It happened two weeks ago.

It was when Hertian suddenly appeared before Gillota and Jackson.

“Well… Actually, madam said we could lose 50 million gold if she didn’t take on the work herself, so I wanted to prevent wasting the budget…”

“That’s right. Gillota didn’t tell the master for the sake of the grand duchy.”

Flustered, they confessed what had happened.

And waited for their punishment.

Deceiving the master and refusing orders is a great sin.

Above all, since Hertian’s expression was unprecedentedly grim, even his favorite subordinates wouldn’t be able to avoid punishment.

“I’ll praise you for following my wife’s words over mine.”

“Pardon?”

But the word ‘praise’ popped out of Hertian’s mouth.

“Are you saying… you’re praising us?”

“From now on, if my wife asks you to do something, follow it no matter what it is.”

“Huh? Yes.”

In the end, they were praised for the part that should have received the most punishment. Gillota and Jackson exchanged bewildered glances in the air, then bowed their heads again.

It was common knowledge that the grand duke and duchess got along well, even a passing maid would know, but they didn’t know it was to this extent. To listen to the duchess’s words first.

But for now, it was fortunate for them.

Their judgment was acknowledged, and they fulfilled their duty as vassals.

“So the duchess was trying to proceed with the business because the grand duchy was cold?”

“Yes. It seems the madam had a hard time enduring it because she’s very sensitive to cold.”

Since it came to this, Gillota spilled everything as it was.

“From the beginning, she wanted repairs for the grand duchy, but when I reported that I couldn’t do the repairs due to the budget going to Kursia, the madam immediately purchased medicinal herbs.”

Hertian sneered briefly at those words.

He knew Anette was weak to cold, but he didn’t know she was struggling to the point of deceiving him to start a business.

Except for arbitrarily embracing her at night to warm her body, he hadn’t done anything for Anette. Rather, he had forced her to start a business even to the point of overexerting herself. He felt weak.

“And the condition was to go to the borderlands every day to teach treatment methods for the trade?”

“That’s correct.”

No wonder a strong scent of herbs was emanating from her body.

‘Is this like Anette?’

But he couldn’t help feeling upset.

Was it only his wish that there would be no secrets between them?

No. It was due to his lack of ability, blocking even the repairs of the castle after bringing her as if he would do everything.

“We’ll repair the castle next month.”

He said without a moment’s hesitation.

“Pardon? But it needs repairs after not being maintained for a long time.”

“Proceed. Don’t worry about the budget.”

Gillota bowed his head at Hertian’s firm voice.

The budget could be filled somehow.

But this would be the last time Anette would suffer for this matter. However, he had no intention of interfering with her business. He just decided to watch from afar this time.

And it was when Hertian had prepared all the funds for the castle repairs.

Serdis visited the mansion. One more thing to worry about.

‘What’s the reason for this guy who’s never come even once in his life to come here now?’

Sure enough.

“Don’t tell me it’s about this letter?”

He overheard the conversation with Lili just when he was suspecting.

The fact that the long-awaited letter was in Serdis’s hands.

And he also learned that he was pulling some pathetic tricks.

‘Divorce? What nonsense.’

Once taken, would I let it be taken twice? No matter how much he struggles now, nothing will change.

Three days later.

Realizing he was trying to force him out, Serdis lay down in the grand ducal residence under the pretext of injuring his leg.

Anette went out early. Hertian followed her. It had been that way ever since Serdis started staying. Just in case something happened.

Upon arriving in town, the coachman wrapped rope around the wheels.

Meanwhile, when Anette came out to the street to look around the town, a group started tailing her. The urge to push them away right there rose, but he had to hold back.

‘If I deal with them here, Anette will notice…’

So just before Anette boarded the carriage, he raised a strong wind to block her view. At the same time, he subdued the three men who were trying to tail her.

“Your Grace. Are you alright?”

The coachman discovered him and rushed over in one breath.

“There was a group tailing the carriage.”

“T-tailing?”

“I’ve dealt with it, so don’t worry. What about Anette?”

“Madam is inside the carriage.”

Hertian stared blankly at the carriage Anette was riding in, then averted his gaze.

The carriage departed.

It disappeared into the mountains where wheel tracks were now clearly visible. He wanted to follow Anette in case something happened to her, but there was something he had to do first.

He confined the three unconscious men in the grand ducal prison. He tried to interrogate them, but all their tongues had been cut out. Cutting out tongues was a punishment only inflicted on servants who spoke out of turn. It’s a cruel method that ordinary nobles can’t easily carry out. Unless they were royalty.

He turned his back on the castle and went up to the borderlands.

Anette could be seen in the distance.

The sight of her explaining in detail to foreign soldiers inside a small tent.

He stared intently at the passionate Anette. He also wanted to smash the faces of the soldiers grinning at her, but wouldn’t Anette dislike that?

