Chapter 47
It worked.
Honestly, I hadn’t thought this method would succeed. Yet, I had gotten the answer I wanted.
“What is it? What do you want?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
I lay back properly on the bed, hand over my chest, eyes closed, wearing a satisfied smile.
I could feel Kylen’s sharp gaze, but I deliberately ignored it. After a moment, the bed shifted slightly, and I realized he had lain down beside me.
Unexpectedly, after returning to the castle and receiving congratulations, Benjamin and Greta came to see me while I was working.
When I heard why they had come, I clenched my fists in determination.
I would make sure to shove a Komora head into Caspian’s mouth.
No matter how much I protested that it wasn’t necessary, Greta and Benjamin had brought a doctor anyway.
You have to look at the sky to catch a star, light a fire for smoke, plant beans for beans to grow…
And now they were saying I might be pregnant.
The doctor shook his head, and Mia and Greta, who were anxiously watching, looked deeply disappointed.
What a waste of time.
“Since you haven’t been married long, good news will come soon, Duchess.”
Greta offered me words of comfort. Mia held my hand tightly, and Benjamin gave me a quiet smile.
The unexpected kindness made me feel strangely emotional.
Lying in bed, touching my empty lower belly, I felt unjustly wronged.
Only a very few people knew this was a contract marriage, and Kylen and I had been sharing a bed in Winterford, so their misunderstanding wasn’t surprising…
I looked at the flickering candlelight on the ceiling and remembered Kylen’s expression when the villagers congratulated us.
For a brief, absurd moment, Kylen had looked puzzled, but then he had shown no reaction and climbed into the carriage.
After returning to the castle, Greta, Benjamin, and Mia had fussed over me all day.
Plus, I had to meet with the doctor. Thinking about how calm Kylen had spent the day made me feel unfairly burdened.
Yes. This emotion was all because of his expression.
I was upset that everything had passed as if nothing happened, but at least my anger had produced a tangible result.
The next morning, I prepared to head to Kylen’s office early. I had gathered all the materials I’d saved to use the wish I had obtained from him.
“Perfect.”
I carried the stack of documents straight to Kylen’s office.
Kylen, who started his day earlier than me, had finished morning training at the exercise yard and was working in his office.
“Good morning.”
When I entered, Dylan stood up. Surprised by my sudden appearance, he blinked widely.
Seeing Kylen barely twitch the corner of his lips, Dylan quickly left to serve tea.
“Hah. What could she possibly want to come this early?”
Kylen, still seated, asked immediately. Always straight to the point.
Until this contract marriage ended, I would make sure to get my morning greeting.
I sat on the side sofa and placed the stack of documents before him.
“What’s this?”
“I mentioned it briefly before. I want to build a Kisty aging and storage warehouse north of Winterford Castle. This is the business plan.”
Kylen picked up the papers and read carefully. With Greta and Benjamin’s help, I had calculated the initial costs in detail.
If the Kisty liquor business succeeded, the workshop could expand beyond the castle to other villages—a thoroughly prepared report.
Kylen, focused on the report, finished reading and crossed his long legs.
He tapped the papers lightly on his thigh.
“Not bad.”
Stingy with praise, he was. I pressed my lips together to keep them from jutting forward.
“Anyway, if you approve, I’ll start preparing quickly.”
“I thought I had already approved this. Is this what you want?”
Kylen watched me quietly and asked.
“No!”
I shook my head firmly.
“I’m asking for something else.”
Kylen’s eyebrow rose sharply.
“Torpaz. Torpaz that has already lost its use. I want you to obtain it.”
I hurriedly added, before his expression hardened.
“As much as possible.”
This time, Kylen’s brow furrowed.
“What do you need it for?”
I told him about Reina from the village workshop yesterday. I explained that if a little effort was put into her jewelry, it could become popular even in the capital.
Kylen examined Reina’s jewelry with interest in his green eyes.
“Is this all you need?”
“Yes. I don’t know how used-up Torpaz is normally discarded, so I need your help.”
I held the jewelry, which had warmed from Kylen’s grip, now blackened from use.
“That’s the unit price?”
“Yes.”
The warmth made my palms tingle, so I quickly tucked the jewelry into its pouch.
Kylen remained silent as I tied the pouch. I had expected him to immediately agree, but he just watched me with an unreadable expression.
Was it difficult to obtain? Or was there another problem?
I fidgeted with the pouch, thinking about how this business could create jobs for women.
Unlike other leather goods, these were small, quick to craft, and could be mass-produced.
I sighed softly, disappointed, when Kylen suddenly called my name.
“Eliana.”
Startled, I looked up at him. His deep green eyes and slightly stern expression made me nod instinctively.
“Why are you working so hard?”
“Huh?”
Kylen’s gaze fell on the documents on his lap and then on the pouch in my hands.
“These papers, the census data you put on your desk recently, and now this jewelry…”
“Why are you working so hard?”
I hesitated, unprepared for the question.
The real reason I was working so hard—
to make him emperor and secure a safe, stable life after our divorce—
I couldn’t possibly say that out loud.
“Well… I’m the Duchess. How could I ignore such a difficult situation?”
Kylen’s expression didn’t soften.
“That’s the unit price?”
“What other reason would there be?”
“This marriage… one year. Two months have passed, ten remain. You said you’d quietly disappear afterward and not look for me. Why are you doing all this?”
Kylen tilted his head and stared at the ceiling.
“I don’t understand why you’re going to such lengths after saying that.”
His throat moved as he spoke, then he lowered his head and asked:
“What’s your real purpose?”
My heart thudded wildly. I worried even my rapid heartbeat might be heard by Kylen.
I instinctively knew I couldn’t lie.
Clutching the pouch tightly, I opened my mouth to speak.
Suddenly—
“O—da—bu—ni!”
Without knocking, the door flew open. Eliana came running through, panting.
“Oh? Eri! Eri’s here too!”
April, in pajamas and a light coat, holding her beloved rabbit plush in one hand and papers in the other, was my hero today.
Cute, heroic, SSS-rank hero.
She ran up and hugged Kylen’s leg, causing the Kisty report to scatter across the floor.
“April, where’s Lea?”
“Lea? L, Lea went to prepare…!”
April’s sudden entrance instantly dissolved the tense atmosphere.
Kylen sighed softly, lifted April, placed her beside me, and began picking up the fallen papers.
“I’ll do it.”
“No need.”
Kylen immediately refused and brought the papers to the desk.
“A promise is a promise. Let’s see if we can get the used-up Torpaz.”
I breathed a quiet sigh of relief as April tugged my sleeve beside me.
