The event proceeded very quickly and was quite simple.

First, couples would write a sentence on the board regarding a stimulating event that occurred between them, in line with the given topic. Then, in a tournament style, each couple would go head-to-head, revealing their boards simultaneously, and the judges would determine the winner through a vote.

“Of course, in the finals, we should say the strongest thing.”

Evan and I put our heads together, discussing it seriously. Since the sentence episode could be written differently according to the topic, a well-thought-out strategy was necessary.

“Though if we start with something too weak, we might be eliminated early, so we need to adjust the intensity appropriately.”

At this point, it was no longer about the treasure, it was about the desire to win. Frankly speaking, participating itself was already cheating, and to spice up our love story in such a provocative way, we couldn’t deny that we were a truly unusual couple.

“Since it’s only one sentence, we need to choose our words carefully.”

And so, without much debate, we decided just to be an unusual couple with one heart and mind.

We progressed through the rounds, starting with round sixteen. The theme for round sixteen was ‘Intensity of Fights,’ and the sentence from the opponent we faced was as follows:

[ When we fight, we insult each other by saying we’re the offspring of various animals. ]

Our sentence easily triumphed over that.

[ Just this morning, during an argument, I spewed disgraceful insults that creatures other than humans would use. ]

The first one to call Evan a ‘perverted b*stard’ was the non-human scroll book. And I also insulted him as a ‘perverted bastard’ this morning.

The topic of round eight was ‘Ignoring the Other’s Opinion.’ The opponent’s sentence was as follows:

[ Up until now, the other person has always decided the dinner menu without exception. ]

Nothing else but the dinner menu, but it was definitely more powerful than the round of sixteen. However, the sentence I carefully crafted had a greater impact.

[ While I was eager to have a very long conversation about a past issue, my partner interrupted it and kissed me. ]

Our first kiss happened when I wanted to have a long conversation after getting confused after discovering my past life, Evan unilaterally declared.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

In fact, at that time, it was a reasonably appropriate solution to confirm each other’s feelings. Of course, the well-crafted sentence was enough to provoke anger from people.

“Using the first kiss to erase the past? What a terrible person!”

“To cut off a conversation with physical intimacy, how awful!”

Everyone seemed to think of it as a former lover issue since I referred to it as a ‘past issue.’ We easily advanced to the semifinals. The theme for the semifinals was ‘Degree of Jealousy,’ and the opponent’s sentence was as follows…

[ I got so jealous of the plant my partner was growing that I secretly threw it away after saying, ‘Don’t drink the water my lover gave you!’ ]

Our opponent was not to be underestimated, but Evan’s silently written sentence still won.

[ Even towards a savior who is no longer in this world and saved the life of my partner, I expressed jealousy by calling them ‘that jerk.’ ]

The crowd started murmuring.

“That’s a bit… Generally, shouldn’t you be grateful? What kind of character is this?”

“If they’re no longer in this world, that means they’re a dead person, and yet they’re insulting them. That’s too much.”

Of course, the savior who is no longer in this world was Evan himself from my past life.

Finally, it was the long-awaited finals. We held each other’s hands tightly, feeling the tension in the air. The theme for the finals was ‘Family Feud.’ It seemed to be an apt choice since many families and retired nobles gathered at the resort.

‘They really know how to organize events at this tourist destination. The theme is perfect for eliciting reactions from people.’

Our opponent in the finals was undoubtedly impressive, having reached this stage.

[ I once told my mother, who opposed my marriage, that her heart is like that of the villainess of Livienne. ]

The audience began booing, expressing their disapproval. Even though the theme was ‘Family Feud,’ it seemed too harsh.

“That was too much. Calling her the villainess from Livienne.”

The sighs of the elderly in the crowd were especially audible.

“Kids these days have no manners. How can they say such things to the mother who gave birth to them?”

Evan and I exchanged tense glances. It turned out to be more intense than we anticipated. Of course, our sentence wasn’t any less formidable.

[ An elderly member from my partner’s household, well past sixty, invited me to their estate, but it was too far, so I declined. ]

Everyone in the crowd clicked their tongues upon reading our sentence.

“Wait, did they reject an invitation from someone over 60? Too far? Did they ask an elderly person with joint pain to come personally?”

