***

I greeted Mikhail warmly while thinking.

‘Tsk, so they were trying to prevent him from coming in.’

Whatever the reason, this worked out well.

Now, let’s have this contract reviewed by a graduate of the Imperial Academy’s Law Department.

“Mikhail! Come here and help me review this contract. You’re going to be our witness.”

At the sudden request to be a witness to the contract, Mikhail looked at me with suspicion and shock.

“Don’t tell me you’ve made a marriage contract?”

“No, a dating contract.”

The shock disappeared, but he still frowned in a way that was unlike him.

This makes me want to tease him a bit.

“Were you disappointed thinking I might get married?”

Of course, what I got in return was a cold stare and sharp sarcasm.

“How absurd. Why would I be disappointed? If you get married, I’ll be a free man.”

“Wow, then I guess I’ll never get married.”

“……”

Ah, this is the best. Teasing Mikhail is always fresh. Thrilling. I love it so much.

While I was experiencing catharsis, the Admiral cut in bluntly.

“Based on Article 3, Section 2, I’d prefer if you refrained from being overly familiar with a butler of the opposite s*x.”

What is he talking about? Opposite s*x?

“Admiral, do you see Mikhail as a man?”

The Admiral, no, I should call him Richard now.

Anyway, he fell silent before looking at Mikhail in disbelief.

“Don’t tell me you’re a woman.”

“Pfft!”

“I am not.”

Mikhail denied through gritted teeth.

I giggled while clearing up the Admiral’s misunderstanding.

“That’s not it. Mikhail is just Mikhail. I don’t see Mikhail as a man, and Mikhail doesn’t see me as a woman… Wait, do you?”

“Never have, never will.”

Richard’s face showed disapproval, but he nodded as if understanding for now.

Hmm, seems he’s still misunderstanding.

“Still, we must have looked close, Mikhail.”

At my bright smile, Mikhail returned a smile as cold as the northern wind.

“Please don’t lump us together, My Lady.”

Look at those eyes. If his gaze could produce cold wind, I would have been blown back 5 meters by now.

I handed the contract to Mikhail after he finished signing the confidentiality agreement.

For reference, I explained the situation briefly, excluding the curse and threat parts.

The arrangement was that I would maintain secrecy while pretending to be lovers to prevent people’s personal approaches, and the Admiral would act as my lover during this time.

My butler scanned the contract once and made a face like he’d seen something bizarre, but soon began reviewing it seriously.

“What is this ‘secret’?”

“Mikhail, a secret is secret because it’s a secret.”

“Don’t joke around. Instructions need to be clear to avoid problems.”

“Let’s say it’s a secret about hands.”

After several rounds of questions and answers and revisions…

“Here’s the revised contract with the changes reflected. Let’s read it.”

Both Richard and I acknowledged the newly born contract that had gone through expert hands.

“As expected of Mikhail.”

“Not bad.”

Of course, Mr. Mikhail Hasloff’s response to receiving simultaneous recognition from Lady Rabius and Admiral Aquilus was utterly disinterested.

“If there are no objections, please sign below.”

As the Admiral picked up the pen first and I waited for my turn, Mikhail spoke up.

“My Lady, there’s seaweed in your hair.”

“Ah, what? Again? Where?”

As I ruffled through my hair but couldn’t find it properly, Mikhail reached out with an exasperated look.

“Not there, here.”

“Ouch.”

I reflexively cried out at the sharp pain.

“I apologize. My hand got caught in your hair-“

No, that’s not it. I think the wound from earlier reopened when his hand brushed against my neck…

“My Lady.”

Mikhail’s expression froze as he alternated between looking at the blood on his hand and my neck.

“It’s fine. It’s not a serious injury.”

“This is a cut wound. Not the kind of abrasion you’d get from falling into the sea.”

Mikhail muttered coldly as he lifted my hair to examine my neck up close.

“If you’re done looking, please move away. Your breath is ticklish and stings.”

I deliberately spoke lightly to prevent the atmosphere from becoming serious, but I flinched when I saw Mikhail’s eyes.

I’ve never seen him with such fierce eyes before.

“Looking at the location, this is a blade wound. Has it been disinfected?”

“Ah, I forgot.”

“Where’s the disinfectant?”

His gaze was so intense that even Zipfel personally brought the disinfectant.

Mikhail took out a handkerchief from his br*ast pocket and poured disinfectant on it.

“Apply pressure here.”

“Oh, yes. I should.”

Obediently taking the white handkerchief and pressing it to my neck under that forceful presence, Mikhail glared at Richard and declared.

“And this contract is void.”

Though the declaration of nullification was sudden, no one could easily speak up.

“Death threats, injury, confinement, and coerced contract demands against a noble of equal rank. Furthermore, the perpetrator is the Navy’s Supreme Commander and the victim is a civilian noble lady.”

Mikhail, with frost in his eyes, continued in a voice sharp as a blade.

“With your family’s long-held maritime rights, you must be swimming in money. But this won’t end with just compensation.”

Neither the Admiral nor I were the first to speak.

“Wait. The contract wasn’t demanded by us – Lady Rabius was the one who first-“

“So you admit to everything else.”

Zipfel, sinking.

In fact, even I was trembling as I received Mikhail’s defense.

That’s why I couldn’t even speak up.

“From the start, the contract terms were excessively unfavorable to our side. Even if it’s just acting, being lovers with someone like you – My Lady has everything to lose and nothing to gain.”

Look at those eyes. Though he only said ‘someone like you’, his eyes are looking at him like he’s the worst nuclear waste of the century.

