“And about the reading club. If your reading progress is hindered or you need to talk, come find me. I saw that there was a reading club meeting where other men attended as well.”

Carlos naturally continued his words and smiled.

His expression management was going very well. Nevertheless, Mercedes felt a sense of unease.

“I’m really jealous of that. So will you let me be the discussant instead of that man?”

Mercedes smiled along with him. At the reading club, she had a pleasant conversation with people……

Rather, it was difficult to smile in front of Carlos, with whom she had always exchanged laughter comfortably. The muscles in her cheeks and mouth stiffened.

“You were jealous.”

“Of course. To you, I−.”

“Because you fell for me?”

Mercedes asked back, trying her best not to lose her smile.

The timing of her asking back was strangely odd. Carlos was silent for a moment. Then he raised his head and captured her in his black eyes.

“Yes. Because I fell for you. From the beginning, until now. Always.”

This much, he had to say firmly and clearly.

And looking into the unwavering black eyes, Mercedes thought for a moment that she felt a little angry for some reason.

‘I’m angry?’

‘Me?’

This emotion was very rare. She had only felt it when she was abused for the first time.

From the moment it became normal for her, she couldn’t feel it anymore.

“That’s right. You…… fell for me. You always said that.”

Mercedes reiterated his words once more. With a stiff face.

It seemed to Carlos that he could roughly see Mercedes’ heart. Avoiding her for no reason after the first night, then getting jealous, and now wanting to make a married couple’s bedroom.

It would feel strange.

But he had no choice either. If he got closer…… he felt like he wouldn’t be able to kill her.

Still, he had to get closer.

He hated himself for recognizing this feeling.

So he didn’t acknowledge it.

After the reading club, he realized and decided everything.

He judged that it would be better to quickly get everything done and then let the emotions flow out.

The married couple’s bedroom and the wedding night. To some extent…… that’s why he was proceeding with it.

Unaware that Carlos was staring at her quietly, Mercedes fixed her gaze on the dessert placed in front of her. And slowly opened her mouth.

“Since you came together, it would have been nice if Mr. Skylar had also joined the reading club.”

She asked about that person without realizing it. After blurting it out, she felt embarrassed, but she couldn’t help it. Because she was curious.

“Ah. That person is very busy, so it would have been difficult.”

“When will you introduce him to me? I heard he’s an old friend.”

Mercedes put on a bright voice. Her gaze was still not directed at him.

That appearance seemed to pierce Carlos’ heart.

“Next time…… when we meet, I will definitely introduce him. I’m sorry I didn’t properly introduce him to you because I was distracted.”

“No. It’s okay, you must be busy. How long have you been friends with Mr. Skylar?”

The conversation seemed to flow very naturally on the surface. Except for the fact that their gazes were misaligned and the atmosphere was stiff.

“When I was about 10 years old, I went to the magic tower out of interest in magic and met him there. He found the magic tower suffocating, and I found the imperial palace suffocating, so we got along well and soon became close. We kept in touch from time to time like that…… At fifteen, when I was still a prince, Skylar eventually escaped from the magic tower. So I hired him. Paying for his personal dignity maintenance.”

“I see.”

She should feel refreshed now that she had asked what she had been curious about all along, but instead she fell into a deeper maze. What would the him and Skylar of his boyhood that she didn’t know have been like?

“This is sudden, but there’s something I need to talk to you about today, Mercedes.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I think we need to set a date for the wedding night. If you don’t want to, we can sleep separately in the same room, so I’m asking you to set a date for your sake as well. If rumors spread that I’m neglecting you, it won’t be good for your standing.”

Carlos calmly said what he had to say tonight.

Fortunately, the servants and court officials of the imperial palace had not yet found out that the two had grown apart after the first night.

But if they found out, Mercedes would quickly be torn apart by both the social circles and the old-fashioned noble elders.

“So please check the schedule.”

Likewise, the reason for preparing the married couple’s bedroom was to show off that the two were getting along very well.

Of course……

‘The night, it may be a way to seduce Mercedes.’

There was such a calculation as well.

It’s just that the problem was that he too was being drawn to her embrace.

Her embrace was too sweet. The night made him unknowingly take off his mask and sincerely hold her.

It was dangerous, dangerous…… and it would work that well.

Because Mercedes was also different from usual.

Carlos suppressed his emotions and kept his distance, but never took his eyes off her.

The story about Skylar that she wouldn’t have asked about normally. The somehow twisted gaze.

If everything was a result of keeping distance after the first night, he had to push her more.

Actually.

Deep in his heart, even though he knew he was being pushed himself.

“……Thank you for always thinking of me.”

