Since the situation had come to this point, it couldn't be ignored. Just as he had always done, he decided to follow the rules of the Seven Virtues and Seven Sins.

He offered kindness without any sincerity.

"Do you need something from me, Prince Ligarès?"

"......"

The platinum-haired royal, on the borderline between boy and youth, took a deep breath. He then forced a smile on his face, trying to hide the look that seemed on the verge of tears.

"Guess you still won’t call me 'Ligarès', huh?"

"......"

"It's fine. Still, it was enough when you turned around when I called you 'brother'... that’s enough."

He said it, convincing himself with a look on his face that clearly didn’t feel sufficient.

In another timeline, the one who had been so cruel was now desperately begging for a word, a piece of expression, or even a glance from Tesilid.

Tesilid couldn’t adapt to this gap, and honestly, he had no intention of doing so.

This indifference stemmed from Tesilid's inherently good nature. How easy would it be to wield and play with someone who would become overjoyed just by being called by their name?

Had Tesilid not been kind, he would have used his emotional leverage long ago, burying Ligarès in the mud without a second thought.

"I apologize, but I’d rather not face you for long, Your Highness."

"......I came to deliver something. It’s from Celeste-nim."

"The Queen?"

Thinking it might be an official matter, Tesilid immediately changed his attitude. Ligarès, feeling good about using his sister's name to his advantage, took out an elegant velvet box from his chest.

"Take it to your wife yourself, brother. When you're alone together. And dress well, if you can."

The solemn request was met with a flat response.

"Understood."

"......Aren’t you curious about what’s inside?"

"Is it something I need to know?"

"Well, you might want to know."

It was then that Tesilid realized this matter was not entirely official.

He carefully opened the velvet box at Ligarès' gesture.

"This is......"

What was revealed under the sunlight was a ring with a large pink diamond embedded in it.

"It's one of the royal family heirlooms. It’s got to be this level."

"This level, you say?"

"Your wife has been quite upset that you still haven’t proposed to her."

"......"

Tesilid flinched at two facts: first, that Ligarès had caught him not having proposed, and second, that Ayleth had been deeply upset about it. It struck his heart deeply.

"Did she... feel that way?"

"Yeah."

Of course, Ligarès was someone who could lie without changing his expression.

"So, take this and propose, brother."

Tesilid stared at the brilliant pink diamond for a long time.

Not only did it look far more valuable than the ring Morpheus had pulled out earlier when he was flirting with Ayleth, but the color of the diamond was such that it naturally made Tesilid think of Ayleth, with its beautiful hue.

Even Tesilid felt that no other proposal ring in the world could compare to this one. However...

"The proposal ring should be something I prepare myself... to make it meaningful."

"Brother, with your paladin’s salary, you can’t afford a ring like this."

"Even so, I don’t see why I should receive an heirloom from the Winchester royal family..."

"Of course, you should! It’s not strange for a hero who saved the world to be given a treasure."

Ligarès cleverly didn’t say anything that might imply that, as a royal, Tesilid deserved to receive it—those words wouldn’t have worked on him.

"Think of it as a hero’s pension."

"Ah."

Even with the persuasive reasoning, Tesilid thought it made sense.

Back when he used to be a devout and ascetic paladin, he had avoided material desires just as much as he avoided lust. But now, after meeting Ayleth, things were different.

When he had told her that he would give all his paladin salary, he hadn’t been able to hide the gleam in his peridot-colored eyes, and the shower of praise she had poured on him for earning 2.67 million gold had taught him a lesson.

"The more I bring, the more she’ll like it, right?"

And as he kept looking at the pink royal heirloom, it seemed to be a ring meant for Ayleth Rodeline. At this point, he thought it had to be placed on her finger.

"Please convey my thanks to His Majesty."

"Okay, I got it!"

Although Tesilid couldn’t understand why Ligarès, the errand boy, was so happy, he didn’t bother to dwell on it as he tucked the ring box into his chest.

"It seems like the business is finished now. You may leave now, Prince Ligarès."

"No, I’ll wait until you leave first."

"I can’t allow that. Please go ahead."

"Brother first..."

In the back-and-forth situation, Tesilid let out a low sigh.

"Ligarès."

"......!"

