Hardt entered the office and cleared his throat at the stale, heavy air before speaking.

“My lord, at this rate you will suffocate.”

He hurried to open the window and air the room, then rattled off a string of complaints.

“…You really must not turn the office into such a hellhole. In any case, there is one matter to report.”

Hardt leaned against the windowsill and lowered his voice. Leon’s gaze was still buried in the pile of documents, but all his attention was already fixed on Hardt’s mouth.

“A short while ago, it seems Lady Kasvah and Lady Adela had a small incident.”

“Do I need to receive reports on that slave’s every move?”

Leon replied coldly, and Hardt added very quietly.

“Lady Adela appears to be… slightly injured.”

The corner of Leon’s eye trembled faintly for a moment.

“Tiresome.”

Leon tossed the fountain pen he was holding onto the desk. The sharp metal nib struck the hard surface with a cold crack, but he did not spare it a glance.

“…Shall I handle it?”

“Leave it. It is nothing more than a slave getting hurt.”

Through the rest of Hardt’s report, Leon kept his expression unchanged.

Except for the brief flash of murderous intent that passed through his shadowed eyes as he sat sunk deep in his chair.

“My lord, Lady Kasvah has arrived.”

The message from outside the door made Leon’s lips curve into a crooked line.

“Hardt, go out and discuss the border security matter with Archer.”

“…Will you be all right alone, my lord?”

Leon answered Hardt’s concerned question with a light wave of his hand. It was a weighty dismissal that left no room to refuse.

A short while later, Ingram walked into the office dressed in a lavish gown fit for a ball.

“Count Fershtein! I have finally gotten to see you.”

Apparently moved by the meeting finally taking place two days after arriving in Valent, Ingram’s face was flushed with excitement.

“What are you all doing! Move these things at once!”

Under Ingram’s sharp command, maids moved busily and arranged gift boxes and refreshments on the table.

“Now everyone may leave. I have important matters to discuss with the Count.”

Ingram dismissed them, and the maids withdrew like a receding tide, leaving only the two of them in the office.

In the heavy silence, Ingram slowly drew the shawl from her shoulders. A lavish red dress with deep-cut décolletage and glittering bead trim was revealed in full.

She swept her crimson hair, even deeper in color than her dress, back in a seductive gesture and moved toward Leon with an enticing step.

“Congratulations on your victory, Count Fershtein.”

“How gracious of you to come in person. I am honored.”

“Are you going to be this cold? We were engaged once, you and I.”

“I understood the matter of the broken engagement to have been settled already.”

After returning to Urcheka and reclaiming his status, the first thing Leon resolved was the old engagement.

Duke Kasvah also had no intention of giving his precious daughter to a Leon who had no standing or foundation after his family’s fall, so the annulment proceeded smoothly, even one-sidedly.

Even after the annulment, Ingram kept sending him letters and gifts to the front lines without stopping. At times she showed up at his deployment site without warning and put him in an uncomfortable position.

The sole reason Leon tolerated her presumptuous behavior until now was the influence of the ducal house within the Empire.

‘…But the situation is different now.’

In exchange for crossing battlefields for two years and earning every manner of harsh title, Leon secured the Emperor’s firm trust. Being granted full authority over this Valent subjugation was clear proof of that.

Emperor Abarus bestowed governance of this land on Leon, and that meant the complete restoration of the Fershtein family.

It also meant he no longer needed to watch Duke Kasvah’s mood.

“There are not many young ladies suited to a war hero like you, Leon.”

Ingram slipped the dress strap down below her shoulder and parted her red-painted lips.

“I could stay here and become the mistress of this house. What do you say?”

Ingram perched on the edge of the desk and whispered intimately, the full curve of her chest on open display.

Ignoring Ingram’s voluptuous figure, Leon slowly ran his hand over the back of his own hand.

“Oh, and I can help tame your slave for you as well. I gave her a sharp lesson this morning too.”