Of course, I conveniently left out the part about trying to kidnap me by packaging it as an ‘invitation.’

Moreover, Olivia, the ‘elderly member’ and ‘villainess from Livienne,’ had remarkably sturdy joints. If Livienne Mansion had been in the capital, I might have pretended to be captured, spent a night, and returned the next day.

Nonetheless, Livienne was too far away, so we couldn’t carry out the kidnapping even as a formality. I condensed the details quite a bit.

“What confidence! That person must have felt so embarrassed!”

In reality, that ‘elderly member’ had tried to knock out ‘my partner’ and escape afterward…

In the end, actions spoke louder than words, and we emerged victorious.

Cheers and murmurs echoed from the crowd.

“There are truly all kinds of crazy couples in the world.”

“But, I mean… is it worth receiving a treasure by exposing all your flaws like that? We had fun, though.”

Since the flaws were slightly manipulated, it was okay, and honestly, it was enjoyable to receive the treasure by going to such lengths. Following the host’s guidance, we joyfully exited with the treasure box in hand.

* * *

In conclusion, a hundred-year-old treasure turned out to be a wine that had been aged for a century.

“Just because it’s aged for a long time doesn’t mean it tastes good… But it’s rare, so why not.”

Evan chuckled, looking at the wine bottle. Since we were not explicitly told the item, there wasn’t much to protest about.

The host handed us the box and spoke.

“It will help ease the tension of the first night.”

Well, it wasn’t a lie. Alcohol did play that role. So, in a way, both the organizers and us committed to a mutually truthful scam.

“What do you think, Evan?”

I smiled slightly as I asked.

“You don’t like drinking, right? Just like Father.”

“…I have a stronger tolerance than Father. Anyway, I won’t be drinking this wine.”

“Why not?”

“I told you. I want to commemorate the fact that you went through all this trouble for me rather than the item itself.”

Indeed, even from my perspective, it was somewhat impressive how he insisted on getting what he wanted.

“By the way, what will you do since you’re disappointed? You seemed genuinely excited about the treasure.”

“Well, that was my initial intention…”

I uttered, holding Evan’s hand.

“Actually, I had so much fun earlier. Honestly, winning didn’t matter that much.”

“Laria, I can’t believe you’d say that. Are you trying to tell me that you’d be fine not receiving something like this?”

Evan, knowing me so well, sometimes overlooked occasional exceptions.

“…No.”

I sighed and continued.

“The time we spent together, putting our heads together for a common goal, was precious.”

“….”

“We’ve never had such a time until now.”

It was a bit amusing that our first joint venture toward a common goal turned out to be a scam, but…

“That time is a greater treasure to us.”

Anyway, we had a souvenir of good memories, and Lord Aranachid Baron got a decent conversation topic, so it was a win-win situation.

“I love you, Laria. Is there a stronger expression than this? My heart feels suffocated every time I say it.”

Evan said, lightly kissing my cheek. Watching Evan, who was hugging the wine bottle as if it were the most precious thing, I chuckled.

Anyway, the next morning, I had a very small wedding with that adorable person.

It wasn’t much, just a moment to reaffirm our love for each other and promise to live like this for the rest of our lives. Wearing the white dress that Lisa sensibly brought, we took wedding photos on the empty beach.

Honestly, well… it was just a meaningful formal event for ourselves.

Especially whispering love vows to each other would have looked amusing to others. Of course, since I was included in those ‘others,’ I really enjoyed it.

“We should go on a honeymoon.”

Evan said, hugging me.

“I know various events in different territories very well. I’ll pick a few candidates for the honeymoon, so choose one.”

“How do you know all that?”

“I studied it when I was thirteen…”

It turned out that Evan had studied festivals and events extensively for the family outing following the horse racing event when he was thirsty. Although he felt a bit uneasy about his father missing from the family outing planned back then…

“Are there events where you can win prizes like this? It was so much fun.”

Ignoring what bothered me was originally an easy task for me.

So, our journey became longer and longer.

However, since we couldn’t play forever, we eventually had to return to the Duke’s residence. On the last day of the trip, we tried the hundred-year-old wine, but it tasted worse than we expected, and neither of us took a sip.

“What treasure… It’s a completely fake treasure.”

And then came that night.

Instead of Aranachid’s fake treasure, a real treasure, a precious child, came to us.

__