Thats true. Theres a case. By the way, when has Mary been married and you still havent heard from her?

Im sorry.

Ive heard that Valore and Mary have never slept together since they got married. There was a spectacle of their big fight with each other not being on good terms and even having put words of divorce in their mouths

At her words, Define protested with a blistering face.

Thats ridiculous. Your Majesty the Empress doesnt know well. Rather Valore and Maries temperament is to blush and raise their voices in unison. Theyve grown up together since they were kids, and theyre like brothers and sisters. How can those children be fighting?!

Arya said, clinging to the back of her neck as if she were in pain.

Isnt a rumor like that only going around because there has yet to be any signs of a son yet? By chance

Arya said, squinting her eyes,

But a rumor stating them not sharing a bed together is

Theres no way! They both know how important it is to have a child.

At his words, Arya went into a rage, knocking her palm over the table.

Then what in the world are you trying to imply the problem is? Im trying, but I havent heard from you in all my efforts!

Define stared at her and shut his mouth tight. Arya said with a deep sigh,

Have them take some medicine that works well for attaining pregnancy. Theyll have to have a child so we can deal with that blind-eyed Carl and his wife.

Im sorry.

Thats to say, why did you have to be so greedy. Melinia, the second daughter of an older brother, would have been better than Marie.

No, no matter what. During that time, she hadnt even held her coming-to-age ceremony yet?

Im saying it because I feel frustrated. Its already been two years since they got married, and I havent heard from them at all.

Arya angrily told the Marquis to step aside. The prince bowed his head to the ground and retired.

Sienna looked perplexed when she put the meal she had received from Hain on the table. Naturally, the dishware was only one fork and one knife. It was a simple room meal that she wanted to eat, so the tableware seemed to have been taken in as a quick snack set.

The problem is that the meal should be with Carl.

That said, she could not even tell Hain that Carl had sneaked up to the capital and was living in her own room. She put down the tray on the table and called for Carl.

Sir Carl, have a meal.

Carl had been looking at the books the Green Merchant Association had purchased.

This should be enough of a blow.

He put down the books and looked over the table. On the tray was a jujuri with chopped seafood and vegetables that were made round, mixed with flour, then fried and topped with a salad with sour fruit sauce, clam-salad soup, and oil dressing. At a glance, Carl asked, confirming that it was a meal for one person.

Why is there only one meal?

I cant tell the maid that Im with Sir Carl and bring me two meals. Im fine, so go ahead and eat.

Im fine, so eat first.

At Carls words, she shook her head and refused.

Im fine because I ate cookies earlier. Sir Carl must have had an empty stomach, so hurry up and eat.

Sienna said so and went to the window. The raindrops that began to fall this morning were rather thick.

Come here and sit down.

Carl called Sienna.

Why? Dont mind me and eat.

I dont want to eat alone. Stay by my side while I eat.

Its not like youre a child

Sienna sat opposite him with her mouth twisted. The smell of food stimulated her hunger after sitting at the table.

A grumbling sound.

I knew this was going to happen!

Sienna was humiliated by the grumbling of her stomach, and her face turned red. Carl said he was okay and asked her to eat first, but in fact, she was hungry as well. When he burst out laughing, she wanted to hide in shame.

Carl cut the main dish and stuck it out to Sienna. She began agonizing over whether to eat or not since her stomach gave her away and now it would seem strange to say that its all right this time anyways, so she bit onto the piece of food he served to her.

The combination of savory fish flesh and sour sauce stimulated her appetite. As soon as she swallowed the food, Carl held out the fork. Sienna opened her mouth again this time and ate the food he served towards her.

Sir Carl should eat, too. If you only continue giving it to me, when will you have any?

As Sienna munched the food, Carl nodded and pushed the food into his mouth. Then he put out the fork towards Siennas direction again. She had the choice of taking the fork with the food on it by using her hands to eat it herself, but Sienna didnt use her hands and instead just ate using her mouth.

This makes me feel like Im feeding my pet.

Sienna pouted at his words.

What is that? Are you treating me like an animal?

No, its just and I just remembered the puppy I had when I was a kid.

At his words, Sienna widened her eyes and asked,

Sir Carl, there was a time you raised a dog before?

Carl nodded at her question.

It was a short time when I was young, but

What kind of dog was it? Was it big or small? How long was its hair? Did it act cute?

At Siennas huge, bombarding questions, Carl gave a puzzled look and burst into laughter.

I think this is the first time youve asked me a question. It seems your informant must have not given you the information that I had a puppy.

What does that mean?

Its interesting that youve never known that Ive had a puppy before, even though youve been well aware of things that nobody knows about, as in me liking pickled mir and tria.

Although It was a long time ago, there were no strangers in the castle.

I didnt get that information through the information dealer. Ive never found out anything about you through the informer actually.

Sienna wanted to solve this misunderstanding. It was something she could have let go of, but she felt it was unfair for nothing. In the past, she said she knew of this information not because of an informant but because of her heart of admiration for him, as she had watched and learned everything she knew about him that way.

Thats just how I found out. If I end up watching Sir Carl carefully, youll see that I learned to pick up what you like and what you dont.

Sienna somehow thought that Carls ears looked red.

*

The Duke of Panacio, Define was facing a young man in the drawing room. Define also smiled brightly in a manly smile.

Recently, he was so busy meeting nobles to raise Valore to the throne. Although he was not busy, he rarely met such merchants in person. But the moment he found out that the merchant wanted only six thousand bags of wheat, he had to run out barefoot.

Its a relief that there were not a few places to put money into. If this contract is signed, there wont be any reasons for me to back to the Mansou familys residence with my head down. It was hard for me to see them rave about paying back the money right now, but Im really glad now.

Only

The merchant who came to buy wheat was much younger than he thought. He looked to be around a similar age to his son, Deli. It occurred to him that he seemed to have been trained by knights, judging by his appearance at a glance, but Define shook his head.

Hes a merchant, how can he be trained by knights. Maybe, he was born a merchant with gifted flesh and bones.

Im pleased to see your Excellency, Mr. Panacio.

The young merchant, with brown hair and dark eyebrows, greeted him with quite a familiar gesture. Define plopped down to his seat.

Did you say the Symphonium Chamber of Commerce? So, are you really going to buy six thousand sacks of wheat?

Yes, that is right.

I, of course, like selling wheat, but can you digest that much wheat?