“I might indulge in some luxury, Priest Byron. I might seriously damage the priestess robes.”

“It’s alright, Priestess Lydia. Since it’s to feed the hungry, Anastasia will understand. And clothes are just clothes.”

Byron placed his palm on his chest and smiled benevolently.

“What matters is always the heart.”

Lydia also smiled softly, following his example.

“It will take a few days.”

“Yes, please be careful. In the meantime, I’ll help distribute grain and get to know the people in the border.”

The special money-flaunting operation was prepared in just one day. The grain Mallan had procured wouldn’t last even a few days, and if they bought seedlings, they needed to plant them before spring passed.

Lydia packed the underwear bag she had carefully brought from the Marquis’s mansion in the capital and left the temple.

Last night, she had spent the night removing diamonds from her underwear but fell asleep before finishing.

‘Why did I sew so meticulously?’

Back then, she had put her heart into each stitch, not wanting to be discovered, without considering how difficult it would be to remove them. And she hadn’t anticipated needing to use them all at once like this.

She had planned to remove them one by one as needed, but given the situation, she had no choice but to bring them all out.

With the Marquis of Evansi alive, Lydia wouldn’t be completely destitute even if she used all the diamonds she had brought.

‘And it’s outrageous!’

Above all, Count Wonde’s behavior was outrageous. Honestly, it was because Arsen was effectively keeping demonic beasts at bay that neighboring territories and the capital were safe.

They might say they were protected by the river and demonic beasts couldn’t cross, but what if?

What if there were demonic beasts somewhere that could swim?

Besides, though the border region was at the very edge of the marquisate, it was still land bearing the name “Evansi.” Overcharging the border was the same as overcharging the Evansi family.

“Please get in.”

Without needing to go to the Edis mansion, Arsen came to the temple to pick up Lydia.

“This is the best horse in our border region.”

Lydia’s lips twisted awkwardly, having inwardly muttered about whether he had brought a cargo wagon.

“It’s, nice.”

“You seem to show when you’re saying something you don’t mean, Priestess Lydia.”

Naturally, Mallan, who was joining this trip, approached before the carriage door closed and handed over a report.

“Here’s the list you asked for yesterday.”

“Thank you.”

Before going to Count Wonde’s territory, Lydia had wanted to receive a list of items needed in the border region.

She planned to buy everything while they were taking the boat.

“This list is quite long.”

“It wasn’t this long originally, but there was significant damage from fighting off demonic beasts while I was away.”

They had used farming tools when weapons were scarce, and when even those weren’t enough, they abandoned houses and fields to flee. Restoring all this required timber, and equipment like saws and nails, which in turn required metal that was in short supply.

“We’ll need to buy everything without exception.”

“Do you have enough funds for that?”

Arsen had stopped Lydia as she was returning to the temple yesterday and asked how much funding he should prepare. Though the border situation was in a difficult sitution, he had some gold bullion saved up, and a few treasures Richard had given as gifts.

However, Lydia had dismissed the need to prepare any money at all. Though he had been swayed by her strangely confident attitude, now that they were heading to the Count’s territory empty-handed, anxiety washed over him.

“Let’s bring some now. I may not be able to afford as much as you’re used to, but I can at least buy you a few dresses.”

“Sir, that’s really not necessary.”

Lydia stretched out a yawn and patted the underwear bag she was holding.

“All the funds we need are in here, yaaawn—”

While continuously yawning, Lydia took out a small pouch from inside the underwear bag and handed it to Arsen sitting across from her.

Arsen opened the pouch to check its contents, then raised an eyebrow.

“Where did this come from?”

“Remember when I said this underwear was very expensive?”

The negligee rose in Lydia’s hand.

“Before leaving the Marquis’s mansion, I packed some of my father’s emergency funds in here.”

Lydia laughed, hehe, and stretched out another yawn. Her eyes, curved from smiling, were already half-closed.

“I tried to remove them all yesterday, but I fell asleep while doing it. I need to remove the rest before we get on the boat.”

Lydia, rummaging through the underwear bag, held up a jackknife. The sharp blade gleamed in the sunlight filtering through the carriage windows.

Lydia was drowsy and swaying, the carriage was bumping, and the knife was sharp. The scene was so precarious that Arsen felt dizzy with concern.

“You’ll cut yourself that way. Give it here.”

“What?”

“We still have three more hours until the dock, so get some sleep until then.”

Arsen first took the pocketknife from Lydia’s hand. And then, the bag containing the underwear……

‘Damn it.’

He had taken the bag too.

“I’m fine. Give it back.”

“If you can keep your eyes closed for 30 seconds, I’ll give it to you.”

Thinking 30 seconds would be easy, Lydia closed her eyes but couldn’t last even 10 seconds before starting to nod off. When the carriage bumped, she would open her eyes slightly, but then couldn’t resist her closing eyelids.

