“…I beg your pardon?”

“My younger sister is extremely scrupulous. I’m not just saying this because she’s family, she really is.”

“…”

“She’s searching for a husband as beautiful as this man, but you mean to tell me that she just missed him?”

Marquess Marco glanced at the portrait and scoffed.

“Impossible.”

“…”

‘Is he joking?’

Yelena stared at the marquess incredulously, but there was no sign of mirth in the man’s face at all. Yelena shook her head, seeing his serious expression. Then, she stood up.

“I’ve only told you the truth. But since you’ve chosen not to believe me, there’s nothing more that I can do.”

“Duchess Mayhard.”

“It’s true that the beautiful man in the painting is married. He has a wife, so please give up and go back.”

Would it be too immature to add that his wife was also stunningly beautiful and charming? Yelena contemplated internally. Then, Marquess Marco spoke up.

“…If that’s the case, then please allow me to meet him.”

“Meet him to do what? Your sister won’t be able to marry him.”

“I will try to persuade him.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“My family is open to remarriage. So, I intend to present the best possible conditions.”

There are times when someone says something so ridiculous, it stops all train of thought. This was one of those times. Yelena’s brain stopped working for a moment and then returned in full force.

So what the marquess was saying was…

“You want to break apart a couple of happy newlyweds and take the man in after making him a divorced man?”

“Ah, they’re newlyweds. Well, it’ll be bit rough, but… it’s fine. I’ve prepared conditions that are hard to refuse. So as long as you can arrange a meeting with him—”

Yelena turned her head without listening to the rest of what the marquess had to say. Then, she shouted loudly to the maids outside the room.

“Bring me some salt!”

***

Marquess Marco was kicked out of the castle with his head covered in dirty salt that had been discarded.

Even after kicking him out, Yelena could not cool down. It was the same the next day.

She remembered what Marquess Marco, with his salt-laden hair, had yelled as she had dragged him out.

“I really did prepare a promising deal! Please allow me to at least have a conversation with him! Please give me a chance!”

Yelena furrowed her brow.

A chance?

‘Just who does he think he’s talking to, asking for a chance.’

This was Yelena’s first time seeing someone ask so boldly for a chance to steal someone else’s husband. Yelena was now certain about the kind of person Marquess Marco was, after this experience.

‘A shameless lunatic.’

He wasn’t crazy about art, he was just crazy.

While Yelena was brooding in her animosity towards the marquess, Kaywhin asked, “…Does the food not suit your taste?”

The ducal couple were currently eating breakfast together in the dining hall. This meal was significantly meaningful, since Yelena had been avoiding Kaywhin for the past several days.

But the problem was that because of the rascal that went by Marquess Marco, Yelena could not focus on her meal.

“Oh, no, I was just thinking about something… The chef’s cooking is great, as always.”

Kaywhin had returned from the subjugation late last night. Yelena had been busy with the Marquess Marco situation, and by the end of the day, she had been exhausted. She had checked that her husband had returned safely without getting hurt anywhere and then went straight to bed.

‘Oh right, I need to tell him about my dream…’

Yelena glanced at her husband’s face.

‘…He doesn’t seem to be bothered by it anymore.’

The face Kaywhin had made when he left for the subjugation had been weighing on Yelena’s conscious. But seeing him now, he didn’t appear to have taken her actions to heart.

‘But still, I decided that I would tell him…’

Yelena gulped nervously.

They were almost done with breakfast. Usually, they would already be done by now, but breakfast seemed to have taken longer this time around due to Yelena’s inability to focus.

Yelena, who had been gauging Kaywhin’s mood, slightly opened her mouth. She had to at least get Kaywhin’s attention first.

“Um…”

At that moment, Merry entered the dining hall.

“Excuse me.”

She approached Yelena and whispered in her ear.

“The marquess who was kicked out yesterday after being hit with salt is back.”

Yelena’s eyes widened.

“What?”