Several days passed. Valentin’s bedchamber was tidied up, Anton returned to his usual routine, and the maids attended to Iela while occasionally whispering among themselves in hushed voices about that frightening day.

And in all that time, not a single person had come to the castle.

“What do you think the problem is?”

Anton, who had been staring blankly at the hand that had slammed down on the mahogany desk with a bang, covered his face with his palm.

He had no choice but to grow accustomed, however reluctantly, to Iela barging into the office without warning, but he was certain that no matter how many years passed, the master standing beside her would always give him a start.

Before even the breathtaking beauty that was dazzling to behold even for a man, the power he possessed was something utterly terrifying.

Only after peeking through the gaps between his fingers to confirm that their hands were clasped together as amicably as ever did Anton lower the hand covering his face.

The woman standing beside the literally breathtaking beauty was, even at the most generous assessment, a plain-looking person who could not be rated much higher than passable.

“Have your ears finally given out as well? You were already of less use than a drop of nothing, and now your hearing has gone too? If that is truly the case, hurry up and find a replacement and disappear. You were never quick on the uptake even when your ears worked properly, so what use is a squire who cannot even hear anymore. Is that not right, Lord Bahar?”

“You are right.”

‘Right, my foot.’ He had inadvertently talked back in his head and flinched at himself.

Even knowing that Iela was suppressing Valentin’s curse, Anton’s days of late were spent in constant dread of when that sharp gaze might suddenly turn his way.

“Anton Mivela.”

She was a plain-looking woman, the kind whose likeness you could find three or four of if you went out into the domain right now.

Yet the sharp manner of speaking, the eyes that looked down on people in a way that seemed impossible for a commoner, and the overbearing air were uniquely Iela’s.

“Did you actually post the notice properly?”

“I did.”

“I do not believe you. It is not as though lying has been a habit of yours for only a day or two.”

“I do not lie. I would have carried out Lady Iela’s instructions without exception.”

“The contract you first brought was utter nonsense. The portrait you showed as a likeness of Lord Bahar was a completely different person. And you are still refusing to admit that Lord Bahar is a pervert and insisting otherwise.”

“None of that is sufficient evidence to make me a liar. The contract was revised according to Lady Iela’s demands, and as for the portrait, I too believed it to be a likeness of my lord, which makes me a fellow victim. As for the last claim, I have no desire to add anything, so I will exercise my right to silence. However, one piece of advice: now that you hold the title of Lady, it would serve Lady Iela well to conduct herself in a manner befitting that title.”

The impression that had seemed almost mild vanished, swallowed by a fierce smile.

Consumed by profound regret, Anton waited with a humble heart for the ridicule and shouting that was about to rain down on him.

Iela, who had been looking down at the young man with his eyes squeezed shut, grabbed him by the collar.

Anton, who had at most been bracing for rough words, stared at her with wide eyes and an expression of disbelief.

“In this castle there is a lord shut away in a corner of a room, and a foolish squire who thinks himself rather important but is saddled with every petty task imaginable. I would stake my entire fortune that neither of them looks like a Lord or a Sir to anyone. I am confident I would not lose.”

When Anton frowned at Iela’s declaration, she continued.

“Does the position not make the person? If you want me to put on even a pretense of being a Lady, make the environment worthy of it first, and then talk.”

The young man, who had likely never faced a physical threat in his life, trembled with his teeth chattering. It was probably less from fear and more from the humiliation.

Even so, he was not prepared to lay a hand on Iela, and his only expression of discontent was a pair of sharply upturned eyes.

Even that shrank and dropped unnaturally to the floor the moment he caught sight of Valentin standing beside her.

“Let, go of me.”

“I am working this hard to turn this castle into a place fit for people to live in, and when I see the squire sitting at a luxurious mahogany desk in the finest room doing nothing but pushing a pen around, of course I am going to be furious.”

“My lady, first, your hand…”

“Given that it was you who handled it, the outcome is obvious. You probably went and slapped the notice up in some obscure back alley in the most out-of-the-way corner of the domain and came straight back.”

The color draining from his face was not solely because Iela had him by the throat. Her grip was not that strong to begin with.

Compared to Valentin he was a matchstick, but Anton was still a man, and it was becoming difficult to bear the weight pitching him forward.

Yet letting go like this wounded her pride. Iela was in the middle of deciding what to do.

“I will take it from here.”

The hand that appeared, pale as any woman’s, was unexpectedly a man’s hand with prominent bones and unmistakably masculine fingers.

The man who took Anton by the collar from Iela with a casual motion gave a slight nod.

“You stopped partway. Continue.”

Anton, whose complexion was turning progressively blue, seemed to be genuinely struggling for air now, unlike before.

Valentin was two heads taller than Iela and one head taller than Anton.

Thanks to that, the young man was in a position where he had to rise up on his toes as high as he could if he truly did not want to be choked.

“Be grateful, Anton Mivela. I have come up with a brilliant idea.”

“Guh, I am, dying, my lord…”

“So overcome with joy that you could die? Understandable. I have brought a brilliant idea in place of a useless squire.”

