A luxurious carriage left the mansion. The black-bodied, gold-engraved four-horse carriage was so eye-catching that everyone on the street turned to look.

Floyd peeked outside by slightly lifting the curtain and chuckled.

“Well, we’ve succeeded in drawing attention.”

“Rumors will spread quickly that the Duke of Torkan has entered the shopping district in an incredibly splendid carriage.”

“Not alone, but with the Duchess.”

Floyd pulled Roxiana’s hand and kissed the back of it.

His gray eyes glanced up, carefully examining Roxiana’s face as if searching for something, then lowered again. Watching his long eyelashes cast shadows on his eyes, Roxiana swallowed a sigh.

She didn’t want to show her anxiety about not finding Lanian to others.

She didn’t want to become a source of worry for him. Now that she had fallen in love, she wished for at least Floyd to be happy without worries. She didn’t want a relationship where they constantly worried about each other.

She didn’t want to take away his composure and smile, but it pained her to feel like she was becoming poison to him.

Roxiana tried hard to hide her feelings and sat down next to him. As she lightly rested her head on his broad shoulder, he chuckled softly and pulled her shoulder closer, kissing the top of her head.

His hot breath gently dispersed through her hair.

He softly caressed Roxiana’s shoulder with his thumb. The gentle touch was reassuring, making her eyelids heavy.

Since she couldn’t sleep in the carriage, she forced her eyes open and asked.

“Do you think Lucas will be executed?”

“Well, I doubt the black mage left any convincing evidence. If you want to see him executed, we could fabricate some evidence.”

“Is that possible?”

“If we manage to catch a black mage somewhere, anything’s possible.”

Roxiana laughed softly.

“Where would we be lucky enough to catch a black mage? Even the spirits can’t find them.”

“There are quite a few who would run out without sleeping if the Duchess gave the order.”

“Our knights need their rest, so let’s skip that method.”

“How generous of you.”

“Whether Lucas is executed or remains in the palace due to lack of evidence, I don’t think it will greatly affect our plans. Casar is clever, so he’ll likely notice soon and return to Gania.”

“He will. He’s not one to miss a good opportunity.”

“I’m just worried. What if Casar tries to protect his family?”

“If that happens, we’ll change the plan then. It might be a bit troublesome, but it shouldn’t be a big problem.”

When he said it wouldn’t be a problem, she really felt it wouldn’t be.

As they whispered to each other, the carriage arrived at the entrance of the market street. Floyd and Roxiana got out and walked hand in hand down the bustling street.

Unlike yesterday, today they were perfectly dressed as the Duke and Duchess, so people on the street kept glancing at them. Floyd walked happily, smiling brightly as he kissed Roxiana’s hand or pulled her waist close to him.

Roxiana also smiled whenever he did, so people thought:

‘The Duke really seems to cherish the Duchess. The Duchess looks happy.’

‘It must have been hard for her with what happened to her family, but the Duke seems to be a great support.’

Of course, there were some who thought, ‘How heartless. How can she smile because of a man when all her family members have died?’ But it didn’t matter what they thought. The purpose of this walk was for all their actions to reach Lucas and Elise’s ears.

“Isn’t it funny?”

Hexten, who was following the two in his Golden Lion Knights uniform, said in a low voice to Robert, who was walking beside him in the same uniform.

“What is?”

“Our lord acting like that.”

Robert, who didn’t know Floyd well, tilted his head in confusion, and Hexten said as if exasperated:

“If the other guys saw this, they’d find it hilarious.”

“Really?”

“Our lord had zero interest in women, so his enemies even made up a song about it.”

“What song?”

“The Duke of Torkan is a eunuch, they say.”

Robert was startled and covered Hexten’s mouth, checking Floyd’s back.

“What if the Duke hears?”

“So what? We just say he misheard.”

To treat his lord so casually.

Robert was feeling exactly what Roxiana felt when she first tried to adjust to Torkan.

Is this okay? Is that okay? Is it really alright?

Meanwhile, Floyd and Roxiana entered a dress shop together. It was the most famous dress shop in Gania, and there were quite a few customers who had arrived earlier.

Three young ladies around Roxiana’s age and two noble ladies.

