He said as he closed the door that was still open. Only then did Adelheid come to her senses and gently put down the books she had been holding in her arms. Her emerald green eyes, which had been sparkling with excitement, quickly calmed down. She said:

“I wanted to finish the conversation we couldn’t complete this morning. According to the terms of the contract we made yesterday, I bet ‘everything’ of mine as payment.”

“That’s, right.”

“Then when exactly will I have to pay that price? Is it the moment Your Highness’s wish is fulfilled, or after I die…?”

“Die?”

Valentin’s eyes immediately narrowed. Adelheid timidly replied:

“What I mean is, is only my physical body in this life the payment, or is my soul included as well? If my soul is also part of the payment… forgive my impudence, but I was wondering if I could live my life until I die… That’s what I wanted to know.”

He opened his eyes wide as if finding her answer amusing, then soon began to giggle. Although Valentin was becoming more and more human with each passing minute and second, his laughter still sounded eerily inhuman.

“Adelheid. Your soul… is indeed tempting… but if it were something I could… trade for just because I wanted it… I would have done so already.”

“Um, does that mean…”

“Even as payment for the contract… I can’t forcibly subjugate your soul.”

Adelheid, who had been puzzled by the unexpected answer, felt a little joy. It felt like a ray of hope had sprouted in a future that had been riddled with terrible predictions. If his words were true, it seemed that the ‘everything’ she had to bear would end in this life.

Not being dragged to hell or a demon’s lair after death, enduring endless suffering for eternity with her soul.

“Don’t, be too relieved. I’m feeling… a little mischievous.”

Valentin grumbled as he saw Adelheid regain her vitality.

“Was that, all you wanted, to ask?”

“Ah.”

Adelheid let out a short exclamation as if she had completely forgotten, then quickly continued:

“There’s one more thing I need to tell you. Soon, the Emperor will be sending an envoy. It seems there will be a victory celebration held in Nordhofen to commemorate the triumph. You, as the Commander-in-Chief, must attend. Um, there’s one thing I’m worried about…”

“Tell me, what you’re, worried about.”

“I heard news that His Highness the Crown Prince seems to have joined hands with Duke Oscar.”

“Oscar? Ah…”

Valentin stroked his chin and lips as if thinking, ‘Oh, there was such a person.’ Adelheid added a bit more explanation:

“If that’s true, then from the beginning, the Crown Prince must have summoned you with a plan in mind. If you act even a little carelessly at this victory celebration, he will immediately try to revoke Your Highness’s right of succession to the throne. By claiming that Your Highness’s mind is not sound.”

“And, so?”

Valentin tilted his head and asked back. His face showed no understanding of the seriousness of this situation at all. Well, it would have been even more unbelievable if a demon ‘shadow’ knew all the ways of humans.

Adelheid calmly added:

“If that really happens, it will be difficult to even maintain the title of Grand Duke of Ansgar.”

“Ah.”

“So, for at least the next ten days, you must practice etiquette and speech as much as possible.”

Adelheid glanced at Valentin’s face.

“It’s fine if your speech is somewhat clumsy, but your etiquette is still poor. Can you read the Grand Duke’s memories?”

“Some things I remember… but others are, blurry.”

“I can teach you a few protocols used when meeting the Emperor right away. The problem is our budget.”

“Budget?”

“The nobles in the capital follow the latest fashion in clothing. Your Highness has been on the battlefield, so you probably have few suitable formal attires. It will cost a lot just to have new formal wear made and to maintain the carriage.”

“Hmm.”

“Of course, it’s fine to attend as you are now. But I think it would be better to have new formal wear made even if it’s a strain. That way, the nobles won’t look down on Ansgar. Even if there are some shortcomings in Your Highness’s etiquette. If we use some of the spoils of war we’ve acquired, I think we can manage that much.”

Adelheid felt strange that she was talking so comfortably with someone about money matters.

Until then, she had felt as if all of Ansgar Castle’s poverty was her fault. Whenever she heard that there wasn’t enough firewood for winter, or that they had barely managed to procure fabric, or that repairs to the old tower had been delayed due to lack of funds, she felt as if she were a criminal.

This was because she knew that most of Ansgar’s household had been scraped together to marry ‘the daughter of Reichenau’. But while ‘Valentin’ looked like her husband on the outside, he was a demon on the inside, not human.

