Reiner deliberately ignored Rachel, who was walking behind him, as he headed deeper into the castle.

He knew that if he openly protected her now, it would only damage her reputation even further.

In the rugged North, a woman who depended on a man would inevitably be looked down upon.

Now that Rachel had come here, building relationships with the people around her was something she would have to accomplish on her own.

As always, Reiner headed straight for his study.

Whenever he returned to the North, he dealt with every document that had accumulated during his absence before attending to himself.

He understood better than anyone that he was the pillar holding the North together.

Hundreds of people depended on him.

“Your Grace!”

When Vincent burst through the door, Reiner hadn’t even sat down yet.

He was still standing, flipping through stacks of documents.

“Your Graaace!”

Only after Vincent called him a second time did Reiner answer without even looking up.

“What?”

Vincent twitched his lips as he watched Reiner calmly continue reading.

“Seriously!”

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Vincent strode over and snatched the papers from Reiner’s hands.

Reiner glanced at his now-empty hand before folding his arms and casually leaning against the desk.

“What? What’s the problem?”

Vincent pounded his chest in frustration.

“What’s the problem? You’re supposed to leave Newberic tomorrow! What are you planning to do about that lady?”

Reiner looked at Vincent with narrowed eyes.

Several years earlier…

Unlike any ship that had existed before, Reiner had designed an entirely new vessel capable of traveling unprecedented distances.

It was a technology no one else could replicate.

Only Reiner could perfectly calculate the size and placement of its three sails.

The profits such ships could generate were beyond imagination.

Trade.

War.

Even voyages to unexplored continents.

The moment people realized their value, they lined up one after another, desperate to purchase Reiner’s ships.

They came from lands thousands of miles away.

At the time, Reiner had been living on a small island with his nanny, her fisherman husband, and their son, Vincent.

There had even been days when foreign ships filled the waters around the island so densely that the sea itself could barely be seen.

The demand was so overwhelming that even if Reiner and his men built ships for the rest of their lives, they could never satisfy it.

In the end, Reiner spent nearly a year searching for a nation capable of manufacturing ships on a large scale.

Eventually…

He found the perfect place.

The Basta Empire.

It ruled the entire continent of Bylo, located ten days by sea from the continent of Rozia, where the Newberic Empire stood.

On the very first day they met…

The Emperor of Basta handed Reiner a blank check.

If Reiner would build his revolutionary ships in the Basta Empire, the Emperor promised to grant him—and his men—anything they desired.

Reiner accepted the offer.

And tomorrow… He was scheduled to depart.

Noah.

Lucas.

Even Vincent.

All of them knew the truth.

That was precisely why they couldn’t welcome Rachel.

“Your Grace, say something. Why did you marry her? You’ll be leaving the North anyway. The Duchess will be left here all alone.”

Reiner met Vincent’s gaze calmly.

“Because this marriage is the safest place for Rachel.”

Perhaps Vincent couldn’t understand his decision.

“I couldn’t let her be sold off as the Emperor’s imperial consort, Vincent.”

Ever since childhood…

The girl who had saved his life had remained an unresolved chapter in Reiner’s heart.

Even after returning to Newberic to see her again…

He couldn’t bring himself to formally ask to meet her.

Because he’d learned she was Count Flynn’s daughter.

The Count who had once been close friends with House Graham.

Had he not remembered what his nanny had told him about the Flynn family…

He might have made an unforgivable mistake.

A cursed child with crimson eyes was not someone who could simply appear at their doorstep.

Unable to approach her directly, Reiner settled on another method.

Social gatherings.

In his memories, Rachel had seemed younger than he was.

He assumed that by now she’d made her debut and would be attending noble parties.

But she never appeared.

Just as he was wondering whether he should finally give up…

He met Count Flynn.

The day before he was due to leave for the Basta Empire.

Of course…

He had never expected Rachel to be the one proposing marriage.

“Vincent. If nothing else… You’re the last person who has the right to object to this marriage.”

“What? Why?”

Reiner raised one eyebrow.

“Who was it again that confidently told me those poisonous mushrooms were delicious?”

“Eek!”

Vincent’s face turned bright red.

The summer Reiner collapsed after eating poisonous mushrooms at the age of twelve…

Vincent had been gathering mushrooms not far away.

