‘That’s right. He is my husband. I am his wife.’

A married couple are partners who build a household together.

It’s an equal relationship, so mutual respect and consultation on small matters are needed for a harmonious family life.

I knew this theoretically, but since I didn’t enter this marriage of my own will, I wasn’t conscious of it myself.

‘But Cedar already thinks of me as a partner.’

The difference between when he would unilaterally nag me and now when he asks for my opinion clearly showed our changed relationship.

Feeling his heart towards me, this uncomfortable situation took on a different feeling.

I smiled bashfully while rubbing the back of my hand.

“I’m realizing anew that we have an unusual relationship. Normally people would feel attraction, date, and then get married.”

What if I had met Cedar in a more ordinary way?

‘We might never have met at all.’

There are so few commonalities between Cedar and me. At my words, Cedar slightly furrowed his brow and grasped my hand tightly.

“What are you saying? These days the trend is marriage first, love later. We just met according to the trend.”

“That’s the trend? It’s an extremely difficult condition to achieve. To marry someone you don’t know and then develop romantic feelings…”

I was about to argue that it was just a nice way of packaging getting married carelessly and then trying to make it work.

But Cedar deftly cut off my words as they drifted to a different topic.

“Enough of that! So? Can I give up the title of duke? I want to hear your opinion.”

He knows me very well. Even at the academy, I would often find myself doing something completely different from what the professor had assigned.

Back then, the professors were also curious people who lived according to their stream of consciousness like me, so there was no one to put on the brakes.

‘In that sense, Cedar and I seem to be very well matched.’

And the fact that Cedar might not be able to become the future Duke Granite had no impact on my growing affection.

I smiled brightly and answered.

“I respect your will.”

“You mean you don’t mind if I’m not Duke Granite?”

His words were somehow amusing. I laughed merrily and pointed out what he was forgetting.

“With a Swordmaster and Grand Magician here, does a title matter? If we really need it, we can take Diana’s. She tried to kill me over an inheritance she didn’t even understand, so what’s the big deal about taking a title?”

Cedar lowered his head and kissed my forehead.

Then, meeting my startled gaze, he whispered in a gentle voice.

“I really like you.”

This time my face turned red. Cedar chuckled softly, then kissed my lips.

Diana Periway was in a bad mood after her confrontation with Lady Briar. But that unpleasantness didn’t last long.

Young and beautiful, she still had plenty of admirers, and many wanted to invite her to tea parties after hearing rumors of her recent humiliation by Cedar Granite.

‘Right. No matter what that woman says, this is my life.’

Soon Nelly will receive the inheritance from the academy.

Diana was already thinking of it as her own.

‘If I create and sway public opinion, even Cedar Granite won’t be able to do anything.’

If she said the future duke was trying to take away the last inheritance left by her only sister, the Granite family would have to pay attention.

‘And once I get that inheritance, debts will be nothing.’

I should buy a pretty dress. To wear when I go to the Granite family to receive the inheritance.

‘That will make their stomachs turn.’

Diana moved her steps towards the dress shop, giggling at the thought of irritating Lady Briar.

The dress shop owner was very fond of Diana.

Not only did she buy several dresses generously, but Diana was also very beautiful, so she had a great promotional effect.

But today the owner, who should have warmly welcomed her, was strange.

“Eek! Baroness Periway!”

She was terrified upon seeing Diana, as if she had encountered a plague patient.

“Madam? Why suddenly…”

“We won’t sell our dresses to you! Please leave!”

Not only that, she even chased Diana out of the entrance. Diana was dumbfounded.

“Why?”

Having lost her regular dress shop like that, Diana returned home. She had an ominous feeling.

And usually, ominous feelings tend to come true accurately.

“My lady, this is terrible!”

As soon as she arrived home, her employees were in an uproar.

She wondered what the big deal was, but strange men had come looking for her with promissory notes.

“We’ve come to collect the debt.”