Ligarès' bright blue eyes widened. Tesilid’s calm voice echoed in the air, as though it wasn’t a hallucination.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t be your brother. Even if I recover the memories from my childhood, it’ll still be the same."

"......"

"You won’t understand, but the life I’ve lived makes it difficult for me to accept you. So stop the pointless effort. You won’t be rewarded."

"......Brother."

It was just a small call. Ligarès couldn’t say anything more, standing there frozen for a long time.

Tesilid respectfully bowed.

"I’ll leave first, Your Highness."

With a deliberately cold turn, Tesilid left the room.

As he distanced himself from Ligarès, the calm expression on the handsome man’s face began to crack, reflecting the complicated emotions inside.

Objectively speaking, the wrongs Ligarès had committed against Tesilid in this timeline were small. But without disregarding the accumulated memories from dozens of timelines, the things Tesilid had suffered made it far too painful to face Ligarès now.

The image of his younger brother gazing at him with a tender expression was overwhelmed by the memories of the arrogant prince who had once stabbed a knife into his heart. It was overwhelmingly easy to feel nothing but despair.

Tesilid had suffered too much to forgive Ligarès, but on the other hand, he was so kind-hearted that he didn’t want to harm him, despite everything.

So, he had made a compromise: to live without getting involved, as complete strangers.

He didn’t want to waste his emotions. Even now, after a brief encounter, he could feel himself becoming tired so quickly.

‘I want to see her.’

He felt that he needed to recover by seeing her face. Fortunately, unlike his fingertips that had drawn the lot, his feet seemed to be guided by the power of love.

Soon, he found her in a part of the garden.

"Terry?"

"Kid."

"What are you doing here alone?"

Ayleth was also alone. Bianca, who had been with her at the banquet, was nowhere to be seen. The fact that they were alone was quite pleasing.

Anyway, Tesilid didn’t hesitate to answer her question.

He took a step toward her and whispered.

"I missed you too much."

He didn’t bring up the fact that he had followed her out of the banquet. It felt too obsessive to mention.

Sure enough, Ayleth responded exactly as Tesilid had hoped.

Her round emerald eyes widened at his love confession, forgetting to blink. The look on her face as she gazed at him was so endearing.

As he fought the urge to kiss her eyes, she too came back to her senses.

"Oh, it’s the same method, but why do I always fall for it?"

"Method?"

"Exactly. It’s just everyday talk, but why do you say it so earnestly that it makes my heart race?"

"Because the feelings I have behind those words are earnest?"

"......"

"Of course, it’s true. You’re my life."

"......What is this, a romance novel?"

She muttered something without understanding, but seeing her flushed cheeks made it clear that it was a positive sign for him.

"By the way, Kid, there seemed to be some commotion at your table."

"Oh, that. It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it."

How could she not worry when her lover had been proposed to by a madman?

While she tried to avoid the subject, she turned the conversation back to Tesilid.

"By the way, Tesilid, didn’t something happen at your table?"

"There can’t be anything wrong at a family dinner."

"My brother suddenly seemed really friendly to you. How did you manage to... no, how did you win his favor?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Well..."

Tesilid had helped Prinz realize, from his position, that he couldn’t actually consider himself a candidate for Bianca’s husband.

That would sum it up, but Tesilid still hadn’t gotten over the small feeling of resentment he had earlier. So, a little mischief surfaced.

Tesilid bowed toward Ayleth.

"Terry...?"

As his handsome face drew closer, Ayleth became slightly flustered. With the distance between them close enough for a kiss, the tension reached its peak. But Tesilid suddenly turned and placed his forehead against hers. The silver and pink hair mixed together.

"I guess it worked out like you said. The whole world must love me."

"......"

"Right? My world."

"......Ah, really."

Ayleth realized she had been teased by the charming laugh that rang out.

She muttered softly, and then, impulsively, brushed his slightly messy bangs back.

Tesilid gave her a curious look as she spoke.

"You look good even with your bangs down."

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah."

"Then look at me a lot, and like me a lot."

This time, their shared laughter shook the air.

At that moment.

<You really never stop, do you? If you two lived together, you’d be kissing as naturally as breathing.>

"......"

"......"

The two of them, after tidying each other's hair, stood up straight.

"Let’s go back, Kid."

"Yeah, Terry."

The stars of the banquet couldn’t be missing. The two of them walked together back toward the banquet hall.