When Daphne left home, the maid who had gone separately headed to Gabriel’s guild. She delivered the message that he should come pick up Daphne after she finished her business.

Gabriel gave instructions to the old man as soon as he heard the maid’s words.

“Drive the carriage.”

Despite being the guild’s gatekeeper, he was reduced to a mere coachman. The old man frowned, but his attitude changed immediately upon learning that the person he would be picking up was Daphne.

He had a look of renewed determination. He asked Gabriel, “Will Miss Daphne’s guard be coming too?”

It was rare enough for him to speak at all, but now he was suddenly curious about someone else’s guard.

“Why are you asking about that?”

“I have a debt to repay.”

He stroked his shortened beard as he spoke.

Although Gabriel warned him not to do anything unnecessary, the old man set off full of anticipation.

But to his great disappointment, Daphne was alone. The old man picked her up and blended into the traffic among the other carriages.

There were so many carriages that the road became congested. When they stopped briefly and started moving again, Gabriel had somehow boarded the carriage.

He took Daphne’s hand and glanced up at her. He was asking permission to kiss the back of her hand.

However, Daphne shook her head and withdrew her hand.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, yet you’re so cold to me.”

His lips immediately protruded in a pout.

This wasn’t good.

He kept responding irritably.

It had been the same when Kartun moved the Emperor to approve their marriage.

‘Marriage…. Of course they can. It’s better that they do.’

It would be more advantageous if his main client’s status increased. That is, if the union of those two didn’t pose a threat to him.

His task was clear. He just needed to focus on discovering what the Grand Duke and the Emperor had exchanged in return for the marriage.

That’s what he should have been doing.

Yet in his mind, he kept seeing Daphne standing next to Kartun in a wedding dress.

The absurd thing was that it felt as if he had actually seen this scene.

‘Strangely…. it feels familiar.’

Like déjà vu.

It felt like a scene he had actually witnessed. And the bitterness he had felt at that time was conveyed intact. If past lives existed as people claimed, it felt exactly like that.

Gabriel tried hard to erase these delusions, dismissing them as nonsense.

But when he heard the report that Kartun and Daphne had kissed in the imperial garden, he could no longer deny it.

‘Do I like her?’

Being attracted to a client.

For someone who had built the Empire’s largest guild with his own hands, this was absolutely unacceptable. Given the nature of the information guild, even a momentary lapse in judgment due to emotions could deal a serious blow.

‘But what can I do about feelings?’

Kartun’s constant efforts to prevent contact with her also contributed to his frustration.

He vaguely understood why moths flew into flames.

Just earlier, he had come filled with hope that he would finally be able to meet her….

The hand kiss was a kind of playful gesture. From his teasing promise to give it if she did well, to his grumbling when she refused like now—it was all meant as a lighthearted joke. So whether she permitted it or not, he should just smile and move on. But he couldn’t do that.

Gabriel remained silent for a while, lost in these thoughts.

Daphne didn’t pay much attention to his unusual behavior. She surely wouldn’t fail to notice, but seemed to be deliberately ignoring it.

Daphne got straight to the point.

“How is Zenos doing lately?”

After the premature leak of his clockwork watch invention, Zenos had been purchasing materials through Gabriel’s guild.

“No major changes. Judging by the recent significant decrease in material purchases, it seems his new invention is nearly complete.”

“Good. There will be many people wanting to buy this invention discreetly. Give advance notice to the wealthy.”

“Understood.”

“And take this.”

“What is it?”

Gabriel examined the document she handed him and asked incredulously.

“I’ve bought some mining rights myself, but… what criteria did you use to purchase these, Miss?”

“The future.”

“Pardon?”

“Buying mining rights for places where resources are already being extracted would guarantee profit. But friction with the landowners would be unavoidable.”

“Isn’t that what the law is for?”

“If everything could be solved by laws, that would be nice. Life would be much easier. I wish it were so.”

Once again, Gabriel was at a loss for words.

Indeed, who would remain quiet if a new law cut into their profits? That’s why he had focused on purchasing rights from individual owners.

