There was a very slight, trivial problem here.

It was that her health had not been very good for the past few days.

Should we say it’s a mild cold?

A little fever, a little cough, a little nausea, a little diarrhea…….

It may sound serious when listed out, but the Countess of Baden thought it was really no big deal.

A light symptom that would go away by tomorrow morning if she went home and took medicine from her doctor?

‘It’s definitely not a curse or anything like that!’

To be honest.

These symptoms started the day after she had the servants cover that terrifying gargoyle statue.

She had expected to start the morning pleasantly in the beautiful emerald-colored room, but contrary to expectations, she woke up with an unpleasant sensation of a stinging throat.

Moreover, as luck would have it, when she got up from the bed, she came face to face with the covered gargoyle statue.

The word ‘curse’ did come to mind, but…….

‘It’s a coincidence, a coincidence.’

That can’t be. She forced herself to ignore her intuition. The symptoms weren’t that serious anyway.

So she spent a week ignoring that ambiguous signal.

When this morning finally came, her body felt heavier than usual, but again, she didn’t think there would be any significant problem.

What was more important to Countess Baden was that she had gotten permission to go out due to this.

‘After taking care of business on Boutique Street, I’ll have to discuss this and that with my husband.’

The first place Countess Baden, who had such thoughts, visited on Boutique Street was, of course, the tailor shop where she could have new clothes made.

Madam Petrika’s tailor shop.

To be honest, visiting a place that had become famous due to rumors that the Duchess of Daiern frequented it was a blow to Countess Baden’s pride.

But on the other hand, she also felt like this:

‘I’ll become the Duchess in a few years anyway.’

Wouldn’t it be good to see what she enjoys and uses?

With that thought, Countess Baden entered the tailor shop without a reservation. Fortunately, there were no visitors at that time.

“Welcome, I am Madam Petrika. Oh my, isn’t it Countess Baden!”

A rather sophisticated-looking madam personally came out and kindly responded to her.

She was a woman who was very pleased that they knew who she was even though she had never introduced herself.

Thus, Countess Baden received the best service all day long and commissioned a tremendous number of dresses.

It significantly exceeded the budget, but in two years, the wealth of the Daierns would be hers anyway.

‘There shouldn’t be any problem, right?’

It was then that something rare caught her eye.

“What is that?”

It was the pitch-black fur of a beast.

However, it was completely different from ordinary black fur.

The color was so deeply dark that it was hard to believe an animal’s natural fur could have such a hue.

What was unique was that a few strands of silver and gold shimmering hair were dotted and mixed in.

It was as enchanting as stars floating in the night sky. I thought jewels must have been embedded, but that wasn’t the case either.

“That is the fur of the Night Star Rain Beast. It’s a very rare item brought from the Northern Kingdom, but the person who we thought would take it hasn’t been heard from.”

“The person you thought would take it?”

“It’s the Duchess of Daiern. She touched it for a long time as if she liked it, but in the end, she left it behind. I suppose she hesitated because it’s an extravagant item.”

At those words, Countess Baden’s eyes lit up.

The Duchess of Daiern liked it? But in the end, she didn’t purchase it?

The reason being it was an extravagant item?

“I suppose the price must be exorbitant?”

“I’m afraid so. Moreover, it can’t be used as is and needs to be processed, which is also not an easy task…….”

The price she heard was indeed a dizzying number. It was equivalent to as many as ten of the dresses she had commissioned today.

“…….”

But her pride wouldn’t allow her to just let go of the Night Star Rain Beast’s fur like this.

Moreover, hearing that even ‘that’ Duchess of Daiern had given up on it made her greed rise even more.

Doesn’t it seem like the value of that Night Star Rain Beast’s fur or whatever has gone up significantly?

‘That’s right. In two years when I become the Duchess, this will be nothing.’

No matter how well her husband, Count Baden, made money through this and that, there was a limit for a noble who essentially had no territory.

