As soon as we returned to the Asilite Empire from Leveren, the next schedule was immediately set.

It was due to an invitation that had arrived while we were away from the Grand Duke’s castle.

Specifically, it was an invitation announcing a banquet to celebrate the contract for the Plona Marquis family to use only the ports owned by the Rocheter Grand Duke family for imports and exports.

Thanks to this, we couldn’t even rest for a day at the Grand Duke’s castle and had to go straight up to the capital, then head to the Plona Marquis residence as soon as day broke.

‘But when did Filaren Port become owned by the Grand Duke’s family?’

When I went to the Filaren Viscount’s residence, I clearly remember hearing the Viscount say he had been struggling with port ownership for years. Yet somehow, Filaren Port had become the property of the Rocheter Grand Duke family.

‘It’s sudden, but Reus must have a plan for everything.’

Anyway, there were several articles about how this contract would lead to various projects being planned between the Rocheter Grand Duke family and the Plona Marquis family.

People welcomed the union of two families that previously had no exchanges, while looking enviously at the Plona Marquis family that had formed a close relationship with the Grand Duke’s family.

But unlike those who were jealous, I felt a bit uneasy.

[“Unfortunately, we don’t have many points of contact with the Plona Marquis family… But don’t worry, it’s not like I didn’t give a warning. It seems like we’ll have points of contact soon.”]

Right, he definitely said that. But surely the contract wasn’t made because of that incident…

‘No, it can’t be.’

It seemed too large-scale a contract for that. Although I thought it unlikely they would go that far, even if there were impure intentions mixed in, I had no intention of saying anything this time.

‘The Plona Marquis family is Veronica’s family.’

I was as uninterested in the Plona Marquis family’s downfall as I was in their success. I just didn’t want to get entangled with Veronica over trivial matters anymore.

It was uncomfortable that I had to meet Veronica today due to the interests between the families, but the fortunate thing was that the Ercian Marquis family wasn’t invited to this banquet.

‘Well, what crazy person would invite the ex-lover of their business partner’s wife?’

I don’t know much about Cassien’s news since the festival. But seeing that Veronica was keeping quiet, it seemed like he had lost interest in me after our conversation back then.

While I was wondering if Veronica might have changed a little too, I heard a now somewhat familiar voice of concern.

“If it’s too tiring, you must tell me. If you’re tired, we can take a break now…”

“Reus.”

“Yes, Roelle.”

“I’ve been curious about this for a while… How do you really think of me?”

Although our travels had been a bit frequent, I really hadn’t done anything to warrant such concern.

On the returning cruise, I had taken care of almost everything in my room, and since arriving in the Empire, we had rested whenever I showed even the slightest sign of fatigue on the way to the Marquis’ residence, leaving no room for exhaustion.

“I don’t particularly think anything, but…”

Reus stared at my face for a moment.

“It’s a bit puzzling how you don’t gain any weight despite how much I feed you.”

He always spoke so matter-of-factly that I thought Reus genuinely didn’t understand how much I ate. But to hear that he knew all along and still fed me that way made me feel a little betrayed.

“…I’m not as weak as you think.”

He might think I lack stamina due to doing nothing at the Count’s residence, but I was quite capable of this level of travel, having many busy days during the social season.

“What did you just say?”

“Pardon?”

Reus, who had been leaning comfortably against the carriage wall with his arms crossed, suddenly lifted his upper body slightly.

“What you just said.”

“Ah, that I’m not as weak as you think…”

“Not that.”

Not that? I looked at him, not understanding what he meant, and Reus pinpointed it exactly.

“Didn’t you just call me ‘you’?”

“Ah… Did I?”

“Yes. You clearly called me ‘you’.”

He looked a bit serious, making me wonder if using a term of address typically used by real couples was an issue. But soon Reus curved his eyes prettily.

“It seems you’ve finally become a bit more comfortable with me, Roelle.”

That smile was so innocently clear that I almost mistook it for him having the same feelings as me.

[This is the timeline separator]

As we entered the Plona Marquis residence, we could see that everything from the garden to the first floor of the Marquis mansion had been elaborately decorated for today’s banquet. As we walked towards the spaciously open banquet hall, people began to gather around us as if they had been waiting.

In the midst of this, I spotted Roshan and Emily among the crowd. As I was about to naturally remove my hand from Reus’s arm to approach my friends after seeing their familiar faces, that’s when it happened.

“Roelle.”

The hand that immediately caught me conveyed a displeased air.

“My friends are over there. I’ll be right back.”

“Friends?”

The sharp tone softened ever so slightly at the word ‘friends’.

“Yes, Roshan and Emily… You probably don’t know them well.”

“Ah, the friends who were always with you at the ballroom.”

“Yes, those friends… How do you know about them, Reus?”

