Lea planned to search for the love letter when she returned to the duke’s residence.

It wasn’t out of simple jealousy or curiosity, but because she wanted to understand the psychology of various people as she was doing business dealing with women.

‘What difference would it make if I check?’

As she felt the warm touch of Terran’s hand in hers, she thought it was all pointless.

‘Unnecessary suspicion.’

Did she ever expect Allen to betray her like that? She didn’t even notice his relationship with Sara.

‘This isn’t a relationship to be anxious about over one love letter.’

If it’s a fate meant to break, no amount of effort can bring it back. But on the other hand, she agreed with Teresa’s words.

[My lady, love has an expiration date, and men are bound to change. That’s why you don’t need to give your whole heart.]

It’s not entirely wrong. But Teresa overlooked the fact that human emotions can’t be controlled at will. If we could give more or less, no one would get hurt by love.

‘I was the one who fell for false love.’

Lea might have seemed naive in Teresa’s eyes, but in reality, she was the one who knew the truth and falsehood of love better than anyone.

‘That’s human nature, craving for love even after being hurt.’

Lea looked up at Terran with a gentle smile. A man who pours out blind love without any conditions.

‘I don’t want to go through that again.’

Because Terran is clearly different from Allen.

‘I’ll trust Terran.’

It wasn’t an easy decision for her, so she didn’t intend to torment herself with unnecessary doubts. Still, she felt like teasing a bit.

“Terran, you’ll change too, won’t you? What if you get bored of me someday?”

“Are you bored?”

“Pardon?”

“That’s a useless question.”

She momentarily forgot that he was a man who didn’t understand jokes at all.

Lea laughed it off awkwardly. She only embarrassed herself by saying unnecessary things.

“I searched for you a lot.”

His indifferent tone seemed to be asking her to understand his feelings.

“Ah, I was resting in the ladies’ lounge. I was tired.”

“The lounge!”

Terran was so surprised that he hit his forehead with his hand. He should have come to parties more often.

While men usually go outside to smoke when tired from partying, they rarely went to the lounge. Even if they did, it was mostly occupied by elderly nobles with leg or back problems.

“How was the party today?”

“Well, I didn’t expect much, but it was quite an enjoyable party.”

“Nothing else?”

“I realized something anew.”

“What did you realize?”

“Even when I’m with Grace, I’m always looking for you.”

“!?”

Lea was at a loss for words. Although she didn’t hide on purpose, she felt sorry for Terran. Instead, she took his hand and kissed the back of it.

“It was worth whining about.”

Terran smiled, showing his white teeth, seemingly quite satisfied.

Meanwhile, Lea wanted to ask him a bit more while on the subject.

“Terran, what do you think if I can’t have children?”

“Why are you suddenly asking such a thing? That’s not possible.”

“I have a weak body. I might not be able to bear children.”

She repeated to Terran what Emily and Royce had said.

“I don’t want to imagine misfortunes that haven’t happened. I’ve done enough of that already.”

Lea realized her mistake at Terran’s answer. Until recently, Terran had been struggling with guilt towards Aiden and the scars of war.

‘I shouldn’t bring up his wounds.’

“I’m sorry. Please pretend you didn’t hear that.”

Lea answered with an exaggerated laugh. As if it was nothing. But there was one thing she wanted to tell him.

“I hope your feelings for me don’t cool down. So that I can stay by your side for a long time.”

Terran stopped walking and looked at Lea. He raised one hand and caressed her face.

“You should be precise with your words. Not ‘for a long time,’ but ‘forever.'”

“I want to be by Terran’s side forever. Do you feel the same?”

Terran was concerned that her eyes seemed to be wavering with anxiety today.

Was there something he didn’t know? But human emotions were truly fickle. While he was worried about her, he also felt good.

‘Your cute wish, it’s not bad.’

* * *

After returning to the duke’s residence, Terran had contact with many people. Seeing Allen and the Minister of Foreign Affairs interact at Bellis’s party made him think deeply.

‘How should I put you down so that you won’t have any foolish thoughts about Grace?’

He pondered deeply for several days. It was true that Bertan, across the sea in the Eastern Continent, was a place where civilization’s progress was slower.

However, he had heard that it had a long history and culture, and was rich in resources.

Knock knock, at the sound of knocking, Terran immediately put aside his thoughts.

“My lord, Viscount Martainpolo has arrived.”

James brought the guest Terran had been eagerly waiting for to the reception room.

“Duke Courtois, how many years has it been?”

As Viscount Martainpolo, who was nearing middle age, greeted him warmly, Terran immediately offered a handshake.

For a while, the two were busy asking about each other’s well-being.

Soon, a friendly and pleasant conversation ensued. Terran spoke to James, who had just entered with tea.

“James, join the conversation with Luke. I can’t be the only one to hear the Viscount’s adventure stories.”

