Early morning.

When I went to the dining room for breakfast, everyone I met strangely tried to encourage me.

“Miss Lize, you look even more angelic today. Anyone who sees you can’t help but like you.”

“Oh my, even the way you eat is so charming. If my younger brother met a woman like Miss Lize, I would probably cry with joy.”

“Please have some more. Eat a lot and stay strong!”

‘…I don’t know where the food is going.’

Just like yesterday with Arkle, everyone seems to think I’m nervous about my first meeting with Martha.

A maid, with a warm expression that was almost burdensome, spoke as if to instill courage.

“Please know just one thing. We are… on your side no matter what happens, Miss Lize.”

Anyone would think I’m going to my death.

“Enough already.”

Naran, who was eating silently across from me, spoke up.

“Don’t you all know Lize? Nothing will happen.”

At Naran’s calm words, the employees finally seemed to realize they might have gone too far.

“There’s no need to say more. Sister Martha will definitely like Lize.”

‘Naran….’

His unwavering voice was a bit touching.

“—Otherwise, I’ll run away from home.”

‘?’

I was momentarily doubtful at his next words.

Naran continued eating as if nothing happened and said,

“If Sister tries to kick Lize out of this mansion, I’ll say she has to kick me out first.”

“…….”

So he’s saying he’ll threaten his sister?

“…That’ll work well.”

Arkle, who had been sitting quietly, chuckled softly.

“What?”

Naran glared sharply at Arkle’s sneer.

“Do you think Sister would even blink at her brother saying he’ll leave home?”

“Well, that’s—”

“She’d probably be happy. One less mouth to feed. You really don’t know anything, Naran Cayenne.”

“You little—!”

“At the very least, you should say you’re going to seek asylum.”

What?

I stopped chewing my food and stared blankly at Arkle.

Arkle continued with his usual indifferent face.

“Saying you’ll leave the mansion isn’t enough to persuade Sister. You’d have to say you’re leaving the Empire.”

“Is that so….”

Naran murmured seemingly in agreement.

Isn’t that what you usually call a threat, not persuasion…?

‘Or maybe a tantrum.’

I looked at the two men with blurred eyes.

What if these two throw a tantrum at Martha and I end up being disliked for no reason…?

Arkle, perhaps sensing my gaze, looked at me and said,

“It’s alright, wife. I have an estate I bought in the neighboring kingdom. You don’t have to worry about a place to stay.”

‘…That’s not what I’m worried about.’

Since I didn’t say anything, Naran scolded Arkle.

“Hey, why are you saying that? Lize is getting anxious. Don’t take it seriously, Lize. It’s just a hypothetical scenario.”

He added in a small voice, smiling faintly.

“Of course, Sister Martha should take it seriously….”

This won’t do, if this continues, it’ll be a big problem.

“Um, I’m grateful that both of you are thinking of me. It really makes me happy…?”

I started awkwardly, and Naran blushed and smiled broadly.

“Really?! Do you feel a bit stronger because of me?”

Arkle, who had lowered his gaze, cleared his throat.

“Haven’t I told you? I’ll take responsibility for your safety, wife.”

These people, really….

‘Are they still not coming to their senses?’

If that’s the case, I have no choice but to be firm.

I lowered my voice as much as I could and spoke.

“…I’m disappointed in you both.”

Arkle and Naran froze simultaneously.

Naran quickly wiped the smile off his face, and while Arkle’s expression remained indifferent, I heard a small intake of breath.

“Shouldn’t both of you prioritize Miss Martha over me? You’re already exhausted from handling affairs in the capital… She’ll be more shocked because of the situation I created.”

“Shock? She should be grateful for your existence, Lize—”

“That’s not it, Naran.”

At my firm voice, Naran immediately closed his mouth.

“Anyway, I want you all to focus on Miss Martha instead of me. I’m really okay… I hope you’ll consider Miss Martha more than me. Understand?”

It was a way of saying not to say anything strange in front of Martha and just agree with her no matter what.

‘Of course, that’s how it should be. It’s already a situation where I should lower myself, and you’re talking about threats….’

As I mumbled to myself, Arkle and Naran’s expressions turned peculiar.

“…I was short-sighted, wife.”

Arkle answered shortly and firmly, closing his mouth in self-reproach.

“I didn’t know that you were such a considerate person, Lize…. No, I obviously knew, but how could you be so….”

Naran trailed off, his face full of reflection.

“I thought Lize would be afraid of or resent Sister Martha. Because Sister….”

Naran didn’t finish his sentence, but I understood what he was trying to say.

‘Well, Martha is the one who kidnapped me.’

So that’s why he was particularly concerned about me?

I understood, but I didn’t have any negative feelings toward Martha now.

Rather, when I think of life in Allenheim, I feel like bowing in gratitude for kidnapping me.

“I’m really fine. I’m even a little grateful to Miss Martha. Because thanks to her, I could meet all of you…”

I was just expressing my honest feelings indirectly, but that one sentence had a tremendous impact.

