It was only last month that Edith Argyle, the Marquis of Rodian’s treasurer, was offered special overtime.
Looking back, the day itself was nothing special. She was busy working to prepare for the coming winter.
The Rodian Marquessate, located in the northern part of the kingdom, was a place where summer left in a little hurry and autumn and winter rushed in, so she had to stock up on wood in advance.
Edith was glued to her desk in the financial accounting office and was rummaging through various documents. The merchants who traded always came at about the same time, and it was hard. Although it was unavoidable since the Marquis’s territory was leaning towards the north, it was not pleasant to flounder among the piles of documents.
Knock, knock.
“Yes, come on in!”
Hearing the knock, she didn’t ask twice. It was obvious who might have had business with her without asking who it was. It was better to let him in right away to save any time.
“Lady Argyle.”
“Steward Saur. May I help you?”
“I want to talk to you about purchasing thermal materials.”
“Oh, there was that, too. Just a moment, please.”
This was firewood, that was oil.
Edith, who filled in each document, put down her pen. She was going to move to the reception table in front of the desk and listen to Butler Saur.
“Please have a seat and listen.”
“Oh, but that’s rude to the butler.”
“Not at all, Lady.”
Edith looked embarrassed. The old butler of Saur had been taking care of the Rodian Marquessate even before the Marquis was born. He served the Marquis family from his grandfather’s generation, and when he retired, his second son was to become the new butler. It was very uncomfortable to sit alone with such a person in front of you. However, the butler of Saur immediately began to say the matter as if he did not care.
He was a man of great pride as a vassal, but he sometimes humbled himself to the extent of being startled. Perhaps it was an expression that he fully recognized and accepted Edith over the years.
Edith could no longer stop him and smiled awkwardly. In any case, preparations for wintering could not be neglected. Edith thought about what to do with the butler’s excessive kindness, and focused on the story the butler was telling.
“We have been informed by the merchants that it will be difficult to meet the volume of the previous year.”
“What? Why? We have already paid the down payment and the first installment as per the contract. Where is this coming from now?”
“I agree, but there seems to be something wrong. They say they will pay a thirty percent penalty.”
“To that extent. I don’t know what the situation is, but I guess it’s not intentional or to benefit.”
“With Lady Argyle here, would they dare to think of a trick?”
“Aha ha. What are you talking about?”
“But if Lady Argyle is in charge of the upper management, they should tread carefully and show some respect, shouldn’t they?”
Edith was embarrassed.
It was true that what the butler said was correct, but bringing up old tales of disgrace in front of oneself was a rather embarrassing feeling. Especially when it involved a foolish mistake made during one’s immature and disregarded youth.
Of course, she was recognized by the Marquis of Rodian and became a vassal as a woman… The butler smiled lightly as if her inner feelings were visible. Still, he was a man of manners, so he moved on without further talking about it. It was also urgent to deal with.
“Then let’s do this. Instead of reducing the penalty by twenty percent, they connect us to another merchant that can supply the second volume.”
“Certainly that will save them a lot of trouble. I will tell them that.”
“Yes, please.”
Edith, who had decided on an alternative after a moment of consideration, made up the documents on the spot and presented them to Butler Saur.
She had the authority to do this kind of thing arbitrarily. But the more she thought about it, the more strange it was.
“Lady Argyle, what’s the matter?”
“Yes? What?”
“I asked because I thought you were thinking about something.”
“Oh, it’s no big deal. It’s just, I wonder how I got the authority to do this.”
“What do you mean?”
She meant, how should she say this? Edith looked down at the documents arranged one by one on the desk, and then at Butler Saur again.
At the same time, she compared what she was doing and what Butler Saur brought. It was the same in that they dealt with the marquis’s money, and it was the same in that they prepared for the winter, and the items they bought were the same because they’re used for that. But there was a crucial difference.
“The recent task, strictly speaking, is the responsibility of the steward, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“And I am the marquis’s treasurer.”
“That’s right.”
“I can’t help but think that it’s a waste of my abilities.”
“Why is that? Did someone disrespect the lady again?”
The butler, who was listening to Edith, strained his eyes. Edith smiled and shook her head.
The last time the butler was worried happened two years ago. Now, no one in Rodian has disparaged Edith Argyle, who is in charge of the marquis’s financial account, as a woman. She proved herself worthy of a position with her skills and performance. Although she didn’t mind receiving such concerns, it was completely unrelated to any issues at hand.
“No, it’s not that.”
“What do you mean, then?”
“Actually, such matters are the responsibility of the mistress of the house. Even though the marchioness is not present, I’m not sure if it’s right for me to intervene.”
The butler, who understood Edith’s words, wanted to say something, but he looked like it couldn’t come out because the words were stuck in his throat. Contrary to his intention, was he doing that because he might sound unkind? Edith laughed and tried to tell him that it was all right to just talk.
“Isn’t it enough to have you?”
But before she opened her mouth, someone’s voice came in pointedly. Edith and the butler knew the owner of the voice.
“Your Excellency, marquis.”
“Both of you must not be busy.”
“What?”
“Seeing you’re talking nonsense.”
Alpheus, Marquis of Rodian, was ignorant of how to conceal his displeasure. His face was full of irritation as he came in with the slightly open door wide open.
He may not know what happened or where, but it was a big mistake to meddle in such matters when they shouldn’t. Engaging in idle chatter without realizing what’s happening outside could lead to trouble.
Edith and the butler closed their mouths and looked at the marquis. He was a very handsome man even though he put on an expression of being in a bad mood. The glittering silver hair was reminiscent of the silver fox, the symbol of Silverglen, and the eyes were dark green, as if they had been extracted from the leaves of the green conifer all year round.
