“Yes. Though his own will is most important, of course.”

“Ah…. Does His Grace know this?”

“Yes. Though he was quite shocked.”

“Why?”

Font tilted his head at Belita’s worried look. He scrutinized every corner of her face as if trying to gauge something.

“I cursed him a bit, saying his mental state was rotten. Ah, I apologize to you, my lady.”

“You c-cursed him…? To Rian? Ah…… I’m fine. It’s not like you cursed at me….”

“Pfft, ah, ahem! I apologize. You’re quite different from what I’ve heard.”

Font couldn’t help but burst into laughter at her varied expressions that rose and fell just at the name ‘Rian.’ It seemed like a good sign, which put his mind at ease.

“Have you heard something about me…?”

“I have. That crazy—ah, ahem. His Grace has praised you a lot.”

“To R-Rian, I mean, His Grace…?”

“Perhaps….”

Just when she was getting confused by his words as he smiled throughout the conversation, probing her like he was checking her out, the man paused.

“Perhaps, what…?”

“His Grace confessed to you.”

“……Ah, yes.”

“What will you do?”

“What….”

“Will you accept him?”

“……”

Belita closed her mouth at the question she heard again before she had even sorted out her thoughts. Had he asked her to ask him?

“I haven’t decided yet. I need to think….”

“I see…. I can only hope for a good conclusion.”

“……”

A good conclusion…. What did he mean by a good conclusion? Me stepping back? Or does he want me to stay by his side?

“My lady, Rian’s illness is a wound of the heart. It’s a disease created by a fragile child’s mind.”

“What exactly happened to him?”

“It would be better to hear about his past directly from him. He’ll probably tell you everything soon.”

“……Yes.”

“So I hope you can soothe Rian’s wounds. Plant faith in his empty heart and pour love abundantly, then he should heal quickly….”

Was he writing a poem? What am I supposed to plant and pour?

“Ah, of course, I don’t mean to burden you. If he has even a small place in your heart, for Rian’s sake……”

Font extended his words as Belita’s face turned red and she just blinked her eyes as if she didn’t understand what he meant. Then he chuckled and muttered.

“You two really are a married couple.”

“What?”

“They say couples grow to resemble each other, and you really do.”

“Us?”

Belita’s face flushed at Font’s words, not knowing in what way they resembled each other, since she knew well that in terms of appearance, she couldn’t compare to Rian.

“Yes, you really resemble each other.”

‘Not knowing love, not being honest, not being able to trust anyone, being cowards…. You’re exactly the same.’

Font chuckled as he looked at Belita, whose face turned bright red just at the mention of resemblance. It seemed that while he didn’t have luck with parents, he had luck with a wife. When he had insisted on buying a wife to avoid the woman he hated so terribly, Font had cursed him as a madman, but now he had brought home such a kind and virtuous wife. It seemed God hadn’t completely abandoned the guy.

“Grand Duchess.”

“Yes.”

“If you’re not going to leave Rian, I’ll tell you one method.”

“?”

“Listen carefully to what I say and follow it exactly. Ah, but if you’re determined to abandon Rian, then this would be pointless.”

“What’s the method?”

Font barely held back his laughter again at the sight of Belita asking with sparkling eyes. It seemed certain that she too had developed different feelings for Rian, which kept making the corners of his mouth twitch.

“Can you follow my instructions?”

“Yes.”

Seeing Belita nodding her small head and looking at him with concentration, he could understand why Rian had fallen for her.

‘Lucky bastard.’

“Listen carefully.”

“Yes.”

The method Font told her was quite simple. It was also reckless enough to make her wonder if it would really work. Although she was doubtful, she clenched her fist, thinking that as Rian’s longtime friend and personal physician, he wouldn’t talk nonsense.

Even if he changed his mind again after his personalities merged into one, even if he asked her to leave him, she wanted to restore him to normal first.

‘He’s my child’s father anyway. A normal father would be better than a crazy one.’

“I understand. I’ll try my best.”

