Chapter 58

“Paper knife.”

Hugo extended his hand to John.

“I took that to Lady Catherine.”

The paper knife Hugo had was the only one Catherine had brought when they got married.

Since he gave that cherished item to Catherine when he decided to meet her, Hugo hadn’t bought another paper knife.

He figured they could use Catherine’s after they combined their households upon marriage.

John, inconvenienced by the lack of a paper knife, bought his own but feigned ignorance, hoping this inconvenience would spur Hugo to court Catherine more actively.

“Why don’t you visit Lady Catherine? The banquet is tomorrow. Maybe you should see if there’s anything you can help with?”

To borrow the paper knife as well.

Hugo clicked his tongue at John’s jest.

“I’ve already offered to help dozens of times. She said she doesn’t need it.”

Even if she needed help, she probably wouldn’t ask Hugo.

Whenever he felt they were getting closer, Catherine would distance herself.

He thought they were close enough to exchange light favors, but Catherine was cold to his offers of assistance.

“Leave.”

Hugo said curtly, feeling dejected.

“Suddenly?”

John shrugged his shoulders at Hugo’s dismissal.

“You have nothing to do.”

“I have plenty to do.”

“Then go do it.”

Hugo waved his hand, and John turned away, glaring at the letter from Countess Bedwig in Hugo’s hand.

He was dying of curiosity about its contents.

But Hugo didn’t seem inclined to share.

John had no choice but to use his wits to guess the letter’s contents.

It seemed related to the investigation Hugo had ordered after meeting Countess Bedwig last time.

‘He was curious about the financial status of Earl Bedwig and his wife. He also asked me to find out the second and third ways to protect Catherine’s wealth.’

Earl Bedwig and his wife’s financial situation was relatively clean, contrary to their character.

The best way to protect Catherine’s wealth was the method Hugo was currently employing.

Of course, there was still one more powerful method left.

Catherine could get married.

Naturally, the partner had to be Hugo.

If not, there was no telling what Hugo might do.

In the war, he had channeled his unexpressed affection for Catherine into battle, but now the war was over.

‘Isn’t it better to just pay them off?’

John had said it would be easier to get rid of them by paying, but he begrudged even a single coin going to Earl Bedwig and his wife.

“Your Grace.”

John let go of the doorknob.

“What?”

Hugo was rolling Countess Bedwig’s letter in his hand without opening it.

John walked briskly and stood before Hugo. He clenched his fists at his sides.

John calmly spoke the words he had been contemplating for a long time, one by one.

“What do you think about completely dealing with Earl Bedwig and his wife?”

Hugo didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he looked into the air and tapped his fingers on the desk.

“It’s not something I haven’t considered.”

Hugo replied belatedly.

John almost shouted with joy.

If Hugo set his mind to it, he could deal with the Earl and his wife without anyone knowing.

If he hadn’t thought about it at all, it would be different, but the fact that he had considered it meant there was a possibility.

Let’s quickly remove the obstacles and marry Catherine and Hugo.

John had even envisioned their children in his mind.

“Catherine has to want it. After all, they are her parents. More importantly, they haven’t committed any noticeable crimes.”

Is there anyone who doesn’t have a speck of dust when shaken? No.

But it’s rare to find someone with dust that amounts to death.

And the idea of secretly eliminating others as a Duke was distasteful to Hugo.

That was something legal and righteous on the battlefield, but here, it was something to be condemned.

Hugo wanted to stand beside Catherine proudly.

If he were a man who didn’t care about conscience, he wouldn’t be troubled by a contract that had become a thing of the past.

“Yes. If only that crime existed.”

It was better to serve Hugo, who had lost his mind over not being able to marry Catherine, than Hugo with blood on his hands.

John’s eyes gleamed ominously. It was easy to guess what John was thinking.

Hugo shook his head.

“Don’t imagine unnecessary things. And I’m looking for another way to protect Catherine’s wealth.”

Hugo intended to visit Regencia.

He planned to ask her to make it so that the wealth an individual acquired on their own would remain theirs, regardless of marriage.

