The backache crept up on him again while he was perusing various documents.

Suddenly, he thought of Atia.

Although the pain was nothing, Atia, who had come last night, had accurately identified his physical condition.

Hence, he found himself thinking about her more often than not.

“What a nuisance.”

Casus tried to erase his unnecessary thoughts by examining a letter from the royal family once more.

“A princess system.”

As Casus read the letter, he clenched his teeth and tore it apart without hesitation.

The torn pieces of paper scattered on the floor.

‘I will certainly prevent this.’

A system to send a woman from each family below the commoners to foreign countries.

He was bound to be upset at the fact that such an inhumane system had passed.

He could not just stand by and watch the royal family’s behavior that treated people as objects.

[This is the time separator]

“Master.”

“I don’t want it, I’m not eating.”

“Master, please…….”

“Don’t keep coming. It’s annoying.”

The rascal of the Wellington Dukedom, Leo, had been beating a straw mannequin with a practice sword all day long without even a sip of water, let alone food.

Swish!

His wellsharpened sword cut the straw mannequin in a diagonal line.

Yet, Leo continued to slice the fallen straw into pieces as if he was still angry.

After venting for quite a while, he looked up at the knights in the training ground.

“All of you, have you been watching me all this while?”

“…….”

“That woman, I won’t leave her be. She insulted me.”

Imagining the mannequin standing in the training ground as Atia, Leo relentlessly slashed at it with his sword.

How much time had passed?

1,500 straw mannequins in the training ground had all been sliced.

Whoosh.

The straw scattered on the ground of the training ground blew around wildly.

The knights blinked their eyes, watching the straw flying in the wind.

Feeling a sense of being far removed from the situation.

After all, the task of cleaning up the straw that had piled up in the quiet training ground fell to the knights.

But Leo seemed to not care as he wiped the sweat from his forehead with one hand.

“I will certainly make her kneel in front of me and beg for forgiveness.”

After having slashed all the mannequins, Leo shouted out loud for more training props.

The knights were at a loss as to what to do with their immature master, whose anger reached the ends of his hair. They didn’t dare step forward for fear of sparks flying.

The cold winds from the north blew in.
But Leo, unbothered, clenched his teeth and plunged back into training.

“My ultimate goal is to have that woman crying and begging me. Hehe.”

Engraving his goal deep into his heart.

[This is the time separator]

Night had fallen.

Haidiger, who was on a conquest journey, stopped his running horse.

“Let’s rest for a moment.”

“Master, the snowstorm is getting worse.”

The knight escorting him said.

“That’s not a problem.”

Haidiger loosely held the reins and looked around.

Due to the relentless run, a majority of them, except for him, showed signs of exhaustion.

“Hmm.”

“We seem to arrive earlier than expected. The route indicates we are near the Duke of Wellington’s house. What shall we do?”

Haidiger, who had received a preliminary report on the situation of the Wellington family from the western district, pondered.

Haidiger, the Duke of the Wellington family, was fifty years old.

But, anyone who saw him found it hard to believe his age.

Smooth skin without a single wrinkle, black and abundant hair.

Overall, his luxurious appearance didn’t match his age.

His youthful genes, seemingly blessed by the gods, were inherited intact by his sons.

Especially his eldest son, Casus, seemed to have inherited his deep, oceanlike blue eyes.

Haidiger slowly turned the reins and said,

“It wouldn’t be bad to drop by after a long time.”

[This is the time separator]

“Madam, have you heard the news?”

Kesha, who had gone out, came in making a fuss.

However, Atia stayed motionless, lying prone.

She had been absorbed in exercise from morning till almost night.

“……Madam?”

“Just a moment. 5 seconds left.”

“…….”

“5.”

“…….”

“4.”

“…….”

“3, 2, 1.”

Atia exhaled deeply and returned to a sitting position from her lying posture.

“I guess that’s enough plank.”

“Madam……. Aren’t you tired?”

Atia, wiping her sweat with a towel, replied nonchalantly.

“Not really.”

She said nonchalantly, but her arms, which had never lifted more than 1kg, were beginning to shake slightly.

However, Atia maintained her position with sheer willpower.

Even if her face was heated to the point of bursting, she felt she had to finish all her tasks for the day before she could sleep.

The fatigue exacerbated by the workout could be recovered by a massage at night.

“Ah…….”

Kesha’s mouth gaped open involuntarily.

Atia, who didn’t rest and kept moving, was now aweinspiring.

It was a truly amazing stamina.

How could such strength come from that weak body?

Her thin, slender limbs seemed like they would break with just a little force.

Kesha didn’t know what kind of technique she had to use to achieve this.

“Hoo, what is it?”

“Ah…… His Highness, the Duke, is visiting soon.”

“The Duke?”

Atia took a moment to think, and the contents of the original story flashed through her mind.

‘It’s Haidiger Wellington, isn’t it?’

It was none other than Casus’s father.

She had never heard of him visiting the duke’s house.

Then, Haidiger probably won’t stay long.

It’s probably just a stopover since their paths coincided.

“When will he arrive?”

“I think he might come before dawn.”

“Is that so? I see. By the way…….”

Atia, who had wiped off all the sweat with a towel, looked at Kesha with a meaningful smile.

Upon making eye contact, Kesha tilted her head.

“You still have more to do, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

“You.”

“…….”

“As far as I know, you have a few more sets to go. Let’s see your exercise plan again.”

“Ha, ha…….”

Feeling an ominous hunch, Kesha stepped back and laughed awkwardly.
“You should sleep at night, ma’am…….”

“One can sleep even in death. However, if you push today’s plan to tomorrow, it would be no better than not planning at all.”

“…….”

“Moreover, if you start with such a habit, the first button would be messed up, making everything that follows more difficult.”

Like a cornered rat, Kesha bit her lip hard and sent a pleading gaze.

Atia’s obsidianlike black pupils beautifully swirled.

“There’s still time.”

Contrary to her charming dolllike appearance adorned with long eyelashes, the words from my lady were brutally cruel.

“Ha, huh…….”

Creak.

The faint sound of the door closing to the Duchess’s room echoed throughout the manor, muffling a small sob.

It was a quiet night, with a blizzard raging.

[This is the time separator]

From early morning, the mansion’s servants finished preparing perfectly for Heidegger’s comfortable visit.

Afterwards, they lined up at the entrance of the manor. It was to carry out a welcoming ceremony.

Soon, Heidegger, riding a splendid horse, arrived at the manor leading a group of knights.

“Has His Grace the Duke arrived?”

“Has he arrived!”

The servants’ welcome resounded mightily.

At the same time, the mouths of the people in the mansion gaped open.

Atia was one of them.

‘Wow, that person is the Duke of Wellington….’

As soon as she saw Heidegger, who greatly resembled her husband, Atia felt her heart pound fiercely.