Not only Arkle and Naran but also the surrounding employees covered their mouths softly.

The emotion on their faces as they looked at me seemed like they were about to launch into a long speech.

Sure enough, a servant opened his mouth with teary eyes.

“Li…”

“Yes, I’m really grateful. So, didn’t you all promise me? That you’ll consider Miss Martha before me.”

As I spoke in a wistful voice, Arkle, Naran, and the employees nodded in turn.

“Understood, wife.”

“Trust me, Lize…!”

“Li…”

“Thank you all so much.”

I smiled with satisfaction.

I was making unknown efforts to win the protagonist’s favor.

‘This should keep me from being seen as unsightly…? By the way, when will Martha arrive?’

❖ ❖ ❖

At that time, inside the Cayenne family’s carriage.

Martha Cayenne, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, slowly opened her eyes as the carriage jolted.

Judging by the scenery outside, they hadn’t arrived at the Cayenne territory yet.

Her face reflected in the carriage window was drenched in fatigue.

With black hair, angular glasses, and reddish-purple eyes, the woman had a striking appearance that exuded dignity, but the dark shadows under her eyes made her look worn out.

Since going up to the capital, Martha hadn’t rested a single day, meeting people and handling affairs without fail.

Even upon returning to the territory, she wouldn’t rest but would immediately tackle the backlog of work.

This short travel time was her only chance to close her eyes, even briefly.

But she didn’t hate this kind of life.

Rather, she wanted to move even busier than now.

‘…There’s an enormous amount of work to do. Calain, that bastard who deserves to be torn apart, caused huge losses to the Cayenne family. When I return, the first thing is to find out who knows about this. If it spreads wrongly, it’ll bring tremendous disgrace to the name of Cayenne… I must silence them by any means, and then….’

Even at this moment, her mind was working tirelessly.

‘I must request the Emperor to confiscate that bastard’s property. He’ll be executed soon, so I must hurry. What else was important besides this?’

As she pondered, part of Arkle’s letter came to mind.

‘Right, Arkle… He said he’d tell me something important when I get back.’

When she first saw that, Martha was a little surprised.

Her second brother is so indifferent that he wouldn’t care if the Empire fell tomorrow… For such a person to say it’s important….

It might be something much more significant than the story of Calain.

‘What could it be?’

The letter only said he’d tell her directly when she returned to the mansion, so there were no clues to guess, but somehow she had a hunch.

‘Lize Allenheim… Is it that woman?’

Thinking of that name gave her a strangely sinking feeling.

Martha didn’t usually rely on intuition, but she had a bad feeling that the important news might be related to that woman.

‘Could she have died? Did holy power not work on Arkle? Did Allenheim declare war?’

The worst she could imagine was about that much.

Martha bit her lips lightly.

From the start, when she kidnapped Lize Allenheim, she was prepared for it to escalate into a big incident.

‘…Whatever it is, I’ll take full responsibility and accept it.’

Reassuring herself, she slowly closed her eyes.

Having assumed the worst-case scenario, she was confident she wouldn’t be surprised by anything.

❖ ❖ ❖

The carriage ran for a while longer and stopped in front of the Cayenne mansion. By then, it was completely dark outside.

Servants began moving the luggage from the carriage, and Martha took a short breath as she looked at the mansion.

“Tell Arkle to come to my office today.”

She said to the butler who came to greet her.

The butler, who bowed and greeted her, disappeared into the mansion, and Martha, after stretching, also started to walk.

❖ ❖ ❖

Arkle’s office.

Arkle, who was reading a report on the territory, looked up at the sound of a knock on the door.

“It’s Juan. The head of the family has arrived.”

“…….”

Rising slowly from his seat, he left the room.

On the way to Martha’s office, Juan, who was following him, spoke cautiously.

“Miss Lize has a request for you, Master.”

“What is it?”

“She asked you to explain the contract marriage thoroughly so that the head of the family can understand and said she trusts you.”

“…Lize trusts me.”

‘You did hear the first part, right?’

Juan glanced at Arkle’s satisfied side profile.

‘Well, he’s usually a cool-headed person, so he’ll explain it well.’

As expected, by the time they reached Martha’s office, Arkle had his serious face back on.

“Sister.”

“Come in.”

The answer came immediately.

When he opened the door, the first thing he saw was the stack of documents piled high on the desk.

Sitting in the middle of it all, Martha continued her paperwork without even glancing at Arkle and Juan.

“You’re back.”

‘Did she go through all those documents in that short time?’

Juan was impressed by the mountain of documents.

“I have something to tell you. While you were away….”

“Just tell me the conclusion.”

True to her extreme efficiency-loving nature, Martha cut off her brother’s words briefly and concisely.

“I married Lize Allenheim.”

Martha’s pen, which had been moving incessantly, stopped abruptly.

For the first time, she lifted her eyes from the documents and spoke.

“Tell me how it went.”