His closed eyelids twitched slightly.

We looked at each other and slowly backed away.

This man’s physique was not just ordinarily robust.

Seeing how easily he had firmly grabbed my wrist and flipped me over in an instant, the three of us together might not be able to handle him.

We couldn’t feel safe just because his limbs were tied.

Marina backed away and slowly picked up the tin basin that had fallen to the floor.

I grabbed the poker from beside the fireplace.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Hubert looking around and picking up a log from the pile in the fireplace.

It would have been really funny if not for the situation.

But this was no time to let our guard down.

At that moment, the man suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Gasp!”

The man panted, lying on his back looking at the ceiling.

He looked like someone who had just woken from a bad dream.

Then suddenly, as if startled, he twisted his body trying to sit up, then looked at his tied arms.

“This, this is……”

“D-don’t move! I’ll shoot if you move!”

I shouted, stepping forward with the poker in hand.

Only after I said it did I realize it was nonsensical, but looking around, it seemed no one had properly understood me.

So I took another step closer.

“M-Miss!”

Marina called out behind me in a trembling voice, but I ignored her.

After all, I am the owner of this castle, and the two people behind me are my household. Since I’ve ended up in this body, it’s my responsibility to protect them.

“Hey, who are you? Why did you come here! Confess now!”

The man twisted his body on the bed, but it was useless.

“Ugh.”

“If you don’t answer, I’ll call the…… I mean……”

Who exactly would I call in this situation? Not the FBI or anything like that. The police?

“I’ll call the constable!”

Marina shouted sharply from behind.

“I……”

The man twisted his body and looked around at us.

“I…… I mean……”

“One poke with this should make you answer properly, I think.”

As I raised the poker, the man’s face turned pale.

“Wait! I…… I mean, my name is……”

We held our breath waiting for the man’s next words, but only silence followed.

“Stop playing games and answer properly! I’ll really stab you!”

“Hey!”

Just as I pointed the poker at him and took another step closer, the man shouted urgently.

“Damn it! I don’t know! My name…… I mean…… No, I can’t remember anything!”

***

60 hours earlier.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t remember anything?”

The corner of young Count Harford’s mouth turned up crookedly.

But his eyes, as blue as a midsummer sky, weren’t smiling at all.

“C-Count.”

The farmer standing before him with his hat in his hands was trembling, but the Count didn’t even glance at him, focusing indifferently on saddling his horse.

“So you’re saying I promised to give you the mine where your father worked?”

“N-no, sir. Not you, but…… the late Count clearly told my father……”

“Well, I haven’t heard anything about it.”

The Count said indifferently as he leapt onto his horse’s back.

The farmer just stood there, staring blankly up at him.

“My late father made dozens of such promises left and right. I can’t possibly honor them all—it would never end.”

The Count left the sweating farmer behind and galloped away, disappearing toward the far side of the field.

His abundant black hair flowing in the wind, sparkling blue eyes, delicate nose and lips, long legs and broad shoulders.

And his leisurely, arrogant attitude that instantly silenced others, just like now.

The Count appeared as magnificent and charming as a sculpture meticulously crafted by God.

But that was only his outward appearance, as all the estate residents knew.

In fact, anyone who knew Florian Damon Harford called him “the Cold-Blooded of Highcross.”

No, some secretly called him “the Jerk of Highcross” behind his back.

His haughty attitude with its chilling demeanor had always been famous, but it hadn’t been a problem when he was just the Count’s eldest son.

He had simply stood behind his father, who was generous with both smiles and money, wearing a displeased expression.

Everyone knew that the father and son didn’t get along well, but Florian was still the designated heir. The Count couldn’t cast aside his handsome and intelligent eldest son just because he was somewhat rebellious.

Still, if the late Count had had a little more time, the outcome might have been different.

If he had lived until his second son, Griffin, only 15 years old, had grown to adulthood.

But everything happened too suddenly.

The Count, who had gone out riding to inspect his estate, suddenly died of a heart attack, and his eldest son Florian inherited the title of the eighth Count Harford at the age of 25.

It was finally an opportunity for him, who had been quietly biding his time until now.

An opportunity to avenge his mother, who had died unhappily after craving his father’s love her entire life.

An opportunity to cast out his stepmother and half-brother, whom he despised terribly.

And an opportunity to properly cultivate this damn estate that his incompetent father had ruined.

The problem was that what he had inherited was truly worthless garbage.

‘Damn it!’

Florian gripped the reins tightly and lowered his body as much as possible to gain speed.

The passing wind cooled his face, which was hot with anger.

The poor farmer was innocent and should have been treated more kindly.

He should have advised him that the mine would close soon anyway, so it wasn’t even a good job, and he should focus on his farming instead.

But he just wasn’t in the mood.

For the past three months, since inheriting the title of Count, he had been on the verge of exploding.

After finishing the funeral where he couldn’t even shed tears, he sat down with his lawyer and estate manager to review the situation and found that the Count’s estate, “Highcross,” was facing a serious crisis.

‘The biggest problem is that the land is becoming increasingly barren.’

The lawyer said with difficulty.

‘Mining used to be the estate’s main source of income, but as you know, there’s nothing left now. The extraction volume has decreased dramatically, two mines have already closed, and the remaining ones aren’t doing well at all.’

‘Plus, being in the highlands makes farming difficult too.’

‘Hmm.’

Florian nodded thoughtfully.

‘Then in your opinion, what’s most needed now……’

‘I think finding a good match as soon as possible would be……’

‘What?’

Sensing the conversation taking an unexpectedly strange turn, Florian shot the lawyer a sharp look, causing him to smile awkwardly.

‘No, I mean…… that is…… if you find a good match soon and more funds could be invested in estate management……’

‘So you’re telling me to hurry up and bring in a wealthy woman without thinking twice?’

‘No, well, that’s not what I meant…… if you meet someone nice and find peace of mind, it would help with estate management too……’

‘Let’s drop the useless excuses, shall we?’

‘Pardon?’

When the young Count smiled coldly, the two men sitting across from him looked at each other.

‘Highcross has come to this state solely because my late father was incompetent.’

‘No, but Count……’

‘Because of this cursed piece of land, he entered a loveless marriage with a woman with an enormous dowry, tormented her for a lifetime, and eventually squandered even that dowry. And when my mother passed away, before the soil on her grave was even dry, he brought in his penniless former lover, made her the Countess, and even went so far as to give me a half-brother. How truly remarkable he was.’

‘C-Count.’

The two men, much older than Florian, broke into a cold sweat, not knowing how to react to such blatant criticism of the late Count.

‘And then he left me this drained, worthless land, challenging me to try being a Count, mocking me before he departed. I’m so grateful I can’t stop laughing.’

Florian slowly stood up, looking down at the two men with a cold smile.

‘So go ahead, say it again to my face. Tell me to bring in a woman with a large dowry and wither her to death like my mother. Hmm? Even if such money existed, rather than pouring it into this hopeless estate, I’d rather find new land somewhere……’

The two men, who had been looking down nervously, suddenly fell silent and slowly raised their heads in confusion.

The Count, who had been speaking sarcastically with a cynical expression until now, was standing still with his hands behind his back.

Glancing up, they saw that his blue eyes, which had been cold until now, were suddenly sparkling.

‘Um…… Count?’

The estate manager called out in a trembling voice, but Florian didn’t seem to hear.

‘New land……’

After muttering to himself, he suddenly jumped up and strode out of the room with his long legs.

The two men left behind looked at each other in bewilderment.

In their view, “the Cold-Blooded of Highcross” had clearly gone mad with anger.