I Hate You the Most in the World!

The Grand Hall of the palace, where the official inauguration ceremony was taking place, was bustling with nobles and royalty from various countries.

‘For a ceremony that’s not the Emperor’s or Empress’s coronation, there are quite a lot of attendees.’

Riett thought to herself, and just then, the Emperor whispered in her ear.

“Representatives from the major countries are all here.”

“Yes, they must be busy.”

“They’re trying to establish their presence early. Since you’ve obtained the Spirit Stone, the Truto Empire’s national power will also strengthen.”

True, as they had all been determined to find the Spirit Stone, they were well aware of its power. Yet, the person who possessed that power, Riett, felt almost awkward, while the Emperor seemed quite at ease, standing tall with his shoulders held high.

His soaring shoulders seemed to reach up into the sky.

“Your Majesty.”

The Emperor, who had been looking solemnly around, fixed his gaze on Riett.

“What is it, Duchess Marren?”

“If I were to defect to another country, what would you do?”

Riett felt as if she had just seen one of those comic book panels where a thunderbolt strikes with a “kukung” sound effect.

“W-what do you mean, Duchess? If there’s something that upsets you, please just tell me…”

“It was just a joke. I was curious.”

Only then did the Emperor sigh with relief.

“Don’t make such jokes. They’re not good for the heart.”

“Yes, but please don’t use me too much for diplomatic matters.”

“…Of course not.”

The Emperor’s response was slow. Although he knew that Riett was not the type to wield the powerful Spirit Mage’s ability arbitrarily, it was still good to warn her. 

Riett was grateful that she had discussed this with the Emperor beforehand. Soon, she was surrounded by many people, exchanging greetings.

“Hello, Duchess Marren. I’m Prince Grennin of the Meriato Kingdom.”

“It’s an honor to meet you like this, Duchess. I am Princess Bianca of the Sorentia Kingdom.”

While exchanging greetings at a frantic pace and trying to catch her breath, Riett was approached by someone she was delighted to see.

“You really need to take a number to exchange greetings with Duchess Marren.”

“Your Highness Callis!”

The person who appeared was Prince Callis of the Haren Empire. Unlike before, he had a bright expression on his face.

“How are things? Has the complicated situation been resolved?”

“Thanks to you. I think the coronation ceremony will be held next year.”

Riett clapped her hands lightly.

“Congratulations.”

“You should be congratulated, not me. I had no idea you were a Spirit Mage, let alone that you would find the Spirit Stone.”

Riett smiled modestly.

“You don’t know much about human affairs.”

“That’s true. I hope a spirit will come to me one day. Then I can deal with troublemakers in an instant.”

In Callis’ joke, Riett sensed a faint hint of exhaustion from his recent political struggles.

“Duke Kreutz doesn’t seem to be here. I was planning to greet him, but I don’t see him around.”

Callis looked around as he spoke.

In truth, Riett was quite concerned about Evan’s absence. All the major nobles of the capital seemed to be present, so why was Evan the only one missing? 

Although they had agreed to meet separately later, she couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

“He said he’s returning from Parman and has been busy with work. That’s probably why he’s late.”

Riett tried to quell her boiling emotions and provided a reasonable explanation. Callis nodded in understanding.

“When I saw you two last time, it didn’t seem like an ordinary relationship, so naturally, I thought he would be here. I must have been mistaken.”

“When we met in Parman?”

At that time, they hadn’t shown any intimate behavior.

“Yes, I saw the way Duke Kreutz looked at Duchess Marren. It seemed special to me. I’m quite good at noticing such things.”

Riett had to rack her brain to recall if Evan had indeed looked at her that way. Sometimes, he would surreptitiously gaze at her, but she hadn’t paid much attention to it.

After bidding farewell to Prince Callis, Riett’s heart felt even more unsettled. Evan was always the first to congratulate her whenever something good happened. She wished the inauguration ceremony would end quickly so she could meet him.

As the guests gradually departed, Riett was left completely alone after the inauguration ceremony concluded. The once-packed Grand Hall now stood empty.

‘When will he come?’

Riett remained seated in the corner, waiting for Evan to arrive. Soon enough, the sound of footsteps echoed, and the person she had been waiting for finally appeared.

‘This guy.’

Riett stood up abruptly.

He had arrived on time, but she couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed by his absence throughout the day. Seeing him now, her annoyance increased even more.

‘Huh?’

She stared at Evan, wondering why he had disappeared and only now showed up.

“What happened to you?”

“….”

Riett leaned closer, and Evan’s eyebrows twitched. She began to worry about his unusual behavior.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

She noticed his neck was red, and his lips moved slowly.

