Askin and Ian’s gazes locked in mid-air.
Ian suppressed the chill crawling down his spine and maintained his smile.
“Then I shall accept your proposal. Let us draw up the contract.”
“Yes. However, I must first convey these facts to my father and find time to draft the document. The conditions have changed, after all.”
It was a reasonable statement, yet at the words that followed, Askin’s expression stiffened.
“We will likely meet again at the Imperial Banquet commemorating the upcoming Goddess’s Festival. Why don’t we finalize the contract immediately after the event?”
“At the Imperial Banquet, make sure you act the part of my granddaughter’s fiancé properly.”
Duke Alzbeit’s command resurfaced, and Askin felt a renewed surge of offense.
“I will ask you only one thing. Is tomorrow impossible?”
“Transporting a large sum of money requires security personnel and meticulous safety measures. You know this better than I, Your Excellency. Furthermore, I must reconfirm the exact intentions with my father.”
As Ian subtly articulated his constraints, Askin conceded. The logic was sound.
Even though he longed to escape the web of the Alzbeit at every turn, he recognized that these men were already doing their best to accommodate him.
“Understood. And your kindness… I will certainly repay it.”
Ian surmised, deep down, that this man would one day exert a massive influence over the Empire.
When that day came, the Child Family would reap double the interest on the grace they were showing him now.
“We simply believe that such an excellent man as Your Excellency rising for the sake of the Empire is the best way to be repaid.”
“…….”
The essence of the Child Family was that of merchants.
It was just that the things they placed on the scale were not merely wealth, goods, or assets. They were merchants who traded in politics and power.
Askin stepped out of the carriage.
Watching his sturdy back, Ian let out a small, fox-like laugh.
*Hmm… He didn’t ask about the additional conditions at all. I’m increasingly glad I returned to the Empire.*
It was a condition he had set on a whim, but it was one that would surely be upheld. After all, he couldn’t exactly make moves on someone who already had a fiancé.
While Askin prepared his horse to return to his territory, the Child carriage began to depart.
Once mounted, Askin looked toward Ben.
“We are stopping somewhere before we go.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
***
That night.
The darkness deepened. Checking the time, I saw it was 10 o’clock. I sighed, rising from the sofa.
My head, already crowded, felt even more jumbled.
I gathered a fur robe and shawl, then opened the door. Feeling restless and suffocated, I decided to go for a walk.
“……Duchess-To-Be, where are you going?”
As I stepped into the hall, I saw the familiar face of Zett, who must have been on duty. I looked at his blunt, handsome features, then turned my head away.
“It’s stuffy. I’m taking a walk.”
I gave a short reply and walked down the hallway, hearing his quiet footsteps fall in behind me. I wondered why he was alone, as they usually moved in pairs, but I decided to let it be.
*It’s so stifling.*
Truthfully, I couldn’t forget Askin’s chilling gaze or the tears that had fallen—whether from anger or fury—earlier that day.
The image was so menacing, so deeply etched into my mind, that I was consumed by the anxiety of our engagement.
……He had a look on his face that suggested he had resolved himself to something grim.
I wandered into the garden, moving aimlessly until I reached a small middle gate at the edge of the grounds, usually reserved for staff.
For some reason, I heard an unfamiliar voice.
To be precise, it was the sound of an argument.
“Oh, come on! Isn’t it the Duchess-To-Be who has imprisoned our Duke?!”
What is this? I had intended to ignore it, already feeling uneasy, but the accusation was too absurd to overlook.
Who did I imprison? My fiancé?
‘Ha, ridiculous. Is he the type of person to just let himself be imprisoned?’
The real Charlize, a genius of intimidation, might have been capable of it, but there was no way I could. I worried every single day about how to have a decent conversation with that man, only to find no answer. And now, imprisonment? My mood, already unsettled, surged with sudden heat.
‘Let me see his face.’
The closer I got, the louder the voice became. It was sharp enough to be heard even inside the main building.
