Did I really say that? I guess I’ve been sleeping more lately! Don’t worry about it.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t worry?”

“Yes. It’s fine. You should just go finish your training, Yezar.”

Her smile seemed somehow awkward. Now that he thought about it, she had looked the same during their conversations before sleep. She used to greet him with bright, sparkling eyes whenever he arrived.

Lately, though, when he opened the door, it was a drowsy Julietta dozing off in her chair who greeted him. When he tried to pick her up gently and carry her to bed out of guilt for waking her, she would finally stir and cry out in apology.

“Ye… Yezar? Goodness. Did I fall asleep? I’m awake now, so please put me down!”

“You look tired. Please rest, my lady.”

“No, I can’t! We have to talk before I sleep! If not now, then when will we ever talk?”

Moreover, when he rose early in the morning, the calm, steady breathing of the woman who should have been sound asleep beside him sounded different. It was as if she were pretending to be asleep while actually wide awake.

After he left the bedroom, he could even hear faint rustling sounds from inside. Yezar had tried his best not to show it until Julietta spoke up, but he grew increasingly anxious knowing she was hiding something from him.

“What on earth could she be doing to be so exhausted? Could it be… that my lady finds our married life boring?”

The thought spiraled out of control. Restless and uneasy, Yezar began to reproach himself for being such an impatient man.

Overwhelmed by questions rising to the tip of his tongue, Yezar finally decided to give up and confront her directly. But he couldn’t ask her in the training grounds with the knights around, so he waited until nightfall.

He finished his duties earlier than usual, focused and hurried to the bedroom—only to find the window wide open.

“Why is the window open?”

And Julietta, who he had heard had entered the room first, was nowhere to be found. After searching thoroughly and still seeing no sign of her, Yezar approached the open window. There, he noticed a long rope tied securely to the bedpost, stretching out toward the window.

“What on earth is this rope for…?”

Everything was baffling. Even more suspicious was the grunting sound growing louder as he stepped closer to the window. It didn’t sound like an intruder—the voice was somehow familiar.

Yezar waited silently, and soon, a figure emerged at the window, leaving him utterly stunned.

“M-My lady?”

At the sound of his voice, Julietta lifted her head. Their eyes locked, and Julietta froze in place, visibly flustered.

“What on earth… Why are you coming in through the window?”

Julietta’s lips trembled slightly, still frozen in shock.

“I, it’s just…”

It was obvious she hadn’t expected him to return so quickly, scrambling to come up with an excuse. Yezar had countless questions, but he held them back and simply reached out his hand.

“First, it’s dangerous. Please take my hand and come inside. We’ll talk in detail afterward.”

Julietta took his hand. Like a radish pulled from the soil, she was swiftly lifted into the room. Once safely inside, she quickly wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.

Then, still trembling, she spoke to him.

“Ye… Yezar. This is…”

Before she could continue, Yezar spoke first.

“Wait a moment, my lady. May I ask you something first?”

“Yes. Please… ask.”

“Could it be… that your recent exhaustion is because you’ve been sneaking out like this?”

“…Yes. That’s right.”

Julietta answered, looking as if she had just stubbed her own toe. Yezar clenched his fists tightly, growing more anxious as she kept avoiding his gaze.

“Are you secretly meeting someone?”

“Um… Well, I suppose you could say I’ve been meeting someone, technically…”

Yezar felt his heart sink. He didn’t want to imagine it, but now he feared she might have grown tired of spending time with him. After all, they were only a contractual couple.

He was, after all, the man who had humiliated himself before her. Maybe Julietta had simply grown disgusted with him.

“You said you were fine, but… is it because you’ve come to hate this marriage after seeing my shameful state? Is two years too much to bear…?”

He wanted to strike himself down, to render himself useless. He was even willing to do so if it meant Julietta would come close to him again.

Of course, Julietta, unaware of his inner turmoil, gasped and grabbed his hand in panic.

“What? What are you talking about? Hate you?!”

