Elsa, sethe daughter of an impoverished noble family, receives a letter of marriage proposal from Julius, the eldest son of the ducal house of Royas. Though she is bewildered by the offer, she accepts for the sake of her family. However, after meeting the handsome Julius for the first time on their wedding day, he coldly declares to her, "I have absolutely no intention of ever loving you."

Even after hearing that her marriage is in name only, Elsa interacts cheerfully with Julius and the household staff, devoting herself to her vegetable patch and sewing. Julius, who has only known a cold home life, is baffled by her actions. One day, Julius's friend Rebeka invites Elsa to a tea party. There, she learns that Julius's birthday is near, and she starts to plan a surprise party.

After the official Sun Festival ceremony, Elsa heads out to join in the festivities at the invitation of her younger brother, Hannes. Julius is unaware of this, so when Serafina tells him that Elsa has headed into town with a man, he instinctively chases after her. Though he thought that theirs was marriage in name only, he realizes that at some point, he has begun to want to trust Elsa.

Elsa hosts a tea party where Serafina says, "Julius forgot this," and hands her one of the cufflinks she’d gifted him. Julius is happy to have it back, but uneasy about the fact that Elsa didn't seem concerned about it. As Julius considers the idea that Elsa doesn't see him as a romantic interest, she's visiting the castle, where Serafina's older brother Jarmo tosses some suggestive words her way.

Julius and Elsa visit a botanical garden. Julius considers himself adept with women, but for some reason, he struggles to find his footing with Elsa. Though their outing is filled with unfortunate events such as an encounter with Jarmo and getting rained on, Julius feels saved by Elsa's words: "I like listening to the sound of rain." But getting pelted by the rain leaves Julius with a high fever.