“I know he is here! Let me see our Duke!”
“Oh, I told you he isn’t here, didn’t I? Are you deaf?”
“I don’t care, this is urgent! Let me see the imprisoned Duke!”
The one looking for Askin was a man dressed in servant’s clothes; the one countering him was an Alzbeit guard. As I approached without muffling my footsteps, both men looked at me as if by mutual agreement.
The guard’s eyes widened to the point of tearing.
“Y-Your Grace!”
The guard scrambled to his knees in a hurry. I ignored him and turned my attention to the servant. He was clearly an attendant from the Remut household. Why would he be looking for that man at my home at this hour?
Seeing me, the attendant froze, his shouting dying in his throat. But only for a moment; he began to tremble, kneeling down and begging with both hands clasped.
“Y-Y-Your Grace! Please, let me see the Duke! I, I beg of you!”
Regardless of his previous insults, his voice was desperate. I grew even more puzzled. Why search for that man here in the dead of night?
“Why are you looking for my fiancé here?”
“Because he has gone m-missing… we naturally assumed he would be here…”
“He’s not here.”
At my words, disbelief filled the attendant’s face. I chuckled.
“Disgusting. Do you think I would lie just to deceive a mere attendant?”
“…….”
The attendant’s face turned deathly pale. It seemed he realized my words weren’t a lie.
“I, I heard that the Duke was definitely heading to the Alzbeit Residence during the day.”
“Yes, and he left.”
After turning my residence upside down and making a complete mess of my head, no less. At my words, despair clouded the attendant’s face. It seemed he thought Askin had arrived, returned to the territory without a word, and that I had subsequently imprisoned him. Judging by Charlize’s track record, it was a scenario he could easily imagine.
But even the real Charlize wouldn’t have done such a thing. She seemed too afraid that doing so would really end things with Askin.
“I said he left.”
The despair on the attendant’s face deepened.
“Why are you making a scene at someone else’s residence?”
“…….”
Ha, look at this. He accuses others of being kidnappers, yet refuses to state his business and persists in his rudeness. I frowned and gestured to the guard and Zett behind me.
“Kick him out.”
Before the guard could move, Zett shifted like the wind and dragged the attendant away.
“A-Ah, Your Grace… I have a desperate request. I-If you happen to see the Duke, please tell him that Aria is… that the Duchess-To-Be is in grave danger!”
“……What?”
I held up a hand. Zett stopped moving.
“What is that supposed to mean? Explain properly.”
“B-But.”
“Do you want to be dealt with just like the rumors say?”
“……Hic! Aria-nim, the Duchess-To-Be is very ill. We need to see the Duke right now.”
Aria is sick, and Askin is missing?
This surely couldn’t be a situation Askin intended.
That man treasured his younger sister more than anything else in the world.
And Aria’s condition seemed to be far from ordinary.
If it were something a local doctor could solve, the attendant wouldn’t have run all the way to the Alzbeit Residence.
I recalled the look on Aria’s face when I had last met her.
‘……She looked pale, but she seemed fine.’
Regardless of what was happening, Aria absolutely could not die now.
For one thing, my own lifeline depended on that pretty young lady.
……And I didn’t want her to die, either.
“Zett, call the healing mage and the family physician immediately.”
I spoke, pulling three bracelets from my arm as I did.
I thrust them toward Zett—all of them exorbitantly expensive, rare treasures.
“Throw these at the healing mage.”
“……Yes.”
Before Zett rushed off, he hesitated, casting a look my way.
“……If the Duke finds out, he will not stay quiet.”
“It doesn’t matter. Hurry. As fast as you can.”
At the urgency in my voice, Zett nodded without further question.
Before long, the healing mage and the family physician arrived safely at Remut Territory, and I received word that Aria had been treated.
The news arrived in the depth of dawn.
‘The crisis has passed; there is no longer any danger to her life.’
Only after hearing those words did my wide, straining eyes finally close, and I drifted into sleep like a doll with its strings cut.