Chapter 36: Wasn’t It Just a Political Marriage?
It happened two weeks ago.
Hertian appeared suddenly before Gillota and Jackson.
“Um… the truth is, Madam said we could lose fifty million gold if she didn’t handle the matter personally. So I… I was only trying to prevent a loss of funds…”
“That’s right. Gillota didn’t tell you because he was thinking of the Grand Duchy.”
Flustered, they confessed everything that had happened.
And now, they awaited their punishment.
Deceiving their lord and disobeying orders was a serious offense.
Especially when Hertian’s expression was darker than ever. No matter how much he valued them, punishment seemed inevitable.
“You chose to listen to the Grand Duchess over me. That deserves praise.”
“…Pardon?”
But then, the word praise came from Hertian’s mouth.
“You… you’re praising us, Your Grace?”
“From now on, if the Grand Duchess asks you to do something, whatever it may be—do it without fail.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Ironically, what should have warranted the harshest punishment instead earned them praise. Gillota and Jackson exchanged confused glances before bowing deeply again.
Everyone—even a passing maid—knew the relationship between the Grand Duke and Duchess was strong, but this was surprising. To be told to prioritize the Duchess’s word?
Still, it was good news for them.
Their judgment had been validated, and they had fulfilled their duty as vassals.
“She wanted to start the business because the Grand Duchy was cold?”
“Yes. Madam is sensitive to the cold, and it must’ve been unbearable for her.”
Now that it had come to this, Gillota spilled everything.
“She wanted to renovate the Grand Duchy from the beginning. But when I reported that I couldn’t due to the budget for Curcia, she immediately purchased medicinal herbs.”
At that, Hertian let out a short laugh.
He knew Annette didn’t handle cold well, but he hadn’t realized she was suffering so much she would start a business behind his back.
Besides holding her at night to warm her body, he hadn’t done anything for her. He had even forced her to overwork herself to start this business. That realization made him feel pitiful.
“She went to the borders every day to trade and taught them the treatment methods?”
“Yes, sir.”
So that’s why she always smelled strongly of herbs.
‘So very… Annette.’
But he couldn’t help feeling a sting in his heart.
Perhaps he had been the only one wishing they had no secrets.
No—it was his lack of ability. He had brought her here as if he could give her everything, yet he couldn’t even renovate the duchy properly.
“We’ll begin renovations next month.”
He spoke without hesitation.
“Pardon? But it’s long overdue and—”
“Proceed. Don’t worry about the budget.”
Gillota bowed deeply in response to Hertian’s firm voice.
The budget could be managed somehow.
But this would be the last time Annette had to suffer for this reason. Not that he intended to interfere with her business. He just planned to watch from afar—this time.
When Hertian had finally secured the funds for the renovations…
Serdis came to the estate. One more thing to deal with.
‘The man who never once came in his life—why now?’
And sure enough—
“Don’t tell me it’s this letter?”
He overheard a conversation between Lily and Serdis.
The long-delayed letter was in Serdis’s hands.
And he was clearly up to something pathetic.
‘A divorce? Ridiculous.’
He may have lost her once, but not again. No amount of desperate struggling would change that.
Three days later.
Perhaps realizing he was about to be thrown out, Serdis claimed a leg injury and stayed in the duchy.
Annette had already left early that day. Hertian followed her, as he had every day since Serdis arrived. Something could happen at any time.
They arrived at the village, and the coachman wrapped a rope around the wheels.
While waiting, Annette stepped out to look around the village—and was followed. Hertian’s urge to eliminate the shadows clinging to her was overwhelming. But he held back.
‘If I take them out here, Annette will notice…’
So just as she was about to board the carriage, he stirred up a strong wind to block her view. In that moment, he swiftly neutralized the three men tailing her.
“Your Grace! Are you alright?”
The coachman ran to him.
“There were men following the carriage.”
“F-following it?”
“They’ve been dealt with. No need to worry. Where is Annette?”
“She’s inside the carriage, sir.”
Hertian gazed at the carriage for a moment, then turned away.
The carriage left, rolling into the forest, leaving visible wheel tracks behind. He wanted to follow, fearing something might happen—but he had other matters to handle first.
He locked the unconscious men in the Grand Duchy’s prison. Tried interrogating them—but all three had their tongues cut out. That punishment was reserved for traitorous servants. So cruel that ordinary nobles rarely used it. Only royalty might.
He left the castle and climbed toward the borderlands.
In the distance, he saw Annette.
Inside a small tent, she patiently explained things to foreign soldiers.
Hertian watched her with quiet intensity. His fingers twitched at the sight of grinning soldiers watching her, but he reined himself in. Annette would hate it if he caused a scene.
