Returning to the royal palace after a long time, it remained unchanged. It hadn’t been long since my last visit, so it wouldn’t make sense for it to change much.

I asked the palace maids, but all I got were responses that they were busy with their duties.

‘Who sends an invitation without a date and expects someone to just show up?’

It seemed the brothers had their own way of doing things in common.

I was tired anyway, so I decided to just rest. With that thought, I entered the guest room that had been prepared for me.

As I was drifting into a light sleep, a knock sounded at the door.

Since I had sent the maids away to sleep, I had no choice but to answer it.

“Who is… oh.”

Outside stood a man with a still shining appearance.

With a hint of hope, I asked.

“…Your Highness, the prince?”

“Bingo!”

The man exclaimed with a bright smile.

It was Irmin. Only he would talk and act like that. It was fortunate there were no onlookers.

I stepped aside to let him in, indicating for him to come in. Irmin entered without hesitation.

“How did you know to come?”

“Well, I know everything that happens in the palace.”

Irmin smiled confidently.

“But why are you here?”

As if he knew everything. Yet, he seemed not to know why I was here.

“I was summoned by His Royal Highness, the prince.”

“Jamon?”

“Yes. I don’t know the reason why.”

“Hmm.”

Irmin smirked. It was odd to see such a sly smile on his handsome face.

“Why are you smiling?”

“I have a hunch it’s going to be interesting.”

“Do you have an idea what it might be?”

“Yes.”

Irmin continued, looking at me.

“My brother is quite weak, so he might have an interesting proposal for you.”

“An interesting proposal?”

“You’ll hear it yourself tomorrow. It’s going to be fun.”

His words were laden with meaning. They only served to add to my worries.

“Tell me how it goes afterward! I have to go now!”

“You just got here.”

“I’ve heard what I came for. The crown prince is busy, so I must leave!”

With that, Irmin coolly left the room.

Left alone, I sank into my thoughts.

‘…An interesting proposal?’

What could Jamon possibly want with me? A sense of unease lingered.

* * *

The next day, at the appointed time, I headed to the reception room where Jamon had asked to meet.

Upon arriving, I found Irmin there.

“Welcome.”

To be precise, it was Jamon, who looked exactly like Irmin.

Seeing someone who looked exactly like Irmin speaking to me so formally felt unfamiliar and hard to get used to.

I took a seat first. Sitting closer, Jamon’s features became more discernible.

It was truly astonishing how much he resembled Irmin. Now I understood why everyone would be fooled if Jamon pretended to be Irmin.

“It’s an honor to meet Your Highness, the prince.”

“Considering you’ve met more distinguished individuals, your greeting seems a bit trite.”

Jamon responded sharply to my polite remark.

His words carried a subtle hostility.

‘Does he dislike Irmin?’

That thought naturally crossed my mind, as he seemed to sarcastically emphasize the words ‘more distinguished individuals.’

“May I know the purpose of this meeting?”

It seemed he had no intention of prolonging our conversation, so I wanted to hear his reason and leave.

Jamon seemed to think similarly, as he immediately said,

“I have a request for you, Lady Erpeso.”

His tone was quite serious. It was somewhat unsettling to hear such words from someone with the same face as Irmin.

I looked at Jamon, signaling him to continue. Although I recalled the etiquette about not making direct eye contact with royalty, I wasn’t concerned about that at the moment.

Jamon also looked me straight in the eyes and said,

Very casually.

“Please, get engaged to me.”

“…?”

I was dumbfounded by his bombshell statement. After regaining my composure, I said to Jamon,

“Hold on. I already have a fiancé.”

“I know.”

He knows, yet he’s proposing an engagement? He seemed just as irrational as Irmin.

Irmin had made a partner proposal when I was getting engaged to Kabir. And now, Jamon was making an engagement proposal while I was engaged to Hans. The twins really were alike.

‘Keep calm.’

First, I needed to hear his reasons. It couldn’t be because he had fallen for Anais without even meeting her once. There must be some ulterior motive.

“Let’s hear the reason first.”

“We need the power of the Erpeso ducal family.”

It seemed his objective was not Anais, but the power of the Erpeso ducal family.

The power of the Erpeso family was significant, especially in social circles.

“If it’s about power…”

“This is something that must not be disclosed anywhere.”

“Of course.”

The topic was intriguing enough for me to vow secrecy and listen.

Jamon spoke with a serious expression.

“I intend to become the Crown Prince.”

Sibling rivalry was strong here too. Irmin had already been designated as the Crown Prince. So Jamon’s ambition to become the Crown Prince essentially meant dethroning Irmin.

‘So, he wants to drag me into a royal power struggle?’