Reus’s expression suggested that knowing this wasn’t a big deal. It was unexpected, as he seemed to not remember people except those he frequently interacted with. But as Reus implied, there was no real problem, so I just nodded and moved on.

“Then I’ll just greet them and be right back, Reus.”

“…Alright.”

Reus reluctantly let me go. I could feel a persistent gaze following me from behind. Without looking, I knew the owner of that gaze was Reus. But having become somewhat accustomed to even this, I moved forward nonchalantly.

“Roshan, Emily.”

Roshan, who had looked as happy as I was when our eyes met from afar, was now glaring at a particular spot with a very serious expression.

“Emily. What’s wrong with Roshan? Did something happen?”

I asked, but Emily, who was with him, also seemed completely clueless.

That’s when Roshan asked me with narrowed eyes.

“You… Are you not allowed to go out much?”

“Huh? Why suddenly…”

When I was at the Ibelle Count’s residence, Roshan often showed signs of being upset because I couldn’t freely go out. But this was the first time he had asked so directly like this.

“Given the rumors, and seeing you today…”

“Rumors? What are you talking about?”

“What rumors? The ones saying that you’re actually being cap- mmph!”

“Roshan! They seem to be getting along well, why are you saying such strange things? Let’s talk about something else.”

Emily tried to change the subject, but thanks to Roshan easily shaking off the hand covering his mouth, it was in vain.

“No, let go! We’re seeing her for the first time in 6 months since we met once at the Imperial Palace after her marriage. So I’m worried, okay! Are you perhaps being held captive by the Grand Duke… or something like that? Ah, no. Of course you are, without even seeing. What am I even asking now.”

“Roshan! Why are you really…”

“Ah, why! You just sent out wedding invitations without any explanation and that was it. That’s why I’m more suspicious!”

I always felt sorry for announcing the news of the marriage as if notifying through a wedding invitation.

‘But guys, I had no choice then either.’

Anyway, seeing Emily trying to stop Roshan from speaking and Roshan making such a fuss, it seemed like some strange rumors about us had spread in social circles.

‘But there were so many weird rumors even before the marriage…’

I was quite used to being slandered in social circles because of Cassien, so I wasn’t too concerned.

“Being held captive? It’s not like that.”

“How can someone who’s not show up not even once in 6 months? Are you really being confined by the Grand Duke- mmph!”

“Roelle, just ignore it. He’s like this because he’s happy to see you after a long time.”

Confined…? My eyebrows raised involuntarily at the unexpected word.

“Are you seriously asking if Reus is confining me?”

“No, Roelle! It’s definitely not like that-”

“Yes, it is.”

Confinement. I couldn’t grasp at all what kind of rumors were circulating in social circles to mention such a word.

“That’s impossible. I just returned from Leveren two days ago.”

“Leveren? Why did you go to Leveren?”

“Well, because His Majesty the King of Leveren invited us…”

“What, then it wasn’t even a trip for fun! It was something you had to go out for, right?”

“No, it’s not like that. We took a cruise on the way to Leveren, and spent about a week traveling in the capital of the Kingdom of Leveren before returning.”

Roshan looked very confused. Seeing his face that seemed to wonder if he had really been mistaken, it appeared he had been genuinely worried about Reus confining me.

That’s when Emily asked in surprise.

“Is it okay to leave the Grand Duke’s castle empty for so long? It seems like it would take at least two weeks?”

“Thankfully, Lady Shanette helped a bit. Thanks to the castle staff who all do their jobs so well, we were able to go and come back without any major issues.”

“But Leveren must have been really hot at this time of year. I briefly visited last summer too, but because of the heat, I couldn’t go around as much as I had planned.”

While Emily was curious about what happened during the trip, Roshan was still frowning as if something was bothering him.

“Ah, there’s definitely something fishy about this.”

“What? Are you talking about Reus?”

“It’s clearly different from that damn Cassien, but there’s something… Ah! Come to think of it, why isn’t Cassien here today? Did that damn Veronica not invite-”

“Roshan! Please…”

Before Roshan could bitterly curse Veronica at the Plona Marquis residence, Emily quickly cut off his words. Fortunately, people were far away, otherwise the atmosphere in the banquet hall would have already turned cold.

“No, honestly, is there anyone who doesn’t know about their thing? Both the man who gives another woman hope while having a fiancée, and the woman who meets that man knowing full well he has a fiancée, they both deserve to be cursed, don’t they?”

Roshan didn’t explicitly mention the two people’s names as if he was doing us a favor, but Emily still fidgeted uneasily.

“Seriously. If they didn’t want to hear such things, they should have been more careful themselves, right?”

But then, Veronica, who had been walking gracefully across the lawn, approached us.

“Are you perhaps talking about me?”