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"What's wrong?"
"Ah, well...."
I was about to bring up the topic of marriage without thinking, but I quickly shut my mouth when I realized something.
'He's avoiding marriage, so if I bring it up, it might make him uncomfortable, right?'
Instead, I subtly avoided his curious gaze and changed the subject.
"I guess I was nervous about meeting the Empress. By the way, did you wait long? You could have gone back first."
"It's okay. I also went to see the future Emperor for a bit."
He was talking about meeting Ludian.
I took Idris's hand, which he offered as if it were natural now, and asked jokingly.
"Are you trying to get on his good side in advance?"
"You have to invest when they're young to create the best value with the least amount of investment. He might be satisfied with toys now, but later he might demand a mine, you know?"
I chuckled at his appearance, adoring his nephew on the inside while maintaining a thorough businessman's attitude on the outside.
"So you should try to get on his good side early, too. He was already asking if Leticia wasn't coming."
"As much as I'd like to visit right away, I'm afraid it won't work today. I have a place to stop by."
Idris escorted me and sat me in the carriage, then followed suit.
Then, he took something out of his inner pocket and asked back.
"Where?"
"I was thinking of looking into some mansions. If you're busy, you can drop me off on the way back."
"A mansion?"
I told him about the plan I had made after leaving the Empress's palace.
"I've saved up enough money now, so I'm planning to get ready to move out of the mansion."
"...Move out?"
"I can't keep imposing on you forever. Soon, the divorce will be approved, and our contract will end too...."
At that moment, the paper Idris was holding crumpled in his hand.
It was what he had taken out of his inner pocket a little while ago.
At the same time, the atmosphere around us seemed to turn a bit cold.
But that must have been my imagination because when I blinked, his face was full of embarrassment.
"About that contract.... It might be a bit difficult to end it right away. Her Majesty's nagging about marriage has gotten even worse."
...It seems I'm not the only one being pressured to marry.
'But Idris has someone he's waiting for....'
After thinking for a moment, I came up with a countermeasure of my own.
"The more that happens, the better it would be to meet someone else at this point, right? You haven't been seeing each other for long, so you can use the excuse that you need time to get to know each other to buy some time...."
I was advising him because I thought that if he kept seeing one person, the nagging about marriage would only get worse.
But for some reason, Idris's eyes instantly turned cold.
"Is there really a need to do that? Your divorce hasn't been approved yet."
I think I knew why Idris's mood had soured.
'Idris helped me get almost divorced from Peydan by creating a scandal, so if I just slip away at this point... that would be a bit selfish, right?'
He must have wanted a partner who would steadfastly endure this marriage pressure.
But before I could correct my intention, Idris continued.
"Was I not enough as your partner?"
I was startled and tried to make excuses.
"That's not what I meant—"
"Or is there someone else you have your eye on?"
There's no way there would be!
From now on, for the time being, or maybe forever, I might be sick of love and fate.
But it was hard to answer jokingly because Idris's golden eyes, asking that question, somehow looked eerie.
Meeting his eyes, I suddenly remembered a fact I had forgotten.
This man was the villain in the original story.
"If that's not the case...."
With his low voice, long, straight fingers intertwined between mine.
As if trying to bind me.
"Stay by my side. Just a little longer."
His voice, which clearly penetrated my ears, sounded like a command, but on the other hand, it also sounded like a plea.
I could only nod my head.
Idris showed a negative stance on ending our contract early.
"But I don't think it's right for a man and woman who aren't married to live together."
...He couldn't really refute my claim.
Thus, currently.
We arrived at a brokerage that buys and sells mansions and land.
As I was getting out of the carriage with his escort, I noticed that his chest was slightly bulging and asked.
"By the way, Idris, weren't you going to show me something earlier?"
When I pointed to his chest, Idris flinched and took a document out of his inner pocket.
Was it my imagination that his gaze towards the document seemed cold?
"Ah, this."
Then.
"It's just trash."
He instantly burned it away using magic.
Then he smiled as if nothing had happened....
'Something's fishy, isn't it?'
Who puts trash neatly in their inner pocket?
I stared at the documents that had now turned to scattering ashes with squinting eyes, but my suspicion didn't last long.
Idris, who had quickly grabbed my hand, led me.
"Shall we go in then?"
"Wa, wait a minute!"
I was taken straight into the brokerage in a daze, and a stout middle-aged man who was nodding off woke up with a start.
He blinked his sleepy eyes a few times, recognized Idris, and his eyes widened.
"Y-your Grace?!"
"It's been a while."
"Duchess... no, Miss Chloe, you've come too!"
The broker unconsciously tried to call me the Duchess, but quickly corrected himself.
It was a shrewd businessman's way of handling things.
"What brings you two here? Are you looking to buy some land?"
The system was officially the territory of the Emperor, but the Emperor divided the right to use the land so that his subjects could comfortably participate in high society and political affairs.
However, as business developed and the power of money grew, more and more people bought and sold those usage rights.
As the flow of the times went that way, brokerages naturally sprang up.
They sold parts of each territory and mansions within the system on behalf of busy nobles.
Of course, the right to use land in the system was a symbol of a noble family with influence in the central government, so it was rare for them to sell it.
Occasionally, however, there were those who inevitably sold it.
'Like my father.'
A few years ago, my father, Viscount Chloe, ruined his business and sold the mansion.
I didn't want to sell the mansion that held memories with my mother, but at the time, I wasn't the Duchess, so I could only watch the mansion being sold.
'It would be nice if I could buy that mansion.'
Suddenly thinking of the mansion that held childhood memories, I asked the broker.
"Is it possible to buy the mansion at 84 Maven Street?"
"Hmm, it doesn't seem like that mansion is for sale.... I'll take a look."
The broker led us to a table, then took out documents from the bookshelf and began to look through them quickly.
And after a while.
"I'm sorry, but that mansion is not for sale. If you'd like, I can recommend similar properties."
It was a shame, but I couldn't just badger someone who was living peacefully to sell their house.
I nodded my head.
"Okay."
"Would you prefer a location in a bustling area? Or a quiet suburb?"
"Hmm... I think a quiet place would be nice. I don't like places that are too noisy."
"It's true that a house is better in a quiet place! You can clear your mind and relax comfortably."
The broker spread out the map he had brought to the table and pointed to one place.
"How about this mansion?"
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