“You seem to be misunderstanding something, Lord Joseph. Though I hired them in haste, they are loyal servants who have worked at the Daiern mansion for 10 years. They are special people to me.”

I raised my eyes in suspicion. Where did you get the idea of coveting my cherished servants?

“That’s why I said so.”

But Lord Joseph casually brushed off my gaze.

Bending down to place the tea we just brewed in front of me, he whispered in my ear.

“Eventually, when we marry, you’ll be living with me as Lady Alperon, so wouldn’t it be good if the servants you favor lived with us?”

“…?”

I was startled by the ticklish whisper in my ear. Can’t you speak normally?

Because of that, it took me a moment to understand what Lord Joseph had just said. My fingers slowly began to stiffen from the tips. It was clearly a flirtation.

“Wh-who decided that? I plan to continue staying at the Daiern Imperial City mansion for the foreseeable future.”

“Hmm…”

What, why, what?

Do you have a problem with that? I narrowed my brows as if challenging him.

Lord Joseph’s lips moved as if to say something, but then he quickly melted into a full smile.

“If that’s your plan, then I suppose I must do the same.”

It seems that wasn’t what he was going to say. But before I could probe further, Lord Joseph continued.

“As you know, I’m in a position where I must unconditionally be with you.”

And with that, he naturally pressed his lips lightly to my cheek.

Just as I was about to be flustered again by the sudden warmth, he straightened up nonchalantly.

“L-Lord Joseph!”

“Yes, my lady.”

“That would be ‘Duchess’. And it’s daytime now, Lord Joseph. This is an office, and we’re in the middle of work.”

“Ah, I apologize.”

Lord Joseph apologized without making excuses. Thanks to that, my mouth that was about to nag more closed.

This easily? The Lord Joseph I know is a bit more shameless.

But as expected, he was indeed shameless. Lord Joseph was more brazen than I thought.

“So it’s alright at night. I understand. From now on, I’ll do it when you want.”

“Wh-what did you say?”

“But please understand. Just now I had a slight headache.”

“…”

His eyes curved like a fox’s. The moment I faced that smile, I could no longer argue with him.

The curse that triggers headaches in Lord Joseph is beyond my comprehension.

Even if it was hard to believe him given the circumstances, assuming it was true was the principle between me and Lord Joseph.

‘Just wait until I find out later that it was a lie.’

Then I won’t let it slide. The price for fooling me is steep.

“I understand. Let’s let this one go. But next time, I’d appreciate it if you’d be satisfied with just light contact.”

At first, he said just holding hands was enough, but somehow the level keeps rising.

If I hadn’t noticed the water was getting hot, I would have been boiled alive.

“About that…”

I listened to his words while organizing documents. After hesitating a bit, he continued in a troubled tone.

“The headache was originally something that got worse over time… The time I can alleviate the pain with light contact with you will get shorter and shorter.”

“It gets shorter? How much exactly? Then how much worse does the pain get?”

“It would be better to give you exact numbers…”

“No, wait. Don’t answer, it’s fine.”

I cut off Lord Joseph’s words and pressed my temples.

It was because I realized I had asked an unreasonable question, even by my own standards.

How inhumane is it to ask someone in pain to express the intensity of their pain in numbers?

No, but Lord Joseph is also a problem. Why are you seriously trying to answer that?

“…”

Tsk, I clicked my tongue and stood up.

“I understand the symptoms. I’ll pay more attention to that part from now on.”

“You’ll pay attention?”

Confusion filled his sparkling red eyes. How? He seemed to be asking about the method.

What do you mean how? I took off my gloves and grabbed his hand.

“In short, wouldn’t frequent light contact like this work?”

“Ah?”

“As long as it’s not ineffective. Since you’ll have more opportunities to escort me in the future, I think if I pay a little attention, you won’t have to suffer from headaches.”

His expression became momentarily dumbfounded. Watching his slightly parted lips move as if trying to say something, I let go of his hand again.

“You have to escort me right now, don’t you? Get ready, Lord Joseph. We don’t have much time left before our appointment with the architect.”

