53. Discovery (1)

“You’ve been busy lately.”

She didn’t notice the subtle disappointment in his voice.

“Yeah, just this and that.”

“I heard you went outside the castle.”

“I’m allowed to go out.”

She remained indifferent.

The mercenary group was meant to be her source of income separate from Castle Inkheart’s finances, so she had no intention of explaining the details to Darius.

“I see.”

Darius’s smile deepened slightly.

“By the way, Darius.”

At her call, Darius raised his eyebrows as if to ask what was wrong.

“Adultery creates many victims.”

“Where did that come from?”

“It’s not random. You need to always keep that in mind, Grand Duke.”

At this point, with the future male lead who would end up with the female protagonist in her room, his trustworthiness was at -1,000%.

“I hate men who cheat. That kind of man will ruin my life.”

Get out of my life, you who are destined to meet the female lead and have a happy ending!

“What?”

“True love doesn’t appear easily and doesn’t waver under any circumstances. So a man who throws around love promises everywhere is absolutely despicable. Understood?”

“……Do I look like someone who would cheat?”

“Everything depends on what you.”

Darius and Evangeline meeting and achieving happy harmony!

Finally guaranteeing my safe future!

Darius closed his eyes, pushed his bangs up with an expression that said he was going crazy, and after enduring to his limit, put his hand down and pushed her shoulder onto the bed.

“Anette, let’s just sleep.”

“Always remember! True love will definitely appear! Not now, but in the future! So don’t look for it too early!”

“Alright, and you shouldn’t cheat either.”

“Am I not allowed to?”

The male and female leads are destined to be together. I need to naturally find my own love and gracefully exit the picture, don’t I?

At that moment, perhaps from fatigue, her eyes closed as if a fuse had blown.

“……”

Leaving Darius behind, questioning whether he had heard her words correctly.

“She said she’ll cheat?”

Darius slowly repeated the words as if saying them aloud would help him understand.

The wife who deliberately kept her distance the closer they got, who had been so busy lately that even seeing her face was difficult, had now directly stated it with her own mouth.

You absolutely must not cheat. But I’m going to cheat, she said.

“Is she going to tell me what the experience is like after she’s done it?”

How should he interpret this?

〈Always remember! True love will definitely appear! Not now, but in the future! So don’t look for it too early!〉

If those words weren’t meant for him, but were Anette’s own story……

“……Someone else is her true love, not me?”

Darius’s eyes grew cold as he reached his conclusion.

“Anette, if you answer me now, I could let this go.”

But Anette, who had already fallen fast asleep, gave no answer. As if telling him to think whatever he wanted.

* * *

“……When did I fall asleep?”

Morning had arrived without her noticing. She learned for the first time that when a person is too tired, their memory cuts off.

Yesterday, she had been so exhausted that she fell asleep without even knowing when.

“Good morning.”

Seeing Darius smiling quietly as usual, it seemed nothing unusual had happened while she slept.

“Good morning.”

She didn’t notice that Darius was watching her, observing.

Foolishly, even at this point, she thought complacently, ‘Everything is going according to plan. I really am an excellent transmigrator!’

A few days later, as expected, a territorial dispute broke out in Count Tiberius’s territory. Having barely assembled enough members for the mercenary group, she had been busy finalizing its launch.

After appointing Barbarossa as the leader, hiring other famous mercenaries from the North, and persuading soldiers who needed to be dismissed to join the mercenary group, it was starting to take shape.

As she was busy with personal matters, the days she could see Darius were much fewer than before.

‘According to the original story, Darius would have formally received Count Tiberius’s request for reinforcements and marched out, but now the mercenary group will be dispatched, so I need to prepare more thoroughly.’

Meanwhile, Darius casually asked if she remembered that they had agreed to go out together, but she was too busy and declined.

With Count Tiberius’s envoy likely rushing to their territory for help, how could she think about dating!

“I’m going outside the castle today. Want to come along? You’ve been confined to the castle ever since coming to the North.”

I rolled my eyes at Darius’s suggestion.

“I have a ladies’ meeting.”

Of course, that was a lie.

* * *

Barbarossa, who had left his back-alley life behind, had adapted to his new position but still hadn’t reconciled with Lady Maude.

“So you do have a conscience after all?”

After hearing the whole story from that woman, he went straight to his foster mother and yelled at her. I thought his character had already been ruined.

