Yuri Grace shook off my mother and headed straight to the Duke’s office, thinking that Kail would definitely go to meet my father first.Just a few months ago, after not showing his face for five years, he suddenly appeared on the battlefield. Thinking about it, Kail probably went to see the Duke first this time too.‘Seems like he doesn’t understand women at all.’This was both a minus and a plus factor. Minus because he’s clueless about women’s feelings, but plus because it seems like he hasn’t been with any woman other than me.So if he pleases a woman, it’s a plus, and if he displeases her, it becomes a minus.Naturally, in Yuri’s mind right now, Kail was constantly fluctuating between plus and minus. Minus because he didn’t understand her feelings, but plus because he came directly to her, then minus again because he went to see the Duke first instead of her.Yuri, who had been furiously calculating in her head, paused when she heard voices coming from inside the office.─Master is freedom……─Who would think such……‘…Freedom?’She felt like she overheard something she shouldn’t have. Freedom, a word that suited Kail quite well.But combined with the word Master in front, it could be interpreted differently. And just in time, wasn’t the Duke trying to persuade Kail otherwise?Yuri decided to eavesdrop further and held her breath to listen carefully.─When you become a Master……─That’s your thought……─Then what about the annulment?And the moment the word “annulment” was heard, she quickly opened the door and entered. Both Kail and the Duke turned to look at her in surprise.Without paying any attention to them, she cautiously looked at Kail and asked.“…Annulment?”“Oh, Yuri. Since when were you—”“Answer my question first.”“…You didn’t know?”Kail looked at the Duke as if asking how this happened. The Duke awkwardly coughed, having nothing to say, and Kail, looking bewildered at the Duke, turned his gaze back to Yuri.Yuri Grace. She glared at Kail with an expression demanding an immediate explanation. Kail, seeing Yuri, explained the situation they were in.“We’ve annulled our engagement.”“—Is that so.”“Yeah, so I…”“I see. Well, that’s it then.”Without listening to the rest, Yuri immediately turned around and left the office. The Duke, watching Yuri leave, urged Kail.“What are you doing? Hurry up and chase after her to comfort her.”“…Isn’t this all because of someone?”Slightly annoyed, Kail quickly got up and followed after Yuri.*“Ah, Miss. Where are you going…?”“Miss? Are you alright—?”“Miss, the lady of the house is looking for you—”Ignoring all the maids calling out to her, Yuri headed to the backyard garden of the lord’s castle. A garden created by the Duke with magic specifically for her, where even this frigid land couldn’t hinder growth.Concentrated sunlight made the inside of the garden unbearably hot, unlike the usual northern climate, causing sweat to pour down.After exhaling lightly, Yuri carefully sat down amidst the flowerbeds. The fragrance of flowers began to soothe her uneasy heart.“…Did I really disgust him that much?”She had confidence. Her looks, figure, charm—all sufficient to captivate one man, Kail. But since entering the Academy, that confidence had gradually eroded.There was Ariah, whose appearance and figure rivaled or surpassed hers, and Sera, who somehow became closer to Kail despite being inferior in every aspect.At this point, doubts arose whether Kail truly liked her. As time passed, her confidence hit rock bottom.After all, Kail was an unprecedented Master in his teens, while she was merely a newly minted Expert-level sorceress.Though she might become a Master someday, could she ever make Kail look back at her once she did?‘I don’t know.’She had done everything she could. Eating tasteless food to maintain her figure, exercising daily to train her body, getting massages and living a disciplined life to enhance her bust.Learning magic from the Duke, she trained not only her exterior but also her interior. Even searching the entire continent, there might not be a better bride than her.She could confidently assert that everyone desired her, yet she couldn’t be sure of capturing Kail’s attention—the one person she wanted.‘What should I do?’Kail must have grown tired of her. He brushed off her invitations to hang out without hesitation, opting to go out with other girls instead.Moreover—he boldly declared to the Duke that he wanted an annulment.‘Now, what should I do…’Since meeting Kail at the age of five, her whole life had been prepared to become his bride.That goal disappeared. She lost the meaning of her life. Where should a wandering traveler go when they lose their way?“I found you here.”And then, the voice she least wanted to hear now came from behind her. Without turning her head towards Kail’s voice, Yuri spoke.“…Go away.”“I came to see you, where would I go?”“Anyway, you’ve achieved your purpose, right? If you got the annulment you wanted—”“It’s about that.”As if waiting for this moment, Kail swiftly pulled out the annulment document sent by the Duke and flung it towards her. Drawing a clean trajectory, the annulment paper landed neatly into Yuri’s lap.Seeing the annulment paper in her arms, Yuri glanced reproachfully at Kail, questioning why he prepared such a thing.“…What’s this?”“Read it.”“You could have said it verbally, was it really necessary to prepare this?”Despite saying that, curiosity got the better of her, and she opened the annulment paper. Realizing that it wasn’t a document written by Kail or the Duke, she froze.[Thus, the annulment is declared.]─Walter GraceSeeing her father’s name, Walter Grace, written on the document, Yuri stiffened and turned to look at Kail.“…What’s this?”“The annulment document Lord Chang sent me.”“…Th-then, that annulment you mentioned…”“It wasn’t me, Lord Chang told me to annul it. He proposed the annulment.”Hearing that, Yuri immediately prepared to run towards the Duke. How dare he do this without telling her anything?No matter how close he was, she couldn’t forgive him. It wasn’t about winning or losing. She wouldn’t feel satisfied until she gave him a good beating.Fortunately, Kail stopped Yuri from heading somewhere, and she, a long-range spellcaster, couldn’t escape from Kail, who was a Master.“…Let me go.”“No.”“Hurry.”“Are you going to Lord Chang?”“Yes.”“That’s why I can’t let you go.”Having barely stopped Yuri, Kail began explaining why he was annulled.“Lord Chang said that I made you cry. Is that true?”“…No.”“Right? But it seems Lord Chang thinks differently.”“It’s Mother, it must be because of Mother. Father can’t do anything in front of Mother.”“Oh, I didn’t know he was henpecked.”After briefly gossiping about the Duke, the two realized that the situation had somewhat resolved. The fact that Yuri herself didn’t know about the annulment was surprising, but they managed to stop it somehow.And love that overcomes hardship deserves a reward. Kail carefully pulled out an essence filled with Yin energy from his pocket.“…What’s this?”“A birthday present. It was tough getting it with Sera this time.”“…Don’t tell me, this is why you said you couldn’t hang out with me?”“Eh? Isn’t that right?”Technically, it was slightly different, but Kail had no intention of breaking the perfect flow of the current situation.Kail lightly placed the essence in his mouth and leaned towards Yuri. Seeing Kail’s comical face, Yuri burst into laughter and gently bit the essence in his mouth.Their lips met, and the abundant Yin energy from the essence enveloped Yuri’s body. Despite being born in the North and resistant to Yin energy, the amount was overwhelming.In danger of Yin energy running rampant and threatening her life, Yuri felt intense Yang energy invading her mouth and her eyes shot open.Kail in front of her was sending her Yang energy.‘…Kail.’With his help, Yuri began to control the overflowing Yin energy within her body and spread it throughout.As Yin and Yang harmonized, her level advanced by one stage.Yuri Grace became a four-star sorceress.
