Elsius.

She was a woman living an ordinary life in a village far from the capital.

‘Though her appearance was far from ordinary.’

Having beautiful looks meant there were bound to be men lusting after her.

An example was when a lord who took a liking to Elsius asked her to become his concubine.

The night after the lord swaggered away.

The twins secretly infiltrated the lord’s mansion.

‘And then… the lord’s thing…’

The rest was omitted.

Anyway, Elsius’s appearance was about half a year earlier than in the original work.

‘The time she was designated as a saint was at least early summer next year.’

That was also after meeting the twins and Kashar.

She awakened her holy power while treating Kashar. My memory was accurate.

I muttered while crumpling the newspaper.

“Is this really a genuine article?”

To make an official announcement that a saint appeared right after the temple’s financial corruption scandal broke out.

It seemed very suspicious.

‘Give me back my beer money!’

The donations received from Oloje were enormous, but to think it was all used for renovating the temple made me feel sick.

And then they come asking for more money.

It was clear they were worshipping gold, not the Goddess of Light.

‘Well, we’ll see if it’s real or fake soon enough.’

After the official announcement that a saint had been designated, she was obligated to attend the Empire’s celebratory party.

There, she would bestow blessings on the Emperor, demonstrate her holy power, and receive widespread recognition within the Empire.

‘I need to look into this.’

Whether it’s really Elsius, and if she truly has great enough holy power to break the curse.

But I didn’t want to rush.

“…It’s still fine for now.”

Kashar wasn’t showing any signs of madness.

If the curse was broken not at the current point but according to the original timeline, it seemed there wouldn’t be a war at least.

It was when I sighed and leaned back on the sofa.

A face blocking my view looked down at me along with a black shadow.

“What’s fine?”

This time I wasn’t surprised.

I stared up at the cool yet beautiful face.

‘You are.’

I couldn’t say I was relieved since he showed no signs of going mad.

When I didn’t answer, instead of waiting for my sealed lips to open, Kashar came over the sofa.

“Come here.”

He said to come here but approached and lifted me up.

He took over my seat on the sofa and placed me on his lap.

Kashar looked satisfied, then stared intently at the newspaper I was holding.

“Hmm, that’s annoying.”

“Ah, my newspaper!”

The newspaper snatched away in an instant was crumpled in his grasp.

Especially the page with the article about the saint appearing was torn and rendered unrecognizable.

‘Hey, that person might be able to break your curse, you know?’

I suddenly remembered that he had exposed the temple’s corruption.

‘I wonder if they’ll be on good terms.’

I was just worried about what would happen if the temple disliked Kashar and prevented him from meeting the saint.

Though the financial corruption report was anonymous, there was overwhelming circumstantial evidence that it was Kashar.

As I stared at the torn newspaper in dismay, he grasped my chin and moved my gaze.

“I’d like you to look at me instead of those paper scraps.”

“…I am looking at you now.”

My ear tips reddened at his sweet yet cool smile.

His handsome face that I could never get used to was difficult to look at for long.

I shifted in his embrace.

‘He’s been like this lately.’

Kashar was acting like my shadow.

Just when I thought he’d disappeared for a moment, he quickly returned to my side.

The reason I wasn’t surprised just now was because this happened three or four times a day.

“Um, Kashar. I’d like to sit on the sofa.”

“Why?”

“It’s a bit… uncomfortable?”

There was nothing wrong with where I was sitting, but my heart beating excessively was the problem.

Kashar adjusted his posture while still holding me and asked.

“How about this?”

“It’s comfortable…”

I couldn’t say it was uncomfortable when he went this far.

“That’s good.”

Kashar chuckled and rested his chin. He looked like he knew what I was thinking.

“Isn’t Kashar uncomfortable?”

“Not at all.”

I inevitably relaxed in his embrace as he kept doing this.

Kashar rubbed the tip of his nose against my nape as if he had been waiting for this.

‘Isn’t this… a bit too much?’

It wasn’t just once or twice, we’d been like this for weeks.

These days Michael and Eshtra were in charge of raising the twins.

I only saw the children briefly at mealtimes and before bed.

One reason was that Kashar was with me all day, but the twins were also busy with tutoring and magic lessons during the day, making it hard to see them.

‘They’ve grown up. They’ve really grown up.’

The retired nanny is leaving now.

My current job was to be the Duke’s fiancée.

‘Does he like me that much?’

I almost stomped my feet at the worry that was beyond bursting.

Ahem.

I cleared my throat and regained my senses.

“Kashar, how about we have some personal time?”

“Personal time?”

Kashar, who had been burying his face in my neck, raised his head.

He was still smiling, but his eyes had narrowed as if he had misheard something.

I deliberately ignored that gaze and blurted out whatever came to mind.

“Yes. They say that’s the secret to a long relationship.”

“Who told you such a thing?”

His red eyes had cooled coldly.

Even his cold face was beautiful, but that expression was truly dangerous.

“Tell me.”

His long fingers caressed my cheek as if urging me to speak.

I got goosebumps at his attitude that came out when threatening people other than me.

“I-I just heard it somewhere! Like, I think I saw it in a book on dating tips or something.”

I couldn’t stand the thought of people dying. It was also something I actually made up.

“Ah, that.”

At my words, Kashar stretched out his arm as if remembering something.

The sofa armrest lifted up and a book emerged from inside.

The title was ‘Dating Tips for Success’.

‘What, it was a real book?!’

The title was exactly the same, not a single letter different.

