“Then?”

His handsome brow creased slightly, pressing her to answer. The unspoken pressure left her mouth moving before her head caught up.

“It…… it was the best. I think.”

“That’s a relief. I won’t have to worry about my wife leaving me over poor performance.”

His shameless answer made Liz understand, once again, that she had gotten it entirely wrong.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

Three weeks had passed since she first boarded the ship.

Every bold plan to make Johann say the word divorce first had ended in failure, and more often than not she ended up on the losing end of some scheme the crafty duke had already seen through.

The one thing that had actually changed was that she no longer found Johann von Ashworth even slightly intimidating. She could say whatever she wanted to his face now.

Early on she had tried not to let it show, but there was no longer any reason to manage his impression of her, so she simply acted like herself.

Whether this counted as growing close, she wasn’t sure.

They talked without thinking now, easily enough that they had more or less dropped formality with each other, like old friends.

“My lady, all done.”

She looked up at the maid’s words. In the mirror was her own reflection, wearing a simple beige dress with little decoration, brown hair falling long and loose.

“I did as you asked, but it does look rather plain.”

“My lady, couldn’t you at least wear this necklace?”

Maribel and the other maids looked at the understated outfit with visible regret, each of them hoping to add at least one piece of jewelry.

“You’re so beautiful, my lady. We really don’t understand why you have no interest in dressing up.”

“Too many accessories make it hard to move. And going around too conspicuously makes it awkward to visit the third-class deck.”

Just as the cabins on each deck reflected different price ranges, the differences in wealth were equally clear. The third-class deck had its share of lower-ranking nobles, but far more commoners.

Walking around visibly draped in expensive jewelry was a reliable way to draw unfriendly looks and make the people there uncomfortable without meaning to.

At Liz’s explanation, the maids put the jewelry back into the case with reluctant expressions.

A noblewoman was generally expected to care most about her own appearance and how she presented herself to others.

Serving the Ashworth household, the maids had seen countless noble ladies come from the capital hoping to catch Johann’s attention. All of them had arrived overdressed and heavy with perfume, doing everything they could to attract him.

But their mistress, Liz, was different.

Rather than spending time on her appearance, she thought about other things, brought books on whatever subject interested her, and read them. She had many interests. And despite the simplicity of it, Liz carried a kind of clear, unadorned beauty that none of those polished, elaborate ladies had ever quite matched.

That must be why the master chose her.

The maids smiled brightly, any disappointment already forgotten, and finished tidying up. Maribel watched Liz smooth her hair with her hand and asked, “Where are you going today?”

“There are a few ladies’ salons on board, apparently. I thought I’d look in. I haven’t been keeping up with anything lately.”

Johann seemed to receive reports on the capital and everywhere else in real time even while on the ship, but he shared none of it with her. She had to find her own way to stay informed.

“Mm…… you say that, but wherever you go, things always end up getting……”

“That’s because I happen to run into someone in trouble.”

“I don’t understand why you’re the only one who always seems to find them, my lady.”

“Hmm? What did you say?”

Liz had been adjusting the bonnet a maid was setting on her head. She turned, and Maribel startled and quickly smiled.

“Nothing, my lady.”

“Alright. Ready. Let’s go.”

The maids watched their young mistress stride out of the room with fond smiles, sending her off with quiet warmth.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗

The door to the quiet study swung open.

“Sir.”

“Where is it this time?”

Johann set down his papers with the ease of someone used to this and stood.

“She’s gotten into an argument with a first-class passenger near the library.”

“More of a fight than an argument, I’d imagine.”

Even at Kyle’s uncomfortable expression, a pleased smile settled at the corner of Johann’s mouth.

He had kept her on the ship so she couldn’t run, and now she spent her days wandering every corner of it and inserting herself into other people’s business. More precisely, it was her nature, the part of her that couldn’t stand watching someone weaker being treated unfairly.

Wherever there was a commotion, Liz was at the center of it.

Johann stepped into the corridor and his guards fell into step behind him. He arrived at the source of the noise to find Liz standing in front of a woman, shielding her, squared off against a middle-aged nobleman.

“Who do you think you are, poking your nose into a man’s private affairs with his wife? Vulgar and completely without manners!”

“Regardless of whether she is your wife, I cannot simply stand by and watch you humiliate her and throw a book at her in front of everyone.”

“My wife’s comprehension is lacking, so I was instructing her myself. Then again, I suppose someone like you wouldn’t know much about being properly educated.”

The man looked Liz up and down, taking in her plain dress, and smirked. The contempt in his eyes, reading her simple clothes as evidence of low standing, made something twist in her stomach.

“A gentleman of your social standing is being dishonest. Helping someone weaker is no different from helping one’s own family. Have you forgotten the spirit of noblesse oblige?”

“Ha. Am I to take that as an insult?”

The argument was growing heated. The onlookers were watching with growing unease, and then someone glanced back and went still.

The arrival of the Duke of Ashworth drew sharp intakes of breath from the men and flushed cheeks from the noblewomen. Johann passed through them and stepped between the two parties. The man raised his voice.

“Stay out of this, whoever you are.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. This woman is my wife.”

The weight of a hand landing on her shoulder made Liz look up at Johann. His eyes curved slightly.

She gave a small, startled twitch.

“You’re busy. How did you end up here?”

“Wasn’t causing trouble your way of calling me over?”

Liz winced and opened and closed her eyes quickly.

She looked at the guards with an expression that asked whether they had reported on her. Every one of them flinched and looked away. The other party was a nobleman rather than a commoner, which was apparently enough reason to send for him.

She looked down, embarrassed, and Johann leaned in close to ask,

“So then, who upset my wife this time.”

“That gentleman threw a book at his wife’s face because the book she was looking for wasn’t available. He also tried to drag her away by force while she was crying in pain.”

“I was simply disciplining my wife for failing to show her husband proper respect, Your Grace.”

The man recognized his opponent was the Duke of Ashworth and cleared his throat, scrambling to explain himself.

Liz felt guilty for dragging Johann into this, but watching the man who had glared and lunged at her so aggressively just moments ago shrink the instant Johann arrived was, she had to admit, satisfying.

At the same time, the count’s readiness to adjust his behavior depending on who was watching left a bitter taste.

“I see.”

Having heard the explanation, Johann’s gaze passed over the books scattered across the floor and the bristling man, then came to rest on the cowering woman’s wrist. The red marks and the faint blue bruising visible beneath them made it clear this was not the first time.

Someone who had no hesitation raising his hand in a public place with people watching would surely be worse behind closed doors.

Even so, regardless of how obviously worthless a husband he was, it was not an outsider’s place to interfere in another couple’s affairs. That was also one of the standards of conduct a noble was expected to uphold.

“Liz, it isn’t proper for an outsider to involve themselves in a married couple’s matters.”

“But……”

Liz faltered. She had expected him to help, and his answer was not what she anticipated.

“I’m sorry, but even I am not in a position to say more than that.”

The firm, clear-cut answer made Liz’s expression cloud over.

Is it because they’re both high nobility?

She understood his position, but the disappointment rose before she could stop it. She was just beginning to feel a sting of bitterness toward the man she had, without realizing it, started to rely on, when Johann’s voice came out cold.

“That said, you caused a disturbance and inconvenienced the other passengers. That responsibility clearly falls on you. And I believe an apology is also owed for threatening my wife.”

Liz was about to sink into gloom but looked up sharply.

The man was about to feel vindicated but bit down and fired back.