Anyway, Anette had no interest in them. She was just teaching them out of obligation for money. That’s how he comforted himself.

A moment later, she came out. This time, he leaned against the fence hoping she would notice he was here. But Anette only moved towards the large tent with a heavy basket, without giving him a glance. He felt slightly disappointed.

‘That guy in the tent had a strange look in his eyes too.’

He gritted his teeth.

The look in the man’s eyes as he always gazed at Anette’s retreating figure with regretful eyes when she returned home.

It was clearly proper interest.

‘Let’s turn a blind eye for just two days.’

No matter how much he confessed his feelings with his eyes, Anette wouldn’t hear it anyway. That man was just one of Serdis’s kind.

And because Anette had him.

Today, Anette left the tent earlier than usual. His body reacted automatically with joy.

But Anette didn’t look too well. Eventually, she fainted in the arms of the guy with the strange look in his eyes.

“Get a hold of yourself!”

Hertian felt his heart beating slowly.

This wasn’t what he had waited to see.

Hertian’s eyes grew colder than a blizzard.

“Lower your voice?”

Only after snatching Anette from the man did he finally regret it. That he shouldn’t have left Anette in such a backward place. That he should have stopped her even if it meant incurring Anette’s anger.

“Are you the new lord?”

It was a mistake to expose Anette to such a selfish foreigner.

“That’s right.”

At the end of Hertian’s gaze flickered Anette’s hand, stained with blue herbal water.

‘What have I done?’

He had chased after Anette during the day and dealt with the domain’s affairs at night. Was it to see this sight that he hadn’t slept properly and suffered?

“She’s also my trading partner, so I’ll take care of her until she wakes up…”

And was it to hear such words from a man who cast lecherous glances at his wife?

“It’s because I’m her husband, not her lord.”

Hertian failed to keep the secret Anette had held onto until the end.

In truth, he didn’t want to keep it. He wanted to let that guy know clearly that Anette was his woman. So that he would never cast strange glances in front of him again.

“…Husband?”

As expected, Kantad’s eyes were filled with shock.

It must have been completely unexpected.

The grand duke’s wife, the grand duchess.

Not just a proxy, but herself.

“She was… the grand duchess of Blandiche?”

“Living in the borderlands seems to have made you lose your discerning eye.”

No.

He didn’t try to recognize her.

Because she had the charm to make people believe whatever she said.

No. He already knew. There was no way such an extraordinary woman could be just a commoner.

He had deliberately turned a blind eye. Wishing she wasn’t the grand duke’s wife.

If asked when he became interested, he wouldn’t know.

He just wanted to return to the capital together next time. He just felt comfortable being with her.

“If you understand, get lost.”

The brief dream he had was shattered in an instant.

Kantad kept his mouth shut for a while, then spoke heavily.

“…Was it not just a political marriage?”

Hertian found that question quite unpleasant. As if Anette had freely spilled their private story to a strange man. That upset him.

“You don’t need to know.”

So he drew the line without roundabout excuses. As if dealing with a foreigner outside this fence.

A long blackout followed.

When I raised my heavy body, I saw a few lit candles in the dark room.

The bleak winter scenery far from the capital.

Only then did memories that seemed old resurface.

“Kantad!”

I jumped up with a shout.

I need to go back quickly.

I need to return before Hertian comes here.

“Who is Kantad?”

But then.

Hertian’s voice was heard beside me.

I thought my ears were mistaken.

This is definitely the house in the borderlands.

“My lady.”

But why is Hertian here?

It’s not an illusion, but real. Hertian came up to the borderlands.

He knows everything now.

‘I just needed to hold out for one more day!’

After enduring so well until now, why get caught at this point.

I deliberately approached him with a bright smile. If I incurred his anger, even the deal with just one step left could fall through.

“Hertian…”

“It’s my first time hearing the name Kantad.”

“No. That’s…”

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

He looked like I needed to explain properly.

Hertian’s eyes, leaning against the wall looking down at me, followed my movements.

“I’ll explain everything.”

I felt like a woman caught cheating.

It would have been better if it was an affair. We agreed to respect each other’s privacy. But business was directly connected to Hertian as the head of the household, so it was right not to touch it carelessly.

“Kantad is my trading partner.”

I carefully began to speak.

“I knew.”

But a detailed explanation wasn’t necessary.

He had already received reports about everything about me. He also knew that I had traded with Kursians and that the profits amounted to about 3 billion.

“You knew everything and pretended not to know?”

When I asked in surprise, he nodded lightly.

“I thought I shouldn’t interfere in the middle. You were so passionate.”

“I see…”

No wonder he readily allowed the grand duchess to wander around the domain for a month.

“Please don’t start work to the point of hurting yourself from now on.”

He took my hand and placed it on his chest.

His heart was beating fiercely as if it would burst out.

“As you can see, my condition worsens when you’re sick.”