Juan, who was standing behind Arkle, instinctively felt it.

‘This seems to have gone wrong….’

Martha was looking up at Arkle, her mouth shut closed, but her eyes were questioning his sanity.

Unconcerned, Arkle maintained his indifferent demeanor and spoke calmly.

“It’s a contract marriage… for now.”

“Contract marriage?”

“Yes. For now.”

Arkle firmly added ‘for now,’ but Martha paid no attention to that.

“A contract, you say….”

“It is for now, I mean.”

“Be quiet, just stay silent for a moment.”

“…….”

Watching the siblings, who only said what they wanted regardless of the other, Juan’s feeling that this conversation would fail grew stronger.

“Recite the contract terms in detail, quickly.”

“If it’s the contract, I have it here.”

Arkle pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket.

It was a copy of the contract prepared by Juan under Arkle’s orders.

‘…He’s been carrying that around?’

That fact might have been surprising, but Martha seemed too engrossed in reading the contract to notice.

“…Hmm. …Hmm.”

Martha occasionally let out a small “Hmm” as she meticulously and swiftly scanned the contract.

When she read the part about Lize Allenheim alleviating Arkle’s pain with her healing ability, she murmured with relief, “I’m glad it worked.”

After reading the entire contract, she casually placed the paper on the desk.

“It doesn’t seem like a bad deal, but somehow… what are you doing?”

Martha looked at Arkle with disbelief.

Her brother was carefully picking up the contract she had casually set down, dusting it off gently, folding it neatly, and putting it back into his pocket.

“Don’t mind me, please continue.”

“How can I not mind when you’re making such a fuss over retrieving a piece of paper.”

Juan flinched slightly as Martha voiced what he had been thinking.

“It’s not just a piece of paper.”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s the marriage contract between Lize and me.”

Martha looked at Arkle with a “……?” expression.

“Then it is a piece of paper, isn’t it?”

“It’s the marriage contract between Lize and me.”

“So it is a piece of paper.”

“But….”

“Ah—!”

Martha shouted in frustration.

Arkle looked at his sister, who was pulling her hair, with a puzzled expression.

Juan thought Martha had been holding back for a long time.

“Honestly, talking with you is impossible—! I don’t understand a word you’re saying…. I understand the circumstances, but deciding on something as significant as marriage so suddenly…!”

“I also thought long and hard about it before deciding. I actually thought you would welcome it, Sister.”

Arkle looked directly at Martha and said,

“You always wanted me to get married.”

“…….”

“Even when I said I was fine, you were always looking for suitable matches. You said you wanted me to be happy.”

“…Yes, I did.”

Martha answered, averting her gaze.

‘Of course, your marriage is another opportunity to expand our family’s influence…!’

That’s why she consistently sent Arkle boxes full of portraits of noble young ladies of marriageable age.

Each time, Arkle never even glanced at them.

‘…What happened while I was away for that to change?’

Martha wondered as she glared at Arkle.

“You certainly said so. That you hoped I’d find a companion who understands me as soon as possible.”

“I did.”

‘He has such a good memory for unnecessary things.’

Whether Arkle was unaware of Martha’s inner thoughts or simply didn’t care, he continued speaking calmly.

“Then isn’t this a good thing? I finally met someone like that, and she can help with my magical resonance. It solves two issues at once.”

“You, who usually find talking bothersome, suddenly have a lot to say.”

“Do I?”

“Look at this.”

Martha sighed briefly and rubbed her temples.

‘This has become troublesome.’

One of the reasons she went to the capital was to find a suitable family for Arkle’s marriage.

She attended a tea party hosted by a noble lady, despite her aversion to social gatherings, in hopes of making connections.

As a result of gathering all her depleted social skills for conversation, a young lady from a certain family showed interest in him.

She even returned with a promise to arrange a meeting through correspondence soon….

However, Martha was not someone who prioritized promises.

‘Situations can change at any time, so it’s pointless to cling to them. It’s important to respond flexibly as needed, yes.’

Martha quickly erased the noble family’s name from her mind.

In fact, considering everything, the current situation was quite… no, extremely favorable.

It could prevent the relationship with Allenheim from reaching its worst, and it had an effect on Arkle’s magical resonance, which could potentially lead to a rampage.

As Arkle said, it solved two problems at once.

That’s why it was strange.

‘Why on earth is Lize Allenheim doing this?’

No matter how saintly she was raised in a clergy family, could she be this benevolent to those who kidnapped her?

