The Grand Duke stared intently at Miki after his greeting, then slowly opened his mouth.

“You came to the wedding hall, yet left without even greeting me.”

“Ahahaha… Well, something happened then.”

“We will speak separately later about the disturbance you caused.”

“R-right!”

Miki merely scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

As for me, I could not tell whether those two were close or not.

“Please come inside.”

Though he had been cold as ice only seconds ago, the Grand Duke, who held out his hand to escort me, was nothing but gentle.

It struck me anew that he was soft only toward me.

“Yes.”

I smiled at the Grand Duke.

For an instant, his golden eyes trembled faintly, like sunlight rippling.

On top of that, though he had told me to go inside, he remained as still as a wooden statue while holding my hand.

“Kin?”

Thinking his reaction was oddly strange, I tilted my head slightly.

“Mia, I think you are beautiful in every moment.”

…He smiled as he said that.

It was truly nothing special, and yet it was a terribly embarrassing thing to say.

But when he whispered that I was beautiful, along with that bright, radiant smile, it made me feel good.

“Kin, I think you are the more beautiful one.”

So much so that if a god existed in this world, I thought you might be one of the masterpieces that god had created.

“Even if that were true, I would not compare to you.”

The Grand Duke’s eyes curved beautifully as he pressed his lips to the back of my hand, then drew away.

His lips had long since left, yet the soft sensation of them still lingered on the back of my hand.

And before I knew it, my gaze drifted to his lips.

“Mia, marrying you has been a blessing to me…”

Just as the Grand Duke was about to say more, a large, dark hand covered his mouth.

“Brother, do that la~ter, when I’m not here, and let’s go inside already. Yes?”

It was Miki, who had been silently going ugh! beside us all this time.

“Don’t make a lonely man feel even more miserable.”

Soon, Miki entered the office ahead of us.

“Goodness, it’s cold! I’ll freeze to death waiting for you two to finish expressing your affection!”

He said it while hunching over as if terribly cold, briskly rubbing both arms with his palms.

To be honest, it was painfully obvious that he was doing it on purpose, but I pretended not to notice.

Because the Grand Duke was already growling, his golden eyes flashing.

“Kin, let’s go inside too.”

Sensing that something might happen if I left them as they were, I linked my arm through the Grand Duke’s.

“Yes, Madam.”

At that, the Grand Duke’s terrifying glare softened considerably.

Honestly!

And so, the three of us sat side by side in the office.

It was a meeting I had arranged because I wanted to ask for the Grand Duke’s cooperation regarding Miki and Elia, but…

“Ah, Brother. Stop glaring at me. You’re going to bore a hole through me.”

Perhaps still offended by what had just happened, the Grand Duke kept glaring at Miki.

“I never glared at you.”

He denied it, but even to me, that was definitely glaring.

“Even now! Even now! Your eyes are bulging like they’re about to pop out!”

“That is your imagination.”

The Grand Duke calmly replied, as if asking what nonsense he was spouting, and took a sip of tea.

“This is exactly why I don’t come to visit you, Brother.”

“Look who’s talking. I dislike it when you come too, because you’re noisy.”

“I never said I disliked you. Isn’t that a little too much?”

Somehow, it felt as if a dog and a cat had been put in the same place.

Judging by the way they bickered, they did not seem to be on distant terms.

If anything, they looked rather close.

While I silently observed the two of them—

“Couldn’t you scold Brother for me?”

Miki suddenly turned toward me and trotted over.

Not only that, he crouched down in front of me, clasped his hands together, and blinked his eyes.

It was clearly a gesture asking me to help him, but I ignored it.

If I answered or even pretended to mediate here, I had a feeling things would become tiresome.

Besides, having a man so tall and well-built sending me pleading looks right in front of me was rather burdensome.

“Do not try anything with my wife.”

The Grand Duke growled lowly, grabbed Miki by the head, and dragged him away.

Thanks to that, Miki ended up sitting obediently beside the Grand Duke.

My soul had nearly fled my body from all the chaos, so this was for the best.

“Let’s finish making our plan before the sun sets.”

With that as the beginning, I explained to the Grand Duke the dispute that had occurred between Elia and Miki.

