His voice wasn’t particularly raised, but his raw emotions were palpable.

“If you understand, then get lost.”

Reus’s tone and voice were noticeably rougher than usual, and anyone could tell that his patience had run out. However, Casien seemed indifferent to this and only spouted nonsense.

“I can’t do that. I must speak with Roel today.”

Is he really out of his mind…?

The social circles were very lenient when it came to taking concubines, but they were rife with the notion that adultery among nobles was the greatest of sins.

No matter how much Casien made women in the capital cry, his current actions were absolutely unforgivable and would certainly lead to gossip.

Knowing this, he still brazenly approached a married woman in this manner. Moreover, he was openly telling her husband, the Duke of the Empire, that he would take his wife away.

It was no wonder Reus was openly frowning.

“I didn’t know you still lacked a grasp of your place.”

“I don’t think Your Highness, who stole someone else’s fiancée, is in a position to say that.”

“Casien!”

Startled by his sarcastic tone, I reflexively called out Casien’s name.

For a moment, a strange tension flowed between the two. Soon, Reus took a step closer to Casien.

“Do you think Roel will return to you just by having a conversation with her?”

“Roel doesn’t know my true feelings right now… No, she doesn’t know how things went wrong, so she’s by your side…”

Before Casien could finish his words, Reus let out a snort.

“You still don’t seem to understand.”

“…What do you mean?”

A clear sneer hung on Reus’s lips.

“Roel had already decided to break up with you completely before she met me.”

“……”

“You know so little about Roel, yet you want to go back to her and do what?”

Underlying his words was a warning to stop this futile obsession.

Unlike at Count Evelle’s residence, Reus turned his back on the stupidly standing Casien. Leaving behind the dispirited Casien, we left Brighton Palace.

* * *

From the time we left Brighton Palace to when we arrived at the ducal castle that day, no conversation passed between Reus and me. So I wondered if he was terribly angry with me… but that didn’t seem to be the case either.

However, it was clear that things were different before and after the visit to the Imperial Palace.

‘I heard he was summoned by the Emperor…’

What on earth happened during the time he left and returned to the banquet hall?

I knew it was best not to worry about it, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought. We had to keep seeing each other’s faces, and we even shared a bedroom, whether we liked it or not.

‘Besides, now that I know Reus isn’t such a bad person, I don’t dislike him as much as before…’

As I was lost in thought, there was a knock on the door. I quickly got up to greet the guest.

“Derwin, come in.”

“As you heard from His Highness, I will be assisting Your Ladyship for the time being. I look forward to working with you.”

“I look forward to it as well.”

Starting today, Derwin was to take responsibility for and inform me of the duties a duchess should properly carry out.

It was good to have something to do, but a problem arose.

‘Am I really allowed to see this…?’

Contrary to my expectation that it would only be a plausible pretense, the documents Derwin showed me were mostly ones that revealed the intimate details of the Rochester ducal family.

Could it be… that I would be dealt with by Reus’s hands before I left?

After pondering over the documents for a while, I finally spoke.

“But… am I allowed to know even these things? I’m a bit worried…”

“Regardless of what it is, you are currently Her Ladyship. And it’s my job to do this.”

“Hmm…”

“It will be much more convenient for Your Ladyship to have an overall understanding as well.”

There were only three people within the ducal castle who knew about this contract. Reus, Derwin, and myself.

If I were only interacting with the two of them, there would be no need to go this far, but to other people, I was clearly the Duchess of Rochester.

So considering that I would have to engage in work-related conversations with people in the ducal castle, it was better in many ways to know as much as possible.

I could fully understand the reasoning behind showing me even the intimate details of the ducal castle… but the unease was inevitable.

As I kept my mouth shut, thinking it over, Derwin quickly read my mind and spoke as if to reassure me.

“Of course, there will be no disadvantages, so you can rest assured. Although the Duke may appear cold, he is never a ruthless person who would harm his benefactor.”

“…Yes.”

I nodded with a moderate smile.

The current Reus not only seemed extremely normal but also very rational.

