The air in the Grand Duke’s study was heavier and more stifling than usual today. Mihael pushed back the anxious current flowing through the room and cleared his throat with a hmm.

“That is the last of it, Your Highness.”

Kahar sat at the desk in his study, stamping documents as a matter of obligation.

Reading through the text on each document with what looked like reluctance but was actually remarkable speed, Kahar possessed a genuinely astounding mind.

He never operated at a loss, and he excelled in politics, diplomacy, business, and academics alike. He seemed to have no interest in the arts world, but he was far too busy a man to claim that domain as well.

Before long, the sun set, and the deep darkness of night settled over the large window of the study.

Kahar glanced up briefly, looked out the window once, and parted his lips.

“The young lady.”

“The young lady has not yet returned. Shall I reach out directly?”

Exactly one hour ago, Kahar asked the same thing.

So Mihael called a servant and instructed him to look into her whereabouts and report back once her return was confirmed.

But since there was still no word, it seemed she hadn’t come back yet.

There were ways to reach her directly. A voice connection could be made through the magic device Barix carried.

But Kahar didn’t go so far as to give that order.

“The night is deepening, so she is likely already on her way back. Wild animals roam freely around here once it gets dark.”

Wait. Didn’t that make it more dangerous?

Mihael’s brow furrowed.

Sir Barix followed behind the young lady, but even so, Dafwin and Meliciel were both unfamiliar with the nature of the Grand Duchy.

The people of the Grand Ducal Castle generally didn’t go outside once the sun went down.

The road connecting the outer castle to the village was home to wild animals that resumed activity at night.

The black bear from earlier was caught near the village too. The area around the village was sealed off with a barrier, but the road itself was less efficient to cover, so no separate safety net was set up there.

No one ever walked into the Grand Ducal Castle late at night without authorization.

Having thought it through that far, Mihael added:

“A rather sharp-witted maid went along, so it should be fine.”

Rose Arin. She joined the Bliber Knights at a young age and earned her knighthood, then one day abruptly became a maid.

But not many people knew she was a former knight.

It was more fortunate than he could say that Rose was selected as the young lady’s companion and attending maid.

“Is this everything being asked for?”

Kahar tapped the end of the paper and asked. What he was looking at was the contract sent by Duke Dexter.

“He is asking for a thousand radya of land in the southwest to be given as cultivated land.”

“Insane bastard.”

Kahar laughed without a sound. The sight of it was frightening enough that Mihael swallowed dryly.

“Doesn’t know his limits.”

Duke Dexter, who practically handed off a dying daughter, was greedy. His demands had no end.

One mine and one island were already sent. On top of that, distribution rights for duck grass stems, and now the southernmost land.

“What shall we do? Shall we threaten to call off the marriage?”

Whether or not they actually called it off, Duke Dexter was treating the Grand Ducal household with contempt, and he needed a serious warning.

In that sense, bringing up a broken engagement would make for a fairly reasonable threat.

“Call off the marriage?”

For a moment, a sharp and savage madness flickered across Kahar’s long eyes.

Mihael instinctively felt his breath constrict and rubbed his own chest with his hand.

“……Do you have something else in mind?”

“There is no need to call off the marriage.”

No, that’s not what I meant, I was only suggesting we say it.

Why are you smiling like that?

Knowing full well what Mihael intended, Kahar looked at him the way one looks at a subordinate who committed a grave blunder.

“Watch your mouth.”

“I apologize.”

“Give him the southern land. Draw up a one-year contract and set the price at more than double the original.”

“Are you serious?”

Mihael narrowed his eyes and asked again.

“Shall I repeat myself?”

“No, no. But the southern land is difficult for outsiders to cultivate……”

“Well, the capable Duke Dexter will just have to figure that out himself.”

Kahar rose from his chair as though the work was done. He was large even when seated, but standing, his solid frame cast an even greater shadow.

“Your Highness, do you truly intend to collect rent from Duke Dexter?”

“Yes. He seems desperate for that land, so there is no reason to take a loss.”

He wasn’t wrong, but it left a bad taste. The firm stance of not operating at a loss was admirable, but Mihael still felt uneasy, given that the deal was made in exchange for a young woman.

He didn’t like calling it a deal when a person was involved, but that was the truth of it.

“Ahem, if word gets out that Your Highness leased land to Duke Dexter for money, the one who suffers will be Lady Meliciel.”

