Chapter 1 – About the Man Named Levin Noctis

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠Ynette quietly set a cup of coffee down on Levin’s desk while he was in the middle of paperwork. She did not leave the room at once, instead idly fiddling with the silver tray and stealing glances at him.

What he was studying so intently was the blueprint for the new train station that was to be built this time. Ynette’s gaze slowly moved from the blueprint covered in complicated numbers and drawings to his face.

A sharp jawline, straight yet stubbornly closed lips, and a high-bridged nose. His appearance was as neat and orderly as the flawless personality of Levin Noctis.

His hair, slicked back neatly with wax, the buttons fastened all the way to the end of his neck, and his posture, straight as if measured with a ruler, had not the slightest disorder to them, to the point of seeming obsessive.

Anyone would have trouble looking away from such outstanding looks, but the most striking thing of all was probably his mist-like silver-gray eyes. Under sunlight, his eyes sparkled like silver coins, while beneath shade they carried the heavy, deep atmosphere of a city under rain.

Ynette swallowed a small gasp at that beauty. It had been over a year since their marriage, but perhaps because the days she had actually faced him were far fewer than that, every time she looked at him she felt an unfamiliar, new tremor.

At the same time, that also meant she still found her own husband difficult. The only thing proving that they were husband and wife was not trust or love, but solely the ring resting on the fourth finger of her left hand.

Her gaze, which had been quietly fixed on the wedding ring, returned to his face.

The small mole lodged near the corner of his eye was pale in color, like his eyes. Yet once she became aware of it, it could not have looked more distinct.

Usually, a mole near the eye gave an impression of danger and allure, but fragility was too soft a word to suit Levin Noctis. He was a cold and arrogant man who seemed to have lived without so much as a single scratch on his heart.

Having passed such a merciless judgment on her husband, Ynette spoke in a calm voice.

“……When you first founded your railway company. Weren’t you afraid? Carving out a new path no one has ever taken is uncertain and frightening.”

At her question, the hand busily moving as it held the quill came to a stop. Levin, who had been staring at the clean writing unstained by even a blot of ink, turned his gaze to Ynette.

“When I was buying up wasteland dirt cheap, everyone said I was mad. But once tracks were laid through that barren land and trains began to run, they all clamored to ride them first.”

Dropping his gaze again, he dipped the tip of the quill in ink and signed the document. Then he added in an indifferent tone,

“Fear is the anxiety of people who do not trust themselves.”

At an answer so very like Levin Noctis, Ynette swallowed a bitter smile.

Then again, perhaps it had been a foolish question from the beginning. To ask a man who looked as though not a single drop of blood would come out even if he were stabbed whether he had ever felt fear. Even if the sky were to collapse at that very moment, he would surely stand there without the slightest movement, looking down at those in turmoil.

“It sounds as though you started the business because you knew it would make money.”

“That is what business is. You do not make money by selling just anything. From the start, you sell the things that are worth money.”

Of course, it was not that others did not know that. They simply had not possessed the same insight and judgment as Levin Noctis.

To a man who had walked a broad, solid road without a single failure, other people’s failures would surely sound vague and foolish, things impossible to understand.

Ynette quietly looked at Levin Noctis as he moved his quill indifferently, as though difficult things were nothing to boast about either.

Noctis, the name of her husband’s family and now her surname as well, was a name that drew interest and attention wherever it went.

It was a family that earned cheers from some and envy from others, but no one could deny that once the name Noctis was attached to anything, it became something classical and elegant, and then became fashionable.

There was also the fact that the family had historically been active in many different fields, but the reason people paid attention to Noctis was Levin Noctis, the master of that house.

As if he possessed some prophetic eye, he produced astonishing results in every field he touched. He did not merely have a knack for things, he went so far as to dominate and lead entire markets. It was little wonder people even said that wherever he went, gold followed.

Because of that, Levin Noctis’s days were packed tight with all manner of engagements, the royal family, parliament, salons, and more.

He was the busiest man in Greenford. Even she, his wife who lived in the same house, seldom saw him.

And that was also the decisive reason Ynette had begun thinking of divorcing Levin Noctis. She no longer had the confidence to continue this lonely marriage on one-sided love alone.

Ynette watched her husband with practiced eyes as he rose from the desk and slipped on his coat as though preparing to go out. He had returned from abroad only this morning, yet as expected, he seemed to have another engagement already.

Her gaze fell for a moment to the cup of coffee still giving off wisps of steam. Coffee he had not even touched because he was so absorbed in work. It was not deliberate disregard. It had merely been pushed lower in priority because of work.

It was something familiar. To her indifferent and capable older husband, Ynette had never once been the highest priority. And that fact often made her unbearably sorrowful.

As though noticing that she had gone silent, the pale, cool back of Levin’s hand lightly brushed her cheek before falling away. The hand wearing a wedding ring was soon covered once more by a glove.

‘She seems to have lost some weight.’

Levin carefully looked over Ynette, who had grown somewhat thinner. It was not simply because he had seen her for the first time in two months, she really did seem to have lost weight overall.

The periodic reports from the butler had contained nothing especially noteworthy. His wife had lived an ordinary life within much the same daily range as usual. The letters she sent unfailingly had not changed either.

It seemed she worried about his well-being, while failing to take care of herself.

A faint line formed between Levin’s brows.

There were two possibilities. Either his wife was carrying some problem that could not be seen from the outside, or the butler had submitted a false report. Either way, all he had to do was find the cause and deal with it.

“You do not look well. If there is anywhere you are unwell, have a doctor called and examined.”

“I’m fine. There’s nowhere that hurts.”

At that calm reply, telling him in effect not to worry, Levin’s eyes narrowed. Sensing that the atmosphere had subtly changed, he looked at Ynette as if measuring her.

And with that, he realized it had been so long that he could not even remember the last time he had eaten a meal with her.

He had never intended to simply bring her here and leave her neglected, but it was also true that the timing of marriage and business expansion had overlapped, and he had failed to pay attention to his wife. To the point that he saw her asleep more often than awake.

‘Even if she says nothing, resentment toward me must have built up.’

In the early days of their marriage, he had gone out of his way to make time, even if only briefly, to show his face, and when he could not, he had sent gifts through his secretary Emil. But recently he had been so busy that he had not even managed that. Spending time with his wife was also a husband’s duty, and he himself admitted that he had been quite neglectful of that duty.

‘Did she say she wanted to see the sea. Once I finish this matter, I should take her away for a holiday.’

After straightening his clothes, Levin said in an indifferent voice,

“I have to go to the royal palace. I’ll be late, so there is no need to wait.”

Ynette called softly to Levin as he turned to leave. His ears did not miss that small voice.

“Um…… Levin.”

Silver-gray eyes turned toward her as if asking what it was. She had something she wanted to say to him, but now that she had stopped him, Ynette found she could not say any of it. Even that brief exchange of glances had made her chest stir.

It was foolish. She still loved him, so there was no way she could easily bring herself to say perhaps they should stop.