“Understood, My Lord.”

James happily went to fetch Luke.

Terran had met with various people to learn about the situation in Bertan in the Eastern Continent. But in his opinion, no one knew about the unknown world as well as an explorer.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs or people from trading companies might have a lot of information, but they don’t travel throughout the continent like an explorer.

He had heard that Martainpolo didn’t hesitate to explore even the remote areas of Bertan.

“Now that everyone’s here, shall we start the story?”

Martainpolo cleared his throat as James and Luke took their seats. He unfolded his experiences in Bertan as if presenting a grand tale of heroism.

Terran, James, and Luke listened to his exploration stories with great interest.

“Viscount, is it true that the Emperor of Bertan wants to lay railways?”

Terran asked the question he was particularly curious about.

“That’s right. But it’s not an easy task.”

“Why is that? People here think Bertan is a goose that lays golden eggs because the imperial family is overflowing with money.”

He asked exactly what Allen and the Minister of Foreign Affairs had discussed.

“Hmm, if it were me, I wouldn’t invest. Bertan also has ideological conflicts, so before long, imperial power will collapse and civil war will break out.”

“Oh! Civil war… Is this official information?”

“No, it’s not. What would those who only stay in the Bertan capital know? Moreover, merchants who only buy what they want are just as ignorant.”

Martainpolo refuted that Bertan was not a goose that laid golden eggs. He even asked who would they get money from if they laid railways only for the imperial power to collapse.

“James, bring it.”

“Yes.”

At Terran’s instruction, James took out a piece of paper from his desk drawer.

“Give it to the Viscount.”

“What is this?”

The Viscount was startled when he saw the check James handed him.

“You need money for exploration, don’t you? I want to actively support Viscount Martainpolo’s explorations.”

“But such a large sum…!”

He was well aware that Duke Courtois possessed astronomical wealth. Still, it was too much money to accept as sponsorship.

“It will be fine if the Viscount grants me a few favors.”

Terran laughed heartily, trying to ease the Viscount’s burden. Soon, Terran and Martainpolo had an intimate conversation with their foreheads almost touching.

“My Lord, what should we do now?”

After Viscount Martainpolo left, James and Luke asked Terran.

“First, you two have a conversation and leak information. To the employees who are likely to act as spies.”

“You mean that you’re contacting imperial officials to invest in the Bertan railway project?”

Luke summarized concisely.

“That’s right. Also spread a plausible rumor that a certain prince of Bertan will soon ascend to the throne.”

“That’s a good idea. This way, we can find out who’s acting as a spy in the duke’s residence.”

James agreed. It had been quite challenging to manage with so many employees.

“Still, we won’t be able to completely prevent spies.”

With monthly turnover and hiring, there were limits to how thoroughly they could investigate everyone’s background.

Moreover, what Terran wanted wasn’t for the spies to disappear.

“They need to experience firsthand that high-level information can sometimes be poison.”

Allen needed to realize that Richard Hamilton didn’t build his trading company by mere chance.

He might have succeeded in taking someone else’s wealth, but maintaining and growing it is absolutely not an easy task.

‘I need to put you down, so you won’t do anything foolish.’

* * *

Lea enjoyed tea and snacks with Pauline and Chainer for the first time in a while. It seemed to be the first time since returning from Bellis.

As a result, Vivian had achieved great success and elevated the empire’s status. The riding clothes were also advertised in daily newspapers, with orders pouring in from all over Lubeck.

Of course, there were many customers who ordered by mail from abroad, but those were put on hold for now.

“Is the workshop doing well, Pauline?”

“Yes… It’s going very well.”

Pauline’s face turned as red as a tomato just from being asked about the workshop.

“Sister Pauline, you’re all lovey-dovey with Tom, aren’t you?”

“Hey! Chainer! I told you it was a secret for now!”

It seems several things had happened at the workshop while she was away.

Chainer and Pauline bickered, and Lea was sweating trying to stop them. Just then, a maid rushed in urgently.

“Miss, a guest has arrived. She said you’d know if I mentioned Countess Armand.”

“Countess Armand is here?”

As Lea stood up, Chainer and Pauline automatically followed behind her.

Lea hurried towards the first-floor lobby.

‘It’s true.’

Countess Armand was standing in the lobby with a large trunk. When she saw Lea, she ran over crying and hugged her.

“Miss Bizac, what should I do now?”

Countess Armand cried sorrowfully while embracing Lea.

Even when Lea asked repeatedly what had happened, she couldn’t answer properly because she was crying so much.

“Ah! That auntie is in big trouble, isn’t she?”

Chainer said something strange upon seeing Countess Armand. Of course, Pauline immediately covered Chainer’s mouth, avoiding an awkward situation.

“I… I’ve been divorced.”

The words Countess Armand finally managed to say through her tears were a great shock.