The reason was very simple. It was far more efficient to deal with the weak rather than the strong, individuals rather than organizations.

Daphne spoke firmly.

“Instead of trying to take from the weak, develop something new that’s uniquely yours.”

She sorted through the mining rights and gave some to Gabriel.

“This is payment for your services.”

“I said I would do it for free.”

“The request will take quite a while. So I want to pay the proper price. Unlike some people, I have a conscience.”

Gabriel cleared his throat, seemingly embarrassed.

“What is the request?”

“Fabian has returned home. Protect him.”

Gabriel made a puzzled expression and then fell silent for a moment. He was trying to figure out why she was making such a request.

“Is this because of the succession dispute?”

“Yes.”

Gabriel nodded as if he understood.

“Is young master Fabian planning to enter the fray?”

“Not yet.”

Daphne explained methodically.

“Ludwig has been firmly established as the sole heir for a long time, so neither Fabian nor Zenos considered becoming the family head. Especially Zenos, who would absolutely hate it.”

In her previous life, he had only taken on the role because there was no other choice. Even after becoming the family head, the first thing he said was that it was only temporary.

He had framed it as having no choice but to step in until Fabian grew up, since he was still young.

“Everyone has different preferences. Zenos lives for the joy of discovering new things and creating even newer things from them.”

“While Ludwig pursues money and power.”

“But he cares for Fabian in his own way. He won’t harm him unless Fabian formally challenges him for succession.”

“Then… Stephanie?”

“Exactly. There was a bit of an incident recently.”

Daphne told him about how Stephanie had picked a quarrel with her and nearly got thrown out by Werner.

“She must be feeling self-conscious since I’m becoming the Grand Duchess. She’s stubbornly staying despite Father speaking so bluntly. Normally, she would have left even if her mother tried to hold her back.”

“Does she have something in mind?”

Daphne nodded at Gabriel’s speculation.

“She keeps circling around Fabian and being spiteful to Mother. It’s like she’s saying, ‘Let’s see how much you can tolerate me.'”

“Has she finished gauging how easy it is to push around her mother-in-law, the Marchioness?”

“She seems to be watching for any changes now that Fabian has returned.”

“So she’s measuring whether your mother becomes more confident with Fabian behind her.”

“The problem is that Mother isn’t like that, but Stephanie’s side might misunderstand one-sidedly. Even if that’s not the case, she might think it’s easier to eliminate him preemptively.”

Gabriel looked at Daphne as if seeing her anew.

‘Does she hate her simply because she’s her sister-in-law?’

It wasn’t simply a matter of being wary of someone. Daphne’s voice contained something beyond caution, almost like anger.

This was Gabriel’s accurate assessment.

In her previous life, after Ludwig died, Stephanie returned to her family. She resented the transfer of the marquis title to another brother more than her husband’s death.

She had gloated over Zenos’s death and treated Christine, Fabian, and Daphne harshly. She didn’t hesitate to say cruel things like blaming them for Ludwig’s death.

When they finally relinquished the marquis title, she was delighted. She preferred to see them utterly ruined rather than watch others enjoy what she couldn’t have.

“Just because they’re married doesn’t mean they always share the same intentions or move together. Since such variables exist, I want to prepare in advance.”

Gabriel hesitated before finally speaking with difficulty.

“Despite my repeated failures with your requests… you don’t mind?”

Daphne smiled wryly. She could imagine how much his pride had been hurt for him to ask such a question.

Instead of answering, Daphne asked him with a serious expression.

“What do you think of Kartun?”

Gabriel couldn’t answer readily.

A monster-like fellow.

He was incomparable to any opponent Gabriel had faced before. No one had ever cornered him like this.

And he hated him so much.

A strong opponent was usually a good stimulus and challenge. That mindset had helped him reach his current position. But he truly hated Kartun.

Because he kept losing to him in front of the woman he liked. And now, to make matters worse, Kartun was trying to take that woman away.

“I want to defeat him somehow.”

“That will be difficult.”

The response was utterly cold.

“Has he become like a monster from hunting monsters? Ordinary people like us are no match for him.”