Jieselgrante turned towards the door in surprise. Soon, Ola’s voice was heard from beyond the door.

“Young lady. It’s me. I heard you just returned home, do you have a moment?”

Jieselgrante had given Lindsey and Ola, who were staying at the Cardia mansion, a few days off.

She thought they needed time to adjust to the changed environment.

The active Lindsey spent time building friendships with the employees, while Ola seemed to spend time quietly alone.

Especially today, being the last day of their vacation, the sisters had said they would go shopping in the bustling area together.

So she thought they would return late.

‘Are they back already?’

Jieselgrante opened the door, feeling a bit puzzled.

However, Lindsey and Ola’s expressions were gloomy when they returned from their outing.

“Can we come in and talk for a moment?”

Jieselgrante nodded at Lindsey’s question and stepped aside slightly from the door.

“Did something happen?”

Lindsey, who had walked into the bedroom, carefully began to speak.

“Well, you see. We heard some strange rumors in the bustling area. I thought it would be better to let you know quickly.”

Walking towards the sofa inside the bedroom, Jieselgrante gestured to the seats opposite.

“Let’s sit down first.”

As Jieselgrante sat on the sofa, Lindsey and Ola sat across from her.

But the two, who seemed about to speak immediately, just looked at each other.

“What’s the matter?”

When Jieselgrante gently urged them, Lindsey finally opened her mouth.

“Do you know someone called the daughter of Marquis Berilston?”

“Ah…”

A small exclamation escaped Jieselgrante’s lips.

‘Come to think of it, I had forgotten.’

She remembered the rumors circulating about marriage talks with Cabelased.

“I remember. But why are you asking if I know the daughter of Marquis Berilston?”

“Aiyoo…”

Lindsey let out a frustrated sigh and patted her chest, and watching this, Ola began to speak.

“While walking through the streets with elder sister today, we saw someone mentioning young lady’s name. We were concerned, so we eavesdropped on what they were saying, and…”

Ola sighed faintly after saying that much. Jieselgrante nodded for her to continue.

“…Well, they were saying that you had broken up the marriage talks between the daughter of Marquis Berilston and Duke Cardia and interfered in the middle? That’s why the two of them broke off their engagement…”

As she spoke, Ola’s voice grew a bit louder, perhaps because she was angry. However, she trailed off, watching Jieselgrante’s reaction.

“Who on earth is spreading such nonsense!”

Lindsey also clenched her fists and huffed, saying she wouldn’t let them off if she met them.

“It’s not entirely wrong. I remember hearing rumors that there were marriage talks between the daughter of Marquis Berilston and Duke Cardia.”

“What?!”

Lindsey and Ola’s mouths fell open simultaneously.

“So, it was true?”

When Jieselgrante nodded slightly, Lindsey and Ola looked at each other with surprised expressions.

“Still, isn’t the intention of bringing up past stories now too transparent?”

“That’s right. The marriage talks between the two ended a long time ago.”

Ola nodded in agreement with Lindsey’s words.

Since news of her engagement to Cabelased had begun to spread, it wasn’t strange for past events to become a topic of conversation.

But seeing Ola and Lindsey so indignant, Jieselgrante was somewhat concerned about what kind of rumors were circulating.

The next day, Pratt from the Radcliffe trading company visited the Cardia mansion.

Thanks to this, Jieselgrante was able to hear about the rumors circulating about her and Cabelased.

“So, that rumor is circulating among the commoners?”

“That’s right.”

At Pratt’s answer, Jieselgrante fell into thought.

‘It’s certainly strange.’

Duke Cabelased Cardia and Lady Jieselgrante Amaterasu were famous figures in the empire, and it wasn’t just the nobility who were interested in news of their engagement.

It was said that the grain from the fertile lands of the Cardia duchy occupied half the empire’s tables, and thanks to its geographical location adjacent to the Solzakai kingdom and the eastern continent, the Amaterasu duchy was flourishing in commerce and trade.

If Duke Amaterasu and Duke Cardia decided to raise prices and profit, it would be entirely possible.

As the actions of the two families directly affected their own lives, both nobles and commoners were highly interested in the engagement of the two.

As such, it was inevitable that various words would circulate.

Usually, rumors spread among the nobility would reach the commoners through the mouths of employees, but this time the order was different.

It seemed the rumors had started circulating mainly among the commoners.

If the rumors had started spreading through the mouths of the nobility, Countess Tarel, Count Frederick, or the daughter of Marquis Howard would have given Jieselgrante a heads up first.