On the other hand, the elegant protruding nose and hard, angular chin harmonized, making it a manly and delicate face. He was a handsome man who could live off his face. However, Edith, who was well aware of his arrogant and stubborn temperament, did not make any mistakes such as being fascinated by the lord’s beauty. She rose from her seat to greet the marquis.
“The story was just over. What brings you here, sir?”
“Really? Good for you. I would have had to finish it even if it wasn’t.”
Edith and Butler Saur quickly exchanged glances.
‘I can’t leave it to the Lady.’
‘If the butler is here, I think the flame will only get bigger.’
She didn’t know who did what, but the marquis was really in a bad mood.
At the meeting just the day before, the marquis’s mood was very good. He even gave social lines such as “Is the taste of the newly opened tea okay?” and “Take it with you if you like it.” Even though Edith was taken aback by the eccentric behavior of the Marquis and responded with a sense of unease, she didn’t retort or dwell on it. But why did he suddenly act that way?
“Your Excellency, I have something to attend to…”
“You haven’t left yet?”
“I’ll leave now.”
Butler Saur left the room with an apologetic look in his eyes until the moment he closed the door, as if leaving Edith alone. The door closed with a click. Edith looked reflexively toward the marquis, and was surprised by the eye contact.
“Oh, my.”
“Why?”
Their eyes met, and the distance between them was too close. She could reach out and touch him with her arm extended. If it were someone else, it would be appropriate to take a step back, but for the marquis, who had a compulsive disorder of brushing off and wiping with a handkerchief even the slightest touch from others, the situation was completely different.
Moreover, it may be an act to gain an authoritative advantage from his point of view, but from her point of view, it was unnecessarily exciting rather than overwhelming. He wasn’t happy. Edith thought she should secure a proper distance for now.
“Nothing. Please sit down, Your Excellency.”
His dark green eyes narrowed as he looked down at her with his arms crossed.
“That’s enough. It’s not a long enough story to sit down and talk about.”
“Is that so? Well then, I’ll listen to what you have to… say…?”
Edith, who was speaking carefully, almost chewed her tongue. Because the Marquis of Rodian approached her combatively. She instinctively stepped back, but she couldn’t even take five steps and her butt bumped into the desk. She frowned unconsciously. She didn’t wear any padding under my skirt, so the bump hurt a little.
But the next moment she was horrified enough to forget the pain.
“W, w, why?”
As if putting Edith in a secluded place wasn’t enough, the marquis leaned over and placed both hands on the edge of the desk.
The broad shoulders and proportional upper body remained completely enclosing Edith. She was buried in the artificial shade.
There was a limit to avoiding him by leaning back, and she could not push her hand out to the marquis. Simply stranded, she froze. The marquis opened his mouth, looking into her with biting eyes.
“Edith Argyle. You are celibate.”
“Yes?”
“You said you don’t want to get married.”
She couldn’t understand it right away because it was so out of the blue. It was not until she heard the marquis’s second words that she realized what he was saying, but she suddenly didn’t know why he was asking such a thing, so she only opened her eyes wide.
“Then say yes.”
“…Mmhm.”
Strictly speaking, the word celibacy was not appropriate, but there was no substitute for it. Edith was a competent bureaucrat who proved her worth with years of experience. Even the marquis, who didn’t like her at first, eventually recognized her.
But it was a story that only worked within the marquis’s estate. If she married a noble under another lord, she had to live only as their wife.
But would she find a husband in Rodian? The bureaucratic nobles who had lived with her since she was a girl regarded her as a sister, and the small lords of the marquis, who she was the treasurer for, regarded her as their enemy.
Among the fools who act more foolish than her actual older brother and get fooled every year, wasting taxes on useless tricks, who among them could be considered a real man?
Ironically, there was one candidate left closest. Alpheus Rodian. The Marquis of Rodian was a year older than Edith, and was the most prestigious, wealthy, and even the most handsome man in Silverglen.
On top of that, he was a man who even looked at her abilities as they were, so it was natural that her heart was directed at him.
Love did not provide food, and the marquis had no interest in women to the extent that he even arranged for his younger brother to marry and fled. He was the one who issued a wanted order for his half-brother.
「May I ask the reason behind going to such lengths?」
「To that extent, you say.」
「No, I mean. I heard that there are women who adore you even if there are no applications for political marriage from powerful people.」
「Why should I care about such women? I hate it, so don’t even bring it up again.」
The shy and ticklish heart subsided in front of the cold-hearted boss. She thought she would get fired if she said she liked him.
It was a time of fear. His natural personality was also questionable.
‘If it’s something that won’t succeed, you shouldn’t even start.’
She decided to live alone doing what she was good at.
Her position was stable, and her wealth grew day by day. Viscount Argyle, her brother, who had brought up her marriage several times, listened to Edith as she put a gold necklace on his daughter and shut his mouth.
「These are all the salaries of the treasurer living alone, but your aunt has no place to use them, so they’re all for Sophia, right?」
In any case, if the lengthy contemplation could be condensed into commonly used words, it was as the marquis said. It was easier to just let people think it was celibacy rather than explaining everything to the superiors. Edith nodded her head without thinking deeply.
“Yes, well, yes.”
“Good.”
And she regretted it.
“Then you can play my fiancée.”
“What am I doing?”
The marquis grinned. He was clearly in a bad mood, and at that moment he seemed strangely amused. Edith shivered with chills.
“Edith Argyle, take on the role of mistress of Silverglen Castle as my own fiancée, Marchioness of Rodian.”
“…”
She was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t even answer his words, only her lips twitched. Meanwhile, the marquis straightened his body, withdrawing his arms that had imprisoned her. Then he added just before she could say that he was crazy. They were powerful words that could not be denied.
“The allowance is ten times the annual salary.”