He was also the only person who knew that Rachel had saved Reiner’s life.

“I mean… But really… How in the world did she save you?”

“…Who knows? Does that really matter? What I remember much more clearly…”

Reiner’s lips curved ever so slightly.

“…is a little boy sobbing his eyes out, begging me not to tell my nanny.”

“Come on! I already apologized! How long are you going to keep bringing that up?”

“Vincent.”

“What?”

“If it weren’t for Rachel, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

“We never would’ve had a reason to return to Newberic.”

“And none of us would be here, living the way we do now.”

Vincent let out a frustrated groan.

“I know that. I do, but…”

His voice trailed off.

“…The timing just couldn’t be worse. Of all times, you had to steal the Emperor’s imperial consort.”

Reiner pushed himself away from the desk and stretched his stiff body after spending days on horseback.

“Don’t worry. I’ll leave for the Basta Empire tomorrow as planned. And once I’m gone… The North will actually be safer from the Emperor.”

Vincent blinked in confusion.

“Safer? What do you mean?”

“The Emperor won’t dare touch the North while I’m away. He knows that if he attacks an estate whose lord isn’t even present, people will call him a coward.”

Ever since his sneak attack on the elves, the Emperor had never managed to shake off the reputation of being a coward.

There had even been a minister who lost his head on the spot for daring to criticize him.

“So…”

“That’s right. In fact, it’s better if I’m not here.”

Reiner’s crimson eyes remained calm and unwavering.

As always.

“Now…Can I get back to work?”

He casually took the documents back from Vincent’s hands.

Knowing better than anyone how much Reiner hated being interrupted while working, Vincent hesitated before turning to leave.

“Vincent.”

“Yes?”

Without looking up from the papers, Reiner flipped to the next page.

“Take good care of Rachel while I’m gone.”

“M-Me?”

Vincent had grown up on a small island surrounded almost entirely by men.

The thing he feared most…

Was women.

Especially young women.

“She’s going to be the mistress of this castle now. Teach her anything she needs to know. And give her whatever she asks for. Transfer control of the household finances to Rachel as well.”

“Well… um… Isn’t she the type who grew up sheltered? She looks like someone who doesn’t know the first thing about managing a place like this. Will she really be all right?”

A faint smile tugged at Reiner’s lips.

“She’ll be fine. She’s not someone you can judge by appearances.”

With that, Reiner buried himself in the documents once more and waved Vincent away without another glance.

***

Rachel slowly looked around her unfamiliar room.

A short while earlier, Sophia had shown her inside before rushing back out to find something for her to change into.

No one had expected Rachel’s arrival.

Nothing had been prepared.

The room was no exception.

The castle itself appeared to have been built only recently.

Aside from shielding its occupants from the wind, it seemed almost unfinished.

There wasn’t a single curtain.

Only a bed.

And a bedside table.

Rachel didn’t find it unpleasant.

If anything…

It was reassuring.

‘There’s going to be a lot to do.’

Her instincts were right.

The North desperately needed a lady of the house.

And that happened to be exactly what Rachel was best at.

The Flynn estate where she’d grown up had always lacked a mistress.

Years ago, the plague that swept across Newberic had claimed Count Flynn’s wife…

As well as his younger sister, Layla—Rachel’s own mother.

Because of that, Rachel had begun learning the duties of a lady of the house from a very young age.

She had taken on those responsibilities in Count Flynn’s place while he was away managing the family’s businesses.

‘Hmm…Where should I begin?’

Deep in thought, Rachel started toward the window.

Then she suddenly realized…

Her clothes were filthy.

She had worn them to attend the banquet hosted by the Emperor.

After several days of nonstop riding, the hem was caked with layers of dirt.

And the undergarments constricting her full chest had almost certainly left marks all over her skin.

“Your Grace.”

At that moment, Sophia returned through the open door.

Startled by the unfamiliar title, Rachel looked at her with wide eyes.

“Please undress. I’ll help you.”

Rachel’s gaze trembled as she stared at the impossibly thin dress Sophia was holding.

“S-Sophia… That’s not my dress… is it?”

Sophia smiled brightly.

“It is, Your Grace. Isn’t it lovely?”

Holding up the flowing dress, she beamed.

“It’s your wedding night, after all.”