“I’ve never taken a loan from your bank? Moreover, I recently applied for a loan extension…”

The date was precariously close to the inheritance date, so she had applied for an extension after the inheritance date.

The bank president, judging that Diana would have no difficulty repaying the debt whether she got married or sold her title, had readily agreed to the extension.

But the words of the man holding the promissory note were different.

“Unfortunately, that bank has fallen on hard times and transferred the debt to us. Of course, you need to reapply for an extension with us. With the current financial state of the Periway barony, a loan extension is difficult.”

“Where on earth is there such a law?”

“In any case, the due date is until this day. Please make sure to prepare it.”

“Hey! Hey!”

Suddenly, a debt that had to be repaid appeared like a bolt from the blue.

That alone was dizzying, but the incident wasn’t over.

“My lady! The merchants who used to supply our barony say they won’t sell us any food or daily necessities anymore.”

“Why so suddenly…”

Why would merchants who were supplying just fine suddenly cut off their business? What benefit could there be?

Diana felt dizzy at the successive misfortunes. With her head throbbing, she slumped into a chair.

‘Could all this be a coincidence?’

Of course, bad luck comes in waves. But so suddenly? Without any warning, all at once?

‘Something’s not right.’

Even thinking back carefully, there had been nothing unusual in her life until yesterday. If there had been trouble that could bring such misfortune…

Then Diana remembered the lady who had confronted her at the cafe not long ago.

And the threat she had uttered with a beautiful voice while smiling sweetly.

“Lady Granite…”

The Granite ducal family had inherited a great deal of wealth for generations.

And instead of using it to start businesses, they had bought land from the imperial family and invested in other people’s businesses to increase their wealth.

They also had influence over society as a whole.

Using their business connections, it would be no trouble at all to cut off the supplies going into a family like the Periway barony.

Even so. To take revenge like this just because I made her feel bad? Diana gritted her teeth.

“You’re going to respond like this? Do you think I’ll just take it? Let’s see this through to the end.”

If I’m going down, I won’t go down alone. She will cling to Lady Briar’s ankle and drag her down with her.

Diana’s eyes gleamed coldly.

Two days after sending the urgent message to Cedar that the duke was critically ill, vassals once again flocked to the Granite ducal residence.

“Duchess.”

It was those same vassals who had come before asking to see with their own eyes that the duke was well.

Lady Briar, who had been instructing her aide to torment Diana Periway until she came crawling to apologize in person, irritably greeted the vassals.

“I believe there was still time until the promised date.”

“We were so excited at the thought of finally being able to see the duke that we came early. Please don’t mind.”

What excitement. If you were so worried about the duke, why didn’t you come to see him earlier, why all this fuss now.

“I conveyed your words to the duke. He was very saddened.”

“Whether he was truly saddened or not, we’ll soon be able to see and speak with the duke directly.”

“…”

They were elegantly saying they would monitor to prevent any manipulation of the duke’s condition out of their sight.

At these rude words, the smile faded even from Lady Briar’s beautiful face. She spoke in a cold voice.

“Then I’ll have rooms prepared for you to stay. Besides us, there are others who need to see the duke. Shouldn’t we all see him together when everyone has gathered?”

Cedar was not present at this moment.

It was important to show others the image of the eldest son staying by his sick father’s side. That would reduce the noise later when inheriting the title of duke.

‘Cedar, no matter how indifferent that child is to family, he won’t ignore even his father being critically ill.’

Lady Briar had not even considered the possibility that Cedar would ignore the urgent message.

From Viscount Vizer’s territory where the subjugation was ongoing to the capital, even riding the fastest horse without rest would take three days.

‘So I need to buy time until Cedar arrives.’

Lady Briar smiled coldly, not forgetting to warn the vassals.

“I will keep your loyalty to the duke close to my heart. Along with the faces of everyone here.”

“Ahem!”

At this elegant threat that she wouldn’t let this go later, the vassals cleared their throats uncomfortably. Just then,

“Madam, the young master has arrived.”

A maid delivered unexpected news.