"Wait, what do you mean?"
Unable to understand why this would supposedly be easy for him of all people, Yuri reflexively asked for clarification.
Then Ophelia immediately cut in.
"All that is needed is for your name to become known throughout the world."
"...Huh?"
The words caught Yuri so off guard that a foolish little sound escaped him.
His name, known throughout the world? No chance of that, he thought as he blinked.
"So if I became famous, Ophelia, as my wife, would draw attention too?"
"As expected of you, my lord husband. You are every bit as perceptive as I thought."
Celine said it with a graceful softening of her lips.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. When you've already given away more than half the answer, that just makes it embarrassing."
Yuri let out a long sigh.
"There are any number of ways to make one's name known throughout the world. Becoming a hero on the battlefield, achieving great success in commerce, or..."
Smiling faintly, Celine kept her eyes on Yuri as she went on.
"With you, my lord husband, any number of those paths are possible. ...That said, there is one rather troublesome complication."
"I do not yet know the full extent of the Merchant Gift, but even assuming he truly has talent on that level, what exactly is the problem?"
Ophelia asked the question coolly.
"I think you'll understand soon enough, Offie. ...But yes, it really is a major problem."
Lieselotte nodded with a serious expression, clearly in agreement with Celine.
Seeming unable to grasp the true meaning of their words, Ophelia tipped her head to one side.
"That's exactly it. My lord husband's power is simply too great.
That is why I would like to keep his presence as unobtrusive as possible."
Celine knit her brows and let out a troubled little hum, pressing a finger slowly to her cheek.
After sitting in thought for a while, Lieselotte suddenly looked up and spoke as if something had just occurred to her.
"In that case, why not establish a trading company for Lord Yuri and put Offie in charge of it?
For the practical side of things, I imagine we could have people from Saint Elmo Trading Company assist her."
"My, that is a splendid idea.
If I recall correctly, Fee, you used to be called the Black Moonflower Princess, didn't you?
If so, how about the Luna-Noir Trading Company?"
Celine brightened at once and gave a light clap of her hands.
"The Luna-Noir Trading Company..."
Yuri repeated the name once under his breath, as though tasting it.
"...It has a nice ring to it."
It might be a touch too ornate, but if Ophelia was going to serve as its public face, then it more than suited her.
When he looked over at her, her eyes were wide with undisguised surprise.
She clearly had never imagined being entrusted with a trading company bearing her own name.
For a moment she was left speechless, and her gaze shifted ever so slightly, as though some memory from the past had stirred.
A brief silence followed. Ophelia still looked unable to hide her uncertainty, but Celine paid it no mind and continued cheerfully.
"I'm so glad my lord husband likes it as well.
It's a lovely name, don't you think?
A company bearing that name is certain to command respect."
"Yes, I think so too."
Yuri nodded with a smile.
"It sounds like it would become a very popular shop."
Perhaps she was already picturing it in her mind, because Lieselotte nodded emphatically too.
"...It is an honorable name, but it feels a little weighty..."
Her voice remained calm, but uncertainty lingered behind the words.
Still smiling, Celine turned a gentle gaze upon Ophelia.
"It's all right, Fee.
You're a woman who can carry that name.
You always have been. Then and now."
There was a deep certainty in Celine's words—one that saw both Ophelia's past and her present clearly.
Ophelia lowered her eyes slightly, but recovered her composure at once.
"Well then, now that Fee's issue has been settled, I have one suggestion of my own."
Celine gave a light clap to gather everyone's attention.
Then, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world, she dropped a bombshell with a smile.
"Liese and Fee should both take part in the Bedding Ceremony."
"What?"
"Excuse me, what do you mean by that?"
"M-Mother, wait just a moment. I have no idea what you mean."
In an instant, the mood in the room changed, and Yuri, Ophelia, and Lieselotte all stared at her in shock.
"Um, hold on a second. Surely that's... not allowed?"
Though flustered, Yuri somehow managed to get the words out, but Celine merely kept her serene smile.
"Not allowed?
Why ever not? It is only natural for a nobleman's wives.
Both Fee and Liese ought to learn these things properly while there is still time."
