But Blair had turned away without a guard up, and the sight of Kalintz suddenly much closer than before stopped the words in her throat.

A scent of fresh grass and citrus wrapped around her.

The firm, smooth expanse of his chest, visible through the slightly open robe, was right there in front of her eyes.

“A contract…… what?”

A voice, slightly rough for some reason, resonated low from above her.

“Oh…… well, that is, you see.”

The suddenly narrowed distance and the unfamiliar sight before her left Blair uncharacteristically tongue-tied.

“I thought we might need a contract…… since we are going to be husband and wife for two years, after all.”

Blair held out the rolled parchment and watched his expression.

The look that had been boring into her shifted to one of bewilderment.

“……So. You’re talking about a contract.”

It was quite a reaction for someone who was usually so smug and teasing.

“Would you sit down and read through it? I wrote it in bits and pieces on your behalf, since you’ve been so busy.”

Blair said it breezily and took a small step back.

“……Ha.”

Kalintz stared at her for a moment, then let out a dry breath and ran a hand through his hair.

“Quite the mischievous little trick.”

He said it as though he could not believe her, then took the rolled parchment she held out and added,

“But Blair.”

His deep, settled golden eyes fell on her sharply.

“Next time, I won’t take it as a joke.”

The words what will you do about it rose all the way to the tip of her tongue.

“Go ahead and try, if you’re curious.”

“No. I’m not curious. Not at all.”

The answer came out far too quickly for his expression, and Kalintz laughed and took the contract.

He crossed his legs on the sofa, wine glass in one hand, and unrolled the parchment.

Watching Kalintz read through the contract carefully in his slightly disheveled state, Blair felt a strange tension.

“In the event that a smooth removal from position does not occur as planned two years hence, every effort shall be made to restore Blair Mervish’s standing to its prior state.”

Kalintz read the contents of the contract aloud.

“Restoration of standing shall mean, at minimum, residence in the west annex or a measure of greater standing, and the safety of Blair Mervish must be guaranteed throughout this process.”

He narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin.

“Sending a former princess consort back to the west annex?”

“I looked into it, and apparently there was a precedent. A princess consort named Siana once relinquished her crown and went to the west annex of her own accord.”

At the time, they had gone more than three years without an heir, and none of the frons had chosen to remain in the west annex, so the royal family had faced mounting pressure to bring in a new concubine or princess consort.

In those circumstances, she had reportedly requested that a new princess consort be brought in while she herself would live in the west annex.

“Perhaps she, like me, chose the Withered Garden to escape tiresome interference…… ah.”

Blair caught herself speaking too candidly and quickly pressed her lips together. But Kalintz only laughed and said,

“No need to be coy about it now. We both find the royal family suffocating.”

A deep cynicism crossed Kalintz’s face as he said it.

“In any case, you found the precedent well.”

“I have to prepare for every contingency.”

Trusting his plan alone and leaving her future in his hands was too uncertain. She had no way of knowing what variables might arise.

Blair already knew all too well, in the most painful way, that the world did not always go according to plan.

A bitter memory surfaced unbidden, and Blair took a sip of the wine Kalintz had poured. A faintly bitter sweetness traced a warm path down her throat.

He spoke in a quiet voice.

“My plan won’t fail, but even if it did, don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility for you to the end.”

He had to say it with a smile, of all things.

“Then I’m glad to hear it.”

Blair drank a few more sips of wine, trying not to pay attention to her heart, which was beating away without her permission.

Kalintz glanced at her briefly, then turned back to the contract with a serious expression.

“Physical contact is permitted only in official settings, only when necessary, and only within appropriate limits.”

He tilted his head slightly.

“You think I’d make unnecessary physical contact in unofficial settings?”

“Of course you would never do anything like that. But since this is a contract arrangement, I thought there should be some kind of standard, and also…… this applies to me as well…… ahem.”

Blair rambled on, feeling as though she was painting him as someone shameless. He let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Then what does ‘appropriate limits’ mean?”

“Enough that it doesn’t look unnatural to others.”

Blair continued, a little embarrassed.

“After all, in people’s eyes, we will look like…… the most devoted couple in the world.”

People would certainly find it strange if they seemed awkward around each other.

“There are already people who think there’s something going on between us.”

Blair recalled a noble lady at the banquet earlier who had probed with pointed questions, wondering if there was some secret no one else knew about.

She had phrased it delicately, but the real meaning behind her words was essentially, did you make some kind of deal with the prince?

“There will always be people like that, sniffing around for something to sink their teeth into.”

Kalintz said it with a cold, contemptuous smile.

“In any case, that ‘appropriate limits’ is going to cover quite a broad range. If it has to look like the romance of the century.”

“……I’ve prepared myself for that.”

“Hmm. Have you.”

His eyes had filled with mischief again. Blair shot him a look, and Kalintz laughed and skimmed through the rest of the contract.

He turned the pages one by one, reading through the contents with apparent interest, and it was not long before a crack appeared in his expression.

“……What is this clause?”

He frowned deeply.

“In the event that either party engages with another person of the opposite s*x, the other party shall be notified immediately, and neither party shall engage in conduct that jeopardizes the contract arrangement?”

There was an unmistakable edge of irritation in Kalintz’s voice.

“Oh, that’s just in case. With people, you never know what might happen.”

Nobles were the sort to bring up concubines and mistresses the moment an heir was even slightly delayed.

Some had no qualms about pushing their own daughters into the role of a mistress, and it was actually quite common for a mistress to be more beloved than the princess consort.

There was no reason Kalintz could not be the same.

“Even if something like that were to happen, the point is to be careful not to let anyone find out it’s a contract marriage……”

“So what you’re saying is,”

Kalintz set his glass down on the table with a sharp click.

“While you’re with me, you intend to see someone else. Is that what you’re saying?”

“What? No, I’m not saying I would, I’m saying if something like that were to happen—”

“Absolutely not.”

His dark golden eyes flashed with a sharp light.

“I won’t stand for that, Blair.”

“No, this clause wasn’t put in because of me…… I was worried nobles might push a mistress on you—”

“Regardless of who the subject is, I want no part in anything that sordid. Contract or not, we are husband and wife, and I will not have my wife beside another man.”

That’s what I’m saying, it’s a clause about you, not me!

Blair stared at him with a thoroughly baffled expression.

“I can’t accept this clause. This one, and this one too.”

Kalintz pointed to the supplementary clauses listed below and spoke. Then he picked up the pen Blair had brought for signing and drew bold lines through them.

He pressed so hard it looked like he might tear through to the next page.

“Wait, be careful! You’ll rip it!”

“It’s too thin.”

He struck through a few more clauses he found unacceptable without mercy, then began writing in new content.

It was roughly to the effect that for the duration of the contract, neither party would pursue any romantic involvement with anyone other than the other.

“Now that’s more like it.”

Kalintz smiled with obvious satisfaction, and Blair let out a helpless laugh.

He really was impossible to figure out.

Meanwhile, Lady Camille, on her way back to the queen’s palace, remembered she had left her handkerchief in Blair’s room and turned back in a hurry.

It was a handkerchief Queen Rhea had personally gifted her, so she intended to retrieve it quickly.

Fortunately, the handkerchief was still sitting on the vanity table.

She carefully picked it up and was about to slip out of the room when an unusual sound came from the bedroom.

“……Be careful! You’ll rip it!”

Be careful? With what? Rip what?

From the grumbling about it being too thin, it seemed the nightgown was being torn.

“Now that’s more like it.”

A voice of unmistakable satisfaction followed.

“Good heavens…… those two really are…… passionate.”