Changing the law.

Even if he couldn’t help the dowry received from her parents, he wanted to ensure the wealth Catherine had amassed through her own efforts remained untouched.

‘After all, the dowry wasn’t much.’

If he changed the law and then leaked Catherine’s story, her fame would increase, which would be good in many ways.

Hugo quietly pulled the letter he had placed on the left toward him.

To change the law, he would have to lobby, even if he didn’t engage in politics.

Hugo’s biggest target for lobbying was Regencia.

Regencia was a person who calculated precisely.

To ask her for a favor, he needed to offer something tempting.

Hugo immediately thought of what to put on the negotiating table.

‘The Clan of Love. How far have they tracked it?’

Hugo recalled the contents of the report he received from the Raven Mercenaries and then erased the thought.

He needed to first confirm how Countess Bedwig would respond.

Hugo stopped tearing the letter and looked at John.

“You’re still here?”

“We were still in conversation.”

Hugo turned his head, indicating there was no more business.

John pouted and left the study, and Hugo took out and read the letter.

“Damn it.”

Hugo swore after reading the short letter in an instant. Then he crumpled the letter in his hand.

This woman, after all, causes trouble.

She made him want to create dust where there was none.

***

The night Hugo crumpled the letter, an article with the sensational title “Marriage Among Nobles, a Transaction or Love?” appeared in the evening newspaper.

“Master, you really need to see this!”

The first banquet hosted by Catherine House was tomorrow.

In the midst of being extremely busy, Yuri came looking for Catherine with a newspaper in hand.

Catherine, who was looking for jewelry to match the dress she would wear tomorrow, poked her head out of the dressing room.

“What is it, Yuri?”

“Come out and see. You need to see it for yourself.”

Yuri said quite seriously.

Catherine closed the pearl earring box she had just opened and came out of the dressing room.

Yuri’s expression was as serious as her voice. She was holding a newspaper in her hand.

“Did a war break out?”

Nothing made Catherine’s heart race like news of war.

If a war broke out, Hugo would be called away.

It didn’t matter much whether it was a war in the Dalton Kingdom or not.

He didn’t discriminate when it came to war, and he had already been deployed.

So Catherine was very sensitive to international affairs.

The first thing she looked for in the newspaper was articles on war and international relations.

That was what she was interested in.

“No. The world is more peaceful than ever. But it seems you’re not destined to enjoy such peace.”

Catherine took the evening newspaper that Yuri handed her.

“What?”

As soon as she saw the newspaper, Catherine’s mouth opened wide. The contract, prominently displayed, looked somehow familiar.

– ……Marriage stems from respect for the other party. There is a figure who has turned such a marriage into a transaction, becoming a topic of conversation. He is a rising figure in the capital’s social circles these days…… The moral decay of nobles is at a serious level ……Approaching marriage as a monetary transaction is a system that must be eradicated…… He cannot avoid criticism.

– Daily News, Reporter Pastry.

“The person mentioned in the article is Duke Hugo, right?”

Yuri asked, watching Catherine’s reaction. Catherine couldn’t deny it.

A rising figure in the capital’s social circles as a war hero, with a failed marriage experience, and currently preparing for marriage.

That was the description in the article.

To Catherine’s knowledge, Hugo was the only such figure.

Why did the Daily News publish such a malicious article?

And why target Hugo?

It was rare for marriages among nobles not to be transactions.

There was no reason for Catherine and Hugo’s marriage to be treated specially now.

The marriage contract attached below the article was shocking, but it wasn’t something to be prominently featured on the front page.

Although not widely rumored, there were quite a few families that wrote contracts.

And the wording of the article was severe.

Though it was subtly implied, the article’s message was clear.

Hugo bought Catherine, with money.

What nonsense is this!

In fact, it would be more accurate to say that Earl Bedwig and his wife bought the slave named Hugo Edward in exchange for marrying Catherine.

“Will this cause a problem?”

Yuri took the newspaper from Catherine’s hand.