“Pratt, could you find out where this rumor started spreading from?”

“I’ll look into it promptly.”

“I’m counting on you.”

Pratt rose from his seat, bowed deeply to Jieselgrante, and left the reception room.

It was when Jieselgrante took her eyes off Pratt’s retreating back.

Pratt exclaimed in a slightly excited voice.

“Oh! Duke Cardia. It’s an honor to meet you.”

When she turned her head, Cabelased was standing in front of Pratt.

‘Who is this person?’

With just such a glance, Cabelased gestured towards Pratt.

Before Jieselgrante could open her mouth, Pratt answered.

“I apologize for my late introduction. I am operating the Radcliffe trading company under the orders of Lady Amaterasu.”

At Pratt’s words, Jieselgrante pressed her forehead.

‘Ah…’

“Ha…”

On the other hand, a laugh escaped Cabelased’s lips.

“D-Did you not know? I thought you surely knew…”

Finally sensing the strange atmosphere, Pratt looked back and forth between Jieselgrante and Cabelased, trying to gauge the situation.

“If your business is finished, you may leave now. My fiancée and I seem to have urgent matters to discuss.”

Pratt’s face fell as he glanced at Jieselgrante’s face.

As it was already spilled milk that couldn’t be gathered up, Jieselgrante waved her hand, signaling Pratt to leave.

Pratt apologized to Jieselgrante a bit more before finally turning away.

“…”

A shadow fell over Jieselgrante, who was gently pressing her brow while resting her elbow on the sofa armrest.

Jieselgrante only rolled her eyes slightly to look up at Cabelased.

As their gazes met, Cabelased’s eyes curved slightly.

“It’s news to me that the owner of the Radcliffe trading company was my fiancée.”

At his gaze that seemed to demand an explanation, Jieselgrante quickly opened her mouth.

“It’s such a small trading company that I didn’t feel the need to mention it to the Duke.”

“A small trading company…”

Cabelased trailed off, lowering his gaze slightly before meeting her eyes directly again.

“…So that was it. The channel through which you could gather information about the empire while staying quietly in the mansion.”

Trying to hide her startled feelings, Jieselgrante raised the corners of her mouth.

‘He’s always too quick on the uptake.’

Abandoning her attempt to deny it, Jieselgrante decided to admit it honestly.

“That’s right. I wanted to hide my identity if possible.”

Contrary to her expectation that he would ask why she had hidden her identity, Cabelased smiled slightly.

“It was a wise choice, I’d like to commend you.”

As he said this, he sat down beside her. Jieselgrante glanced at Cabelased’s face next to her and opened her mouth.

“I have something I want to ask too. Is it true that there were marriage talks with the daughter of Marquis Berilston before your engagement to me?”

Cabelased’s eyes, which had been blinking for a moment, curved into an elegant arc.

“Are you concerned about the existence of the daughter of Marquis Berilston?”

Jieselgrante’s fist, which had been resting lightly on her knee, clenched tightly.

She needed to know the truth to handle the situation before strange rumors spread further.

That’s why she had asked about the past, but somehow it had turned into the ridiculous situation of seeming jealous of his past woman.

As Jieselgrante turned her head towards Cabelased to protest, it happened.

Cabelased’s large hand gently covered her tightly clenched fist.

“Do you know that the daughter of Marquis Berilston and Count Preston are relatives?”

Without even thinking to pull her captured hand away, Jieselgrante silently waited for his next words.

“As you know, I have no other family. To attend partner gatherings, I needed a partner.”

Only then did a small exclamation escape between Jieselgrante’s teeth.

“Ah… Then the rumors about marriage talks weren’t true?”

Cabelased laughed softly and lightly pressed his lips to her forehead before pulling away and saying,

“It was startling, but well, not bad.”

When she looked at him with an expression asking what he meant, Cabelased immediately added,

“You misunderstanding and being jealous over a woman from the past, I mean.”

At his answer, Jieselgrante’s eyes widened roundly.

Absolutely not! She hadn’t been jealous.

She had only tried to confirm the facts and handle the situation, that’s all.

Unaware of her feelings of injustice at receiving such a misunderstanding, Cabelased cupped her cheek.

And turned it slightly towards him.

The look in Cabelased’s eyes as he gazed at her was quite intense.

“Wait…”

Jieselgrante hurriedly opened her mouth to say it wasn’t jealousy.

But Cabelased was a little faster.

“…!”

Although Jieselgrante was displeased with Cabelased’s habit of kissing her so casually now, for some reason she couldn’t refuse him.