If only they had a territory, if only they could receive a territory.

‘If the Daiern Duchy, which generates that astronomical income, becomes mine…….’

In the end, she commissioned a shawl decoration made from the Night Star Rain Beast’s fur.

They said the production would take about ten days due to the complicated process.

Still, she should be able to elegantly wear it around the mansion before December when winter begins.

She was already excited to imagine the Duchess’s expression when she sees someone else wearing what she had given up on.

I’ll have to watch her plenty until she gets kicked out of Daiern.

Countess Baden returned home late in the evening.

Her mood was soaring as she had spent enough to manufacture a luxury carriage. However…….

The moment she got out of the carriage, the atmosphere at the Baden mansion, which she was returning to after a week, was unusual.

“Did something happen?”

A young and handsome butler answered her question with a dark expression.

“The master has been in a very bad mood for the past few days.”

“Is that so?”

Until then, Countess Baden did not take those words very seriously.

Frankly, she didn’t care whether her husband was in a good mood or not.

Rather, she was more concerned about the dark complexion of the young and handsome butler in front of her.

But then.

‘Strange. Was this butler always this gangly?’

He was a butler she had liked because he had a pretty face and good proportions, but now that she looked at him, he was just tall and had no charm. Almost like a spider, one might say?

A man should look a bit more muscular and sturdy. I’m not asking for as much as Count Joseph, but at least be comparable to the still young Kardiel, otherwise there’s a problem…….

‘What am I thinking right now!’

It seems I’ve been surrounded by too many outstanding men this past week. Countess Baden passed by the butler and climbed the grand staircase.

But perhaps because she had stayed in that huge mansion for a week, she couldn’t understand why this house looked so small.

To the point where it felt like a medium-sized staircase rather than a grand one.

That’s not all.

Now that she looked at it, the interior decor of the house was also somewhat displeasing.

‘The Daiern mansion had a more dignified and elegant feel to it.’

The Baden mansion is bright and flashy in atmosphere, but it’s strangely light. It’s sophisticated but lacks depth.

Above all, upon closer inspection, the materials and patterns of the carpets and curtains are all mismatched.

‘This won’t do. I’ll have to overhaul everything on this occasion.’

Once it started to bother her eye, it was painful to even keep her eyes open and look at it.

No, rather, isn’t this a good thing?

The Countess had already greatly liked the beautiful emerald-colored room in the Daiern mansion.

Above all, since there’s a clear concept, it shouldn’t take too long to remanufacture the furniture and replace the wallpaper, carpets, and even bedding.

It was when she, having decided her schedule for the next day, was about to enter her room on the second floor.

Bang, crash!

Clang!

“What are you going to do about this now!”

“C-Count, please calm down.”

“Calm? Do you think this can be resolved by staying calm?”

Oh my goodness!

Suddenly, extremely violent sounds poured out from the opposite entrance, her husband’s room.

He had clearly thrown or kicked something and shattered it.

But she didn’t pay much attention to it. She just clicked her tongue and shook her head.

‘I don’t know what’s going on, but he’s really going overboard.’

Just then, with a bang, the door to Count Baden’s room opened.

The gazes of Countess Baden, who was about to enter her room, and Count Baden, who was coming out of his room, collided.

“……!”

“……?”

At first, Count Baden’s eyes widened in surprise, but soon his face contorted fiercely as he changed direction.

Thump thump, his footsteps sounded threatening as he approached Countess Baden.

“You!”

His eyes were even bloodshot as he suddenly shouted.

“What the hell have you been doing at that house all this time! I sent you there to monitor this kind of thing!”

“Aaahh!”

His force was so fierce that Countess Baden, terrified, staggered backwards and plopped down.

But her husband’s enraged voice didn’t end there.

“And you dare to crawl back here in that state! Can’t you even do your job as a chaperone properly? Do you think I put you as that wench’s chaperone to play around?”

Countess Baden had definitely never seen her husband in such a violent state before.