Before Asuna woke up and while Sugo Nobuyuki was still pushing for marriage, Rozen and Yuuki Shouzou had already made an agreement.
The agreement was this: if Rozen could bring Asuna back, then he would replace Sugo Nobuyuki as Asuna's fiancé. This was an agreement between Rozen and Yuuki Shouzou.
At the time, Rozen had proposed this merely to eliminate Sugo's hopes entirely and to demonstrate his own determination, giving the impression of a deep bond between himself and Asuna.
However, after Asuna did indeed wake up, Shouzou confirmed this by saying:
"I'll honor our agreement."
"Once Asuna graduates, if you both want to get married, I will fully support you."
"Please take good care of Asuna."
This was a promise Yuuki Shouzou made to Rozen in front of the entire Yuuki family, in Asuna's own room.
In other words, Asuna was aware of this matter.
Rozen would probably never forget that moment.
"Wait...wait a minute! What are you talking about? Marriage? With Rozen? What...what is going on?!"
At that time, Asuna was completely bewildered. She sat on her hospital bed, flustered and shaken, her face showing an unprecedented mixture of shock, joy, and disbelief.
But, as unbelievable as it was, it was real.
The proof lay in Rozen's response to Shouzou's words.
"Well, you can handle it as you like."
Rozen made no attempt to deny it.
If he were to marry Asuna in this world, it didn't seem like a bad idea.
After all, they already had a daughter together.
Because of this, the Yuuki family's attitude toward Rozen was generally favorable. Only Asuna's mother remained indifferent, expressing no particular approval or disapproval but keeping a distant attitude. Her indifference toward Rozen was clear for all to see.
Naturally, Rozen saw no reason to fawn over her. Since she looked down on him, he treated her as though she didn't exist, never directly looking her in the eye, which likely made her opinion of him even worse.
Asuna, of course, was aware of this.
Since then, every time this topic came up, Asuna would blush.
Then…
"Can't you at least be nicer to my mom?"
Asuna seemed quite concerned about this.
From her perspective, she probably hoped for harmony between Rozen and her mother.
Unfortunately…
"I don't have a habit of being overly friendly to cold shoulders," Rozen said bluntly. "If someone is polite to me, I'll return the courtesy, but if they ignore me, why should I repay them with kindness?"
Rozen wasn't known for patience.
Furthermore, he didn't hold a favorable view of Asuna's mother.
"You said yourself that your mother is much more status-conscious and pragmatic than your father. Maybe it's due to life's hardships, but you're a young lady from a prominent family, while I'm just an adopted orphan. It's only natural she'd look down on me. But if she does, I have every right to look down on her as well, wouldn't you say?"
Rozen spread his hands, making his stance clear.
"But she's my mom!"
Asuna protested.
"Even if it were your grandfather, it'd be the same."
Rozen rolled his eyes.
Don't blame Rozen for being too straightforward; he knew where to draw the line on respect and disregard.
For Asuna's sake, Rozen could ignore her mother's disdain. But to go out of his way for her approval? No, thank you.
If Rozen were a completely helpless orphan, it'd be different. But her mother's prejudice was solely her own assumption, and he saw no reason to endure it.
It didn't help that Asuna's mother seemed more focused on Asuna's academic progress and future prospects than her actual well-being. Asuna had endured rigorous elite education from an early age, likely under her mother's direction.
With this in mind, Rozen truly had no goodwill for her mother. Ignoring her was already generous, considering her bias.
"As I said, if she's willing to be nice to me, I'll return the favor. If not, then I'll just steer clear. Please don't expect me to go out of my way to get her approval."
Rozen made this clear to Asuna.
"Alright," Asuna conceded.
She knew her family was partly at fault. Given Rozen's personality, his restraint was already commendable, and asking him to go further would only bring him discomfort. So she didn't push the matter further.
After all…
"There's still a long way to go before we get married."
The words slipped out of Asuna's mouth.
Rozen stopped in his tracks.
Seeing this, Asuna realized what she had said.
Rozen looked at her with a playful smile.
"So you've finally admitted it?" Rozen teased. "Admitted you want to marry me?"
Asuna's face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
"Wh-what are you talking about?! I never said I wanted to marry you!"
Asuna's voice was defensive, her face red as she glared at Rozen.
"So, you don't want to marry me?"
Rozen blinked.
"No!"
Asuna replied without hesitation.
"Is that so?" Rozen casually nodded. "If that's the case, I'll call your father and ask him to forget about that promise."
Saying that, he took out his phone.
And in an instant…
"Whoosh!"
A blur darted past, and Rozen's phone vanished from his hand.
Rozen looked blankly at Asuna.
"…"
Asuna looked down, her face a deep shade of red, tightly gripping Rozen's phone, giving away who had taken it.
"Pfft! Hahaha!"
Rozen finally couldn't hold back his laughter.
"You…you're still laughing, you idiot!"
Asuna was so flustered that she almost wished for a hole to hide in. Angrily, she lifted the phone as if to throw it at him.
"Wait! I just bought it! It was expensive!"
"You said you were wealthy, right? Go buy another!"
"Just because I'm rich doesn't mean I can throw money away!"
"Who told you to make fun of me?!"
"When did I make fun of you?"
"You did!"
"No, I didn't!"
"You did!"
"No, I didn't!"
"You…"
"Wait…wait! Don't throw it!"
Amid playful scuffling and laughter, the phone eventually flew toward Rozen's face.
Of course, he caught it before it could hit.
And so, the two teased and laughed together.
The air was filled with sweetness.