gone out of his way to pick me up?

She couldn’t recall a single time—either in the past or the future—when Alexis had done so.

Truthfully, she didn’t want to see him. But she couldn’t ignore him either. Her parents had no idea she possessed memories of the future—and they certainly didn’t know she had asked to break off the engagement.

If she acted suspiciously, it would only cause trouble. At least until the breakup was settled, she had to keep yesterday’s events secret.

“All right.”

It was nearly time to leave anyway. She didn’t want to waste time and end up late.

Resigned, Clarisse went downstairs. Alexis was waiting for her in the entrance hall.

Dressed in a high-collared knight’s uniform, Alexis looked striking—his tall, slender build only adding to the effect.

D-damn it… he’s handsome…

Clarisse groaned inwardly.

Inside her head, her resentment from being betrayed and her lingering affection were locked in a fierce brawl. The resentment snarled, “What are you getting flustered for?” while her feelings shot back, “But he’s handsome!”

She forcibly shoved the internal argument aside and pasted a smile on her face so the servants wouldn’t find her behavior strange.

“Good morning, Alexis.”

“Good morning, Clarisse. It’s a beautiful morning.”

Alexis smiled brightly—so refreshing it almost outshone the spring sunlight.

She desperately suppressed the feelings threatening to run wild and nodded. “Yes, it truly is.”

After telling Ellen, who had come to see her off, “I’ll be going now,” Clarisse boarded the Luvelier family carriage with Alexis. He sat beside her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The door closed with a soft thud, and once the carriage began to move, she let her smile fall.

“…What exactly are you trying to do?”

The words slipped out sounding more bitter than she intended.

Alexis’s smile vanished, replaced by an irritated expression.

“I told you, didn’t I? I won’t let you escape. To make sure you don’t start thinking up more nonsense, I’ve decided to stay as close to you as possible.”

“That’s—”

“I have no intention of marrying anyone but you. Give up.”

Clarisse pursed her lips in frustration. In response, Alexis suddenly softened into a smile.

“If you keep being this unreasonable, should I talk to the count and have the wedding moved up? I wouldn’t mind at all. If we hurry up and get married and I keep you locked away in my estate, I think I’d feel much more at ease.”

“W-what…!”

Taking her hand as she stood there speechless, Alexis pressed a kiss to the back of it.

“My adorable Clarisse. I will never forgive you for leaving me. If you don’t want to be locked away for life, you’d better abandon those foolish ideas sooner rather than later.”

…Who was this man, really?

Even as he smiled, a faint darkness lingered in Alexis’s eyes—and as Clarisse looked at him, that strange question suddenly crossed her mind.