Every time the monster ate into his brain, excruciating pain bored into his head.

The pain grew worse over time, and Joseph inevitably became sensitive and irritable.

If only that were all. The cruel pain was more than enough to drive a person mad.

Eventually, when Joseph’s physical age reached thirty.

Writhing in torturous headaches, Joseph finally sensed that the monster was trying to completely devour him.

He had to find a way to survive. He wanted to live. It was too unfair to die like this.

And so…

He turned back time once again.

‘No matter how many times I experience this headache, I never get used to it.’

Arriving in the past after flipping the hourglass of time.

The headache was still there. Because the monster coiled in his head was still eating away at his brain.

But this much was bearable. At least it didn’t make Joseph go crazy like right before death.

‘Where should I look for clues this time.’

Joseph roughly rubbed his face dry and got up.

His reflection appeared in the mirror directly in front of him.

A younger face, a relatively normal complexion, hair of an inhuman color and bright red eyes.

Though it was a trace of the disgusting monster trying to devour him, objectively it was a very useful appearance.

Thanks to it, he was able to gain favor in noble society and easily access high-level information.

He had to survive somehow. He wanted to live.

…But it wasn’t an easy task.

It was also agonizing.

The curse that ended life at the young age of thirty, which others could naturally continue if there were no major accidents, was only spiteful.

After that, Joseph rewound time several more times. To move forward into the world after 30 years old.

It was after several more regressions that he encountered the Duchess of Daiern again.

‘Her beauty is still the same.’

The Duchess, a year after the death of her spouse, was no longer wearing mourning clothes.

Was that why? She looked much more beautiful than in his old memories.

The night-black hair fixed around her neck, the cold yet soft violet-like eyes, the straight body line wrapped in white skin, blooming from red lips…

…A bewitching smile that made one lose their senses.

When he asked her to dance, Joseph realized once again that the monster in his head had fallen silent.

‘Was it not a coincidence?’

Perhaps the Duchess of Daiern herself might be the key to breaking his curse and subduing the monster.

Joseph approached her.

Many times, several times, multiple rounds.

And so he could be certain.

If he wanted to live.

If he wanted to breathe in the world after 30 years old.

‘She must be there.’

The problem was her fate, which was just as tricky as his own.

Lieselotte Karin Daiern, in the countless lives Joseph had experienced, always.

Died before him.

Along with her three children whom she cherished like her own life.

Alperon territory?

Trade route?

Those are just excuses.

Joseph Obreim Alperon’s goal is solely to extend his own life.

And for that, he needed the Duchess of Daiern.

“The right person?”

As I blinked and asked back, Lord Joseph affirmed.

“Strangely so. Whenever someone other than the Duchess was in charge of this project, something always went wrong and it had to be stopped.”

“That is indeed strange. There wasn’t any particular reason?”

“There were various reasons, but honestly, isn’t it more efficient to invest in someone guaranteed to succeed rather than go to the trouble of trying to prevent causes beforehand?”

That’s correct.

“So the only option is to get in the Duchess’s good graces.”

“……”

Hmm. Certainly.

‘If that’s the situation, I understand.’

I understood immediately. I too am someone whose expertise is in managing money.

Actually, after taking on the Daiern name, I was heavily involved not only in internal affairs like managing the mansion, but also in external affairs to stabilize and grow the duchy.

And so over the course of 10 years, the Duchy of Daiern has grown to its current level.

In fact, before I got involved, Daiern was such a miserable territory that it would have been embarrassing to call it a duchy anywhere.

It was only generating income equivalent to that of a small county at best.

‘With such an incompetent duke, it couldn’t be helped I suppose.’

Fortunately, I was someone who felt more energized the busier my daily life was. Above all, I had more of an aptitude for external affairs than internal ones.

In fact, that was also the reason I had missed the suitable age for marriage.

‘Originally, I was the one slated to inherit the Landgritz barony.’

For reference, my family home of Landgritz is a family that started as merchants.

Although it’s a baronial family, its wealth is on par with that of most ducal families, which is why.

…Hmm. The conversation has strayed too far.

“I suppose you experienced that through regression or whatever as well. Just how many times did you regress?”

“It’s hard to count. The number of times didn’t matter to me anyway.”

“Then what did matter?”

“From there on is personal business.”

“Hmm.”

Even if I were to believe this talk of regression or whatever, he was still an evasive character.

Well, what does any of that have to do with me? As long as we need each other for our goals and can be certain we won’t betray each other, that’s enough.

“Very well. If what you say is true, I have no reason not to employ you, Lord Joseph.”

“You won’t regret it, Duchess.”

There was no need to size each other up any further. We finalized the contract right there.

The tutors that the Viscount of Baden had found arrived just as the Duchess and I finished signing and exchanging the contract.

After deliberately making them wait for about an hour, I finally called the visitors to my office.

There were four visitors in total. But only two of them could really be called tutors.

The other two, well.

‘I expected it, but they really came together.’

It was the Viscount and Viscountess of Baden, who came to put on airs under the pretext of introducing the tutors.

Let me say in advance that I dislike the Viscountess of Baden more than the Viscount of Baden.

Aside from her fastidious impression and irritable personality, it’s because her vanity and arrogance have often clashed with me in social circles.

Even now, isn’t she glaring at me and engaging in a one-sided battle of wills?

“Oh my? Isn’t that Count Alperon?”

At first, the Viscount and Viscountess of Baden entered the office with reddened faces, angry from waiting for an hour.

But upon encountering Lord Joseph, they blinked in bewilderment for a while.

“Ho ho, I didn’t know there was a prior guest. You could have taken your time talking. Ah yes, I should introduce myself. I am the Viscount of Baden. This is my wife and…”

And after some time had passed, they arbitrarily understood the reason they had to wait and were busy exchanging greetings with laughter.

They even bragged to the tutors they brought about how great Lord Joseph was.

“This Count Alperon here, as you may already know, is a truly remarkable person. One might say he’s the center of social circles these days. Even His Majesty the Emperor is so interested in Count Alperon that he invites him to dinner every evening without fail.”

Is that so?

“That’s not all. Count Alperon is so skilled that every business he touches yields enormous profits. I hear he just bought a racecourse and an opera house? And before that, he started a hotel business as well?”

That seems like cheating using his regressor or whatever ability.

“Moreover, I heard he recently received an offer to enter the Tower of Honor. They say he’s the first talent capable of such scholarship without even attending the Academy, and the academic world is in an uproar.”

……

An offer to enter the Tower of Honor.

That must be closely related to the letter of recommendation Lord Joseph brought to me. After all, one of the individuals who wrote the recommendation was a scholar from the Tower of Honor.

‘If the Viscount of Baden is gossiping to this extent, it seems Lord Joseph has already built a significant position in the imperial social circles.’

It was inevitable that my gaze would turn to Lord Joseph. Just what has that man been up to all this time?

“…?”

At that moment, whether by chance or not, Lord Joseph’s and my gazes crossed in the air. Immediately, Lord Joseph narrowed his eyes coyly and gave an endearing smile.

‘He’s trying so hard to make a good impression on me.’

Well, business isn’t an easy task.

“Ah yes, Count Alperon. I hear you’re still unmarried, if you’d like, my daughter…”

“Now then. It would be better to save the idle chat for later, Viscount Baden. Aren’t you here to introduce the tutors who will be in charge of educating the Daiern heir?”

At this point, I appropriately cut off the Viscount of Baden’s words.

If I kept listening, it would become unclear whether they came here to introduce tutors or for a social gathering.

“Ah, ahem. I was just about to introduce them. Well then, starting with the scholar sitting over there…”

“No, Viscount Baden.”