To think that the woman who always bowed her head with perfect posture, her hands neatly folded above her navel whenever they met in the corridor, wearing a simple and dull dress buttoned up to her chin, with her hair tied up without any decoration, was the same woman who had entered the tavern on Endka Street with red hair and a glamorous dress, her shoulders hunched as if lacking confidence.

He had been completely fooled that night, but looking again, he could see it now.

“Yes, these eyes.”

When he first met these eyes at the tavern that night, he definitely thought he had seen them somewhere before.

It was when Lady Lariella declared her marriage annulled and returned to Polar territory.

When she was being questioned by Kais, she couldn’t even lift her head and just kept crying, which made him feel sorry for her, but when asked who had mistreated Lady Lariella, she had looked straight at Kais with wide, clear eyes.

Eyes that were bold in their honesty, showing not the slightest trace of falsehood.

That’s why he had thought she was a maid with such pleasing eyes that day too.

“I thought you were a truthful maid without the slightest falsehood,”

Worklan’s eyebrows rose fiercely.

“But now I see you’re a bright red liar of a maid.”

Cold sweat rolled down Marie’s spine as she realized he had discovered everything.

“S-Sir Worklan……”

“We used to run into each other in the corridor at least twice a week.”

Worklan stepped firmly toward Marie.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t run into you at all lately. Have you been deliberately avoiding me? Afraid I might recognize you?”

Marie couldn’t deny it and just swallowed hard.

She took hesitant steps backward as Worklan approached. But she couldn’t go far before she was trapped between the wall and him.

Worklan raised his hand and removed the pins in Marie’s hair one by one. After removing all the ribbons that tightly bound her hair, her abundant brown hair flowed down over her face.

This suited her eyes much better than red hair.

“Nice to meet you, Marenne.”

When Worklan greeted her mischievously, Marie made a hiccup sound with her eyes wide open.

A hiccup at a time like this.

Startled, Marie quickly folded her hands and covered her mouth tightly.

She looked so cute covering her mouth in exactly the same posture as that night at the tavern. Because of this, Worklan forgot his anger and laughed softly.

“Water, or alcohol?”

“Hic! ……Water, please.”

But instead of bringing her the water from the bedside table, Worklan grabbed her two hands that were tightly covering her lips and pinned them above her head.

“This seems more effective right now.”

Before Marie, whose hands were suddenly bound, could say anything, Worklan’s lips approached and completely devoured her lips.

“Mmm……”

The two lips that already knew each other well ignited instantly upon contact.

Worklan immediately pushed between Marie’s lips, forcefully sucking on her tongue. Marie opened her mouth wide, moving her inexperienced tongue to accept his more deeply.

Twisting his head, Worklan drove his tongue in until it almost touched her throat, scraping her palate hard with its tip. Marie let out a short moan and collapsed into his arms.

Releasing Marie’s wrists, Worklan put one hand under her knee and lifted her up in one swift motion.

Taking a few steps, he placed Marie on the bed with a thud and immediately climbed on top of her slender body.

As he trapped her between his legs and began unbuttoning his uniform, he heard someone whispering outside the door.

— Oh my! What a surprise. I think they’re for real.

— No, Lariella. Shh!

Tsk, Worklan clicked his tongue in displeasure, got off the bed, and opened the door with a bang.

The Duke and Duchess of Elmano, who had been standing in the corridor with their ears pressed against the door, saw Worklan and smiled awkwardly.

“I was just worried about Marie…… But is Marenne really Marie? But Marie doesn’t have red hair? What’s going on?”

Lady Lariella might have been merely curious, but the problem was this unhelpful cousin.

Despite having been eavesdropping like a thief with his ear to someone else’s door, Kais spoke solemnly with his arms folded across his chest.

“For an unmarried lady to keep her body and mind chaste is a sacred law that the Bayaroman Empire has upheld for generations, and I, Duke Kais Elmano, as the highest nobleman of Bayaroman, have the responsibility to manage the dignity and prestige of all nobles, therefore I cannot permit Sir Worklan Elmano, the heir of the Elmano family, to sleep with Miss Marie Herona, the daughter of Viscount Herona, without marriage……”

Worklan wasn’t unaware of Kais’s intentions as he muttered on with that annoying expression, speaking twice as slowly as usual.

