I stared at Hertian with wide eyes at his unexpected words.

Hertian crossing the line too?

I didn’t understand what he meant. Sure, I was helping with Hertian’s work, but he had no reason to help me more. However, I didn’t refuse outright.

“As much as you’d like?”

“It’s a promise.”

Even if he crossed the line, I felt Hertian would still be his usual self. He was already treating me too well.

That’s when it happened.

The office door burst open, and two men with flushed expressions strode in.

It was Osen, who had heard the news, and a knight with a fierce look.

“How many days has it been since returning from war, and now there’s talk of joining another?”

Osen was the one who blurted out the words.

Unlike when he was out, he was in an emotional state.

“The imperial family is rotten. We should stage a coup or something.”

And the knight who followed him spat out harsh words in a deep voice.

“Evan. I told you to keep those thoughts in your head. Don’t carelessly blurt them out and make us traitors too.”

“Did I say anything wrong?”

“That mouth of yours!”

The person called Evan answered Osen informally without changing his expression. The two who had been speaking casually quickly changed their attitude after noticing Hertian.

“Oh, my lady was here too.”

“Yes, I was discussing with the Grand Duke. Who is this person?”

“Ah, this is Evan, the vice-captain of the Blanditiae Knights.”

Osen introduced him on his behalf.

As vice-captain, he must have managed the knights when Hertian was absent due to war. I was quite negligent to only be meeting him now.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“I look forward to working with you, Evan.”

I extended my hand to Evan as a handshake. Since Eleanor had done the same to me, it seemed knights greeted with handshakes. But Hertian stepped in to block my hand.

“Knights’ hands are dirty, so let’s consider greetings done.”

Isn’t that a bit rude?

But Evan showed no signs of being offended and bowed slightly with his hand on his chest.

“By the way, what’s this about the order to join the war? Did an official letter come from the imperial palace?”

Osen asked urgently, unable to contain himself.

“That was the plan, but Eleanor intercepted it and delivered it personally. It had the Emperor’s seal.”

“Wow. No matter how I think about it, it just feels like a stab in the back. How could His Majesty the Emperor…!”

He vented his frustration but glanced at me and closed his mouth. He seemed to think he shouldn’t spill everything to me. I met Osen’s eyes and said:

“Rather than His Majesty the Emperor not keeping his promise, it seems he was forced to approve under pressure. There must be someone behind this.”

His eyes widened behind his glasses.

“You knew about this too, my lady?”

“I was the one who prevented the poisoning attempt at the Grand Duke’s victory celebration, you know.”

So how could I not know?

Osen seemed to know the circumstances of the poisoning incident as well, as he let out a short exclamation and scratched his head.

“More importantly, we need to prevent the first deployment after marriage now. That way, they won’t be able to easily use the Grand Duke for the next deployment.”

“Do you have any clear methods?”

Hertian asked with a serious face.

Osen also silently waited for my answer. Perhaps because I had made a lot of money with the business once, it seemed they would listen to whatever method I suggested.

“I have a good card up my sleeve.”

“A card…?”

Osen’s eyes flashed.

“I have a wish that His Majesty the Emperor must grant, no matter what it is.”

He slumped his shoulders.

“His Majesty has already approved this matter. Even if it’s your request, my lady, he won’t easily withdraw an order once it’s been given.”

“Who said anything about asking to prevent the Grand Duke’s deployment? Such a one-time request would only fuel the flames rather than prevent future deployments.”

“Are you saying you have another method?”

I lifted the corners of my mouth with a confident expression.

“Of course.”

Why else would Hertian have married me?

It’s because I’m a transmigrator who knows everything.

“Everyone gather around.”

I began to explain to Hertian and the others the plan I had formulated in my mind in a short time.

Anette’s plan was preposterous.

Though it was something worth trying if the information was certain, it was hard to believe.

“You don’t really believe everything my lady says, do you? I know her foresight ability is amazing, but there’s no guarantee it’s always correct, is there?”

That’s why Osen dismissed Anette’s plan as nonsense.

How could my lady know something that even the empire’s prophets couldn’t predict? Although she was someone who always solved problems in unexpected ways, like the poisoning incident or the herb business, it was only twice. There was no way to be certain.

“If we make a wrong move, we might lose a good opportunity and the Grand Duke’s deployment might proceed quickly.”

“I agree.”

Evan also supported Osen’s words. The imperial palace was like a battlefield. Though it required thorough strategy and planning, Anette’s words seemed like a miracle that ignored all order.

“It’s a treasure, so it might be useful if we keep it.”

The item Anette said she would request from the Emperor was one of the treasures offered by Turan. It was something received so long ago that the Emperor might not even remember it, making one wonder if it was being properly stored.