How precious it is to have someone who accepts you as you are without prejudice! It was amazing how reassuring it felt just to have someone by her side who listened attentively to her words.

‘It’s fortunate that it’s him who’s inhabiting my husband’s body.’

Adelheid thought with a sigh of relief, then was startled by herself for considering him a stroke of luck. It was incredibly surprising to realize how much familiarity she had developed towards him in just half a day.

‘Is this the effect of the contract as you said? Certainly, the atmosphere has changed from before. Before, even when you were present, you didn’t seem human, but now you’re starting to feel like a real person…’

Adelheid glanced at Valentin’s neat face with uneasy eyes.

Is it okay to trust him this much? Is it okay to ignore all the detailed legends about the ‘shadow’? To disregard the numerous records passed down about how cunning, wicked, and vicious he is?

‘But this life has already become irreversible anyway. At the very least, he won’t be able to harm people because of the contract.’

If all those things related to the contract were all lies.

A sudden thought sent chills through her entire body. If that were really the case, there would be nothing that could stop Valentin.

He was the foretold calamity of Ansgar, the end of the North. Nothing more, nothing less. It was impossible for mere human strength to prevent such a grand fate from befalling.

Adelheid’s fist clenched slightly.

“Adelheid. What are you, thinking about so… intently?”

At Valentin’s call, Adelheid suddenly raised her head. Realizing that she had been lost in thought for a while in front of him, Adelheid turned pale in an instant.

That habit was one of the things Count Reichenau despised the most. Fortunately, Valentin didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.

She looked around nervously and hastily continued:

“I’ll discuss the budget related to what I mentioned with the steward and try to use as little as possible.”

“You can use… as much money as you want. Do whatever, you want.”

Use as much as you want? Adelheid’s eyes widened. Does he not know about Ansgar’s financial situation yet? Maybe being a demon, he was unfamiliar with human concepts related to money. Just like she had been during her days as the ‘second young lady’ of Reichenau…

“Adelheid.”

As if he had clearly guessed her thoughts, Valentin burst into laughter. Already, a warmth closer to human could be felt. He grabbed both of Adelheid’s cheeks as if finding her cute. Her soft cheeks were slightly squished within his large palms.

“You don’t, know… how much treasure a dragon, has, do you?”

“What?”

Her voice came out a bit muffled due to her squeezed cheeks.

“Not just Adelheid… I could feed all of Vitzleben, for thousands of years.”

“Thousands of years?”

“I could even buy, an empire… and make Adelheid an empress. I can’t burn down, the capital… because Adelheid wouldn’t, like that.”

“Em-Empress? Burn down the capital?”

It was Adelheid who was more shocked by Valentin’s calm words.

“You’re not serious, are you?”

“Why?”

“I, I’ve never even thought of such things. Such, such disloyal thoughts, truly never even once…”

“Really?”

Valentin narrowed his eyes as if finding it hard to believe. Adelheid nodded her head vigorously with her eyes wide open, as if begging him to believe her. She was afraid someone might overhear and misunderstand. She glanced unnecessarily at the well-closed door.

Valentin grabbed Adelheid’s chin and turned her gaze back to him.

“But your husband, said he wanted to become… the greatest. If I rise high… it means you who are, beside me will too.”

He took a deep breath in the middle as if it was difficult.

“That means, you’ll rise to that position, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“At least, while I’m in this body, Adelheid, must be by my side. Because you’re, my wife.”

Adelheid couldn’t hide her shock at those words.

She thought that the ambition of the ‘Grand Duke’ was just to take good care of Ansgar Castle, build up a good reputation among the people of Ansgar, and win a few more wars. Did she make the mistake of judging too lightly from the start? Was the ‘Grand Duke’s’ ideal much higher than that?

Above all, Valentin’s words sounded as if he was seriously aiming for the imperial succession.

‘That’s… too dangerous.’

Adelheid realized the identity of the vague fear she had been feeling. The very fact that she had to be away from the North with Valentin for a long time was a great burden.

The Empire was always teeming with wise men from all over the world, each one great enough to see through the identity of a ‘shadow’. What if they noticed Valentin’s true identity? What if she too was accused of being a witch?

‘If we do something so reckless without knowing our place, we might really die.’

The loud sound of her heart pounding with tension rang in her ears.

Valentin burst into laughter at Adelheid’s pale face. Thanks to him bending his waist, their gazes were now level. He said:

“Don’t, be afraid.”