He must be expecting something in return. He wouldn’t put out such a large sum for no reason. She wanted to know what his ulterior motive was.

“You just need to do one thing.”

Right. I knew there would be something. Even if it’s just one thing, it might be a request I can’t fulfill. I got excited for nothing.

“Call me ‘honey.'”

What? His words left her with a stupid expression. What… should I do?

“I’d like that.”

Her stupid expression remained unchanged.

“So… are you saying… that title is worth this much money? Is that right?”

She just stated the conclusion. She found her own words ridiculous.

He nodded vigorously.

Yvonne thought Leon seemed to be in a serious state. Does such a trivial title equate to this large sum of money? It didn’t make sense to her. Everything else seemed normal, but not this.

“I won’t force you. I’d like it if you called me that when you want to.”

This is… not just crazy but foolish. He’s not even forcing it.

It felt like a strange man was standing in front of her. Ah… this feeling wasn’t new. She had felt it occasionally since he returned.

“Shouldn’t a deal be fair? This doesn’t make any sense.”

“It does.”

He pushed away her words with a single sentence.

She couldn’t respond to him. Should I really accept this? And spend it all?

People are truly fickle. With that open money pouch right in front of her eyes, and such a large sum that she could spend entirely, she wavered.

All she had to do was exchange that money pouch for calling him “honey.” And he wouldn’t even force her until she wanted to call him that. It was an absurd condition, but Leon was the one insisting, not her. Since they were married, she could call him “honey” anytime without him giving her such a large sum. Why was that one word so important?

As Leon watched Yvonne gnawing her lips in contemplation, he grew anxious. The condition he set might seem trivial to her. But to him, it was by no means trivial.

To him, it was worth more than this large sum, more than anything else. If she would just do that, this money wouldn’t be the least bit regrettable.

It became difficult to wait any longer for Yvonne who was still standing there contemplating. He had to force it on her. He had to insist. Just this once, he had to do it that way.

Without a word, he tightly closed the money pouch and placed it firmly in her hands. She staggered slightly from its weight.

“This… doesn’t make sense… what kind of condition…”

She was still hesitating. He didn’t like that.

“Then I’ll add one more.”

Yes. If there’s one more condition, maybe it will ease my mind a little. Yvonne waited for his next words with bright eyes.

“Smile.”

For a moment, she nearly collapsed as all strength left her legs.

“Are you joking with me right now?”

Otherwise, why would he be acting like this?

“Just smile a lot. That’s all.”

Saying “honey” and smiling are too easy, aren’t they? Receiving all this, and the only conditions are those? She couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“Shall we go to the new dining room for dinner? To work hard, you need to eat well first, right?”

Leon changed the subject as if the conversation was over. She felt like a con artist. Is this really okay….

Unable to reach a conclusion until the end, she had no choice but to be led out of the study by his hand.

* * *

She didn’t ask for the money repeatedly, nor was it forced on her—she reluctantly accepted it because he insisted. Now that she had such a large sum, shouldn’t she use it well?

With an urgent heart, Yvonne sat in the study late into the night, drafting plans for managing the territory. She needed to set priorities and create a step-by-step plan. Before she knew it, she had filled one page and was writing on the next.

Leon, who had been quietly reading in the adjacent study without disturbing her, approached. He had remained by her side, saying he wouldn’t go to the bedroom first.

“Do you need to do more?”

She just nodded, not wanting to disrupt the thoughts forming in her head. She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Leon coming closer and quickly scanning the papers she had written.

“If you suddenly work like this, you’ll get sick. You need to eat well to work well.”

Then Leon quietly went outside. He must be going to get something to eat. He could have called a maid, but he went himself. In any case, she was getting hungry from using her brain so much.

She read through the plan she had written once more. She needed to carefully check if anything was missing.

First, cultivate the land, which would require a large amount of fertilizer. Rough and barren land wouldn’t grow crops well no matter how much they tilled it. Then purchase seeds in bulk, distribute new farming tools…… Come to think of it, the shops she had visited with Leon were proving useful now. If it hadn’t been for Leon, she might have suspected that someone as meticulous as Luke would have anticipated this and taken her around in advance. But that couldn’t be the case. They had just visited many shops for sightseeing, and some of them happened to be useful now.

Leon still hadn’t returned. She was getting hungry from thinking too much. Being hungry made it difficult to concentrate on work. She needed to eat something to regain her strength. If she was this hungry just sitting and planning, what if she were doing physical labor…… Wait.

Isn’t cultivating the land not the first priority? First, people need to eat well to be able to work.

Suddenly, Yvonne’s eyes narrowed slightly.

[To work hard, you need to eat well first, right?]

[If you suddenly work like this, you’ll get sick. You need to eat well to work well.]

She recalled Leon’s words. Yes. The people of the territory might also get sick if they suddenly start working. Eating comes first. After experiencing this herself, she could realize what was missing. Strangely, even Leon’s casual remarks to her were helpful. It must be a coincidence, but Leon had done something quite admirable.

The door opened and Leon entered. But he was carrying a large tray in his hands. A large tray with food and drinks—he was bringing it in himself.

The maids would think he had become considerate of his wife since getting married. In any case, it was a welcome gesture for her hungry self.

As she ate the sandwiches and drank the warm tea laid out on the table, she glanced up at Leon. He was just watching her eat without eating himself. Come to think of it, there was only one small sandwich on the tray, meant for his wife. A husband bringing a tray for his wife…

“There are three of them, would you like one?”

Leon nodded once and leaned forward. She picked up a new sandwich and extended it toward him, but then stopped and stared at him blankly. He hadn’t moved his hand but his mouth. He was opening his mouth and looking at her quietly. Is he… asking me to feed him? What are his hands for then?

Haah… what am I supposed to do when he looks at me with those puppy-dog eyes.

Yvonne reluctantly brought the sandwich closer to Leon, who hadn’t minded going to the trouble himself. Leon’s bulging cheeks as he opened his mouth, took a big bite, and chewed slowly looked somewhat cute. She didn’t even feed Emil like this. Well, this much was fine.

The expression on Leon’s face as he slightly opened his mouth again to eat the remaining half seemed… joyful. He also looked happy. He strangely found delight in the most trivial things.

Oh my.

He did that on purpose. She was certain. As he put the rest of the sandwich in his mouth, his lips touched her fingertips. It wasn’t just a touch—he lightly licked them before slowly pulling away. Her fingertips felt moist as if covered with his saliva.

This… naughty man….

Yvonne casually picked up the napkin that was placed nearby and wiped her hand. Then she shot him a sideways glance.

Despite doing it deliberately, Leon didn’t even look apologetic. At least he was honest about that. It was strange that he would do such a lecherous thing to her, but he was acting as if she were the only woman left in the world. No, she had decided not to think negatively anymore. Anyone who knew him from before would notice how much he had changed. Most importantly, he hadn’t hit her. Not yet, at least. He might still be fooling around with women outside, but it was difficult to change violent tendencies, and he had been controlling himself well so far. That was unexpected and very fortunate for her.

“Could you spare some time here tomorrow?”

Of course. That’s not difficult at all.

She nodded lightly. Where was he planning to go together this time?

By now, she could converse quite well with Leon. When he didn’t use his strange way of speaking, she understood him well. Like any other couple, they exchanged conversations and spent time together. Yet it was relatively peaceful and calm. Whether influenced by the atmosphere between them or excited about the new mansion, the employees also seemed happily at ease. It was hard to hide her satisfaction seeing their expressions of pride in working at this mansion.