Kashar, who was skimming through the book’s jacket, muttered in a disgruntled tone.

“The author… is still alive.”

At a glance, the birth year was listed but there was no date of death.

To avoid sending a living person to their death, I changed the subject.

“Don’t you have any busy work these days?”

He used to be away from the castle quite often before, but lately he was too busy seeing my face every day to even go out.

He smiled nonchalantly at my question.

“I’ve delegated everything.”

In other words, only his subordinates were dying.

Suddenly I was reminded of Kashar’s aide who had been wandering the castle like a ghost.

‘Mihail, I hope he’s okay.’

Mihail, whom I had met recently, had dark circles under his eyes.

He seemed frantically busy teaching magic to the children and cleaning up the work his boss had abandoned.

When he saw me, Mihail pleaded with blue eyes instead of sighing.

‘Please ask the lord to at least stamp the documents himself.’

‘Ah, okay.’

‘This is the first time I’ve been more tired than when I was in the magic tower.’

Mihail disappeared down the opposite corridor, staggering, after leaving those words.

People were dying, so he must have been extremely tired to say such things to me.

‘There are more aides, but Mihail is the only one in the Duke’s castle.’

Kashar had a total of three aides.

Two of them were individuals whose identities were unknown, and they often handled dark matters under Kashar.

‘I should say a few words for Mihail’s sake.’

I gently asked, composing my voice.

“But isn’t there still some work you need to do yourself?”

That way I could go to the store and ask Hayang various things.

The business was running well. The store was mine, but all I really did was manage inventory and confirm incoming money.

‘My main job these days seems to be sticking to Kashar.’

Lately I’d been with Kashar so much that Hayang had to keep pretending to be a teddy bear.

Just then, Kashar tapped Hayang’s head hanging at my waist.

“You seem to like the teddy bear.”

“…Yes. Very much.”

It was just less scary, not that I liked a teddy bear that seemed possessed by an evil spirit.

But this level of lie was just playful to keep both sides happy.

“Anyway, you seemed busy before but now you seem free.”

I quickly returned to the original point, almost getting swept up in Kashar’s words.

He rested his chin on his hand and asked.

“Is a working man your ideal type?”

“Isn’t it cool? And sexy…?”

Kashar looking at documents in his office also seemed safe and cool.

‘I bet glasses would suit him well too.’

It was the moment I was fantasizing about Kashar wearing glasses.

“Work, huh. Should I stir up the temple some more?”

“My ideal type has always been a rich unemployed person.”

“Is that so? But…”

Kashar rubbed his chin as if pondering.

“Yes. You should go on dates with me.”

“I see. That’s right, this is what newlyweds are supposed to do.”

His face relaxed, seemingly satisfied with my answer.

The persuasion was for naught, but I had to be relieved it didn’t get worse.

‘No more than this.’

With even a saint appearing, it didn’t seem right to stir up the temple any further.

If things really became troublesome, the one who would suffer the most would be Kashar who couldn’t break the curse.

“Are you done?”

Kashar, who had been watching my maneuvering all along, gave his evaluation.

“It’s cute up to this point, but if you keep doing it I might become more obsessed. I have separation anxiety these days.”

How much more obsessed could he become from here?

Slightly scared, I nodded my head vigorously.

“I won’t do it anymore.”

Mihail’s face full of dark circles flashed before my eyes, but I had to survive first.

‘I should grill some salmon for Mihail.’

This was all I could do for the aide.

While I was mourning for Mihail, he picked up a newspaper page scattered on the table.

“Your name is written prominently.”

On the front page, the business that I and Kashar had established was introduced extensively.

[Eilysha Trading Company. A Wave of Donations. The Duke’s Fiancée Extends an Angel’s Hand… Hoes, Swaddles, Hugely Popular in Common Households. A Must-Have Item!] [Eilysha’s Glass Cleaner. Hugely Popular in Social Circles. Shining Glass Windows are Proof of Donation.]

Fortunately it was safe, being a newspaper from the day before the saint’s announcement.

The newspaper article was a bit embarrassing, but the business I had done was definitely effective in filling up magic.

‘It’s filled up almost four and a half.’

I discreetly checked my necklace.

The rod-shaped jewel was filled with yellow light almost halfway.

“The business is doing well.”

“Anything else you need?”

In fact, the business was able to develop at a rapid pace largely thanks to Kashar’s help.

If there was anything more I needed here.

‘A way to stay in this world?’

But it wasn’t something that needed his help.

‘Once the gauge fills up a bit more, I’ll know.’

The reason I had started such a big business was to gather magic, so there wasn’t much left.

How long had I been in his embrace?

The sound of the wall clock announcing the hour rang out.

‘It’s 3 o’clock.’

In 30 minutes, the children would finish their studies and have snack time.

“Kashar, I’m going to the kitchen for a bit. I want to make some snacks.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“To the kitchen?”

I blinked and he lifted me up.

“Yes. I want to learn too. Cooking, that is.”

Suddenly I was reminded of Michael, who was passionate about cooking.

Whenever I had time, I taught him about Korean cuisine, and Michael was so moved he would cry even if I just taught him how to make ramyeon.

‘Surely he’s not jealous of Michael?’

I couldn’t bring myself to ask, as he seemed likely to answer that he was.

“Alright. Let’s go down together.”

As I nodded and approached the door, his gaze lingered on my neck.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

He gestured with his chin as if telling me to go first.

Even as I left, Kashar’s gaze remained on my necklace.