Hertian was engulfed in worry as he looked at the herbal payment documents that could fill an entire warehouse.

“Anette wouldn’t have bought these herbs without thinking.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her.

Anette, with her ability to foresee, must have had her own thoughts.

But Hertian had never relied on anyone since he was born.

He had to solve everything by himself, and it was the same in his relationship with Anette.

He couldn’t pass his problems onto Anette.

If Anette were to fail in business and become discouraged, it was obvious she would regret marrying him.

Rather than that, it was better to increase his workload even if it meant suffering himself.

“Gilta, from now on, report the lady’s business to me.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Were there any letters from Cassian?”

“I haven’t received any.”

“I see… You may go.”

Gilta wiped off his cold sweat as he left Hertian’s office.

And he nearly screamed when he saw Anette standing in front of the door. Anette pulled him and hid behind a pillar.

“What did His Highness say?”

“My lady, as His Highness suggested, how about giving up or handing over the business even now? My liver is shrinking.”

Anette shook her head vigorously and firmly silenced Gilta.

“The herbs cost as much as 50 million gold. Who else but me could double the value of so many herbs? Does Gilta have a way?”

He shook his head.

“Then does the Grand Duke have another way?”

As he shook his head again, he asked with his eyebrows drooping.

“My lady, how do you plan to sell these herbs?”

Seeing Gilta so frustrated, Anette fell into contemplation.

Should she tell him or not?

But trust was a priority if she wanted to proceed with the work trusting Gilta.

“Soon, all the temples in Kursia will disappear.”

“What?”

“Shh.”

Holding Gilta whose eyes had grown as big as saucers, Anette explained in detail how she would proceed with this business. Gilta was half out of his mind at the unbelievable story.

“Only Gilta and I should know this.”

“B-but if His Highness knows this, he will take care of it himself without my lady having to step forward.”

“If we officially step forward, the other side will feel resistant. If that happens, the herb trade will become difficult and we’ll just lose the 50 million gold.”

Anette’s words had a point.

With the Grand Duke on one side and the Grand Duchess on the other, he felt suffocated, unable to move. Sighing inwardly, Gilta thought of his superior, Jackson.

‘What would Jackson do?’

If it were Jackson, he would have chosen a side without hesitation.

And the answer was already decided.

Go with the side you’re sure of.

“…I will follow my lady’s words.”

I headed to the border the next day, and the day after that as well.

They thought I was the daughter of the local blacksmith and treated me comfortably.

“Take a look at this one today.”

A soldier who had benefited greatly from the medicine brought a patient directly and asked for treatment.

I had already treated the wounds of five people.

All healed quickly. Perhaps because they had never used medicine in their lives, the effects were quite significant.

“Where does it hurt?”

“I didn’t eat well last night. My stomach is starting to hurt, can you treat something like this too?”

“Of course. Drink this herbal water three times a day, divided.”

I took out a medicine bottle with familiar hands and handed it to the soldier.

“Alright, who’s next?”

The tent opened and a man with red epaulettes on his shoulders entered. I smiled brightly and pointed to a chair.

But the man just stared at me intently, not approaching.

“Are you not a patient?”

I scratched my head and organized the medicine bottles.

That’s when it happened.

“C-Commander.”

At the trembling soldier’s voice, the man opened his mouth.

“What are you doing here?”

“W-well, that is…”

“Explain properly.”

At the stern voice, the soldier’s eyes rolled.

This person is the leader here.

I pretended not to know, but I recognized him immediately.

‘Finally, my trading partner has appeared.’

Although he looked about the same age as Hertian, the pressure he gave off was different.

His sharp gaze made the air in the tent cold. The soldier couldn’t open his mouth as if he had eaten honey. I approached him without fear and said.

“I’ve been treating the soldiers with the herbs I brought.”

At those words, the soldiers tightly closed their eyes.

The gaze of the man with bright red hair fixed on me. It was filled with a killing intent I had never felt before.

It was a natural reaction since Requies was an enemy country to Kursians.

Soon, that thick voice might order to drag me out.

“All the soldiers here?”

“Yes.”

“What’s your purpose?”

Contrary to expectations, the voice that came was calm. I felt hope that he might be more reasonable than I thought. If so, there was no need to drag this out.

“If you provide a separate place, I’ll tell you why I approached.”

The man, momentarily confused, said casually.

“Just ten minutes.”

It was a quiet permission.

He took me to the largest tent here. As soon as we sat down, he demanded to know my purpose.