“If not that, then why would you have any reason to secretly meet someone else…?”

“No! What on earth are you imagining?! I would never break our marriage agreement! And besides, it wasn’t a man—I’ve been meeting a woman!”

At her outcry, Yezar’s senses snapped back to reality.

“What? A woman?”

“I’ll tell you everything, so stop it. Okay?”

Only then did Yezar realize his own eyes had grown damp.

Lately, Yezar did seem to be paying more attention to me. Maybe it was only natural. I kept yawning and dozing off all the time.

For someone as perceptive as him, it would’ve been impossible not to notice. But I never expected it would bring him to tears.

I was a terrible criminal. Making such a handsome man’s eyes glisten like this—I felt so guilty I gently pressed a handkerchief to the corners of his eyes.

After listening quietly to my story, Yezar asked me again.

“So you’ve been visiting the trading company you’re running?”

I smiled brightly and nodded. Back when I was still secluded in the count’s mansion, I had started a business. This world was dreadfully dull, with almost nothing one could do from home.

At the time, I was just lying around in a corner of my room, reading books. But that day, the estate was unusually noisy.

Curious, I went to check and saw a ragged peddler shouting at the front gate of our estate.

“If you’d just give me some funds, I, Pelanne, can earn a huge fortune! Count Orbetian, please invest in me!”

The woman, with messy hair and a frail build, looked like she had crawled out from some dark corner, coughing as she spoke.

Still, I admired her boldness—just barging in and demanding investment. My father, of course, ignored her completely and ordered her to be driven away. As she turned to leave, looking utterly dejected, I stopped her. I was bored anyway—might as well hear what she had to say. Honestly, the moment I heard her pitch, I could smell disaster.

“My product, you see, makes animal fur noticeably shinier and longer—with just a single drop!”

“But you said it’s expensive?”

“Yes, but the effect is guaranteed. Won’t people spend this much on their beloved pets? If I get proper investment, this business will surely succeed.”

It was surely a doomed business. Sadly for her, who clearly loved animals, this era had no concept of pets. Many people wouldn’t even consider spending such a large sum on an animal they raised. Plus, during shedding season, grooming was necessary. Making fur longer would be far from welcome.

But if her product could be repurposed for another use, it might succeed.

“It’s not bad. But what if you redirected the target market?”

“What? Redirect it?”

“Yes. For example, human hair.”

In this era, baldness was an unavoidable fate. So I subtly offered my advice—and made sure to claim my share.

“If it works on humans, I’ll invest. But I’ll take half the shares. And I’ll leave all operations entirely to you, Pelanne.”

“But… isn’t that too unfair to me…?”

“If you don’t like it, just leave. Then there’ll be no investment from me either.”

Reluctantly, with tears in her eyes, Pelanne agreed. And afterward, her business became a massive success. She came back weeping, pledging her loyalty to me.

“Hic… Thank you. I followed your advice, and the business succeeded beyond my dreams. At first, I thought it was such an unfair deal… But I’ll never forget this kindness.”

True to her word, she never forgot me. Expanding her business like an octopus into various fields, she eventually made Pelanne Trading House one of the most prominent in the empire—and listed my name as a co-operator.

Of course, I told her to use a pseudonym since I didn’t want to draw attention, and she respected my wishes. Co-operator in name only—I didn’t do any actual work and just collected the profits.

But recently, I couldn’t just sit back and ignore the Marchioness Yekert’s behavior, so I contacted Pelanne after a long time. I knew her business tentacles reached into many noble households.

She sent me a carrier pigeon inviting me to visit, saying she wanted to hear the full story. Lately, I’ve been secretly meeting her, which is why I’ve been so sleep-deprived.

I didn’t want to stir up trouble in the duke’s household, so I kept it secret. But today, I got caught red-handed by Yezar.

“I should’ve told you earlier. I’m sorry. I just wanted to handle this quietly on my own. I was worried you’d be upset if I told you about the rumors spreading after the Marchioness Yekert’s tea gathering.”