“It’s not that.”

“Well, that’s a relief, but…”

For some reason, he seemed unfamiliar today.

Riett carefully observed Evan, and she soon understood the reason for his behavior.

‘Right now, Evan seems so…’

He seemed incredibly tense, like someone under immense pressure.

Despite having spent a long time together, seeing Evan in such a tense state made him appear like a stranger.

“Riett.”

Upon hearing her name being called in a somewhat uncertain voice, Riett set aside her thoughts and focused on Evan.

“Hmm?”

“Did the inauguration ceremony go well?”

Upon hearing the word “inauguration ceremony” from Evan’s mouth, Riett’s eyes widened into a triangular shape.

“Yeah. Thanks to your absence, it went very well!”

“Sorry for showing up late. But I was watching from afar when you were doing the greetings from the tower.”

Riett crossed her arms. 

“Why were you just watching from afar?”

“I was nervous.”

“Oh, nervous… huh?”

Riett momentarily paused as if she couldn’t hear the response properly. It was a different shock to notice Evan’s tension through his actions and actually hear the words from his mouth. Was there really something bothering him?

Riett felt deeply concerned about Evan.

“Why are you so nervous? What important thing do you want to say?”

“Riett, do you remember when you told me ‘ I hate the most in the world’ in the past?”

“I did…?”

Riett carefully retraced her memories of the past.

‘Did I say something like that?’

Riett thought back to her past interactions with Evan. Although she couldn’t recall saying those exact words, she knew she had argued with him before. However, she had never imagined that Evan would bring up such a topic.

“Am I still the person you hate the most?”

“No, you know that’s not true. Even if I said something like that, it wasn’t sincere.”

Riett furrowed her eyebrows. She couldn’t understand why Evan would ask such a pointless question.

“Why are you asking such a useless question?”

“I need courage.”

Evan lightly smiled, and it seemed that the question had helped him relax.

“That phrase has always bothered me.”

Riett suddenly felt guilty. She had never thought that Evan would care about such words.

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. What’s important is the future.”

Evan took a deep breath and looked at Riett seriously.

“Riett.”

Their red and black eyes met.

“I mean it.”

Gulping, Riett’s throat felt tight.

“I want to become the person closest to you in the world.”

Riett’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean…?”

Evan smiled softly.

“Let’s get married.”

Riett’s whole body stiffened at the sudden confession. Even swallowing felt unnatural.

It took quite some time before Riett could finally speak.

“So, you mean… you want to become my husband?”

“I’m not the person you hate the most now, right? So, let’s get married.”

Riett was at a loss for words.

‘Isn’t that too extreme of a choice?’

Playful Evan quickly put on a serious expression. 

“Is there still no place for me in your future?” 

His somewhat direct question made Riett avoid eye contact and look down. 

“No…”

“Then give me a chance. I’ll make you the happiest person in the world.” 

Evan’s tender and earnest voice made Riett’s gaze return to him. 

In truth, she had never imagined a future without Evan. They had been together since they were very young, and through happy and sad times, Evan was always there with her.

‘I hope it stays that way in the future too.’

The word “marriage” felt heavy, but the answer had been clear from the moment she heard it. Somehow, she already knew the answer.

Riett, sensing Evan’s restlessness, softly, almost in a whisper, replied, 

“Okay.”

Evan’s expression froze as if it were about to shatter like ice. 

“Really…?”

Evan’s fingertips trembled ever so slightly. To reassure him, this time Riett shouted, 

“Yes, let’s get married!”

With her brave response, Evan embraced Riett tightly. 

“But I’ll wait to see how you turn out.”

Evan closed his eyes and buried his face in Riett’s neck. 

“Got it. I’ll do my best.”

Riett also wrapped her arms around Evan’s back. His embrace felt reliable and warm. As long as she thought of this embrace, she knew she could withstand any storm that came her way.

“I love you, Riett.”

A small voice reached her ear.

“I’ve always wanted to say those words.” 

As Evan let go of her, his face came into view. His eyelashes were trembling faintly as if he had released the emotions he had been holding back.

Riett found his appearance cute for some reason. 

“I love you too, Evan.” 

It still felt awkward to say “I love you” as Evan did, but she knew she loved him deeply.

Despite her inadequate expression of feelings, Evan smiled as if he were the happiest person in the world. Seeing him like that, Riett thought that life was unpredictable.

To think that she would marry the person she once shouted she hated the most in the world. However, she felt completely satisfied with this ending and had no doubts that happy days would continue in the future.

As she looked at Evan’s dazzling smile, she thought, as long as she was with him, she could shout in her heart, 

‘Evan, you’re the one I love the most in the world!’