Celine's words rang out as though she were stating a simple fact.
"No, but—the Bedding Ceremony is just getting into bed together, isn't it?
If actually doing... that... would interfere with work in the territory, then we're not going to, um... do that, right?
So what exactly are they supposed to learn?"
Yuri's voice trailed off as he spoke, but he managed to force the question out in the end.
"That's right, Mother.
I have already been removed from the royal house, so there is no need for me to learn the rites of a princess's marriage."
Just as confused, Lieselotte protested to Celine as well.
Celine let their looks slide past her effortlessly and went on smiling.
"It is also a wife's duty to delight her husband.
And besides, there are any number of ways to go about it.
Did you intend to leave my lord husband's care entirely in the hands of the maids until you graduate from the Noble Academy?"
"Th-that..."
Pressed by Celine's words, Lieselotte fell silent.
Even she, usually so composed, plainly had no idea how to answer that.
"Lady Celine, are you saying you want me to behave like some common prostitute?"
Wearing an openly displeased expression, Ophelia pushed back against Celine head-on.
There was less anger than shock and confusion in her voice.
"Yes. If my lord husband desires it, would that not simply be part of a wife's duty?"
Celine's tone was mild, but beneath it lay a will that did not bend.
Ophelia drew in a breath at that answer, lowered her gaze for just a moment, then looked up again.
"...It is true that entrusting everything to the maids would go against a noblewoman's pride."
Even as she said it, Ophelia's eyes wavered slightly, as though she were trying to convince herself.
"H-Hold on, Offie. Do you even understand what you're saying?"
Lieselotte cried out in confusion and alarm, but Ophelia deliberately ignored her and continued.
"If I am making demands of Lord Yuri, then naturally I must offer something in return.
And though I may only be a consort, I am still his wife.
It is only proper that I fulfill a noblewoman's duties..."
There was a desperate edge in her words, as though she were trying to force herself into believing them.
Hearing that, Yuri's face grew hot all at once, and the words caught in his throat.
W-wait, this is heading in a very strange direction...
"N-no, really, you don't have to force yourselves.
I can be patient."
He somehow squeezed the words out, though he could feel his ears burning red.
"My lord husband... are you truly sure?
When there is such ripe fruit hanging before you, are you truly content not to taste it?"
At Celine's provocative words, Yuri's throat bobbed.
Gulp.
He had swallowed without even realizing it.
"M-my lord husband? Honestly... please don't look at us like that.
If that is what Lord Yuri wishes, then I suppose I have no choice..."
Letting out a deep sigh as though she had given up, Lieselotte let her shoulders slump.
"But in return... you must meet my expectations as well."
Blushing, Ophelia turned her eyes away from Yuri.
"It's all right, Liese.
Both you and Fee can learn slowly, little by little.
So long as my lord husband is not inconvenienced."
There was an unmistakable, weighty pressure hidden beneath Celine's elegant smile.
"Um... really, neither of you has to force yourselves, all right?"
Still flustered, Yuri tried his best to ease the tension.
But the very next moment, Celine's smile sharpened so suddenly it was as though she had put on a demon's mask.
"My lord husband, spoiling them will not necessarily lead to their happiness.
Properly disciplining... no, guiding them is also necessary for the harmony of the Harem."
Yuri's heart jolted in his chest.
"Disciplining...?"
Even as he echoed the word, Yuri found himself disconcerted by the faint thrill rising from deep inside him.
Reason tried to resist it, but the feeling kept needling at his heart, little by little.
A quiet tension took hold of the room, and at the moment when no one could find words—
slow, deliberate footsteps echoed from one corner of the great hall.
With each step that came closer, the air in the room shifted.
Celine narrowed her eyes, and both Ophelia and Lieselotte turned to look that way as well.
"I came intending to pay my respects to the Baroness Regnant of Reberk, and instead I find myself graced with the presence of the lovely Fairy Princess."
An old-fashioned yet commanding voice rang through the great hall.
"My, my—Lord Gideon von Heidenrose.
Did you truly stop in the middle of your meal and come all this way just to offer your greetings?"
A polite smile flashed instantly across Celine's face as she spoke his name in a calm voice.