“Is your heart troubled?”

“If I said it was fine… that would be a lie, wouldn’t it?”

Of course, she didn’t say that with Verodica’s group in mind.

It’s just that knowing the full situation made her a little worried about Elia.

‘Did I also corner Elia too much…?’

As soon as she thought that, Reus spoke in a slightly frustrated tone.

“The parents will handle everything, and you have no intention of getting angry. If Lady Philaren is lucky, then she’s lucky. What reason do you have to be uncomfortable?”

“That’s true, but…”

“The viscount couple even went so far as to switch out the invitations they wrote to bring you in. So there’s no reason for you to worry about it any further. You can resent them if you want.”

I vaguely felt that I was being too timid right now, but it was difficult to be as cold-hearted as I thought.

Maybe the fact that this kind of thing happened at all still weighs on me. For once, I could understand Reus’s frustration with me today.

“Besides, this mountain range is right next to Horen, which is no different from a wasteland.”

‘So this mountain range was attached to Horen.’

As Reus said, Horen was a barren land that had not been developed at all, known as a place where the owner was desperate to sell, just like the Forest of Silence.

Excluding that place, the surrounding area was in a similar situation, so it definitely couldn’t be considered good land.

It seemed like he had received land that would be the least burdensome for me when I received it, as a minimum courtesy.

I was about to feel grateful to Reus again for really taking my words to heart.

“Although there is a gold mine buried below.”

“…Pardon?”

“The viscount is the type to give up quickly. Not knowing there was a gold mine, he wasted it for 3 years, so when I demanded that mountain range, he happily stamped the deed of grant.”

“How do you know about that…?”

“I think it’s strange that the viscount doesn’t know about this.”

I felt very sorry that Viscount Philaren didn’t know. And now Reus is…

‘He’s like a complete villain.’

When I stared at him silently for a moment, Reus calmly asked me.

“What? Do I seem like a bad person to you?”

“…No. It’s just…”

Well… by Reus’s standards, he definitely doesn’t fall into the bad category.

‘But it makes me realize once again how great Anas’s information network is.’

Judging from the fact that the viscount had been letting the land rot until now and readily stamped the deed of grant, it seems that no one knows the fact about the gold vein.

But to figure out that there’s a gold mine buried deep in the mountain range that someone else had abandoned halfway through mining… With this level of information power, it’s no wonder he found out the secret of my birth.

‘But how did Reus find out about that?’

Before Father brought me into the mansion, he had been eliminating people who knew I was an illegitimate child for a very long time.

I’m not sure if I should call this a virtue, but… it’s also the reason I haven’t been exposed as an extramarital child until now.

‘He said he didn’t know from the beginning, so who did he hear it from?’

Then Reus let out a small sigh.

“I almost forgot. I plan to take appropriate measures against the Lanove and Welit families as well. I was about to have a headache since I had never directly interacted with them business-wise, but fortunately, both families have stores on Perocel Street.”

Usually, people don’t attach the word “fortunately” to these kinds of things…?

Perocel Street was the most populous place in the Asilith Empire after the capital.

In other words, it was also a place where business acumen could be vastly improved compared to other areas.

So it was not unusual for there to be rumors that many aristocrats and the middle class were eyeing it, even lining up to be granted a single spot.

But to suddenly drive them out of that street overnight!

This was by no means something to be taken lightly.

“I’ve already notified them to leave the street within this month at the latest, so it will be sorted out faster than you think. Of course, they will never be able to set foot on any land owned by the Rochester Duchy ever again.”

“There’s nothing more, right…?”

If they were driven out like this, even if Reus didn’t go around blabbing about it, the aristocrats would naturally find out about the whole affair.

Rumors would inevitably spread in high society that they had earned the hatred of the ducal family, and it was only natural that the family’s prestige would fall as a result. If there was something beyond that…

‘I’m a little scared of what kind of unexpected thing it might be.’

But no answer came from Reus.

“Reus…?”

“Unfortunately, there’s hardly any contact with the Plona Count family… But don’t worry, it’s not like I haven’t warned them. It seems there will be a point of contact soon, too.”

Excuse me… you didn’t answer my question, Your Grace.

At this point, I was worried enough about Verodica, who had not yet paid a proper price.

* * *

As Roel received a sincere apology from Elia, the matter at the viscount’s residence was completely settled.

Peace had returned to the Rochester Duchy’s castle after a long time, but outside the ducal territory, it was still a bit noisy due to that incident, so Reus canceled all of Roel’s external schedules.