“I have no purpose. There are people dripping blood, and I have a way to treat them. It’s not human to turn away pretending not to know.”

“Did you ask for a separate place just to say that?”

Of course not.

I handed him the documents I had prepared in advance.

“I’ll give you the first opportunity to buy herbs.”

For the first time, the man’s eyebrow twitched. It was a face as if he had heard something absurd.

“Do you think Kursians need dried weeds?”

“They do, don’t they?”

I pushed boldly.

“It’s almost impossible to find temples one by one in border areas like this. Even if a situation arises where immediate treatment is needed, there’s no way to treat it.”

“Ridiculous. Even so, we are an empire with a thousand years of history without any special herbs. Do you think we’ll need them?”

“Yes, in a few months, it will be difficult to purchase them even with money.”

“How can I believe the words of a mere village woman living in the corner of a mountain?”

There wasn’t a shred of trust in the man’s eyes. Unlike other soldiers, he was more hostile towards me.

“Whether you believe it or not depends on your insight. From now on, there will be no temples in Kursia. Pater will no longer be supplied. What will thousands of people who have lost their temples need most?”

I pointed with my eyes to the pile of herbs I had brought. His pupils moved following my gaze.

“By now, the royals probably have noticed. As it’s a big issue, it will take quite some time for an official announcement. If you come to find me then, I’ll charge ten times the current price.”

The commander’s lips hardened. On the contrary, I smiled softly.

“I’ll give you a generous week.”

If someone stayed still after hearing this, they weren’t worth trading with.

I had just changed clothes in the carriage and was entering the mansion.

“Where have you been?”

Hertian was waiting for me in front of the door. Thanks to the gloomy weather today, it was dark inside the castle even though it wasn’t sunset yet.

“I went around the territory. There was so much to see, I didn’t even notice the time passing.”

I smiled with my eyes turned into crescents while avoiding Hertian’s gaze. Having a secret from him made it difficult to act comfortably like before.

Hertian watched me enter without saying a word.

I blurted out anything to break the suffocating silence.

“Have you eaten? Ah, it’s almost 3 o’clock, of course you would have.”

“My lady.”

Hertian’s heavy voice stopped me in my tracks. I stopped right there and turned to look at him.

When I met his eyes, he smiled kindly as if nothing had happened.

“It’s good to go out, but if you go out every day, something bad will surely happen.”

Then he put something in my cold hands. It was a black stone. It was as warm as his hand.

“What is this?”

“I made it thinking your hands might be cold. It’s a hand warmer with magic. Use it when you go out.”

A hand warmer.

It had been a long time since I encountered one.

Although it looked different from modern ones, it was a hand warmer that warmly radiated heat in my hand.

My frozen hands melted instantly.

“Thank you. I really like it.”

I felt intense guilt at his smile. I was recklessly wandering outside for the business he told me not to do, while he, despite being busy, worried about me and made a hand warmer.

But being honest now wasn’t the right path for him.

After all, rescuing the territory’s people is a very important mission for Hertian too.

I should finish the deal as quickly as possible and apologize to him.

“Have you eaten, my lady?”

“Oh. Come to think of it, I skipped lunch.”

I rubbed my flat stomach. There was a lunch box prepared by Bonisa, but I had given it all away to children crying from hunger in the winter. But if Hertian knew I had skipped a meal, he would dislike it, so I pretended to have forgotten.

“I’ll prepare a meal for you.”

“You personally, Hertian?”

“I haven’t only cut people with my sword.”

I burst into laughter at his nonchalant delivery of such a chilling line.

He seated me as I giggled, disappeared, and soon reappeared with a tray.

“Wow, did you really make this yourself?”

What he had made was pasta.

A cream-based pasta with chicken breast. It looked delicious with shiitake mushrooms sprinkled on top. I twirled some noodles around my fork and took a big bite.

The thick cream filling my mouth and the subtle pepper aroma spreading was perfect.

It tasted like the pasta Rian used to make when I was young.

Lost in memories, I quickly emptied the whole plate. It had been a long time since I had eaten a meal, not dessert, so fully. My stomach was completely full.

“It was really delicious.”

“I’m glad you liked it.”

Hertian, who had been watching me eat all along, smiled with relief. He must be tired from his many tasks too, but he was always trying hard for me.

Although he’s probably being nice because we’re contractual partners, I didn’t want to burden him further.

I wiped my mouth and said quietly.

“Hertian. You don’t have to take care of me so meticulously. After all, we’re in a contractual relationship. Our relationship already looks good among the servants, so you don’t need to worry about it in private places.”