“Is there a hidden secret door here? One that only I don’t know about?”

When I asked with a suppressed laugh, Lars closed the book and retorted.

“How does it feel to have work piled up as you wanted?”

I stared at him as he slowly approached. Without even realizing it, my lips automatically ran toward my ears. Trying to clear my throat, I composed my expression.

“Is there anything you want?”

Lars, who was scanning through the sales table he had picked out at a glance from among the documents on the desk, raised his eyebrows.

“If there is.”

“I’ll buy it for you. I can spend about 70 pedir.”

Lars smirked at my words. He flicked an almond soaked in honey into his mouth and said.

“That would be enough to buy decent fabric. Get yourself a new dress.”

“I want to use it for something for you.”

“That’s what I mean.”

I paused in my protest at his answer. Wrinkles automatically formed between my eyebrows.

“Is my dress that shabby? It’s a new dress I’ve only worn a few times.”

It was the green dress that Maya had highly praised, saying it suited me very well. I had a similar dress, but it was too tight around the chest, so this was a newly tailored one.

“Haven’t you been wearing only that every day?”

Lars, who had crossed his arms with a “hmm,” sat crookedly on the desk and asked.

“Are you planning to become a heath fairy living in trees? Every time I see you, you’re wearing green clothes.”

“It’s my favorite color.”

Clearing my throat with a “ahem,” I rubbed my still stiff hand. Lars’s gaze moved.

“What’s wrong with your hand?”

“I think I got a cramp from using it too much. It’ll be fine if I massage it a bit. But then my left hand will get stiff, and I’ll have to massage that too.”

A large hand suddenly appeared in front of my eyes as I was trying to bend my fingers. Surprised, I looked up at him with wide eyes, and Lars gestured with his chin with an indifferent face.

Thinking “surely not” but full of expectation, I carefully extended my strangely cramped hand. Silently, Lars grasped my hand. As his strong grip pressed on the stiff parts, I had to hold my breath as something fluttered in my lower abdomen.

His hand was much larger and hotter than mine, on a different level. His knuckles were thick, but his fingers were long and straight, making them look elegant. Every time his firm, rough skin rubbed against my palm, I felt a strange sensation as if my chest was standing upright. My heart was pounding heavily.

His tightly closed lips beneath his lowered eyelashes caught my attention. As the area between my legs kept twitching, I struggled not to let my breathing become rough, but unable to bear the rising heat, I opened my mouth.

“You’ll hold my hand but why not anything else?”

Lars’s thickly extended eyebrows twitched. He looked at me as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

“What do you mean?”

“At eighteen, people even get married. Sofia had her first child at seventeen.”

Though I was grumbling, my face felt like it was about to explode. Unable to make eye contact, I quickly added as Lars tried to let go of my hand.

“Alright. I won’t say anything, so please massage a little more. It’s still not loosened up.”

“……You really.”

It wasn’t a lie. When Lars relaxed his grip, my fourth finger was twisting at a strange angle. After opening and closing his mouth as if dumbfounded, he sighed deeply and took my hand again.

His somewhat rough pressing made it difficult to feel the strange sensation from earlier, but the feeling in my hand was quickly returning.

An awkward silence flowed. It wasn’t entirely satisfactory, but I really loved this moment with his hand touching mine. As I was memorizing the large and small scars on his hand, I heard Lars’s voice. It seemed somehow lower than usual.

“I heard you stopped by the merchant group today.”

“Ah, there, there’s a really delicious fish! I tried it for the first time today, and it was the most delicious food I’ve ever eaten in my life. Do you know about it? It’s called Akariphs and is only caught in the sea near Freemont. There’s still some left, so if you can come for dinner tomorrow, I’ll have it prepared.”

Lars smiled crookedly as I raised my voice in excitement.

“I’ve tried it before. It is delicious. But it’s hard to catch and difficult to prepare, so I’m not sure if it can be sold.”

“That’s why I sent fish to the fleet master who manages the most ships and sailors in Edmus, the capital guard, and the Senne Inn in the central district. I thought it might help.”

