Count Azanie bent down and inserted a key into the drawer he had kept locked.

This time, he planned to send a letter written in Lea’s handwriting rather than a blueprint.

“When he sees this, he won’t be able to stand keeping that woman.”

It was his second attempt against Grand Duke Hedegen and a desperate final act of defiance.

Since he had advised Empress Genevieve to refrain from attacking Lea, there would be no more outward appearances of trying to endanger that woman.

Instead, during this time, he needed to induce the Grand Duke to abandon her.

“If I just rely on Genevieve, I might get stabbed in the back again.”

For the past couple of months, he couldn’t shake the suspicion that she might try to pin the St. Berte attack on him.

“I dedicated myself for over a decade, thinking we were in the same boat, and she dares to look down on me?”

To protect his safety, he should be cautious…?

Did Genevieve think he wouldn’t recognize her demonic claws reaching out to him, restricting his external activities to the level of house arrest?

“But wait…”

Count Azanie’s brow furrowed as he angrily rummaged through the letters and blueprints collected in the drawer.

“Where on earth is it?”

Lea’s letters were gathered so haphazardly that they couldn’t possibly have been arranged in chronological order.

The vein on Count Azanie’s temple bulged as he ground his teeth.

“I specifically told her to keep them properly.”

Again, she hadn’t organized things properly.

Count Azanie clicked his tongue, blaming his wife.

“I have no choice.”

He would have to send the next best option among the visible items that would make Lea look suspicious.

Count Azanie took out a blueprint of St. Berte Castle’s tea room drawn by Lea from the drawer.

“What lady in the world would send a blueprint of the tea room in the castle where she lives with her husband…”

It was something that could only be done with malicious intent.

Count Azanie looked down at the blueprint bearing Lea’s signature and grinned, baring his teeth.

He immediately took out a thick envelope and neatly folded the large blueprint.

“The Grand Duke nearly died there, so when he receives the tea room blueprint, he’ll naturally understand.”

Since Grand Duke Hedegen was so perceptive, he would immediately realize that Lea was the one who had instigated his attempted murder.

Looking at the blueprint alone, one could only conclude that Lea had orchestrated the attack on the Grand Duke in the tea room.

“If he’ll still protect his wife after seeing this, it proves he’s truly insane.”

Yes, indeed.

As Count Azanie looked down at the thick envelope containing the blueprint, he heard a bell.

It seemed tea time had arrived.

Count Azanie left his study with his hands behind his back, descended the stairs, and headed to the tea room.

His wife had arrived first and was standing quietly with her hands folded, waiting for him.

A few days ago, she had become complacent and sat down before her husband, which had caused him to explode in anger. Now she was behaving obediently again.

Women, after all. They never listen unless you get angry.

Count Azanie scrutinized his wife with a disapproving look, cleared his throat, and sat down in the main seat on the sofa.

“What were you doing?”

While he was in his study earlier, he had faintly heard people moving busily outside.

“Oh, jewelry merchants came. They’re very famous people.”

“I told you not to let people into the house carelessly.”

“I let them in only after thoroughly checking their credentials. My goodness, do you know how difficult it is to schedule appointments with such people? This year is Lily’s debutante, after all. No matter what anyone says, our daughter must be the flower of the year.”

When Count Azanie picked up his teacup, Countess Azanie silently counted for a moment before picking up her own cup.

If she offended her husband’s temperament, which valued etiquette, a thunderous scolding would follow.

“Has Lily arrived safely in December? Is she doing her work well?”

“Of course. In yesterday’s letter, she said that since Dillan is hovering around Lea on his own, it would be much easier to talk to her. Dillan seems to think his job is to monitor Lea. But darling, if we succeed in this matter, will the Empress really arrange Lily’s marriage?”

“That’s already been settled. She certainly will. Moreover, most of the imperial palace projects will be awarded to our family.”

After finishing his statement in an arrogant tone and drinking his tea, Countess Azanie looked at him with pride and spoke.

“Lily said that all the hotels in St. Berte were fully booked, so she’s staying in nearby Beckshire. She’ll go to December every day for her volunteer work, so rumors will spread quickly. I’ve also looked into all the mental hospitals.”

Count Azanie nodded and then searched for another point of criticism.

“By the way, I told you to keep the letters safe, so why can’t you organize them properly?”

“What do you mean? I immediately give you Lea’s letters when they arrive, and after you’ve read them, I put them all in the drawer and lock it with a key.”

“That’s why you should have organized them neatly. It takes time to find what I need each time!”

“Ah…”

“The one letter I’m looking for is missing. Didn’t I say it was important and must be managed properly!”

When on earth did he say such a thing?

This man accused her of not following instructions he claimed to have given at least twelve times a day, even though she had never heard them. The Countess felt a surge of indignation.

