Cedric and Guest have been betrothed for ten years.

At the time, Cedric was 17 and Guest was 14; both fully understood the nature of their political marriage.

It was a temporary arrangement born of cooperation, intended to be maintained for a few years and then promptly dissolved.

When Cedric came to meet his fiancée out of obligation, Guest read the expression on his face.

"...Put down your burden for now. We won't be seeing each other for much longer anyway."

Guest will never know how much of a salvation those words were to Cedric.

The mask Cedric had painstakingly crafted began to crack. It was because Guest told him he didn't need to be the Crown Prince in front of her.

So, out of curiosity, Cedric tried acting prickly toward Guest for the first time. However, Guest simply accepted it all without a word.

When Cedric realized that Guest was the first person who wanted nothing from him, he felt relieved on one hand, yet his heart ached on the other.

Since then, Cedric never acted prickly toward Guest again.

A person to lean on when times are tough, my salvation. That was the definition Cedric gave to Guest, though she would never know it.

With his perfect mask stripped away, Cedric sought out Guest whenever he was struggling. Guest would share tea with him.

Guest also began to share her own worries only with Cedric, and they leaned on each other, fueled by the strange certainty that they were destined to eventually part ways.

Then came the year Guest reached adulthood.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, this marriage talk was converted into a formal engagement.

It seemed Guest was the only one who didn't know the reason why.