Chapter 37
“Madam, I’ve come to report back… but.”
Noah peeked through the open doorway and, upon seeing Cecilia still struggling to suppress her laughter while Yuri sharply turned his head away with reddened ears, wore a deeply suspicious expression.
“May I… step in between the two of you for a moment?”
“Oh, sure. I did call you in.”
Cecilia cleared her throat. Her voice trembled faintly, the aftermath of barely contained laughter.
Yuri, still fuming, glared silently at her without displaying any further anger.
Pretending not to notice that sharp stare, Cecilia calmly gestured toward Noah.
“It’s fine. Show us what you prepared.”
“…Yes.”
Still unable to fully shake off his discomfort, Noah brought forward the tray he had hidden behind his back.
Resting atop the gleaming silver dish was a stiff, high-quality envelope.
Yuri eyed it with thinly veiled displeasure, as if he couldn’t understand why so much effort had been wasted on something like that.
Raising a finger, he poked at the envelope cautiously, as though it might burst.
“Why is a piece of paper being treated to such luxury?”
“It’s a very distinguished piece of paper. Please handle it with care.”
“Enough nonsense. Hand me the letter opener.”
Yuri extended his hand lazily. Noah, still wearing an infuriatingly composed expression, placed the opener into his master’s palm with the delicacy of someone appraising a priceless artifact.
Scoffing loudly, Yuri tore the envelope open.
With an indifferent expression, he pulled out the cream-colored sheets and skimmed through them, his eyes darting back and forth quickly—clearly reading only the gist.
But as he began the second page, his pace noticeably slowed.
His thick brows drew together. His tightly pressed lips stiffened.
Watching this with growing amusement, Cecilia and Noah exchanged subtle glances. By the time the Grand Duke began blinking twice a second, they were both on the verge of bursting into laughter.
“…W-What… what exactly is this saying?”
Yuri asked in a trembling voice, rereading the final page.
He set the letter down, then picked it back up again—his disbelief plainly written in the motion.
“I did tell you it was something special.”
“Am I understanding this correctly? So, you’re saying—”
“The business was a huge success. In Terrasilon, there’s such a shortage that sellers can practically name their price.”
Cecilia answered calmly, then presented a second envelope delivered by courier.
“The guild master said, ‘There’s plenty of demand, so please don’t worry and focus on expanding your workforce.’”
It had been worth paying extra to use the gate just to secure a firm answer before the Grand Duke returned to the castle.
After all, it allowed her to see her husband looking this utterly stunned.
Yuri swallowed hard and picked up the first letter again. Holding a page in each hand, he reread the important sections several times before slamming his hand down on the table.
“…I can’t believe this.”
The few words he managed to utter dissipated into the air.
His dark brown eyes drifted toward the Grand Duchess, who was smiling proudly. Seeing her face glowing with pure joy made his stomach twist.
After escorting her to the sanctuary—
Yuri had concluded that if he wanted to keep her from leaving Lothleben, he needed to treat her more kindly.
It was all for his own convenience.
Since the curse had begun tormenting him, very few people had made his days this comfortable.
Naturally, it made sense to placate and keep someone like that close.
Which meant that offering appropriate compensation would be the right thing to do.
But—
‘This feels like I’m the one being rewarded.’
What was worse, she looked foolishly content, as though she’d stick around Lothleben even without any reward at all.
Though the outcome was ideal, it was utterly incomprehensible to him.
“So? You’re surprised, right?”
The Grand Duchess asked gently, eyes curved with anticipation.
“If the north can’t supply enough workers, the guild master said he’d post recruitment notices in the capital as well.”
Only then did reality slowly begin to sink in.
Yuri straightened up, rising from the bubble-like paradise he’d been floating in.
The heat in his face gradually faded, replaced by a deep furrow between his brows.
Recruiting in the capital?
“I doubt anyone would come.”
“Well, you never know. We didn’t expect the tapestry business to succeed like this either.”
True—but—
Selling northern goods successfully and convincing people to move north were two entirely different matters.
Would anyone from the capital really come all this way? To a land infamous for being cursed?
“…Well, we’ll look into it.”
Yuri remained skeptical. At best, he believed they could barely scrape together enough manpower from the north to satisfy the guild master.
Seeing his cooled expression, the Grand Duchess unconsciously looked dejected—and even that struck him as strange.
After a brief hesitation, Yuri awkwardly tried to comfort her.
“Still… compared to before, thanks to you… Lothleben’s reputation has improved a lot. That alone is more than enough.”
Ugh—why did even such an ordinary form of address make his fingers curl in embarrassment?
Shuddering faintly, he hastily finished his thought.
“On behalf of Lothleben, I offer my thanks.”
“Doesn’t that sound a bit distant? I only shared my thoughts because I wanted to see Lothleben grow as someone who belongs here.”
It sounded like he was thanking an outsider, like he was deliberately keeping his distance—and that made her feel oddly hurt.
Perhaps because of the good news, the Grand Duchess was being more open with her feelings than usual.
That wasn’t a bad thing, but the more she spoke, the more his chest began to itch uncomfortably.
Was it because it felt similar to how he felt when dealing with her familiar, ‘Berry,’ rather than Yuri Berserk himself?
Unconsciously rubbing his sternum, Yuri avoided her gaze and muttered in a voice that barely escaped his throat:
“…Yeah. Well. Thanks. It’s all thanks to you.”
That was his limit.
Even saying those few words required two or three internal excuses just to scrape away the embarrassment.
Again, if he wanted to keep her around, he needed to at least make some effort to cater to her feelings—
“If you have no intention of looking any more surprised, I’d like to take my leave.”
Unable to endure the awkwardly warm atmosphere, Noah cut in with a cold expression.
He looked thoroughly fed up.
Yuri, now equally dry, waved him away.
“Yeah. Fine. Get out.”
“No matter what, ‘get out’ is a bit harsh, don’t you think?”
The moment the Grand Duchess tapped her lips and frowned, Yuri immediately shut his mouth.
He looked no different from a leashed beast.
Unaware that Yuri bowed his head before Cecilia every time he transformed into a true beast, Noah stared in disbelief, offered a quick bow, and hurried out of the dining room.
‘Unbelievable.’
He had hoped Yuri would soften his temperament just enough to get along with the Grand Duchess.
But this—
He had not wanted to witness something this nauseating.
Recalling his friend acting like a puberty-stricken boy on the verge of first love made his stomach churn.
Pale-faced, Noah quickened his pace.
His destination was the infirmary—where the digestive medicine was kept.
