The current Emperor of the Krania Empire was a greedy person. He had, and when he had, he wanted to have more. When he had more, he wanted to have everything for himself. It was always like that.

So he absolutely hated the idea of handing over Ostein, a thriving commercial city with a good location and good natural environment, to Kerujan.

Moreover, since Ostein had the Rangpalar Palace, which was used as a summer palace, he must have thought it was absolutely unacceptable.

The Kingdom of Kerujan, which had been aiming for Kaella de Chasser, the next Duchess of Ostein, was very disappointed, but for them, the king’s daughter marrying the crown prince was still an opportunity they couldn’t miss.

The core of all alliances is marriage alliance. Once blood starts to mix, it becomes difficult to betray each other.

Because those who rule the country immediately share that blood. The King of Kerujan did not pass up the opportunity to become the maternal grandfather of the future Emperor of the Krania Empire.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the so-called pre-coordination went smoothly.

Lawyers and diplomats from both countries, even soldiers, rushed in and fought all night over all kinds of agreements following the new marriage. The most important thing there was not the will of the parties getting married, but the face of the Emperor and the profit of the King.

So the weaknesses of those who would become the groom and bride flowed out without hesitation. The fact that the crown prince was a recognized illegitimate child, not the legitimate firstborn, popped up. Kerujan even changed the princess to be married off twice.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Due to this coordination and agreement, which took longer than expected, the engagement had to be scheduled for summer, passing the originally planned spring.

Summarizing the results of the long negotiations was not easy either, and it took over two hours just to report to the Emperor. The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Foreign Affairs wiped their sweat and bowed their heads.

“We apologize, Your Majesty.”

It was an apology for disrupting the Emperor’s plan to deal with the crown prince’s engagement issue right after marrying the Duke of Lussenford and the Lady of Ostein.

Those who had ended the arduous negotiations on the level of establishing the status of the Krania Empire and making concessions that could be made from the position of a fairly large country could be considered very competent, but they still bowed their heads.

That’s how uncomfortable the Emperor had been since last winter.

The Emperor would get irritated and angry at the slightest provocation. Despite being a womanizer who had fathered dozens of illegitimate children, he would get sharp-nerved and lose his temper, saying the Empress wouldn’t wake up.

Well, it was natural in a way, since the Empress was the only one who could calm the Emperor down.

No one dared to say, “If she was so precious, why didn’t you treat her better when she was fine?”

“Even getting a proper marriage for such a flawed guy makes many people suffer.”

The Emperor’s muttering was full of displeasure towards the crown prince. The Emperor had been in a dilemma for a very long time. He needed a child to inherit the throne, and he was not in a situation to consider whether they were legitimate or not.

Of course, all the children he had were illegitimate, and it was faster to find a child who hadn’t died than to choose an heir among them. Most of them had died without surviving infancy due to being sickly.

Among the surviving children, the current Crown Prince Gregory was the only one who could at least function as a person.

He took after his beautiful mother in appearance, and although he often fell ill, he wasn’t sickly. His studies were passable, and his swordsmanship was passable. In a word, he was average.

“Anyway, I understand. I should order preparations for the engagement ceremony… but.”

The Emperor abruptly cut off his words and furrowed his brow. Usually, it was proper for the Empress to take care of such internal imperial events. But the Empress had been in a coma for months. If she were critically ill, it would be different, but she still looked as if she were just sleeping even while lying down.

“Kaella is the only one who can take charge.”

Coincidentally, legally, Kaella was the only woman among the imperial family members. Although she was the Lady of Ostein, she was now also the Duchess of Lussenford, making her suitable to lead imperial events.

“Shall we send a messenger to Lussenford?”

“No need.”

The Emperor, after thinking for a moment, waved his hand.

“The poor girl who went to that cold place and suffered at the hands of those ignorant fellows must be busy taking care of herself, why call her here to work?”

Recently, the Emperor had developed a very generous attitude towards the Duke and Duchess of Lussenford. It was because of the gold that Peon had boldly presented.

“The crown prince’s mother should work for his marriage. Tell Dorothea to do it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It was also a measure to elevate Dorothea, nominally the Countess of Schroez, the crown prince’s mother. However, the ministers who had bowed their heads knew that the Countess of Schroez had absolutely no capacity to conduct such an event.

“And give advance notice to Lussenford. It takes quite a while to get here, so they need to be notified early if they’re to attend the engagement ceremony. Hyperion must miss his mother very much.”

