While Rest was suffering a mysterious defeat at Yuri's hands, in a completely different place...
In a room inside the central building of the eastern frontier development village, not far from the inn where the two were staying, a young girl let out a long sigh.
"Haaaah…"
Resting her flushed cheeks in her hand, eyes glistening as she sighed — that was Urla Lavender.
She was the eldest daughter of House Lavender, and the person in charge of the Lavender family's involvement in their frontier development efforts.
On the table where Urla sat, a lace-trimmed cloth was spread out, and upon it rested a transparent crystal ball.
Reflected in the crystal ball was the figure of Rest.
From early that morning, he had been eating breakfast while getting all cozy and lovey-dovey with Yuri.
"Haaauu… she's so pretty today too…"
"…………"
Standing behind Urla was a woman.
Appearing to be in her mid-twenties, she served as Urla's attendant and had looked after her devotedly since childhood.
Her name had never come up before now — Earlie Purple. She hailed from a household of retainers sworn to House Lavender.
She had been the childhood friend of Urla's father — the man who was supposed to have become the next head of House Lavender.
When he went missing, and his wife fled… Urla was left with no living relatives besides her grandfather, a man consumed by vengeance. For her, Earlie was practically an older sister.
"My lady, may I ask you something?"
"Haaah…"
"What is enjoyable about watching the man you admire being together with another woman?"
Knowing full well no answer would come, Earlie asked anyway.
For a little while now... Urla had been obsessed with a man named Rest.
For Urla, who had been like a doll under her grandfather's domineering upbringing, this was her first obsession. Her first passion.
As someone who cared about Urla, Earlie essentially viewed this change as a positive thing.
If there was a problem, it was that the man in question already had a fiancée.
On top of that, it seemed he was close with other women besides his fiancée.
For Urla, who still hadn't built a relationship with Rest beyond being mere acquaintances and who was also separated from him by age, this was a significant disadvantage.
"I can't... I accept it, oshi."
"Yes."
"Everything. Acceptance... because she's beautiful."
"I see, so that is how it is."
Urla spoke without lifting her face from the crystal ball.
It was a string of words hardly recognizable as an explanation... yet Earlie readily understood.
"In other words, you are saying that loving someone means accepting them as they are — your oshi, as it were. That it is not about imposing the way you wish them to be. That what matters is his happiness, and that praying for it is what makes one a believer?"
"Yes."
Urla gave a short reply to Earlie's words.
In a sense, the two of them seemed to understand each other perfectly, so no lengthy explanation was needed.
"Beautiful... so beautiful. It's spreading..."
"Oh, is that so? That is wonderful to hear."
"Good... very, very good..."
Inside the crystal ball, Rest and Yuri were sharing a meal together.
Rest had a somber expression for some reason, but... despite not having known each other for very long, there did seem to be a genuine bond between the two of them.
"...I... I l-like you............"
"...That is nice. How wonderful."
It might have appeared to be a futile love, but... that was not something I would deny.
If I were to use the word "futile," then Urla's life up to now had been just that.
Urla's grandfather, Looser Lavender the Sixth, inherited— the name of a loser— along with his hatred of the Eastern Empire.
To him, children and grandchildren were nothing more than tools for revenge.
Rather than being used and discarded by Looser, being consumed by a sickly love like this was still the better fate.
"My lady, I have prepared your breakfast."
"Mm...!"
What Earlie brought was a breakfast identical to the one Rest was eating. She had even thoughtfully matched the brand of tea.
"...Eat... together..."
"Yes. If you eat the same dishes, it will be like a simulated experience of sharing a meal with him. I'm honored to be of service."
"Mm... Good girl."
Urla brought the food to her mouth, munching away.
".........."
Watching Urla eat the same dishes in the same order, at the same pace as Rest, Earlie silently pressed her fingers to the corners of her eyes.