When Bickman announced the trade deal, Kirhin followed Lars’s instructions and donated a certain amount to the captain of the capital guard, asking them to use it for the capital’s safety.

It was one of the precautions against a possible sudden attack by the Count. The more guard members patrolling the streets, the more eyes would be watching.

Thanks to this, they developed goodwill toward the Bickman family as they could now have more abundant meals and replace their old weapons. They occasionally helped move goods at the merchant group or provided various conveniences. That’s why I sent them the fish, to keep them in mind.

Lars let out a hollow laugh and asked.

“Why the Senne Inn?”

“It’s where the most loose-lipped people in the world drink every evening. Won’t the streets be buzzing with rumors about that fish from tomorrow? The next time we catch fish, everyone will want to taste it. As more people seek it out, we can raise the price.”

Lars nodded at my explanation. A glimmer of admiration seemed to flash briefly in his beautiful eyes.

“You seem to have a natural talent for merchant work. Did you call Tom to prepare the meat so ostentatiously on the street to spread rumors too?”

Tom and Nix had quite a rough time. The Akariphs leaped vigorously as soon as the wooden lid was opened and dashed a surprisingly long distance, thrashing with its fins. People on the street screamed and fled at the appearance of the unfamiliar giant fish, and Tom and Nix were only able to catch it after a long struggle.

The Akariphs writhed like a beast, showing off hundreds of saw-like teeth, so it took a long time to drag it back to the merchant group. By the time Tom, Nix, and the workers were preparing the fish in one corner of the merchant group’s yard, dozens of spectators had already gathered.

“I didn’t expect it would cause such a commotion.”

I smiled awkwardly. Giving them the fish in advance had truly been a good decision. I only hoped that the amazing taste would somewhat appease their curses and complaints directed at me.

Lars, who had been quietly looking at me, slowly released my hand and spoke.

“Why did you ask Tom about Folluk Castor?”

He must have heard from Nix.

Quickly rolling my eyes, I answered nonchalantly.

“Well, I thought it might be necessary. A competitor appeared overnight, so the Folluk merchant group might try to harm us. I thought I should know what kind of person he is.”

“What I’m asking is why you specifically asked Tom. He’s a butcher. He can’t be the person who knows the most about Folluk.”

As expected, Lars wouldn’t let it go. When I hesitated to answer promptly and tried to stall, his eyes gradually narrowed.

“Are you hiding something?”

“This is not, I’m not trying to hide anything……”

How should I explain about Fatura? It was difficult to find the right words, but facing Lars with his suspicious expression was even harder. I licked my lips and began to speak.

“You know that Laurel became close to Tom while investigating Nina’s background, right? That’s why I went to find Tom.”

Lars’s brow twitched, probably finding Nina’s name unexpected. I struggled to find appropriate expressions in my mind.

“The two of them became close because they shared the same hobby, and there’s apparently a group where they enjoy this hobby together. And I heard that Folluk is a member of that group.”

“What kind of group?”

“I don’t really, it was a term I’d never heard before. It might be a foreign language.”

As I spoke slowly, rolling my eyes toward the ceiling, Lars’s gaze narrowed.

“Am I supposed to believe that someone as curious as you left it at that?”

“I didn’t have time to look into it. You know what happened when I went to find Tom. And no matter how many times I asked, Tom wouldn’t explain properly. There was nowhere else to find out. I just thought it might be some kind of disreputable hobby.”

I lowered my gaze to the floor, pretending to be weak. It was partially true. Tom had never explained it to me.

Lars exhaled a faint sigh, perhaps recalling the kidnapping incident. Examining my expression, he spoke.

“A disreputable hobby. So you thought Tom might know Folluk’s weakness?”

“Yes.”

“What guarantee do you have that he would speak honestly to you?”

“Tom is a good person. When I went to find out about the ledger Laurel left, he was worried about me. Said he liked me. We can say we’re friends now. I like Tom too.”