The Emperor seemed to be more pleased about the Duke and Duchess of Lussenford than about the engagement ceremony of the average crown prince. Well, that was understandable. It was the Emperor’s principle that one who is to become Emperor should not be average.

*

Lussenford was an extremely narrow society. Casually killing one person wasn’t a big deal, and things that deviated from common sense happened frequently.

In such a place, Peon had long strived to maintain public order and establish imperial law. Still, some things couldn’t be helped, but nowadays, new people were being appointed in this narrow place, and doors were wide open.

As the expansion began, technicians came from here and there. Although there were many who disliked foreigners touching Lussenford Castle, they didn’t dare to make a sound in front of the Duke.

Even the families of the native nobles who had died honorably at Fort Pueten were further implicated in the attempted poisoning of the Duchess and ruined. As the Duchess had nearly died twice, the Duke forgave no one.

Many welcomed this situation where everyone was holding their breath. Honestly, the people of Lussenford Castle couldn’t deny the fact that their lives had become much easier.

“Are you ordering that much soap?”

The head maid’s eyes widened as she looked at the order form Kaella was writing.

“If there’s not enough money, I can cover it with my personal funds.”

“That’s not it, but with that much, it would last for years.”

“The more, the better.”

In fact, she was just trying to buy a lot at once because it was too bothersome. Although there was much to do, Kaella wasn’t working as diligently as before.

She reluctantly handled only the most urgent task once a day. These were things that absolutely had to be done, like writing order forms to Ostein while writing letters to her father.

“But you’re saying there’s not enough money?”

The finances of Lussenford were obvious. Since she was still the wealthy Lady of Ostein even after returning, she was in the middle of writing an enormous order form out of her old habit as a lady, intending to roughly cover any shortfalls with her personal funds.

“Yes. His Highness the Duke also said he would buy anything Your Grace wants.”

The head maid answered with a pleased smile. But Kaella’s interest was in a more practical aspect.

“How?”

“First of all, there’s a lot of recovered property this time, and also a gold mine has been discovered, so there’s no strain on the finances, he says.”

“Gold vein? Ah.”

Come to think of it, she had a vague memory of hearing something after collapsing from drinking poison and waking up again. There must have been another mine besides the Kerban mine. Even after returning, there was no law saying a new mine couldn’t appear.

If you’re the son of a dragon, do you gain the ability to detect gold veins? One of the reasons why the evil dragon Gassalante is an evil dragon is because his domain is piled with countless gold and silver treasures and the treasures of ancient heroes and kings, isn’t it?

“People are rushing in to mine gold. The news seems to have spread everywhere.”

“I suppose so.”

That’s not all. Peon was completely overhauling the castle after completing the water and sewage construction. Construction had begun according to the expansion plan he had brought to Kaella.

Carpenters, builders, and bricklayers flocked in. Even though outsiders had started coming and going, it was very quiet on this side where the Duke and Duchess stayed. That’s because the repair work had started from the outer castle walls.

The sound of construction, fixing and hammering, was waking up the quietly sleeping Lussenford. There were young men watching with excitement, and children who were scolded for playing nearby without knowing any better.

There were also old people who came out leaning on canes, curious about what was happening. Only the Duchess was detached from that excitement, quietly picking up her pen and starting to write a letter.

Dad. It’s me. Summer must have arrived in Ostein. Here, spring is in full bloom now. I’m gradually adapting. The Duke

Kaella lifted her pen from the paper again. Her fingers hesitated. Is it okay to tell Dad about the kitchen renovation? Won’t it cause problems later?

The memory of even the flowers sent to her father’s grave being slandered as a code leaking Lussenford’s situation kept making her censor herself. She couldn’t even write a letter freely. She could only do as she pleased when she could die.

Now that even her life was caught by Peon, she had to show him the content of the letter and check if there was any problem.

Or try her best to write a letter that wouldn’t cause problems. But in the end, she would have to show it to him anyway to avoid trouble.

No, just write whatever and if anything happens, die, and that would be…

“Kaella.”

Lady Silence, the head maid, immediately stepped back. The Duke, who had entered with long strides, immediately approached Kaella and leaned over behind her. The Duchess, who had been sitting quietly, was completely covered by him.

“What were you doing, were you writing a letter?”

Between the questioning voice and waiting for an answer, the gesture of kissing her cheek repeatedly and unhesitatingly was full of affection. But Lady Silence felt that the Duke somehow seemed anxious and uneasy.

He was clearly trying his best to act kindly and desperately hold onto the Duchess. Anyone here who cared for the Duchess and felt sorry for her would be the same, but the Duke was especially severe.