It was undeniably odd.

‘Unless she has some other motive….’

In the worst-case scenario, it could be a ploy to cause internal strife within the Cayenne family.

She intended to hear Arkle’s opinion on that, but it seemed impossible to have a conversation with her brother in his current state.

There was only one conclusion.

‘I’ll have to extract it directly from her.’

She had learned everything about the contract marriage through the contract, so it was time to find out its true purpose.

Given the situation, a conversation with Lize Allenheim seemed inevitable.

“Juan, bring Lize Allenheim to my office. I need to speak with her directly.”

At Martha’s words, Arkle’s expression became strange.

“Arkle, you can leave now… why are you making that face?”

“Please don’t hurt Lize.”

Martha raised an eyebrow at her brother’s unexpected words.

“What?”

‘Here we go again.’

Juan, observing the situation, wondered if he should intervene when Arkle spoke in a low voice.

“I know that coldness is your virtue, Sister. But please don’t hurt my wife.”

Arkle’s demeanor was calm enough to make Juan’s worries unnecessary.

Juan and Martha both looked at Arkle silently for a moment.

“…What do you think of me?”

Martha sighed and spoke.

“I’m too busy with work to have the time to hurt such an innocent girl. It’s natural for the head of the family to look after its members, so bring her in quickly.”

“Thank you, Sister. I’ll be going now. Working is good, but… you should rest a little.”

Martha, who had resumed her paperwork, spoke without looking at her brother.

“Don’t worry and bring your bride.”

Arkle nodded slightly and left the room.

“I’ll bring her right away.”

Even when Juan spoke, Martha still kept her eyes fixed on the documents and replied.

“Yes, yes. Time is precious, so hurry.”

‘She really is a strict person.’

Can that strange saintess, who stirred up the entire Cayenne family, possibly win the heart of the head of the family, who seems like she wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed?

❖ ❖ ❖

Knock knock—

Martha, who was engrossed in her paperwork, set her pen down and looked up.

‘She’s here.’

“Come in.”

“Excuse me—”

‘Hmm?’

The woman who carefully opened the door and entered was undoubtedly Lize Allenheim.

Her silver hair shone brightly, her light pink eyes, her gentle face that seemed incapable of harming a fly….

She was definitely the Lize Allenheim she had kidnapped, but….

‘She looks different somehow.’

Martha knew that after initially refusing to eat and even suffering from a fever, Lize had started eating regularly once she regained consciousness and was overcoming the crisis.

“Sit in front of me.”

Martha didn’t take her eyes off Lize’s face until Lize sat across from her.

Her appearance was the same, but for some reason, she seemed like a different person from the woman she first met.

‘Has she adapted to the Cayenne family to some extent?’

No, she looked more comfortable than someone who had merely adapted, as if she felt more at home here than in her own house.

Even though she was facing her kidnapper, she showed no sign of trembling in fear.

With growing curiosity, Martha spoke.

“I’ll ask directly. Why are you helping us?”

“I admire you.”

Without giving a chance to respond, Lize Allenheim’s eyes sparkled as she continued.

“I’ve admired you for a long time, Miss Martha. Because of the atmosphere in my house, I couldn’t show it outwardly… but every time I heard about you, I thought you were truly amazing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You became the head of Cayenne at fifteen… and you’ve been protecting the family without anyone’s help.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Martha muttered as if it was absurd.

“I didn’t call you here for small talk. Tell me your true purpose.”

It was a cold voice that would have intimidated most people. However, Lize Allenheim, still with sparkling eyes and an unchanged demeanor, continued speaking.

“Of course, you’d say that…! I also like your decisiveness, Miss Martha.”

“…….”

“I want to be like you.”

Martha blinked slowly at the confident voice.

“While staying here, I want to learn from your abilities, Miss Martha. Please take me as your disciple.”

“Ha….”

Martha let out a short laugh.

‘She’s probably trying to buy time with these words.’

She was about to instill a bit of fear, thinking there were plenty of ways to uncover the truth despite attempts to hide it, when—

“Of course, I’m not asking for it for free! I’ll pay you well. If you want, I can give it to you right now…!”

“What can you offer? I don’t recall you having any valuables with you….”

“There are valuables that don’t need to be carried around.”

“What is that?”

“Information.”

Lize, with a faint smile, lowered her voice and whispered.

“This is a secret known to very few… but actually, His Majesty the Emperor is unwell.”

At the mention of the Emperor, Martha’s eyes widened.