There were eyes in the world, and refusing to give the land at all would look less sordid.

“It will appear that she was traded away, and still……”

“He handed over a young lady on death’s door, and now I should pay a usage fee? Who exactly is the one going too far here?”

He regretted asking. If the young lady ever heard this conversation, it would be absolutely awful.

Kahar stood with emotionless eyes fixed on the window. The study was lit with only the minimum of light, so standing close to the window made the outside scenery easy enough to see.

Gazing at the quiet garden, Kahar fell briefly into thought.

Mihael opened his mouth quickly, just before being dismissed.

“And one more invitation arrived.”

“An invitation?”

Only invitations from senders Kahar approved could reach his desk.

That was why Mihael decided to bring this one up in person rather than passing it along.

“It is a divine painting exhibition. Organized by Duke Dexter. It is to be held after the wedding.”

“Of all things.”

Kahar showed no interest, as expected.

“It seems he intends to exhibit divine paintings passed down from previous generations as well.”

“Trying to drain every last drop.”

“Yes. Since the wedding ceremony was stripped down, he means to make up for it with the exhibition.”

In the end, the plan was to use Kahar and Meliciel’s marriage as advertisement for the exhibition.

“The older divine paintings will have lost their effect, but there are works whose value lies in their very existence. He will likely showcase those.”

The divine power contained in a divine painting varied depending on the divine painter who created it, but its effect lasted anywhere from one week to one month.

Healing, recovery, peace, joy, happiness.

Positive emotions could be obtained simply by viewing the painting, so their value varied enormously depending on the quality of the divine power.

That was why divine painters painted endlessly, again and again.

Divine painters born into ducal families might paint at leisure, discussing hobbies and culture, but a divine painter born a commoner lived a hard life.

They had to produce profit.

“He intends to make this a grand affair. Attach the young lady’s name to anything now, and it becomes expensive.”

From now on, Kahar’s name would follow alongside Meliciel’s.

“I suppose it’s something of a relief that Meliciel wasn’t born with that kind of power, or my stomach would be turning even more.”

It was more fortunate than Kahar could say that Meliciel was born ordinary in the Dexter Ducal household, which drafted divine painters.

If the Grand Duchess were a divine painter, the headaches would be endless.

“Will you accept the invitation?”

“I have no interest in watching a farce, nor in becoming one.”

“It will be the first official public appearance after the wedding. A good opportunity to announce that the two of you are married.”

Kahar’s lips curved upward.

“I have no interest in playing the part of her husband either.”

“The two of you should have at least one audience with His Majesty……”

“My aide has quite a lot of demands. When are you leaving?”

Mihael still had more to say, but he turned and left in the face of Kahar’s dark back.

It was an unspoken rule not to provoke the master when he grew sharper as the darkness closed in around him.

The study fell quiet.

Kahar stood there, staring at the window in silence for one hour until a servant came in to report that the young lady had returned.

***

Kahar sank his unusually feverish body into the bath and fell into thought.

Then he lifted his closed eyelids. His eyes ached as though someone held a burning coal up to them.

Even so, sleep wouldn’t come easily. The prominent thick bones of his frame glistened with moisture.

He rose and climbed out of the bath, and the water churned noisily against him. Shhhh.

Without drying off, he pulled on a robe. He tied the sash at his waist loosely and brought a glass to his lips.

The amber liquid poured full into the glass flowed without pause down his throat.

Another wretched night arrived. The time when Lani, lodged deep in his heart, spun round and round.

The problem was that another face kept layering itself over hers.

“Ha……”

Kahar looked down at what rose against his robe and let out a derisive laugh. The heat that swelled with full force showed no sign of settling.

Meliciel Chloe.

A brief thought of her, and desire surged beyond his control.

They weren’t even together in person, and yet just thinking of her could do this. But lately these urges came often.

“Should I call for a doctor?”

Kahar laughed quietly in the dark and refilled his glass. Getting aroused at the sight of her crying, what a sick bastard.

Kahar passed through the bedroom and into the sitting room as he was. Then through Meliciel’s sitting room, and he put his hand on her bedroom door.

At this hour, no one could come near here without Kahar’s summons. It was the time he grew most on edge.

So the only ones on the same floor were Meliciel and Kahar.

“……don’t!”