Ingram added the remark seemingly expecting praise, and blue veins rose across Leon’s white hand.

Leon rose slowly from his seat and stared at Ingram’s sharply kept fingernails.

‘Shall I break those fingers?’

His eyes went cold as he recalled the image of Adela, once prouder than anyone.

“Lady Kasvah. I have an extreme aversion to others laying careless hands on what belongs to me.”

“…Count Fershtein?”

Ingram flinched at Leon’s cold voice and quickly straightened up.

“Does Duke Kasvah know that his daughter is attempting to seduce me dressed in a manner that would make even a dancer recoil?”

“What do you mean……!”

Ingram’s face blazed with shame at the blunt insult.

“I will overlook it this once, so you would do well to leave Valent immediately. The border here is so unsettled that it would be a great misfortune if you were to meet with an unexpected accident.”

“Count, are you in your right mind? How dare you threaten me, the sole daughter of Kasvah!”

Leon lit a cigarette and exhaled a long stream of acrid smoke, then slowly raised his gaze.

“See the lady out with courtesy.”

The moment the order fell, waiting soldiers and maids poured into the office and surrounded Ingram.

“Count! Why won’t you understand my true feelings! I was the one who taught that insolent woman a lesson for you!”

“I handle my own slave.”

Leon spoke calmly as Ingram was dragged out.

* * *

As the night deepened, Adela felt herself tense on her own. Things were still going according to plan, but there was no guarantee this momentum would hold to the end.

The sound of heavy footsteps beyond the door made Adela hurry to lie down on the bed. The moment she pulled the blanket up to her chin, a sharp herbal scent drifted into the bedroom.

‘It’s Leon.’

The most unfamiliar change she noticed in him since their reunion was the smell of tobacco. He was a man who never went near cigarettes before, yet the Leon she met again lived with one constantly in his mouth.

Adela furrowed her brow slightly. Even through the blanket, Leon’s cool gaze seemed to graze across her skin.

“What kind of slave falls asleep before her master arrives?”

Adela carefully pushed herself upright at his voice, cold as a north wind.

“……”

Leon’s red eyes swept over her entire body with relentless focus. Where his gaze stopped was the scarf wrapped clumsily around Adela’s nape.

“I have a slight chill……”

She trailed off while touching the area near her neck, and Leon stepped forward and snatched the scarf away in one motion. Revealed on top of the marks he left were Ingram’s sharp nail scratches, vivid and clear.

“…Hah.”

Leon tilted his head to one side and put the cigarette back in his mouth. He exhaled smoke in silence for a long while, and Adela pressed her hand over her mouth to hold back a rising cough.

Leon watched and gave a scornful snort, then threw the cigarette he was smoking to the floor and crushed it underfoot.

“Take everything off.”

“……?”

Adela lifted her chin in bewilderment, and Leon issued his silent command with a set face.

In the end, left with no choice, Adela stripped off her robe and chemise, leaving only a thin undergarment.

“Is it amusing that I said take everything off?”

The white lace undergarment was structured to be untied. The tips of Adela’s fingers trembled faintly as she worked the knot. She was certain there was nothing left to be ashamed of, yet becoming bare under Leon’s gaze was never easy.

Apparently impatient with her hesitating hands, Leon climbed onto the bed without even removing his shoes and snatched the undergarment’s ties roughly. The knot came undone helplessly under the merciless force, and the delicate lace fabric tore without resistance.

A rough heat mixed into Leon’s breath as he swept his gaze over Adela’s fully exposed body from head to toe.

“Spread.”

“…What is this about?”

“Because I need to find out for myself how far that woman put her hands on you.”

Adela’s shoulders shrank pitifully at the voice, sunk so low it sent a chill down her spine.

“Lady Kasvah… only touched my neck here.”

Adela hurried to cover her nape, but Leon’s gaze was already fixed on the intimate marks with nothing left to hide them.