As soon as Carlos finished speaking, Mercedes expressed her gratitude using the stiff tone she had used at first. She had used the tone unconsciously.

She said it because she truly felt grateful. Nevertheless, her heart was tangled. She knew he was being considerate of her. But maybe…… did he deliberately say he would sleep separately? Because the first night with her was not good……

Thinking that far, her heart began to feel heavy.

“I’ll probably be able to set a date for the wedding night soon.”

Mercedes, still keeping her eyes down, barely swallowed the fruit wine.

* * *

Count Cromwell’s confinement was lifted.

At the same time, the count and his offspring reappeared in social circles.

Everyone whispered, but perhaps because of their overflowing leisure and the news about Mercedes, they seemed more glamorous than before.

Because they were nobles who moved according to profit, they quickly put on masks and became close to the count’s family again.

The count’s son went to the gambling hall and spent money lavishly, and the daughter talked to gentlemen while wearing the most splendid dress.

The count did no less, rather more. While planning a banquet, he invited influential acquaintances and boasted about the luxury goods he received from the Antler Guild.

In fact, the count had little money left. The money sent by Mercedes was not even enough to pay the monthly salary of the private soldiers, and he had to sell one of the luxury goods.

Only then could he re-enter the social circles. And then, if he started a business, he would somehow be able to regain his wealth.

If he lacked money, he could request it from Mercedes again. This amount of money would not be much for the emperor of Lum.

Wasn’t his youngest daughter’s fame more intense than anyone else’s in Shame?

The Count Cromwell, who had been ruined because of his youngest daughter, has made a comeback thanks to his youngest daughter!

It was truly a strange thing. The woman who should have been executed as a deposed empress was now the first empress of Lum. Moreover, judging by the behavior of the count’s family members, the support she was sending seemed to be considerable.

Unlike the daughter who had tried to ruin the family.

Anyway, the count eventually succeeded in regaining his position in social circles.

And the king…… upon hearing such news, had to swallow his anger. Fortunately, there were no rumors about Richard’s illegitimate child. He couldn’t recklessly make a move for fear that the count might reveal it at any time.

But the king was not one to sit still like this either.

The king could not leave Count Cromwell alone. At the very least, he had to do what he was told to do, right? His daughter killed the heir to the throne.

So for now, the king pressured the count by moving up the territorial war plan that he had been halfheartedly provoking and dragging on.

‘Go down to the territory right now and prepare for the territorial war. The opponent is not simple.’

He deliberately gave a tight schedule to suppress the count.

The count inwardly ridiculed the king, thinking of the existence of the illegitimate child and Richard’s pendant, but he obeyed the order.

After Bruno arrived, the military discipline of the private soldiers had been quite established…… Perhaps after fighting the territorial war, his position would rise even higher. He just expected it to be so. It was also thanks to Bruno, who came to the count and confidently said that the private soldiers were quite skilled.

‘Your private soldiers, Count, simply did not receive proper training. Now, they may be comparable to any knight order, no, in fact, they may even be comparable to the knight order of His Majesty the Emperor where I stayed.’

The count, who knew nothing about war or martial arts, firmly believed Bruno’s words, which he uttered with an expressionless face.

It was also more trustworthy because he was not someone who readily gave out compliments.

Like that……

The movement of the private soldiers of the Count Cromwell family suddenly began.

“Damn it. There was no mention of starting this suddenly.”

He knew that the territorial war was just around the corner, but he didn’t expect it to be this abrupt.

At the very least, he thought there would be time to carefully check the supplies and equipment and hold a proper departure ceremony even within the count’s family.

And he expected to go down with the count.

But the king suddenly acted on a whim and ordered them to go down immediately, and Count Cromwell seemed to have no intention of coming out of the count’s residence in the capital.

He just solemnly gave orders to Bruno and the one with the title of captain of the private soldiers, and then hid in his house.

The count was not a martial artist and could not directly participate in the territorial war and lead the soldiers.

However, even if he couldn’t participate, as the master, he should have at least encouraged them and left for the territory together.

Also, he should have gone to the lord’s castle to take care of their accommodation and meals.

That was what the ‘lord’ was supposed to do in a typical territorial war or battle.

When the royal family’s hands were precious, the vassals took the initiative to advise them to take care of their bodies, but the count was not royalty and had a son. Nevertheless, he remained in the town house in the capital. Cowardly.

‘No matter how much of a martial artist one is, even if one has pledged allegiance to the lord.’

‘There is nothing more futile than dying under a lord who does not acknowledge one’s death with honor.’

‘So it’s okay to run away in the face of death.’

Was that why?

The private soldiers, who should have departed with dignity, were being driven out of the count’s residence with only the minimum support funds, recalling the words of Bruno who had taught them.