As much as I hoped it wouldn’t be, it’s this woman again. Lily put down the envelope on her dressing table without even opening it.

It had been three days since the Countess sent the letter. Even though she had firmly refused at that time, and one would think she’d give up if there was no reply, she kept sending letters steadily. Like someone begging for their request to be heard just once.

“Anyway, the Viscountess will have no choice but to accept my request.”

Why did she say such a thing then, when she’s this desperate now? Lily wondered if Countess Baliman was simply putting on a brave front, or if she really had something to believe in.

Perhaps the answer was in the letter the Countess sent, but Lily hadn’t read it. She was afraid that if she read it, her resolve not to help her might waver.

“…”

So, ignoring the letter and preparing to go out, Lily checked the rude uninvited guest through the dressing table mirror when the door opened without a knock.

“Is that true?”

It was Fredrick. But what he said out of the blue after returning in three days was strange. Lily put down the comb she was using to brush her hair and turned to face him.

“What are you saying is true?”

“That Countess Baliman came here to meet you.”

At the mention of that woman, Lily unconsciously glanced at the envelope she had placed on the dressing table.

Realizing her mistake belatedly, she quickly averted her gaze, but it was after Fredrick had already caught her suspicious look.

Fredrick strode to the dressing table, boldly tore open the envelope, and began reading the letter inside.

Even if it was an unwelcome letter, it was extremely unpleasant for someone else to read a letter addressed to her without permission. Lily frowned and retrieved the letter Fredrick had taken.

“It’s very rude to read someone else’s letter without permission. And it’s also rude to barge into a room without knocking.”

When she pointed out his mistakes, Fredrick smirked and shrugged.

“Is that so? I didn’t know. Unlike you, who was born a noble, I’m a commoner, so I didn’t receive separate etiquette education.”

“…”

Is he still harping on about asking Samantha if he lacked manners because he was a commoner? Besides, this was basic courtesy that anyone would know without special education.

Lily let out a hollow laugh, finding his sarcastic remark absurd. But Fredrick, undeterred, asked:

“Was the reason that woman came to see you to ask for help in expanding her business to the Kingdom of Herta? To translate Garta language?”

Fredrick had only looked at the letter for about a minute. Lily was amazed that he had skimmed so much information in such a short time and put the Countess’s letter in the dressing table drawer.

“That’s right. But I’ve already refused.”

“Why did you refuse?”

“… Are you genuinely asking because you don’t know the reason?”

“I’m asking because I don’t know. Why would I ask if I knew?”

How can he be so brazen? Lily was dumbfounded, but thinking that someone as insensitive as Fredrick might actually be capable of this, she explained calmly.

“Countess Baliman is a woman you rolled in bed with. And that too… on our wedding night.”

Even though a year had passed, the miserable and devastating emotions she felt that day were as vivid as if it were yesterday. It was a day when her dreams and self-esteem were completely trampled, plunging her into a deep mire, so she couldn’t forget even if she tried.

“How could I possibly help the Countess?”

“The compensation isn’t lacking, and you refused for just such a reason?”

Just such a reason? Lily was speechless at this unexpected nonsense and closed her mouth.

Fredrick looked at Lily with disapproving eyes, then took out the Countess’s letter from the dressing table drawer and started reading it again.

He was doing this again even though she had just told him it was rude to read someone else’s letter without permission.

Lily sneered, realizing how little Fredrick thought of her.

Finally, after finishing the letter, Fredrick said:

“I was just wondering how to make connections after hearing that the Baliman County was expanding their business, and this is perfect timing. Tell the Countess you’ll help her, but ask for exclusive shipping rights for my husband’s trading company as compensation instead of money.”

“… Are you serious?”

“Of course. I’m not so leisurely as to joke about something like this.”

That was the bigger problem. Even if it helps the business, to work under someone who had an affair with his wife. She knew Fredrick often acted outside the norm, but she didn’t know he was this insensitive.

“Write to the Countess immediately and tell her you’ll accept her proposal, wife.”

“I refuse.”

When Lily firmly refused, deep wrinkles formed between Fredrick’s brows.

“Did you not understand what I meant?”

Lily didn’t answer, but Fredrick, taking it as affirmation, sighed deeply and began explaining how beneficial it would be for his trading company to secure the distribution rights for the business that the Baliman family was trying to expand.