If the broadcast was on, the viewers would have been thrilled. It was one of those dramatic elements the audience loved.

Jamon must be aware, but I had already attended the royal ball with Irmin. In other words, I was more aligned with Irmin than with Jamon.

I tactfully refused.

“I’m sorry, but I deeply love my fiancé. So, I’m afraid I cannot accept your proposal.”

My mind was already overwhelmed with the affairs of the Celestial Realm, and I couldn’t afford to be entangled in this as well.

Jamon’s demeanor changed as I declined.

He crossed his legs and tilted his head discontentedly.

“Think carefully, Lady. No matter how high the status of the Erpeso ducal family may be, it cannot surpass imperial authority.”

That was obvious. The imperial authority of this empire was quite solid, as seen by Kabir’s eventual yielding to his friend Irmin.

In other words, Jamon was threatening me.

If I refused his proposal, he implied something could happen to our family.

“…I’ll think about it.”

“Take your time.”

The conversation ended ambiguously.

* * *

After returning to my room, I turned on the broadcast. Of course, I didn’t hit the broadcast start button, and only allowed my manager, Hans, to join.

As soon as I temporarily turned on the broadcast, the manager appeared on the list of participants.

[Manager: Didn’t I tell you not to start the broadcast until the situation is resolved?]

As expected, Hans had a negative reaction.

“I don’t plan to start it. I just wanted to talk to you, Hans.”

[Manager: Why?]

“I received a marriage proposal from His Highness, the prince.”

The chat fell silent.

It was the reaction I expected. I continued nonchalantly.

“He said if I refuse, it would bring great harm to our family.”

It didn’t matter to me. After all, it was a world I would leave.

But it was different for the duke, Finley, and Selena. They had to live in this world.

As much as I had grown attached to them, I didn’t want to cause them any harm.

[Manager: So?]

“Would you be angry if I accepted it?”

[Manager: You know the answer, why ask?]

“Still, I’m being threatened, so I have no choice.”

[Manager: Sounds like you want to do it.]

“Can I be honest?”

[Manager: Go ahead.]

Hans seemed already upset.

I cheekily replied, pretending to be clueless.

“It sounds fun.”

[Manager: Just start the broadcast.]

[Manager: You’re just like them.]

It wasn’t just because it seemed fun.

I had a more important reason.

“I have to save the family.”

[Manager: Do whatever you want.]

[Manager: Go ahead, cheat openly, it’ll be fun.]

“Are you upset?”

[Manager: I’m angry.]

“Even though you know I love you.”

[Manager: Don’t care, do what you want.]

[Manager: I’m going to beat up Irmin.]

“Don’t fight, please.”

Hans disappeared without a reply. He seemed upset again.

I flopped down on the bed.

Despite everything, it felt a bit wrong to agree without Hans’ approval. I decided to try convincing him again tomorrow and then make a slow decision.

At that moment, a maid came to inform me that someone had arrived.

‘Again?’

The situation seemed to be repeating itself.

Could it be Irmin again? As I left the room, indeed, there stood Irmin.

“Your Highness, the Crown Prince?”

“It’s Jamon.”

It was Jamon. I couldn’t understand how I kept getting them mixed up.

Jamon audaciously asked,

“Have you made your decision?”

“It’s only been an hour since our last conversation.”

“An hour has already passed, I see.”

For twins, their personalities were at opposite extremes. Irmin was too laid-back, which was a problem, and Jamon was too hasty, which was another problem.

“I think I need to talk to my fiancé first.”

“That won’t be possible.”

Wow, so decisive I almost faltered. I gave him a look of disbelief.

Jamon slowly began to explain.

“Tomorrow there’s a gathering of the royal family. It’s a regular meeting.”

And? I nodded for him to continue.

“We need to introduce you there to consolidate our standing. So, you have to decide today.”

“You should have said so sooner.”

“It was you who left my invitation unattended for a day.”

It was only a day.

In a different way from Irmin, Jamon had his own knack for wearing people out.

“Make your choice now, here on the spot.”

Jamon spoke firmly.

“Engage with me or abandon your family.”

It was outright blackmail.

I felt a headache coming on. Perhaps not responding to the invitation was the right choice.

‘What should I do?’

The dilemma didn’t last long.

What else could I do in this situation? Images of Finley and Selena flashed through my mind.

Truthfully, I wasn’t too worried about Finley; he seemed the type to survive anything, but Selena… that was a different story. I had grown quite attached to her.

In the end, I had no choice but to respond.

“Fine.”

Leaving the consequences to my future self, I took the plunge.

“I’ll do it, the engagement.”

After all, I had something I needed to protect.