He was probably trying to get revenge for his delayed wedding night with Lady Lariella.

While Kais was talking, Worklan, who had removed his jacket and both boots, thrust his fiercely scowling face right in front of Kais’s nose.

“I’ll send a marriage proposal tomorrow, no, I’ll take it there myself, so go, quickly.”

Marie, who had been hiding under the blanket up to her head, too shocked and embarrassed by the fact that the Duke and Duchess of Elmano were outside the door, screamed in surprise at Worklan’s words.

“Eh? A marriage proposal? So suddenly? No, why! Even so, you should discuss it with me first, I have circumstances too……”

“Go quickly, I’m busy right now.”

When Marie cried out in surprise from inside, Worklan frantically waved his hands with an urgent expression.

Kais and Lariella, who had been looking at each other and giggling, decided it was time to stop teasing and withdraw.

As the two were walking down the corridor hand in hand, the door that had been slammed shut suddenly flung open again.

“Just try ringing the bell today! I’ll rip it all out!”

Kais and Lariella burst into laughter at Worklan’s shout from behind them.

“There will be another wedding at Elmano Castle soon.”

“Judging by Worklan’s behavior, I don’t think he can wait even three months.”

Returning to the office, the Duke and Duchess of Elmano talked about the two for a long time, amazed that the people most precious to them had become connected to each other. Of course, they absolutely did not ring the bell for the two who would be spending a passionate time together.

As Kais had predicted, preparations for Worklan and Marie’s wedding proceeded swiftly.

The next day, Worklan personally took a marriage proposal to the Herona viscount family.

The previous night, Marie had confessed all her circumstances to Worklan, explaining why she had to commit such a reckless act.

After learning how Marie had been treated by her family all this time, Worklan practically threatened the Viscount and Viscountess Herona and obtained their written consent on the spot.

The viscount couple reluctantly wrote their consent when told they didn’t need to prepare a dowry for Marie, but they seemed worried about whether accepting this proposal meant they would have to repay the dowry they had provided for Elenne. Seeing the viscount couple like this, Worklan had to clench his empty fist several times.

Worklan tried to repay the 200 gold that Marie had received in advance for five years’ salary, but Kais and Lariella adamantly refused, saying it was their wedding gift to the couple.

And the Duke and Duchess had one more wedding gift.

After hearing about Marie’s situation from Lariella, Kais made this suggestion to Worklan:

“About the wedding date. How about setting it on the same day as the wedding of Count Parker’s eldest son?”

“The day Marie’s younger sister gets married?”

Seeing Kais nod with a meaningful expression, Worklan immediately understood what he was thinking.

It was his nature to always remember what he and his family had suffered and to repay it several times over without fail. And it also meant that Kais had already accepted Marie as family.

After setting Worklan and Marie’s wedding date on the same day as the wedding of Count Parker’s eldest son, Kais and Lariella personally wrote and sent invitations one by one to the nobles.

No matter how significant the marriage of a count’s heir might be, it couldn’t surpass the value of an invitation personally written by Duke Elmano saying, “We sincerely hope you will attend.”

Worklan and Marie’s wedding was held magnificently with as many guests as the Duke and Duchess of Elmano’s wedding.

The only ones not invited to that wedding were the people of Count Parker’s family and Viscount Herona’s family, who were holding their own wedding on the same day.

It was common knowledge among social circles that Countess Parker, who was already displeased with her new daughter-in-law, came to hate her even more because of this incident.

Word spread that after the marriage, Countess Parker tormented her daughter-in-law with her difficult temperament, ruining the once bright and pretty face of her daughter-in-law within a few months. Beyond that, people stopped caring about how Count Parker’s daughter-in-law was doing, as she wasn’t even allowed to go out freely.

Two loving couples lived at Elmano Castle.

They were the cold yet passionate Duke and his gentle yet strong Duchess, and the rough but pure Knight Commander and his diligent yet quirky wife.

And in the spacious garden within the castle, seven children born to the two couples grew up healthily and vigorously, getting along like siblings.