“You’ll do well. And as a citizen of this Grand Duchy, I feel relieved that you are the mistress of this household.”

“Ah, no…. I haven’t done anything….”

“Your existence alone is a great strength to the people of the Grand Duchy. And especially for me, who knows His Grace’s condition best.”

“Th-thank you.”

Even in the midst of her embarrassment, something warm welled up in her chest. To be told that her existence alone was a strength. Could there be a better compliment than that?

“Then I’ll be going now. Take good care of yourself.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Just follow your heart.”

“Yes…. Thank you for coming today.”

“Not at all.”

She stared at the back of the man who bowed politely and left. She hadn’t realized how much strength his words would give her—words that acknowledged her and told her she was useful. She must have really wanted recognition, both as the Grand Duchess and as his wife. For the first time in a long while, her heart swelled with satisfaction.

* * *

Throughout dinner, the couple remained silent. Both were preoccupied with recalling the method Font had told them. They spent a long time contemplating, burying their noses in their plates and mechanically putting food into their mouths. And it was Belita who spoke first.

“Rian.”

“……Yes? Ah, yes, wife.”

Ah, it’s His Grace…. Sigh.

She had finally gathered the courage to call him, and of course it was awkwardly His Grace who appeared. She couldn’t ask him to call Rian, so her firmly made resolution wavered like a reed.

Huh, right, I shouldn’t see him as divided. He is one. Just one person.

She looked at him again with renewed determination. Seeing the man’s eyes that seemed worried and anxious, Belita put down the fork in her hand and exhaled deeply.

“Haaah……”

“Wife…?”

“About what Your Grace said earlier.”

“……Yes.”

“Let’s put that on hold for now.”

“……What?”

“The talk about getting married again, let’s put that on hold for now.”

“Wife….”

Rian’s face turned dark. His shoulders drooped as if he had been rejected. Somehow, it seemed like he was now feeling the same emotion she had felt earlier, which made her feel sorry but also a bit vindictive.

So why do you keep cutting off your words? Hmph.

“Instead, I have a favor, no, a condition.”

“A condition…?”

“You said you wanted to marry me again.”

“Yes….”

“So that means Your Grace is in a position where you need to steal my heart.”

“What? What do I need to steal?”

“Hmm, are you going to keep asking me to repeat myself?”

“No… that’s not it…. I’m just surprised…. Ahem.”

She didn’t know why it was so thrilling to see the man wiping his forehead with a tissue and fidgeting nervously. Seeing the once arrogant man even sweating gave her a strange sense of elation. Font’s words were true.

‘Be assertive no matter what. He’s like a child whose ego hasn’t fully developed. If you push strongly, he’ll follow because he still has some innocence. Think of it as raising a slightly immature child in advance.’

Belita opened her eyes wide again.

“So as Your Grace said, let’s start over from the beginning.”

“……”

“Let’s start dating again.”

“……Dating…?”

His brows furrowed. He seemed displeased about going back to dating when he had been talking about marriage.

“You hate it?”

“Ah, no. Would that be okay with you?”

“Yes…?”

What does he mean by ‘would that be okay’…?

“Ahem, why wouldn’t it be okay? We can date, and if it doesn’t work out, then really—”

“Sounds good.”

“……”

“Let’s date. This time, let’s have a truly passionate romance like other couples.”

“……Yes……”

Cold sweat ran down her spine as the man suddenly stretched his lips into a wide smile. Something seemed wrong, but she couldn’t tell what it was. And that smile was definitely Crazy Rian’s.

Huh, I can’t show weakness here.

Belita also raised the corners of her lips in a smile, but her expression was somehow very awkward. A feeling of unease and suspicion crept up on her. He definitely seemed to be plotting something, but not knowing what it was frustrated her. If it was Crazy Rian, he was certainly a man who could shock her with some outrageous act and then some.

And her intuition was fairly accurate. She had no idea that Rian had also received secret instructions from Font. Nor did she know what Rian meant by a passionate romance. So the couple hid their thoughts from each other and smiled awkwardly.