Swaying back and forth as she dozed, Lydia eventually collapsed sideways onto the seat.

Soon, the sound of gentle breathing mixed with the bumping noises. Once Lydia was completely asleep, Arsen opened the underwear bag.

“……”

His feelings were indescribable as he pulled out a soft cloth barely the size of his palm.

Moreover, Arsen had to handle Lydia’s underwear to find the diamonds hidden inside.

If someone who didn’t know the circumstances saw this, they would call Arsen the world’s most perverted bastard.

No, even if someone who knew the circumstances saw it, it wouldn’t look particularly wholesome.

Arsen began tearing the underwear. When would he have time to unpick each stitch to remove the diamonds?

Under his rough hands, the smooth fabric tore to pieces, and the diamonds hidden inside fell with a clatter into the underwear bag.

“……There’s so many.”

Looking at the underwear in the bag, Arsen couldn’t hide his complicated feelings.

For one thing, the unnecessarily pleasant texture of Lydia’s underwear made him feel conflicted.

Excluding Randel from participating in this journey, and not correcting Randel’s lie about helping at the temple on Arsen’s orders—these things also made him feel conflicted.

‘How petty.’

To act so narrow-mindedly toward a subordinate, toward a comrade who had shared life and death with him.

If it had been just Arsen and Lydia going, that would be one thing, but they had drafted four knights from the order as escorts.

He could have removed one and included Randel, or he could have let them choose four among themselves.

But Arsen had specifically designated four to join.

It was a petty act. He had no excuse.

Arsen couldn’t understand why he was behaving this way. No, that wasn’t true. If he claimed not to know the reason when it was lying right in front of him, sleeping, that would be a lie.

Lydia—whenever Lydia was involved, he kept acting strangely.

Even knowing it was strange, he couldn’t correct it.

Was this okay?

“……Ha.”

While momentarily distracted by Lydia, Arsen cut his hand on the jackknife. It wasn’t a serious injury, but he was dumbfounded looking at the small bead of blood forming.

A knight getting stabbed by a blade in his own hand.

“This is ridiculous.”

* * *

The carriage ride took three hours, but the boat ride was brief. Though the river was wide and deep, it was still just a river.

Lydia, experiencing a boat for the first time in her life, held onto the railing and watched the parting waters, then returned to the group as Count Wonde’s territory drew near.

“You must never move alone in the Count’s territory, Lydia.”

Arsen said, trying to calm the excited-looking Lydia.

“Trading ships frequently visit the Count’s territory. Foreign mercenaries come and go, and there are many trying to smuggle themselves in, so public safety isn’t very good.”

But thanks to this, the Count’s territory was wealthy. Compared to the border region surrounded only by mountains, the Count’s territory with access to the sea had many ways to make a living.

With merchants and mercenaries constantly coming and going, inns and restaurants thrived, and to supply ingredients, fishing and markets developed.

It was quite livable even in winter, and with wide plains, agriculture also did well. Though the territory itself was small, it was a gem.

“Why didn’t I know about this territory? It seems significant enough for Count Wonde’s name to be well-known, how strange.”

Lydia tilted her head as she set foot in Count Wonde’s territory. Even if a territory was known for just one wine, its name would spread, so how could a territory with so many trading ships coming and going be unknown?

And seeing a territory so vastly different from the border region after crossing just one river, Lydia didn’t feel very pleased.

Had she developed some sense of belonging to the border region after spending just a few days there?

“Watch your step.”

Arsen caught Lydia, who was looking around and didn’t notice the rope at her feet.

“Thank you, Sir.”

Lydia held his arm and whispered to him as they left the port.

“From now on, there’s something you need to do for me.”

“What is it?”

“Look like you’re reluctantly following me because of me, displeased but trying not to show it, yet somehow it still shows on your face.”

“……”

Arsen couldn’t readily agree.

Isn’t that request too difficult?

“What? Is it too hard?”

Reading Arsen’s troubled expression, Lydia thought for a moment and said.

“Then just stay expressionless, Sir.”

Lydia muttered that since he looked scary when expressionless, people wouldn’t stare at them.

Do I look scary?

While Arsen was slightly shocked, Lydia tossed her freshly brushed, voluminous hair and lifted her chin.

“And from now on, don’t walk beside me. Be careful with how you address me.”

* * *

At the square in the center of Count Wonde’s territory.

It was a bustling area with shops clustered around the square, and markets, inns, and restaurants stretching out beyond the shops.

Though she hadn’t explored the border region thoroughly, Count Wonde’s territory was very different from it.

With just a river between them, one side was stomping its feet with nothing to eat, while the other had all kinds of luxury boutiques.