Lily knew nothing about business, so she didn’t fully understand everything he said, but she could tell that getting shipping rights was much more profitable than simply receiving money.

“Do you understand a little better now?”

“Yes. But I still won’t do it.”

However, that profit was limited to Fredrick. As he said, working with Countess Baliman would not earn her a single penny, and she would lose her last shred of dignity, so Lily didn’t change her decision until the end.

“You say you understand but won’t do it. Does that make any sense? I really can’t understand your mind.”

“You don’t have to understand.”

Lily didn’t understand Fredrick’s mind either. Of course, she had no intention of trying to understand in the future.

“Is it because it hurts your pride to help Countess Baliman?”

This couldn’t be expressed simply as hurt pride. It was a matter mixed with emotions more miserable than that, so Lily didn’t answer.

Again taking her silence as affirmation, Fredrick said irritably.

“I told you to get rid of useless pride, didn’t I, wife?”

“… You’re calling this useless pride?”

“Isn’t it? I don’t understand why you’re trying to keep your pride when it doesn’t bring in money, and no one even acknowledges it.”

So, you’ve abandoned your pride to be a noblewoman’s mistress?

Lily swallowed the words she couldn’t bring herself to say and picked up her comb. The fact that they were the ones who had done wrong, yet were trying to force her to comply while making her out to be the strange one, was another reason she didn’t want to help them.

“If you have nothing more to say, would you please leave? I need to prepare to go out.”

“Are you going to cling to your useless pride till the end? It would be better not to do so, even for the sake of Lady Grace Benjamin.”

At the mention of her mother, Lily gripped the comb so tightly that her hand turned white. And with a face even paler than that, she glared at Fredrick’s reflection in the mirror.

“Are you going to threaten me with my mother again?”

“Of course not. This isn’t a threat, it’s a request.”

Fredrick continued with his characteristically brazen face.

“My business needs to prosper so that I can continue to pay for Lady Grace Benjamin’s hospital bills. I’m making this request in the hope that you will help too.”

It was just a request in words, but it was no different from a threat. To keep threatening like this after saying he would take responsibility for her mother’s hospital bills if she gave him the Benjamin viscounty. Lily was bewildered and dumbfounded, but she couldn’t refute because those words weren’t wrong in themselves.

“… I’ll think about it.”

For the same reason, Lily couldn’t firmly refuse like before. Although she hadn’t definitely agreed either, Fredrick seemed satisfied with this for now and nodded.

“I hope you’ll think it over carefully and decide, wife.”

Should I really accept Countess Baliman’s request?

Suddenly imagining herself working beside the Countess, Lily squeezed her eyes shut. It was so horrifying that even just imagining it made her feel sick.

“I don’t want to do it.”

To avoid it, she would have to persuade Fredrick, but the problem was that no good method came to mind. After thinking it over carefully, she realized that simply saying she couldn’t do it wouldn’t work. He would surely just criticize her for putting up useless pride again.

It would be fortunate if it ended with criticism; he might even threaten to send her mother to the Kingdom of Whissen like before. Knowing that Fredrick was the type to go beyond threats and actually follow through made her even more afraid.

“What should I do……”

As her worries deepened, Lily let out a deep sigh and leaned her head against the carriage wall. In fact, there was no need to worry about this problem. The answer was already decided. For her mother’s sake, she would abandon her pride and accept Countess Baliman’s proposal. It was a simple problem with only one option, but it wasn’t easy. To Lily, it felt more difficult than any other challenge in the world.

“We’ve arrived at the bookstore, young mistress.”

While she was pondering whether there might be another solution, they had already arrived at their destination. Lily got out of the carriage and stared blankly at the bookstore.

Originally, she had planned to go to the information guild or the employment office to look for well-paying work, but all her plans had been ruined because of Fredrick. There was no reason to go out anymore.

But she didn’t want to be under the same roof as Fredrick, and she also wanted some comfort for her heart, so she came here. For Lily, who had loved books since childhood, places with many books like libraries and bookstores were no different from resting places.

Since I’m here, I might as well buy a book. At the thought of reading a book she liked, Lily’s face, which had been completely gloomy, brightened a little.

Just after Lily entered the bookstore, a black shadow that had been flickering in the alley opposite the bookstore disappeared.