Aden, who greeted an earlier morning than usual, made thorough preparations.

Yesterday was already a tiring schedule, but today an even more demanding one awaited.

Beressa, who had heard the news, came to see off Aden who had finished preparing.

“I hear you’re going to Frost Pass?”

Aden, who was feeding sugar cubes to the horse brought by the coachman, nodded briefly.

While the Send Plateau, where the Kan tribe had settled, was relatively mild even in winter, Frost Pass was famous for being colder than anywhere else in the empire.

It was a place covered in snow for half the year.

If possible, he wanted to send someone else, but as it was an important task, there was no one to replace him.

At best, the only one who came to mind was Beressa. As Aden continued his thoughts, he turned his head.

“By the way, didn’t you tell Ludmila Perez Erdi who you are?”

Beressa, who was standing leaning slightly against a pillar, opened her eyes wide and shook her head.

Surprised by her answer, Aden suppressed a laugh. That meticulous woman didn’t even ask about the identity of the person she was building a relationship with?

“I was going to tell her, but she said there was no need to hear it. What was it she said? That as long as I keep the contract I made with her, it doesn’t matter who I am?”

What a strange woman.

She didn’t seem careless enough to form some kind of relationship with someone whose identity wasn’t certain.

As such thoughts chased each other, when the red eyes came to mind, Aden recalled the eyes that had faced him last evening.

Seeing Ludmila Perez Erdi off to the door last night was a mere whim.

It might not have been necessary, but he had shown unnecessary consideration because she kept watching his reactions.

He didn’t like the sight of her closing her mouth, watching his reaction even for simple words. Thinking differently, it was also a signal he was sending.

A simple, whimsical signal to speak more comfortably about such things in the future. Whether this stubbornly proper woman would understand it was questionable.

A thin smile played on his lips as if he still found it absurd. It wasn’t bad.

It was proof that she valued the contract with him. He could glimpse how sincere Ludmila Perez Erdi was.

But at the same time, it also meant that Ludmila Perez Erdi wasn’t getting attached to this place.

“By the way, Aden.”

Aden, who had been stroking the horse’s mane, turned his gaze to the voice breaking his reverie. Beressa approached him and crossed her arms, facing him.

“I heard you moved the painting supplies to the third-floor study.”

“They were going to be thrown away anyway, but it seems they found an owner just in time, so I moved them.”

“That’s not what I’m asking about…”

Beressa hesitated, biting her lip, then carefully raised her eyes.

“The servants are confused. The merchant from the capital who came as your guest is showing behavior unbefitting a trader, and you’re being so attentive to such a person.”

When the same words Salom had spoken came out of Beressa’s mouth, a laugh escaped between Aden’s lips.

“There are rumors that she might be the Duke’s mistress. Wouldn’t it be better to be careful?”

“Careful?”

Beressa took a step closer to Aden, who had furrowed his brow, and let out a small breath at a distance where surrounding noise couldn’t penetrate.

“…Ludmila Perez Erdi is leaving in four months. What’s left behind after that is us. What if, by chance, that rumor reaches the ears of her husband in the empire through merchants who come and go here?”

“…”

“The person who left might not care, but we do, right? I hear Ludmila Perez Erdi’s husband is quite high-ranking. If problems arise because of that rumor, it’s none other than you, Aden. You could be in trouble. So…”

“Beressa.”

Aden calmly cut off her continuing voice and grasped her shoulders, slowly pushing her back. As space opened between them, the incoming wind lightly shook Aden’s hair. The golden eyes meeting the shaking eyes were tinged with calmness.

“I understand what you’re saying, but it’s unnecessary worry. Rumors are just rumors. Moreover, treating guests with utmost hospitality is a long-standing tradition passed down from previous generations. Make sure to keep the servants’ mouths shut so no unnecessary talk spreads further.”

“But…!”

Beressa quickly opened her mouth at Aden’s voice drawing a cold line, but couldn’t continue her words at the sight of him firmly shaking his head.

Just then, Salom approached with a simple meal to be loaded on the saddle and Aden’s coat. Aden exchanged greetings with Salom with a brief nod and put on his coat.

“…Take care.”

With a final look at Beressa sighing, Aden mounted the saddle.

Watching the lead riders begin to move, Aden also shook his reins.

As the horse moved, the wind brushed past. Aden quickly left the ramparts behind and caught up with the rear of the group riding at the front.

The sun, fully risen in the east, scattered its rays. Aden frowned at the brilliant light pouring from the front and bit his lip.

Ludmila Perez Erdi.

Somehow, her name had become both the end and beginning of his days.

Though it hadn’t been long since she came here, all attention within the castle was focused on her.

Of course, he didn’t intend to deny that his own actions had contributed to this.

It was natural for various rumors to circulate since he, needing an heir, still had no partner.

However, Ludmila Perez Erdi shouldn’t be that partner. She was a woman trying hard to maintain boundaries.

He also knew that those boundaries didn’t apply only to Ludmila Perez Erdi.

The only difference was that while Ludmila Perez Erdi desperately tried not to cross that line as if it were her lifeline, he could trample and enter it at will if he so desired.

Of course, he had not the slightest intention of crossing Ludmila Perez Erdi’s boundaries, if only because he disliked the world’s evaluation of them as barbarians towards the Kan tribe and scoundrels who knew no honor.

It was also natural that trust, anxiety, worry, and fear were mixed in the trust Ludmila Perez Erdi showed him.