Besides, Annette wasn’t interested in them. She was just doing business. For money.
That thought gave him solace.
After a while, she came out. Hoping she’d notice him, he leaned against a fence. But she didn’t glance his way—just carried a heavy basket toward the large tent. A twinge of disappointment crept in.
‘That guy in the tent… His eyes were weird too.’
Hertian ground his teeth.
He had noticed how that man always stared longingly at Annette as she returned home.
It was clear—he was interested.
‘I’ll let it slide for two days.’
No matter how much the man looked at her, Annette would never hear his heart. He was just another Serdis-type.
And Hertian had Annette.
That day, Annette left the tent earlier than usual. Hertian’s body reacted before his mind.
But something was wrong.
She didn’t look well—and eventually, she collapsed into the arms of that man with the strange eyes.
“Wake up!”
Hertian felt his heart slow.
This wasn’t what he had waited to see.
His eyes turned colder than a snowstorm.
“Keep your voice down.”
After taking Annette from the man’s arms, he immediately regretted it.
He should never have left her in a place like this.
He should have stopped her, even if it meant upsetting her.
“You’re the new lord here?”
Letting a foreigner like this near Annette had been a mistake.
“Yes.”
At the edge of Hertian’s gaze, he saw Annette’s hand stained with herbal water.
‘What have I even done?’
He had chased her by day and handled estate matters by night. Hadn’t slept a single night properly.
And for what—this?
“She’s my business partner. I’ll care for her until she wakes—”
And this man—this foreigner—dared look at his wife like that and say such things?
“I’m not her lord. I’m her husband.”
Hertian didn’t protect Annette’s secret.
In truth, he didn’t want to.
He wanted this man to know exactly who she belonged to—so he would never look at her that way again.
“…Her husband?”
As expected, Kantad’s eyes widened in shock.
He hadn’t seen that coming.
The Grand Duke’s wife. The Grand Duchess.
She wasn’t just some agent—she was the noblewoman.
“She’s… the Grand Duchess of Blanding?”
“Have your eyes grown dull from living out here?”
No.
He simply hadn’t tried to find out.
Annette had a way of making people believe her words without question.
Or perhaps he had known all along.
That a woman like her couldn’t possibly be a mere commoner.
He had simply ignored it—hoping she wasn’t the Grand Duke’s wife.
When had he started liking her? He didn’t know.
He had simply wanted to go with her next time she returned to the capital. It felt comfortable being around her.
“Then get lost.”
His fleeting dream shattered instantly.
Kantad fell silent before speaking slowly.
“…Wasn’t it just a political marriage?”
Hertian hated that question.
It made him feel like Annette had confided in another man about something deeply personal.
And that stung.
“You don’t need to know.”
So he didn’t explain.
He simply drew a line—as if Kantad were just another foreigner outside their fence.
Scene Transition
A long blackout.
When she finally opened her heavy eyes, a few candles flickered in the cold, dark room.
A winter landscape far removed from the capital.
Then, memories returned.
“Kantad!”
She shot up with a scream.
She had to return.
Before Hertian arrived.
“Kantad? Who is that?”
Just then…
Hertian’s voice came from beside her.
She thought her ears were playing tricks.
This was definitely a house in the borderlands.
“Annette.”
But why was Hertian here?
It wasn’t a hallucination—he had really come.
He had found out everything.
‘Just one more day…’
She had endured so well until now—why be discovered now?
She forced a cheerful smile as she approached him. If he got angry, even their final deal could be ruined.
“Hertian…”
“I’ve never heard the name Kantad before.”
“No, that’s…”
“You don’t need to explain.”
But his face said otherwise.
Leaning against the wall, Hertian followed her every move with his eyes.
“I’ll explain everything.”
She felt like a cheating wife who’d been caught.
It would’ve been easier if it was infidelity. They had promised to respect each other’s privacy.
But this business involved Hertian as the head of the territory—it wasn’t something she could treat lightly.
“Kantad is a business partner.”
She began to explain.
“I already knew.”
But long explanations weren’t necessary.
He had been fully informed.
He knew she was doing business with Curcians—and that the profits were over three billion.
“You knew all that and pretended not to?”
She asked in shock, and he nodded slightly.
“I thought I shouldn’t interfere. You were so passionate about it.”
“…I see.”
Now she understood why he had so easily agreed to let her travel the territory for a month.
“Just promise me you won’t push yourself so hard next time.”
He took her hand and placed it on his chest.
His heart pounded furiously beneath her palm.
“As you can see—if you get hurt, I don’t handle it very well.”