“It’s not a treasure, it’s junk. Junk buried in the imperial palace’s storage, who knows when it’ll be cleared out.”

“Osen. Did you know about this so-called junk?”

“How would I know?”

“A lady who’s only been to the palace twice knows about it?”

Osen was slightly surprised at those words.

“Isn’t it proof enough that a lady knows about a treasure that even I, who lived there for 10 years, didn’t know about?”

That was true.

Probably no one except a few servants managing treasures in the palace would remember such an old gift that wasn’t even worth money.

“On the contrary, it’s an opportunity to definitely test my lady’s ability. If so, we’ll have solid power too.”

Osen finally understood his intention and nodded.

“I’ll prepare with Evan for when the plan goes wrong.”

Osen and Evan left the office. Hertian stared down at the paper containing Anette’s plan.

“Your handwriting is still the same.”

The paper with Anette’s handwriting intact.

A smile naturally formed at the feeling of receiving a letter after a long time. Though he knew Serdis had intercepted it midway, he took no action.

If he was still precious to Anette, she would go around looking for the letter’s whereabouts herself. So he decided to wait a little.

“But is it a good sign that she says she’ll cross the line with me?”

After the marriage.

Anette had never taken the initiative to ask something of him. Rather, she had been cold. Just last night, didn’t she say she would go looking for another man?

But after hearing about the deployment, her eyes changed. She stepped up to stop Eleanor and resolve it herself, and even moved the embers in the fireplace. It was definitely different from before. As Eleanor said, her only flaw, her background, had taken effect.

‘Of course she’d be anxious, thinking a partner she assumed was safe could die in war.’

Because Anette had a warm heart.

If she thought of someone as her own, she didn’t want to see them hurt.

Hertian was finally convinced that he too had entered Anette’s domain.

Thinking he had properly taken a step forward, laughter bubbled up.

“Suddenly I want to go to war.”

Two days later.

News arrived from the imperial palace.

“They say it’s an order, not a proposal, and refusing deployment will be considered treason.”

It was as expected.

The imperial family was praising Hertian as an excellent warrior of war, but using that as an excuse to push him into danger.

“I wasn’t expecting even a slight chance. Let’s leave right away.”

Anette and Hertian were already prepared to go to the imperial palace.

The plan could only start once we arrived at the imperial family.

The repairs to the castle were in their final stages, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

“My lady. I’ll go with you.”

“No. We’re going with minimal escort to return as quickly as possible.”

“Have a safe trip.”

“Alright. Let me know if there’s any other news when I return.”

And so Anette and Hertian left the Grand Duke’s castle and headed back to the imperial palace.

To the imperial palace we never thought we’d return to.

And to the capital I had missed.

After spending a full day and a half in the carriage, the sharp roof of the imperial palace came into view. My mouth went dry. Along with the expectation of seeing my parents, there was the unpleasantness of having to see Serdis.

I thought he would naturally distance himself once I got married.

I thought I could safely wait in the Grand Duke’s castle for the day Serdis and Violet would come together.

But it seems Serdis wasn’t like that. As if there was a rule that things had to happen exactly like in the original work, he still had lingering feelings for me.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“Imagining how to finally cut ties with His Highness Serdis.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Hertian was more composed than I expected. As if this wasn’t the first time.

“Aren’t you worried?”

“What is there to worry about when I have such a reliable wife?”

Then Hertian knocked on the window facing the coachman.

“Please stop the carriage for a moment.”

“Is something wrong?”

I asked anxiously as I stood up, and he extended his hand to me as he got out of the carriage.

“It’s our first trip to the capital since getting married, so we should buy gifts for the Count and Countess.”

“Gifts at a time like this?”

When I asked in surprise, he grabbed my waist and forcibly helped me out of the carriage.

“We’ll end up victorious anyway. Don’t we need gifts for the family who will celebrate the victory with us?”

“Oh, Hertian…”

Looking at him, my tension eased, and laughter burst out. He seemed relaxed even after hearing my absurd plan. As if he was certain the plan would succeed.

Then he suddenly asked a strange question.

“Did I cross the line?”

“What?”

“Last time I said I would cross the line too.”

Ah.

It was the conversation we had in the office. Hertian remembered the conversation we couldn’t finish because Osen came in.

“We’re really just stopping briefly.”

“I’ve already made a list of gifts, so it won’t take long.”

He pulled out a note from his breast pocket. It contained a list of gifts for my father and mother. There was even the name of the wine my father liked.

He really is a considerate man.

If he wasn’t asexual, I would wonder why he couldn’t seduce Eleanor.