“It’s too much to blame me so thoughtlessly! Did you look carefully? Your important documents always turn up again after you make a fuss about them being lost.”

“A fuss?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

Count Azanie glared at her as if she had used the word “fuss” to suggest he was overreacting about a trivial matter, and the Countess quickly lowered her eyes.

“I’m sorry, dear.”

Count Azanie clicked his tongue at his wife as if there was nothing about her that pleased him and stared at her for a long time.

After finishing his tea, he rose from his seat, climbed the stairs again, and opened the door to his study.

“……”

Count Azanie, stroking his thick belly as he stepped firmly on the carpet, suddenly turned his head.

Something felt strange.

The study looked the same, but the air felt different.

“!”

The letter that should have been on the desk was gone!

With widened eyes, Count Azanie hurriedly waddled over while simultaneously fumbling in his jacket’s inner pocket for his bundle of keys.

Gripped by an odd anxiety, he turned the key and yanked the drawer open.

“Huh…!”

The drawer was empty as well.

Count Azanie straightened up and looked around.

All the windows were closed, so who could have taken it?

“Bring those jewelry merchants here!”

In the mansion with no signs of intrusion, they were the only people who had entered from outside.

As he stormed out of the study, roaring in rage, the fireplace was blazing unlike before.

Blackened papers were deliciously burning away.

“A horse…?”

A horse was waiting at the place Carlo had taken me.

First, I was surprised by its massive size like a house, and then again when it leaned docilely against Carlo’s hand as soon as he reached out, despite its fierce appearance.

My mouth fell half-open involuntarily as I looked at the sleek thoroughbred with its black coat and soft sheen. Carlo looked down at me with an enigmatic expression.

“Don’t you want to ride?”

What is he saying? Just as my eyes widened in surprise, his hands gripped my waist and lifted me effortlessly.

In an instant, he placed me on the saddle and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

“You need to spread your legs.”

Startled by his shockingly inappropriate words, I stared at him.

He was watching me with a casual gaze and a smile.

“Spread my legs? While wearing a dress like this?”

“No matter how great a rider you are, you can’t safely ride such a large horse with your legs gathered to one side, can you?”

He replied calmly without batting an eye, attached the stirrup at the right height for my feet, and then swiftly mounted behind me.

Just as my body began to tilt, I felt hands firmly grasping my waist.

“You need to balance yourself.”

He straightened my back and whispered playfully.

“Use your knees to embrace from the inside, like that. Not too tight, though.”

My face somehow felt hot as he adjusted my posture with a casual tone and reached around me to place the reins in both my hands.

When he tapped the horse’s side with his boot, his horse began to move.

“Why are you suddenly teaching me how to ride a horse?”

“You might need to ride someday. Straighten your shoulders.”

My body tensed up automatically at Carlo’s words.

“If you had known how to ride, your feet wouldn’t have suffered like yesterday in those shoes.”

“Ah…”

“It’s not bad to learn.”

His thick knuckles overlapped on the back of my hands, guiding the horse to walk slowly, perhaps intending not to speed up until I became accustomed to it.

Though my back was almost leaning against his chest, I made constant efforts to keep my back straight.

“What if I try to escape on this horse?”

“So you trust me now.”

My heart sank as soon as I blurted out something to avoid being conscious of the sensation against my back.

“That I trust you.”

He made the horse walk a little faster than before, replying in his characteristically indifferent tone.

“Even if you leave, I’ll be somewhere there too.”

Carlo’s calmly added words flowed into my ears, creating a tingling sensation down to the pit of my stomach.

I had a feeling that every casual word he uttered might stay with me forever.

My shoulders felt cold under the cloak, and I instinctively leaned into him a bit more.

“Now press your legs more deeply.”

“What…?”

“Against the saddle.”

Nodding reflexively and following his instruction, the horse began to trot lightly, gradually picking up speed.

Keenly noticing my stiffness, he released the reins with one hand and gripped my waist, teaching me how to move.

I didn’t understand why, but my face felt flushed red, and I worried that even my neck might have turned crimson.

I tried to focus on his instructions and cast my eyes forward to the beautiful scenery unfolding before us.

“It’s so far away, yet you said it was close?”

I quickly opened my mouth to say something, anything.

I faintly heard him laugh casually.

“Thanks to that ‘close’ remark, we were able to come all the way here, weren’t we?”

“You must be really happy that I came, which is why you’re teaching me this.”

In response to my playful words, he briefly touched the back of my hand holding the reins with his thumb and remained silent for a moment.

“Yes.”

His eventual answer lingered for a long time amid the sea breeze brushing my ears.

“Beyond whatever you might imagine.”

He took a deep breath and lowered his head to kiss my hair.

“To the point where I don’t know what I might do.”

His low, whispering voice somehow felt both affectionate and chilling.