“Dying, truly, going to die…”

“I am going to go out and abduct people to come work here.”

Thud. Valentin released the collar he had been holding. Anton, finally able to draw breath, opened his mouth wide and coughed in a most undignified manner.

“Ab, no…”

The loyal squire did not forget to voice his objection even in that state. It was because Iela had turned her back as though about to walk out the moment she finished speaking.

“You cannot abduct people!”

The words burst out in a badly cracked voice at the same moment,

“Why not?”

Iela shot back.

“They were the ones who threw away the opportunity I gave them, were they not? So I am deeply wounded. The only way to heal my injured heart now is to abduct people and put them to work in the castle. If I am to carry myself like a Lady, I need to make this place look like a proper lord’s castle. What is the point of putting on airs by myself when no one is watching? It is no different from a play with no audience.”

Iela paused briefly and clicked her tongue at Valentin and Anton, who were staring at her blankly. They clearly did not understand.

She did not particularly care what Anton was thinking, but it was all too obvious that Valentin was unsettled by the mention of her going out.

“Whether it is Philip Lorid’s influence or not, I have no patience for a performance that brings me no benefit. Whether it is financial gain or admiring praise, there has to be something to gain first. Here, it would be the humiliation of my neighbors who were in the same position as me until just a few weeks ago and now have to treat me as their lady.”

She finished speaking while looking directly at Valentin. He kept his gaze on Iela and opened his mouth quietly.

“Once you have entered this castle, you cannot leave.”

“Even if I am not leaving for good?”

“Even so.”

“You will not permit even a brief outing?”

“Within the castle, you may go anywhere.”

“You present this castle with not a single interesting corner to its name as though it were some magnificent gift.”

“You have not seen all of it yet. If you wish, starting today we can spend time opening every door one by one.”

The atmosphere grew steadily colder. She had no intention of trying to persuade Valentin, who showed no sign of backing down.

It had been a proposal put forward from the start without any consideration for his wishes.

The reason she had informed Anton was to have him deal with the problems that would arise from abducting multiple people.

“You seem to think of me as some kind of pet.”

“You are my wife.”

“You said it yourself, Lord Bahar. That I am also a Bahar. You even said you were very pleased when I told you I intended to make active use of that name. Am I misremembering?”

“You are right, as always.”

“And yet going out is not right.”

“I merely had a momentary lapse in thinking. I will correct it shortly, so there is no need to criticize me for being wrong before I have even had the chance.”

As he said this, Valentin tightened his grip on the hand clasped with hers. It seemed the lessons of the past few days had been learned in the wrong direction.

Or rather, from his perspective, he had simply found a solution. As long as some part of him was touching her, Valentin was not at a disadvantage.

Whatever Iela said, whatever she insisted on, he could listen with one ear and let it pass while still keeping her freedom in check.

“I am going out.”

“You are not.”

“Lord Bahar may come as well.”

“I will not go, and neither will you.”

“Since Lord Bahar needs me this much, I will not stop you from following along.”

Saying this, Iela moved her feet. Valentin matched her steps for a few paces, then stopped in front of the office door.

No matter how Iela tried to move forward, it was as though a heavy weight had been attached to her and she could not budge.

She could reach the door handle if she stretched out her hand, and she could open the door. But stepping through the open door was the one thing she could not do.

“Let go! I said let go!”

Iela finally lost her temper and shouted, swinging the hand that was not being held.

Smack.

Valentin, having been slapped, simply let out a quiet breath. The gaze looking at her held nothing beyond the hope that this had relieved her anger.

She kicked him in the shin one after another. Iela hit and kicked the large man who did not so much as stagger, to her heart’s content.

Anton’s frantic voice urging her to stop sounded faint, as though coming from somewhere far away.

It was Iela who tired first, reaching the limits of her stamina.

The man showed no change in expression whatsoever beyond his appearance being disheveled from the one-sided *ssault. He did not seem to feel any pain at all.

Breathing hard, Iela regained her composure.

She acknowledged that while violence was useful for resolving most things with ease, this particular instance had yielded minimal effect. And with a head now calmed after venting her heat, she looked for a different answer.

It was, in truth, an answer she had known before she had laid a hand on him. But she had calculated that it was important to show her dissatisfaction at having her freedom restrained.

Just like Anton, Valentin would never have imagined being subjected to this kind of violence, especially from a woman of lower standing, so it had been a kind of shock treatment.

Unfortunately, Valentin was composed, and even appeared to be accustomed to it.

“This is your last chance.”

Iela declared.

“It is the last chance for me not to dislike Lord Bahar, so think carefully.”

Valentin, with a vivid red handprint on his cheek, wore an expression of conflict. Since Iela was not the sort to wait patiently for someone to deliberate,

“I will give you three seconds.”

“Wait.”

“One, two…”

“…I suppose it cannot be helped.”

It was a dirty victory won through violence and threats, but a victory nonetheless.

Iela smiled with great satisfaction.