“When you finish the letter, shall we send it today?”

The head maid quietly closed the door and left. She was extremely quick-witted. And she didn’t step forward carelessly.

The person Kaella chose was certainly different. And his wife, who should also choose a butler, was just looking down at the unfilled paper without even turning to look at him.

“Order more if there’s anything you want.”

Peon said as he stepped back. She probably wants to tell her father in detail about how her husband did this and that. While Kaella was writing the letter, he intended to sit nearby.

“Can I write about the kitchen renovation?”

“Of course. Certainly.”

Peon pulled out any book from the open book trunk next to the bed and opened it. After hearing that poison had been hidden among these books, he had searched the trunk twice while Kaella was unconscious.

She had brought a very diverse collection of books including poetry, history books, novels, classical literature, ancient philosophers’ papers, management guidelines for household affairs that brides carry around, and guidebooks on needlework, cooking, and other domestic affairs.

But just by looking at the condition of the books, he could tell which books Kaella enjoyed reading. The guidebooks for new brides were crisp because they hadn’t even been opened. These guidebooks were just roughly loaded for the sake of having them because they were said to be necessary.

“Can I write about the water and sewage construction too?”

“Yes.”

On the other hand, poetry books, novels, and history books were smooth and had fingerprints from being touched so much. He recalled what books were in Kaella’s book trunk before she returned.

Peon had been interested then too, purely from the standpoint of someone who likes books. There were books he had never seen before. There were even books that architecture students read and books about basic equipment principles.

Was she originally interested in such things? He couldn’t ask. Those books were only used as evidence that she later tried to induce expansion to reduce the military function of Lussenford Fortress and only expand the residential function to weaken Lussenford.

“Kaella. You don’t need to get permission from me for every detail.”

Was Kaella interested in architecture? There were no books related to expansion in the book trunk she brought after returning. She had come prepared to die, but she didn’t want to be falsely accused again.

“Can I write that you’re a dragon?”

What did she read so interestingly? While flipping through the book with the most signs of being read, Peon hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

“Do as you please.”

If his wife scratches him, he should obediently be scratched. He was grateful for even a little response when she was indifferent to everything without any lingering attachment.

After that, Kaella filled the letter paper densely without asking any more questions.

Peon slowly skimmed through a lyric poetry book that sang of life and love in the beautiful south, and a book by Kinero Jurani, who was famous for his genius in politics and diplomacy that was seasoned to the point of being ruthless. Both showed signs of being read a lot by Kaella.

Peon had already read Kinero Jurani’s book several times in his teens. Some chapters were so vividly remembered that he could recite them, but it was interesting again because Kaella had enjoyed reading it. What thoughts did she have while reading this chapter?

“Do you like Kinero Jurani?”

He was curious about why she liked it, which chapters she liked, everything. He wanted to know. As her crystal-clear blue eyes turned to him, he playfully waved Kinero Jurani’s masterpiece “Politics and Sword”.

“It’s not usually a book women would like.”

More precisely, it was a book one shouldn’t show that they liked.

“I just asked if you liked it. What’s wrong with women reading such books? Women who honestly say they don’t like it are much better than men who pretend to have read it without actually reading it.”

Watching Peon flip through the pages with interest, Kaella pulled out the order form she had placed behind the letter paper. Should she order new books too? She hesitated, then added a request at the end of the letter for a few newly released books to be sent.

“I should buy lots of books when we go to Kraine this time. Have you read all the ones here?”

“We’re going to Kraine?”

“It seems the crown prince’s engagement has been roughly settled. There’s going to be an engagement ceremony.”

“It’s later than I expected.”

“It must be because it’s such a big deal.”

Even though the couple had to go to Kraine, he answered as if he wasn’t very interested and kept turning the pages. The book must be quite interesting.

Kaella said nothing and turned her back completely to watch him read for a moment. It was rare to see him reading.

Most of the day, he devoted all his energy to inspecting the castle, scouting the surroundings, constantly gathering information, and strengthening defenses.

But when darkness fell, he would shut himself in the room, light a lamp, read books, and write in his journal. It was a moment Kaella had carefully stolen glances at, and even those were few. Back then, he looked so neat and comfortable.

Their eyes met at that moment.

“I like this book too.”

Peon smiled.

“You seem to have read it a lot too.”

“I read it because Your Highness likes it.”

Surprised by the unexpected answer, Peon looked at her. The Duchess now felt neither embarrassed, nor ashamed, nor hurt in her pride to say such things. Her cooled heart was just calm.