The De Ville merchant group not only conducted business throughout the kingdom but also purchased buildings in the center of the territory, running profitable restaurants and inns that became local attractions.

The De Ville group, which had maintained close financial ties with Lady Egritte, was initially taken aback by her sudden death.

However, crisis is just another word for opportunity. And isn’t it the essence of entrepreneurship to fully utilize such opportunities?

After mourning Lady Egritte, who had been of great help in money laundering, the De Ville group decided to consume the remainder of her slush fund.

“You know what? It’s always the dim-witted ones who sit at their desks, trying endlessly to make their calculations work when they just don’t add up.”

Nicolas Graus looked kindly at the merchant who was snorting dismissively, as if the tax inspector directly appointed by the Grand Duke was nothing special.

At his gesture, the strong man he had brought as an attendant dumped a pile of garbage in front of the manager.

“Ugh, what is this disruption of business! So suddenly!”

“When the numbers don’t add up, you don’t question your own intelligence—you assume the other party is cheating. Sure enough, when I suspected the ledgers were off and came to investigate, there’s always something to find.”

“Now see here, as a law enforcement official, you should conduct your business legally! What kind of outrageous behavior is this?”

“You have no idea how much your garbage can tell us, do you?”

“This is utterly unreasonable! I was trying to be courteous since you’re from the Grand Duke’s household, but—”

Nicolas, a veteran tax inspector, merely chuckled at the merchant’s face turning red and blue with anger.

“According to the De Ville group’s tax report, this building receives about a hundred guests a day.”

The strong man who brought the garbage bag was not alone. Soon, dozens more arrived at the building carrying garbage bags.

“Are you mad? What is the meaning of this?”

Garbage began pouring into the place that was supposed to guarantee delicious meals and comfortable lodging.

“Now tell me, does this look like the amount of garbage produced by a hundred people staying here for a day?”

The space that was famous as a northern specialty restaurant was now covered in garbage.

“Anyone can see this is easily the amount for a thousand people.”

Nicolas Graus patted the merchant’s shoulder affectionately.

“A tenfold exaggeration, eh? You’ve got quite the nerve.”

To catch the De Ville group’s lies, Nicolas Graus had personally taken the trouble to sit in the shop across from this building and count the number of customers coming and going.

He felt a thrill every time he uncovered a falsified number.

In this way, Lady Egritte’s slush fund hidden by the De Ville group, as well as the taxes they had been embezzling separately, were all uncovered in the first month of Nicolas Graus’s return as the territory’s tax inspector.

* * *

The mere thought of the money Nicolas Graus had recovered makes me so happy I could leap out of bed.

“Ah, you slept here again today, as usual.”

On this clear morning, I deliberately frowned at the warm body heat I felt next to me.

Recently, I had been busy with a few tasks as the Grand Duke’s wife, but that was only temporary. Originally, Darius was much busier.

Seeing Darius processing documents piled up to his head height in the office, I’m so relieved that I’m the Grand Duke’s wife and not the Grand Duke.

I left him alone out of pity when he was stuck working late into the night before coming to bed, but this man has developed a bad habit.

If he comes to bed on time, he hears me say, “The Grand Duke is an adult, so go sleep in your own room.” So he deliberately comes late at night.

Tsk tsk tsk. Come to think of it, that’s a bit annoying, so I poked Darius’s arm with my finger.

‘If you have the nerve to sneak into bed late at night, you should also have the manners to leave on your own at dawn.’

“…Anette.”

Darius grabbed me beside him, grumbling sleepily.

His low voice, hovering between sleep and wakefulness, sounded very attractive.

‘Yes, flirting with women other than the female lead is forbidden.’

Are you watching, Evangeline? This is how faithful I am to my role as an extra.

“…Is it morning already? Let’s sleep more… I’m tired.”

This man must have low blood pressure. Unable to open his eyes properly, he pulled up the blanket and rubbed his warm cheek against my arm, as if completely unconscious.

I pushed away his handsome forehead that was clinging to me like a puppy with my palm.

“You’ve got sleep in your eyes.”

I once asked Darius why he kept calling my name in his sleep and clinging to me like this.

He was the brave Grand Duke who lost his mother at a young age and grew up alone without even a nanny. For him, the only beings who might enter his bedroom at night were assassins, so the presence of someone sharing the same bed must indeed be strange.

But in that case, wouldn’t it be better to sleep in his own room? If he accidentally swings his arm on a night with bad dreams, I could die!

“It’s time for the good Grand Duke to wake up now. Today has its own tasks to attend to.”