They were already talking about the Duke and Duchess who had been causing a stir in the capital lately, and they were shocked into silence by the appearance of the subjects themselves. Unable to even greet the much taller and more handsome Floyd than they had heard, they hesitantly approached and made acquaintance when Roxiana gave them a slight eye-smile.

After brief greetings, Roxiana looked around the shop.

“Is this all the designs you have?”

In response to Roxiana’s question, the shop owner quickly brought a catalog with a gold cover. It was a catalog of the most luxurious and expensive dress designs in this shop.

“We can also make custom designs, or you can refer to these designs here.”

Roxiana sat on the sofa and opened the catalog. Floyd sat close beside her and looked at the catalog together.

It was a very rare sight.

Usually, men weren’t interested in dresses for women to wear, so even if they brought them to such places and paid, they didn’t choose dresses together. It was considered unmanly and impolite behavior.

But now Floyd, who had a more massive and intense impression than any man, was engaging in this ‘unmanly’ behavior, so everyone pretended to choose dresses while sneaking glances at Floyd and Roxiana.

“How about this one?”

“It looks nice. But wouldn’t it be too hot for the current weather?”

“We can wear it in autumn.”

“True. This one looks good too. I think it would suit you well.”

“What about this?”

“That too. Ah, don’t we need this kind of style as well? Hmm. Why don’t we just buy them all? You said you didn’t bring many dresses when you came here, right?”

“That would be convenient, wouldn’t it?”

The customers and clerks held their breath.

Buying all the dresses in the gold catalog? Surely, they must be joking.

But Roxiana called the owner, returned the catalog, and said:

“I’ll take all the dresses in this catalog. Please send them one by one as they’re completed.”

After stunning everyone, Roxiana had her measurements taken by the tailor the owner belatedly called, paid a deposit, and left the shop. This scene was repeated at the jewelry store, shoe store, and hat shop.

The shop owners screamed with joy at earning money in a day that would take years of hard work to make, and the noble customers who witnessed this scene marveled at the enormous wealth of Duke Ratean.

After shocking the market street, they returned to the mansion to find the ordered invitation cards waiting. The white cards were bordered with gold leaf, and the center was engraved with Torkan’s emblem of a tiger and a tree.

Roxiana immediately prepared to write the invitations.

Changing into comfortable clothes and going to the study, Roxiana took out a rolled-up paper from the desk drawer. It contained the names of key figures to be invited to the party.

Floyd, who had also changed into comfortable attire, took a card and started writing the recipient’s name himself, saying:

“I wonder how many of these will actually come?”

“I’ve spread rumors that the Queen has allowed me to hold a party, so those who want to come will do so without hesitation. Those who can’t come due to the Queen’s pressure aren’t needed anyway.”

“What do you think about Viscount Braisa?”

Roxiana stopped her quick-moving quill and pondered for a moment before shaking her head.

“I don’t think he’ll come. He’s probably not in the mood for a party since he hasn’t found any trace of his daughter. I think you should meet him in person.”

“Alright, then I’ll deliver the invitation to the Braisa viscounty myself. What about Elise Hailis? Do you think she’ll come?”

Roxiana was planning to send invitations to the royal palace as well. She had already written those invitations first.

“I’m not sure. I’d like her to come, but I think she probably won’t be able to?”

“True. By now, Lucas must have heard the rumors surrounding her, so it won’t be easy for her to move freely.”

“If Elise was willing to go through with marriage because of her pregnancy, she must have quite a bit of affection for her child… If she’s lucky, the child will take after Lucas, but if not…”

Remembering Elise’s rounded belly, her expression darkened.

“The child will be in danger. I hope Elise can protect that child well.”

The child was innocent, so she hoped it wouldn’t die as soon as it saw the light of the world. To be honest, she even felt like she wanted to help smuggle that child away.

If she hadn’t seen it, she might have been able to be more cold-hearted, but seeing the belly where a new life was growing made her heart soften.

As Roxiana was trying to erase the image of Elise from her mind, the voices of spirits rang in her ears.

−Roxy, Roxy. The king… the wolf, sir. The wolf, I mean. It might be good to release it.

−That wolf is extraordinary. It won’t be attacked by humans.

−That’s right, that’s right. That wolf might accomplish great things.

−The otter too.

−The wolf and the otter should be free.