“We’ve confirmed that Lady Dietrich is staying at the residence provided by the association.”

“Residence?”

“Yes. From what we’ve learned, it’s very close to the office.”

Andert, leaving the hotel room, checked the time. Taking his eyes off the clock that was nearly noon, he instructed,

“Handle any telegrams from the capital after returning.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“I’ll move alone today, so there’s no need to follow.”

“…Yes, understood.”

Daniel, who was about to say something at those unexpected words, soon closed his mouth. Andert immediately boarded the waiting carriage.

Originally, he planned to meet Chloe in the morning.

But this morning, a sudden telegram arrived from Roman. Only Roman knew he was here. For him to send news this far meant it couldn’t be casually postponed.

The telegram’s main point was about reporting a fire that occurred last night at a transportation company where Dietrich was a major investor. The company planned to issue large-scale bonds to secure emergency funds and asked for Andert’s opinion.

Of course, it was an urgent matter for those involved. But it wasn’t that important to him.

Though there would be losses from the fire, with shipping logistics increasing, recovering the funds wouldn’t be difficult. Andert decided on the scale of additional bonds to purchase. Only after sending his reply could he finally leave his seat.

The delay had already stretched to over three hours.

In the carriage heading to his destination, he stared outside with emotionless eyes. The scenery of Bergen, a small city, was unfamiliar. Low-rise buildings showing traces of time quickly passed by.

Suddenly, the first gift and letter Chloe had given him unfolded in his memory.

「Andert.
Though I can’t spend your first birthday after our marriage together, I sincerely congratulate you.
I hope we can be together next year.
— Chloe」

The day before his birthday in Daloa, Chloe’s gift had arrived. Inside the box wrapped in several layers to prevent damage was a hat.

But Andert wasn’t pleased with the gift itself. Since he was six, birthdays were just days that reminded him of the worst memories.

Moreover, it wasn’t even his actual birth date. He stayed at Daloa at that time due to the cunning threats of the one on the throne. It was Viscount Hardin’s sister who had secretly gathered information to make those threats possible in the first place.

So at that time, he was still suspicious of Chloe. He thought she must be connected somehow to Viscount Hardin’s sister.

He couldn’t even remember what he did with that gift. Perhaps the only moment he saw the hat was when he opened the box to check it. Naturally, he didn’t even send a common reply.

But Chloe sent another gift and letter the following year.

「Andert.
I’m sorry we can’t spend your birthday together this year too.
But I hope you have the happiest day of all.
— Chloe」

What emerged from the small box was a keychain engraved with the goddess of fortune.

Checking the dangling ring, Andert couldn’t help but burst into laughter. It was undoubtedly a laughter filled with coldness. A goddess of fortune for someone who’s forcibly enduring time in Daloa?

Is this how she pretends to be caring while testing the other person?

At the same time, the goddess of fortune with flowing hair disappeared into a corner of the desk drawer. Since he didn’t bring it separately on his way to Artion, that gift must have lost its owner forever.

Later, on his birthday that they spent together in Artion, Chloe always came to find him first early in the morning.

“I wanted to be the first to wish you a happy birthday. Happy birthday, Andert.”

Yet Chloe herself never received much celebration on her own birthday.

After removing his suspicions toward his wife, he thought she was trying her best. Just to get what she wanted. Andert assumed their desired goals were the same.

And the birthday he faced after Chloe left was the worst. Had he gotten used to someone’s congratulations that he thought he never wanted?

The afterimage of Chloe with her faint smile quickly disappeared over the fast-moving carriage window.

He had to return to the capital tomorrow. Work that had been postponed to spare these few days in Bergen was still piling up even now.

“My lord, we’ve arrived at the place you mentioned.”

At the coachman’s guidance, Andert stepped down without delay. The familiar building and street from yesterday appeared before his eyes.

He headed straight for the residence with the written address. His unhesitating footsteps climbed the stairs and reached the end of the corridor past the closely packed doors.

But despite several knocks, there was no significant response from inside the room. Just as he was about to knock one last time, the next door opened and someone poked their head out.