I immediately called for Loretta. She brought me my coat and muffler.

“What are you doing, Lord Joseph?”

“…Ha.”

Lord Joseph stood there blankly for a while, then chuckled with a puff of air and put on his coat.

It only took a day for Lord Joseph to complete the design of the Daiern Imperial City mansion, just as he had promised.

And when I checked the design, I was genuinely impressed.

It was clear that an amazing building would be completed, to the point where I would have no choice but to stick out my tongue in awe.

I have to admit that Wilhelm York Baden’s eye for design was remarkable.

But admitting it is just admitting it. I had no intention of using that design as it was.

It’s only natural. After all, it was a mansion designed by Wilhelm York Baden for his own luxury and ostentation. This means it lacks any facilities necessary for me and my children.

So I decided to add a few elements to the building.

First was an underground training hall for Kardiel.

I was already worried seeing the child training outside from dawn till late evening, rain or shine, no matter how cold it got.

He was bound to catch a severe flu at this rate. Ruining his health was absolutely not an option.

‘Especially for the future Duke of Daiern.’

I plan to create a comfortable training hall deep underground.

Second was a glass greenhouse for Euphemina.

The previous greenhouse, probably built by an ancestor several generations ago to follow a trend, was little more than a decoration.

‘To exaggerate a little, it was about the size of a terrarium.’

I decided to boldly invest money this time to build a greenhouse that was impressive in both scale and function. We had the money thanks to the Emperor anyway.

Third was a music room for Chersion. Fortunately, there was an appropriate space in the building plans for this.

It was a small banquet hall with a glass dome roof, and there couldn’t be a better space for a music room where sound resonance is important.

‘I should also install soundproofing.’

So that no one can complain even if he plays the piano all night long.

Oh, and I’m thinking of installing a pipe organ too. The children of Daiern haven’t had the chance for such luxury until now.

Well, I also put some effort into facilities for the servants.

Of course, there’s a dedicated break room, and I decided to provide single rooms for everyone.

‘Of course, each room will be smaller due to space constraints.’

So I asked Loretta and the other servants for their opinions. They seemed to like it even more than I had thought. They say it’s enough if the room can fit a bed, wardrobe, table, and chair.

‘As for my own space…’

Actually, there’s nothing special about this part. I did put a bit more effort into the interior of the study space that will double as an office, but.

‘That’s because Kardiel will inherit that place later.’

Hmm, now that I think about it, that’s right.

I’ve never thought about creating a space just for myself. The place I like the most might be the bathroom?

I was impressed by the indoor pool at Hotel Chronos.

So while it might not be as large as the big public bath that was used for social gatherings in the past, I thought it would be nice to have a large bath where the whole family could enjoy hot spring bathing.

‘Ah, of course, we should wear at least minimal clothing when we go in.’

As I added facilities like this, I wasn’t satisfied with Wilhelm York Baden’s existing design.

What did I do? Of course…

‘I redesigned it.’

Still, maybe because there was a basic design, the additional design didn’t take that long.

In less than a week, I got a call from the architect. That’s today.

“Even considering that, the work is faster than I expected.”

The carriage arrived at the workshop district where the architect’s workspace is located.

As I got out with Lord Joseph’s escort, I looked up at the building.

This area, full of old wooden buildings, was quite a secluded spot even in the district where workshops are concentrated.

To think there’s a great architect that Lord Joseph would actively recommend in a place like this.

“I suppose this is also the information power of a regression, isn’t it?”

White breath scattered and disappeared in the air along with his laughter.

“I won’t deny it. Actually, the person who created the original of that design is this architect.”

“Ah…!”

If that’s the case, the fast work speed made a bit more sense.

Even if it’s a future(?) work that hasn’t been created yet, the architect’s tastes and habits would be fully incorporated.

“By the way.”

As I was about to go up to the workshop, Lord Joseph whispered softly in my ear.

“This architect was also one of the people who received patronage from Wilhelm York Baden until recently.”