His previous reactions to my nonsense could be considered playful in comparison.

Wow, I would have cried if I were on the receiving end of that glare.

“Um, Mikhail.”

“I thought My Lady accepted this contract because she had feelings for the Admiral. But even if that were the case, it’s unacceptable now.”

Mikhail spoke firmly as he stood up, making me stand as well.

“There’s no need to stay here any longer.”

As I was being led toward the door by my wrist in confusion, I heard the Admiral standing up.

I quickly stopped Mikhail and said.

“Mikhail. Please calm down first.”

I’m grateful that he’s standing up for me, but what if we both end up dead at this rate?

“I made some mistakes too-“

“Did My Lady make a mistake worthy of having her throat cut by the Admiral?”

“I-I don’t think that’s the case. It’s not even a serious injury…”

“The carotid artery runs less than half a span deep from where you were wounded.”

Hey, don’t say it like that, it’s scary.

“Don’t defend him. He’s a vile character who took advantage of My Lady’s ignorance of the law.”

At those words, an agitated Zipfel stepped forward.

“Hey, you’ve been disrespectful to the Admiral this whole time. I’m the one who hurt Lady Rabius, not the Admiral.”

But Mikhail’s response remained as fierce as ever.

“For what reason would the navy, which claims ‘protection’ as its banner, try to cut a civilian’s throat? Did Lady Callia attempt to assassinate your master?”

Struck by this factual assault, Zipfel gritted his teeth and retorted.

“That’s because the Lady was acting suspiciously…! Anyway, the assault on a noble, the threats, the confinement – I made all those decisions, so stop slandering the Admiral.”

But this time, Mikhail directed a cold sneer at the Admiral.

“You must be satisfied having such a loyal subordinate who’ll take the blame for all your trash-like behavior.”

“Mikhail!”

Before I could block Mikhail, Zipfel moved faster, holding a dagger to his throat.

Except for the target being Mikhail instead of me, it felt like déjà vu.

The killing intent Zipfel was emitting now was even more menacing than before.

But far from being intimidated, Mikhail continued his sarcasm in a calm voice.

“Even if what you say is true, you’re saying Admiral Aquilus is an incompetent figurehead who overlooks his subordinate’s overreach, making him unqualified as a commander.”

“Mikhail, stop. And you, know that you won’t be safe if you hurt Mikhail.”

At my urgent voice, Mikhail closed his mouth, but Zipfel didn’t lower his blade.

It was then that the Admiral, who had been watching the situation without a change in expression, spoke.

“Zipfel. Lower your weapon.”

“But Admiral…!”

“Must I say it twice?”

Zipfel lowered his blade.

Mikhail moved me behind him, closer to the door.

“I will return to the ducal residence with My Lady and submit a formal complaint to His Majesty the Emperor, bringing this to a noble court. You can explain yourself then.”

Ah, damn it.

As Mikhail turned around as if there was nothing more to hear, I caught a glimpse of the Admiral.

His face had frozen cold at the mention of the Emperor. Below his stern brow, cold eyes were directed at Mikhail.

“Your master’s wrongdoing is clear, and I was listening out of consideration for your loyalty in serving your master.”

Like ice cracking on a snow-covered mountain, his frigid voice continued slowly.

“You speak as if you were a Duke yourself. Is it an inferiority complex that makes you overstep so?”

Hearing that, I felt like a person standing before an avalanche.

But Mikhail remained silent for a moment before showing just a faint sneer on his lips.

“I’m merely a butler, a nobody of quasi-noble status. However, Duke Rabius has granted me authority equivalent to his proxy specifically in matters concerning Lady Callia’s life.”

The small document he pulled from his chest clearly bore Duke Rabius’s official seal.

“Do you have any more threats left?”

And I strongly sensed that we were all truly heading toward ruin.

“Mikhail. Stop.”

Surviving this situation wasn’t the only problem.

Let’s say it goes to a noble court as Mikhail suggested.

The judges will question why the navy attacked me, whether it’s the Admiral or Zipfel.

Exercising the right to remain silent would be impossible.

The Emperor, having caught wind of this, would either sweet-talk me or drug me with truth serum – he’d find out one way or another.

Then, inevitably, the curse would have to be mentioned.

The Emperor wouldn’t miss this chance to bring down the Aquilus family that has ruled the south for generations, and the Admiral wouldn’t just sit there and take it.

‘So even if I’m called as a victim, I’d be nothing more than a shrimp caught between fighting whales.’

Even if I somehow make it through the trial unscathed, by then the country would be in the midst of chaos.

‘This is a shortcut to civil war.’

Then families would be destroyed, society would crumble, the nation would collapse, and my life would be over.

My dream of a peaceful unemployed life? That would be gone forever.

Maybe I’d be gone to the next world too.

“Please stop. Don’t do this.”

Please let me enjoy my life as a wealthy unemployed person to my heart’s content!

With such desperate feelings, I grabbed both of Mikhail’s hands.

Though Mikhail stopped walking, he didn’t take back what he’d said.

The atmosphere was still like thin ice covered in cracks.

Even if we somehow escape this situation, there’s no telling when things might explode.

Feeling a migraine coming on, I opened my mouth.

“Let’s continue with the contract. But we need to add a few clauses.”

“My Lady.”

“Listen to me, Mikhail. This is my decision, not because of their threats. Please.”

Otherwise, we’ll all die!

I held his hands with all my sincerity, and just as I was starting to worry I might be bruising them-

“My current master is you, My Lady. I’ll do as you wish, so please don’t beg me.”

Mikhail didn’t question or argue with me any further.