Though she seemed to act calmly as if nothing was wrong, she was still adhering to her fierce survival method of bowing her head and abandoning her pride to survive.

That method, so desperate it felt noble, colored Aden.

Whether positive or negative, it influenced his decisions and actions.

As if giving her a ring to tell her not to do so had been meaningless.

Aden, continuing his thoughts, twisted the corner of his mouth in frustration. He strongly whipped the reins he was holding.

The startled horse accelerated, instantly dashing to the front. The surprised riders likewise increased their speed, following Aden who was riding roughly as if to leave them behind.

It was half a day to Frost Pass. If they rode at this speed, it would be problematic, but Aden kept whipping the reins as if even that didn’t matter.

No emotion remained on his face, which had been lost in thought just moments ago.

Only the roughly carved road was reflected in his eyes.

Ludmila Perez Erdi heard the news of Aden’s departure during mealtime.

As he was leaving earlier than usual, she worried upon hearing he had left without eating, but Beressa comforted her, saying not to worry.

However, hearing that he might not return today, she couldn’t help but be concerned, recalling Aden’s expression in front of her room last night.

After the meal, Ludmila Perez Erdi had a brief conversation with the timber export manager Aden had called for her.

With nothing else to do afterwards, she holed up in the third-floor study.

The castle was quiet with both Beressa and Aden out.

It was a peaceful day, except for nodding in agreement when butler Salom asked if she would eat lunch there.

She painted, took a walk, then painted again.

Though a monotonous routine, the stability it brought pushed away her anxiety.

She knew well that all this was possible thanks to Aden’s consideration. That’s why she was making her utmost effort to fulfill her duty.

“…”

Strangely, Aden didn’t seem too pleased about that. Resuming her paused brush, Ludmila Perez Erdi focused again on painting.

Though a hobby she had long abandoned, there was once a time when she was quite serious about it.

Of course, she had faced all sorts of interference and mockery, being told what painting was for an illegitimate child. Still, the joyful memories of painting remained in her mind.

Warm weather and gentle wind. Her nanny smiling with her back to the wind and…

‘…Ludmila!’

A small… boy.

“…Who was it?”

Ludmila Perez Erdi’s hand stopped at the boy’s voice that echoed in her mind.

It was difficult to recall memories buried under long years.

Even furrowing her brow and tilting her head, nothing came to mind.

Surely, a boy’s voice had seemed to ring in her head. Putting down the brush she was holding, Ludmila Perez Erdi stood up and went to the window.

A mild wind blew, different from the capital despite it being winter.

As she was pushing away the stuffiness by gently closing her eyes, a clattering sound was heard from afar.

Opening her eyes to look, there was an elegant carriage approaching.

Ludmila Perez Erdi watched until the carriage passed through the castle entrance and reached the main gate, disappearing from view, then slightly tilted her head.

Perhaps a guest was coming.

As it couldn’t possibly be her guest, she closed the window and sat back down in front of her painting, picking up her brush.

It was then that the silence of the quiet room was broken. Calmly responding to the knock, the door opened and Salom entered, bowing his head.

“Lady Ludmila Perez Erdi. A guest has arrived.”

“…A guest?”

Could that carriage have been her husband’s? As the surprised Ludmila Perez Erdi rose from her seat, Salom looked at her and calmly spoke.

“It is Viscount Kurto Benar.”

Honestly, Ludmila Perez Erdi didn’t want to respond to that call.

It was partly because she was concerned about what Aden and Beressa had said, and she judged there was great risk in meeting someone new in a place where the two were absent.

But hiding outright wasn’t the answer either, and she judged that if she refused the call of a man influential enough for the two to mention, it could cause problems for Aden.

Thinking about how that might affect her, she had no choice but to respond, even if she disliked it.

When she opened the door with a knock, the bald old man sitting askew in the Chesterfield chair stood up.

As soon as he saw Ludmila Perez Erdi, his eyes flashed and he grinned.

“Oh, are you the one? I heard you were quite a beauty, and it’s true indeed.”

Ludmila Perez Erdi’s brow furrowed at his words and actions that didn’t hide his true intentions from the moment he saw her.

It was a manner of speech and behavior she had never heard anywhere in the capital.

She had thought he would be someone who knew manners, being a well-known wealthy nobleman in the area.

Revising her thoughts, Ludmila Perez Erdi gave a minimal bow of courtesy.

“I heard you were looking for me. Perhaps it’s about trade or business?”

Ludmila Perez Erdi thoroughly hid her original identity and presented herself as a merchant.

It was to avoid unnecessary speculation, but Kurto seemed uninterested even in that, just staring fixedly at Ludmila Perez Erdi’s face and grinning.

Sensing a strange ominousness in that appearance, Ludmila Perez Erdi scanned her surroundings.

Soldiers spread around the spacious reception room. And one unpleasant old man.

“Come now, let’s not talk about such stuffy matters, just sit down first.”

“Pardon? Ah, wait…”

“Hurry.”

The old man pulled Ludmila Perez Erdi and forcibly sat her in a chair, then took a seat opposite her.

Kurto scrutinized her thoroughly with a sticky gaze.

Ludmila Perez Erdi bit her lip hard at the shame of feeling stripped naked, but tried not to show it.

She thought if she endured for a moment, it would pass.

“Now, first pour me a drink.”

“…Pardon?”

But when he held out an arrogant wine glass and jerked his chin,

“As they say, drinks taste best when poured by a woman. Let’s have a taste first.”