So, Roel, who had unintentionally become free, spent a long time reading books in the library with a very comfortable mind.

However, maid Milly had a concern because of her mistress.

‘It’s already been a week since she’s only been reading books in the library…’

Roel was trying to relieve the stress she had received from the incident at the viscount’s residence in her own way, but the servants were worried that the lord and lady were arguing and couldn’t even show it to their subordinates.

It was especially so because His Grace the Duke had returned to the ducal castle a few days ago and headed straight to the viscount’s residence two days after arriving.

But soon people realized that Her Grace was simply enjoying her time in the library, and His Grace was merely regretting it.

‘Your Grace, really… You’re even jealous of books…’

Maid Milly particularly liked the intimacy of the Rochester ducal couple compared to other servants.

No wonder, as aristocratic society was literally a mess.

Most families used marriage as a means for gain. Half of the married aristocrats were cheating on each other, knowingly or unknowingly, and some even had separate concubines within the family, so there was no need to say how messed up it was.

The family Milly had worked for before coming here was also one of the latter.

But what about the Rochester Duchy?

There were no arguments at all. There was no need to attend to the arrogant concubines, and no need to be on edge due to the sharp atmosphere.

Also, how nice it was to see the two of them being considerate of each other.

‘Although it’s not common to see them together because His Grace is too busy.’

So Milly decided to help her blunt mistress.

These days, there was no servant who didn’t know that His Grace would stop working in his office and just gaze at Her Grace.

Then if I escort Her Grace to the garden, that should do it!

“Your Grace, how about reading a book outside today? You’ve been in the library all the time lately.”

“Outside?”

“The weather is nice for once. How about reading in the garden as usual? I’ll quickly prepare the tea and snacks you like, Your Grace!”

“Hmm…”

Milly’s attempt was good, but her mistress’s reaction was rather lukewarm. Roel seemed to ponder for a moment before leaning back again.

“I think the light coming in here is enough.”

“B-but…! His Grace will be worried if you keep staying in the library!”

Perhaps finding Milly’s words cute, Roel let out a small laugh.

“His Grace is not the type to worry about such things.”

He’s not the type to worry about such things, indeed!

There was no one, at least within the ducal castle, who didn’t know how Reus tried to make Roel eat even one more spoonful at every meal. So he would definitely be worried about her not leaving the library like this.

Of course. His Grace is someone who gets jealous even of books.

“Still! Read a book outside today. The wind is just right, and it’s the perfect weather for reading outside. And you skipped lunch today. I’ll bring you something that can serve as a meal right away.”

“Well… I had too much dessert to have lunch.”

Milly made a sad face at Roel, who kept slipping away no matter what.

“I’m worried you might really harm your health at this rate, you know?”

Roel found it very tiresome to get up from her languid body, but she finally headed to the garden due to Milly’s persistent concern.

At that moment, Reus was leaning against the window at an angle, looking at the garden with bored eyes.

His mood was depressed every day for no reason, but the weather was annoyingly sunny.

The blue garden covered in golden sunshine, the gentle breeze brushing through the green grass… Even the clear birdsong was grating on his nerves.

He got up from his seat, trying to change his mood in a way that didn’t suit him, but it only made his mood worse. He should put an end to this today.

With that thought, he was about to turn his body, but at the edge of his vision, a woman entered. Reus straightened his body again and stood a little closer to the window than before.

‘She came to the garden for a change today.’

However, Reus’s expression was still not very bright. Perhaps it was because he had heard that Roel had skipped lunch again today, or because the woman looked even more precarious than usual.

She was barely walking on the grass, but Reus followed Roel’s footsteps intently without blinking an eye.

‘Does she really have to wear such high heels?’

In fact, the shoes Roel wore were incredibly low compared to those worn by other noblewomen, but Reus was somewhat seriously worried that her slender ankles might be injured.

Reus naturally accepting his own concern for Roel was due to a decision he had made on his own not long ago.

Namely, the decision to naturally accept any thoughts or worries that arose related to Roel without rejecting them.

‘Because Roel is… my savior.’

It seemed rather close to rationalization, though.

As Roel sat down safely, Reus’s eyelids loosened, and a rare sense of ease settled in the blue eyes beneath them.

He was so engrossed in watching Roel for a long time that he suddenly lost focus when someone appeared. Until then, Reus’s mood wasn’t too bad.