Barbarossa, who had come to hear about the mercenary group’s operations, maintained an expressionless face, seemingly accustomed to my treating him like trash. Yes, he should get used to it. He did waste his life until now.

“I never thought I’d step foot here again.”

This was the first time Barbarossa had set foot on the training ground since quitting the knights.

He wasn’t a guest who could be formally invited, and Barbarossa didn’t have the status for it, but since Darius happened to be away, I thought it was a good opportunity to call him here. The training ground wouldn’t feel unfamiliar to him anyway.

His decadent atmosphere had diminished considerably since leaving the back alleys.

“Don’t I look more attractive like this?”

Barbarossa smiled, his eyes curving up to touch his tear mole. The red-haired man smelled of roses.

“Did you put on perfume?”

“It’s natural for flowers to have fragrance. Of course, that flower is……”

“If I let you enter the castle and you try to seduce our maids, you’re dead. No, don’t even come into the castle except for mercenary business.”

This guy is only useful as a living textbook for teaching Rose ‘what kind of man is a bad man to avoid.’

“Especially if I hear a fifteen-year-old cute twin-tailed blonde girl say she likes you. I’ll cut it off, you know.”

Of course, Sir Lucion would cut it off before I could.

“What do you take my taste for? I have specific types of women I go for, you know?”

“I’m not interested in your taste.”

And I already know without asking. The women he goes for are always…

“Anette?”

My head whipped around at the unexpected voice.

It was Darius, who had said he had business outside today.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

I asked with wide eyes, surprised by his appearance.

“Didn’t you say you would be away from the castle today?”

“Who is that person? I haven’t seen that face in the castle before.”

“He’s, he’s just someone I hired personally……”

Ah, I haven’t separated the mercenary group’s income finances yet.

I reflexively pulled Barbarossa behind me.

Eventually, Darius would learn that I have a personal mercenary group, but it shouldn’t be now.

‘I’ve been sweet-talking a young tax officer under Nicola to prepare documents making the mercenary income completely mine.’

“Oh, is this the new Grand Duke of Inkheart? You always turned your nose up at me, but he really is handsome.”

Meanwhile, Barbarossa, who should have been keeping a low profile, was tactlessly whistling and praising Darius’s beauty.

When I glared at him, Barbarossa grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

“I admit he’s more handsome than me. I don’t usually compliment men.”

However, Darius’s face darkened despite the compliment.

“Is that person your true love?”

“What are you saying! He only likes married women! It’s definitely not me!”

I snapped in response to Darius’s question.

Are you trying to match me with a man who’s going through delayed puberty and only chases women who resemble his mother!

“According to that, the Grand Duchess is also a married woman, so you’re within my taste.”

Good grief. Barbarossa let out a hollow laugh at my outburst, while Darius looked at me with a resentful expression.

“First it was me, then Daniel and Lucion, and now this man.”

He coldly turned his back.

“Anette, you were a player all along.”

Even after Darius disappeared, leaving a chilly wind in his wake, I stood dumbfounded.

‘Me? I’m a player?’

〈First it was me, then Daniel and Lucion, and now this man.〉

‘Why are those names coming up now, including Darius?’

“I don’t know what’s going on, but he seems angry. Don’t you need to follow him?”

“……Take this first. If things get complicated in Tiberius territory, open it and check.”

My gaze continued to follow where Darius had disappeared, but I pretended not to notice and spoke to Barbarossa.

Barbarossa snickered.

“My romances always end with getting slapped by women, but wow, this side isn’t any easier.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. Who are you to give advice?

“I don’t take advice from someone who can’t even apologize to his mother because he’s sorry.”

Only then did Barbarossa shut his mouth with a deadpan expression.

* * *

Darius was sulking. He didn’t even eat dinner and was lying in my bed with his back turned to me.

‘He’s angry but still sleeps in my bed.’

The marriage contract didn’t specify how many times per week we had to sleep together, yet he was such a dutiful husband.

“I haven’t been able to pay much attention to you lately, have I? I’m sorry, I’ve been busy. There were many things I wanted to do.”

Last time, I had turned my back to Darius, and he sat by my bedside. This time, Darius was turning his back to me, and I was the one trying to appease him.

Ah, can’t a woman run a business without her husband getting upset!