However, recalling that he was destined to become a truly crazy villain towards the end of the novel, with nothing left in his mind but the goal of rebellion…

‘Well… you never know with people.’

It wasn’t very comforting to remember how Reus’s blade was constantly aimed at the Emperor’s confidants, and he eventually stormed the Imperial Palace with the ducal knights.

I just hoped he would maintain his sanity until I escaped.

* * *

While Derwin was briefly summoned by Reus, I reviewed the parts that were explained earlier. But suddenly, I felt like someone was watching me from behind.

Just in case, I slowly turned my head to look, and I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.

“Your senses are quite good.”

A tall man was standing right behind me! Surprised by that fact, the chair rattled loudly as I trembled.

I was too startled to even speak. Theron looked at me with a playful smile and pushed the chair I was sitting on back closer to the desk.

“I forgot to tell you in advance the other day. It’s better not to stand out, so I usually move around like this. Ah- I came today because of this.”

Theron, who had already moved to the front of me, placed something on the desk.

‘This… is an ID card?’

It was my new ID card that I couldn’t receive because I failed to pay the final installment while trying to save Reus’s life.

‘It’s real. It’s a new ID card…’

It was something I had wanted so badly, but now that I had it in my hands, it didn’t feel real. I kept fiddling with the ID card.

“You like it that much?”

I bit my lower lip to hold back the laughter that was escaping and nodded slightly.

‘Of course I’m happy, it’s an ID card worth over 100 million rupees…!’

It was no exaggeration to say that I had lived for this one thing since I was young. How much had I agonized over trying to save 100 million at the Evelle County!

I don’t know what was funny, but Theron kept laughing and then handed me one more thing.

“This is an account created under that name.”

“But there’s money in it…”

I thought the account created under the new identity would be empty, but there was already a considerable amount of money in it.

No, there was an amount that felt very large to me.

“Ah- that? It’s the money that came out of the Evelle County a while ago. By the way, it will take some time to convert the assets you brought as a dowry into cash.”

That means…

‘It’s not money earned through legal means.’

Anyway, since Father used all sorts of means to amass wealth, I didn’t feel particularly sorry for him.

“In the future, any money flowing out of the Evelle County will only go in there. You can either come and go directly, or I can keep holding onto it. What do you want to do?”

Honestly, I was so satisfied with the money currently in the account that I wanted to keep it in my room and look at it every day.

‘But just in case, it’s better to be as careful as possible until I leave the empire.’

“I’d like Theron to keep it for me in the future as well.”

“Well, okay then.”

I thought he was done with his business, but Theron walked over to the sofa, leaned back comfortably, and stared at me intently.

It seemed like he was observing me, or he appeared to be gauging something, though I wasn’t sure what.

“Isn’t it hard living with Reus?”

“…It’s not that hard.”

“You’re not saying it’s not hard at all.”

“……”

“But it’s unexpected? I thought you’d run away saying you couldn’t handle it.”

Of course, it was difficult, and there were many times when it overlapped with his appearance in the novel, making me feel scared for no reason. But…

‘Still, it’s much better than being in Evelle.’

Here, not only were high-quality meals served regularly, but desserts were also provided after meals.

There was also no one who hit me like Feria or looked down on me like Father and Briella. Above all, the bed was so warm and comfortable.

If I were to list all the things that made it better to live here than in Evelle, there would be no end to it.

‘Well… Reus does ignore me in a different sense.’

When we were alone, Reus sometimes acted as if he had completely forgotten about my existence. But even that wasn’t so uncomfortable.

Rather, I preferred that over having meaningless conversations.

“But sometimes, you know.”

“Yes?”

“If it gets hard, tell me. That guy may seem quiet, but he has a really bad temper.”

Theron, who had sprawled out on the sofa, continued.

“I can give you a breather for a while. If necessary, I can even arrange for you to leave for Beliata right away.”

“Ah… thank you for your concern.”

I meant it sincerely, but Theron burst out laughing.

“Ah, sorry. I’ve only been around rude guys, so this reaction is a first for me. This is fun in its own way.”

‘What’s so fun about it…?’

I glanced at him with slightly dissatisfied eyes, but once again, Theron only laughed heartily.