After winning, the protagonist steps forward to tease the princess, even asking her to treat him to a meal. Then he says he was only joking, leaving her embarrassed and furious. Once the male lead leaves, she orders her maid to follow him and investigate. He has barely taken two steps before a group of people stops him, saying the Marquis of the Fief wants to see him. The male lead is bewildered. The marquis is a man of lofty status, but when the protagonist arrives, he is told that the marquis had already announced that the winner of the poetry gathering could become his son-in-law.