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

The woman with her hair tied tightly looked at the stranger with wary eyes. He was at a loss for how to answer.

To be precise, he was Andert Dietrich, Chloe’s husband. But it was difficult to determine how much to reveal to someone whose name he didn’t even know.

“Chloe…”

“Ah, are you looking for Miss Chloe?”

But as soon as she heard the familiar name, the woman quickly asked back. In that short time, she had already finished examining the strange visitor from head to toe.

Especially the shining shoes that had clearly never walked on rough roads. The man’s appearance and attire were equally eye-catching. Concluding there was no reason to be suspicious of such an elegant man, the woman opened her door a bit wider.

To think Chloe, who practically lived at the office, had such a man.

Deciding to ask about their relationship when she got the chance, she pointed outside the building.

“Miss Chloe always goes to work even on weekends. You’ll probably find her if you go to the office.”

“Thank you.”

Nodding slightly to her, Andert turned around immediately. It was a natural, flowing motion and greeting.

That’s why the woman didn’t realize until the moment he disappeared around the corridor. That the greeting and attitude of the man she met today for the first time had been noticeably overbearing.

Leaving the residence, Andert headed straight for the association building where Chloe worked.

But the office door was firmly locked. The corridor with no one coming or going was even desolate. These two places were the only ones he knew anyway. So he had no choice but to wait until Chloe returned.

Though his purpose was clear, to have to spend time like this… He swallowed his complicated feelings with a short sigh.

It had already been two months since Chloe left the capital. Rumors that the Dietrich couple was counting down to separation were already spreading secretly in society. No matter how much Roman tried to keep the servants quiet, it was not enough to stop the people’s curiosity that was spreading like wildfire.

Andert checked the coffee shop and store visible directly across from the building. Despite it being a weekend afternoon, there weren’t many people on the street.

Scanning the closely packed signs, he turned his gaze to the opposite side. At that moment, the sun at its peak pierced his eyes like a stab.

As he reflexively frowned, a familiar yet strange silhouette appeared at the end of the street. Though somewhat distant, he recognized at a glance that it was Chloe. And she wasn’t alone.

Andert quietly observed the man walking in step with Chloe. The man’s head, whose face wasn’t visible from the front, was constantly turned toward the person walking beside him.

And when the man said something, Chloe’s faintly smiling face was transmitted clearly into his view.

Chloe… smiled?

Andert stared at the two without blinking. Until the distance gradually closed.

***

It was Chloe who first recognized him standing firmly in front of the building. Her steadily walking shoes suddenly stopped.

“…Andert.”

It was a call that seemed to ask why he was here. Andert took another step toward the two. No, precisely toward Chloe.

“I came because I have something to discuss with you. We barely talked about what I wanted to say yesterday.”

“……”

Chloe didn’t give any particular response. Andert’s eyes, moving away from her somewhat paler-looking eyes, immediately turned to the man standing beside her.

His languid gaze confirmed the light silver-gray hair and eyes in turn. He instantly recognized that the jacket the other wore was not ordinary. Simultaneously, one name emerged from his scattered memories.

Aaron Hussler. The eldest son of Count Hussler.

“It’s been a while.”

Aaron, who had calmly endured the cold gaze, greeted first.

“I’m seeing you here.”

Andert replied briefly.

He couldn’t understand why Aaron was here with Chloe. Before knowing the other’s identity, he had assumed they were just colleagues. After all, in a city like Bergen, there couldn’t be any common ground except being coworkers.

“Bergen holds deep meaning for me. I’ve visited here occasionally before.”

Aaron responded while maintaining eye contact.

Meaning? Andert’s eyes narrowed at the irritating word. At the same time, the scene of Chloe’s faint smile replayed in his mind. Along with the man’s head that had been fixed on that face.

Moreover, there wasn’t even the slightest tremor visible in the other person. Instead, what was felt from Aaron was an inexplicable wariness.

For someone he coincidentally met in an unfamiliar city to be wary of him… Andert’s lips twisted slightly.