If I wanted to obtain his cooperation, explaining was only natural.

“Mm, is that so?”

After hearing the whole situation, the Grand Duke tilted his head slightly.

At that, the sharp line of his jaw stood out.

For a moment, despite myself, I ended up thinking that his profile was truly close to a work of art.

I had thought only his face from the front was handsome, but apparently, even his side profile was remarkably handsome too.

Soon, he propped his chin on his thumb, touched his temple with his index finger, and slowly parted his lips.

“As for that matter, there seems to be no need to think deeply about it. It should simply be sent to trial.”

The Grand Duke’s reaction was the same as mine when I had first heard Miki’s story.

“However, Miki doesn’t seem to want that.”

At my words, the Grand Duke’s brow twitched.

“But monetary issues like this are more efficiently contested in court. The resulting punishment will be severe as well.”

I thought the same.

The problem was that the person who could bring this matter to the surface did not want to.

When I glanced toward Miki, all trace of his lively demeanor had vanished, and he sat sunken in silence.

“I only want Elia to apologize to me.”

Before long, Miki opened his mouth.

With his fingers interlaced, he leaned slightly forward and stared at the floor.

“To be honest, I’m afraid Elia might truly die because of this.”

“Tsk!”

Instead of saying anything to Miki, the Grand Duke clicked his tongue.

“I understand what you want, but isn’t Lady Elia avoiding you right now?”

“Yes, she is. Last time, if Madam Grand Duchess hadn’t helped me, I would never have been able to meet her at all.”

“The chronic problem here is that you can’t settle the matter because the other party keeps avoiding you. What should we do about that?”

I pondered it carefully, but no particular method came to mind.

To be honest, the only thought in my head was that I wanted to drag every last member of House Erinique away and burn them at the stake.

Because my parents were already dead, and I hated those people who had prolonged their lives on the back of that death.

But if I recklessly kidnapped them and did such a thing, then not only I, but the Grand Duke as well…

While I was lost in one thought after another, my eyes met the Grand Duke’s.

As always, the moment our gazes met, the Grand Duke smiled at me.

In that instant, I made one decision.

I should not put that man in a difficult position because of my private feelings.

No.

Wait, that wasn’t right.

Why was I saying I would protect the Grand Duke, when I had married him in the first place to make use of his status and power?

I was busy enough just looking after myself.

I could not understand why such a thought had suddenly occurred to me, and I was confused with myself.

“Then how about this?”

While I was struggling with that inner conflict, the Grand Duke opened his mouth again.

“We give the other party a chance to apologize, and if they show no remorse, we send the matter to trial.”

Since he had agreed with me earlier, I wondered if he might say, just as I had thought, that we should simply kill them.

Unexpectedly, however, he offered a rather gentlemanly opinion.

“However, since the other party is deliberately avoiding him to the point of changing her residence, it will not be easy to send it to trial.”

“You’re right. Moreover, to summon her by force, we would need His Majesty’s approval… and I doubt we can obtain that.”

After all, the Emperor had warned us not to marry, and we had ignored all of it.

More than anything, the relationship between the Grand Duke and the Emperor was poor.

“I will look into whether there are any banquets hosted by imperial nobles this coming weekend. If an invitation is sent to Erinique as well, you should be able to meet naturally.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Miki must have found the Grand Duke’s suggestion acceptable as well, because he nodded.

“Then let us meet again next time.”

It did feel somewhat abrupt, but I needed to send Miki back quickly.

Because after he left, there was something important I needed to discuss with the Grand Duke alone.

Since I still did not know Miki well, I could not mention my plan in front of him.

As for the Grand Duke, he already knew I had been dreaming of revenge from the moment I left the estate.

But he was different.

So, the moment the formal conversation ended, I told Miki to hurry back.

But Miki only sat on the sofa and fidgeted, making no move to leave.

If I told him to go, he should just go. Did he still have something left to say?

“Aren’t you leaving?”

I once again hinted for Miki to go.

“The truth is, I’ve left home.”

At that, Miki scratched his cheek with his index finger and smiled awkwardly.

I stared at him, wondering what on earth he meant.

Beside Miki, the Grand Duke sighed.

“You mean you ran away from home.”