“I only got a few hours of sleep.”

If you put it off, tomorrow will be twice as much work.

Darius was especially clingy today, probably because he was really tired. Usually, he’d get embarrassed and move away when he woke up. Today is different.

“Anette, you need to come with me to the assembly today.”

Darius spoke in a sulky voice, seemingly upset that I kept trying to wake him.

“Ah, but there’s nothing for me to do there.”

“The lord’s wife should be with the lord. It’s the day to listen to the voices of the territory’s people.”

“At first, you said I should come along because we were newlyweds.”

Wasn’t it supposed to be okay not to go if we weren’t newlyweds anymore? I don’t know how every Monday became the day for me to attend meetings with Darius.

This isn’t like some revived ancestral rite right after a daughter-in-law moves in. Since when did this territory require the lord’s wife to attend meetings? The position of Grand Duchess in Inkhart territory has been vacant for over a decade.

“I’m going to work again after only a few hours of sleep, while my wife, who went to bed earlier, is trying to kick me out and sleep in, refusing to come to the meeting.”

“I have a lot to do too!”

“Is Anette busier than me?”

Darius opened his eyes wide. Objectively, subjectively, and honestly speaking, that’s not the case.

“Sigh.”

“Just thinking about going to the meeting with my wife who will support me makes me feel stronger already. I guess this is why everyone gets married.”

The Grand Duke, who didn’t want to suffer alone, held my hand tightly and smiled happily. Didn’t someone say that shared sorrow is halved?

I’m really paying the price for waking up the sleep-deprived Grand Duke.

* * *

“This year’s harvest in the territory…”

“In preparation for the upcoming labor market season…”

I had once given an opinion on the blacksmith business proposed by the gnome before.

But that was because it was a field I actually knew about, and for most of the territory’s affairs, I knew very little.

So I just sat quietly next to Darius, thinking I’d get used to it if I kept listening.

These days, the vassals who had a high opinion of me were pleased even when I just sat there with wide eyes, saying that the lady showed great interest in the territory.

“Anette.”

It seems the lord who brought along someone who didn’t want to be here felt the same way. He smiled every time our eyes met.

“Our Grand Duke, you must have really felt wronged working alone all this time.”

“What are you talking about?”

“No, *yawn*. These are still unfamiliar topics to me. It’s not like I can be of any help just by listening.”

“If you have nothing to do, why don’t you just cheer me on?”

“Are you a child? No, more importantly, you were doing fine on your own without my cheering.”

During a brief break in the middle of the meeting, as we sat close together whispering with our heads nearly touching, the vassals in the meeting room smiled at the sight of the close Grand Ducal couple.

When I requested a contract marriage from Darius, I proposed cotton, a southern specialty, as the benefit I could bring to the north.

Unfortunately, the first attempt at cotton cultivation ended in grand failure. Most of the seeds we planted didn’t even sprout.

While the garden manager and I worried with a sense of urgency, Darius brushed off the failure as if it were nothing.

He was right.

Moreover, even though I hadn’t succeeded in cultivating the cotton I had promised, I had found the legendary gold coins of the Inkhart Grand Duke, eliminated the witch hiding in the castle, and recently even persuaded a capable tax inspector to return to his post.

After doing all that, only a bad person would criticize me for failing at cotton cultivation.

‘Suddenly, I feel proud and confident.’

However, the brief moment of ease quickly ended.

“Your Grace, we should keep an eye on the Tiberius territory for the time being.”

“Tiberius?”

The Tiberius territory bordered our northern region.

“The Count ruling the Tiberius territory has been in constant conflict with the Shire Viscount over the territory’s boundaries.”

“Your words suggest that the Shire Viscount might lead his army to invade the Tiberius territory.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Darius’s eyes grew serious upon hearing the news of potential conflict in a neighboring territory.

“The Count of Tiberius. He certainly wasn’t known for his deep thinking.”

“The grudge between them runs deep. From the Shire Viscount’s perspective, he might think it’s better to resort to force at this point.”

All nobles, from the Count of Tiberius and the Viscount of Shire to the Grand Duke of Inkhart, had sworn allegiance to the royal family.

In other words, as long as they remained loyal to the royal family, they were free to govern their own territories as they saw fit.

Territory wars. ‘Private’ disputes between nobles were allowed.

Of course, the royal family would intervene if the entire country was about to be embroiled in war and fall apart, but generally, there was no separate intervention in territory wars. The victor just needed to get approval from the royal family after expanding their territory.