CH 59

“Uuughh.”

As I stretched and raised my body, I immediately froze.

“That’s right. I’m not the only one in the bedroom!”

I was preoccupied with the underground ball yesterday and fell asleep before Ian came in.

‘Did you spend the night in here, that guy?’

When I looked around, there was no one lying next to me.

“Did he staying out or what?”

Will people believe we’re newlyweds?

I pursed my lips and looked at the empty space beside me.

Well, it was good because if I saw his face in the morning, my heart would stop beating.

“By the way, I feel like I’ve had a bad dream.”

While remembering, I tried to touch my cheek, but it felt strange.

‘No way, did I cry?’

I gasped in relief as soon as I glanced surprised in the mirror. It was just a mark on the pillow.

It was fortuitous. To cry over my mother—who at this point I had forgotten even her face—would be too embarrassing.

“Madam Irene, are you awake?”

Outside the door, Annette’s cautious knock was heard.

I quickly got up and took Annette in, and she gave me the surprise news.

“Mr. Lucian said he had something to say to Irene, and asked if it would be alright if he stopped by!”

“L-Lucian is?”

No way.

You didn’t know what was going on with Rizello and me yesterday, did you?

‘That impossible. Then Ian would have directly hit me!’

I barely nodded, trying to calm my racing heart.

An hour later, Lucian came into the room.

“Hello, saintess. I requested this meeting with you exclusively to discuss the budgets proposals that the saintess must approve.”

“Pardon? What do I approve of?”

“Because you are now the mistress of Duke Esteban.”

Lucian said with a pleased look on his face.

“Most of the internal affairs will be handled by myself or the butler, but it would be nice if the saintess, who has since become Duchess, would pay for the major ones herself.”

“Really? ….Did Ian approve of this?”

I don’t think he’ll leave the housework to me.

In response to the dubious questioning, Lucian nodded vigorously.

“Of course. That……”

After a few moments of looking around, Lucian lowered his voice.

“Because during the contract period, the saintess will properly become the Commander’s wife. If the commander did not say anything……  Oh! I think there’s a note that the commander left there, too.”

Lucian pointed to the bedside table.

There were some papers and a small card.

When I opened the card, I blinked. This was truly Ian’s handwriting. He seemed to have been in and out of the room all night.

‘It wasn’t like he was staying out all night.’

The card only had a short phrase written on it.

「Wedding Gift.」

Huh?

I tilted my head and examined the papers beneath the card.

Is this a gift?

I opened my eyes wide as though startled after a while of reading the document with a dubious look.

“M-Mr. Lucian.”

“Yes, saintess?”

“This…… What is this?”

“Pardon?”

“Did I get it wrong? Yes, it must be. Let’s read it again.”

However, when I read the document again, I saw that it had the same information.

That ownership of an island off the southern coast of the continent was transferred to me in its entirety.

“Ah, that document!”

With a clap of his hands, Lucian said.

“Are you reading the document transferring ownership of Orbite Island to the saintess?”

“Did I get it right?”

I was appalled.

“No, why, the island? To me? Why?”

After being stunned by an unbelieveable, I spewed forth jumbled words.

Lucian laughed softly, then whispered in a low voice.

“Isn’t there a rumor going around the city that the saintess is the princess of some remote island? The commander, he tried to make that rumor true.”

What exactly do you mean “make it”?

I was mesmerized by Lucian’s nonchalant tone.

“You look surprised. In fact, creating a kingdom is not difficult. It is difficult to gain international recognition. Anyway, the saintess has officially become the princess of the kingdom of Orbite!”

Lucian clapped.

“So you don’t have to feel bad about lying anymore, and you can talk about your origins without fear of being judged. We need to relocate a few people…… I’ll take care of that, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

I sat there dumbfounded, listening to Lucian’s never-ending explanations.

Only then did Lucian cast a glance my way.

“Do you feel pressured?”

“Rather than feeling pressed, I understand it well…… No, but bought an island?”

Still, I was creaking in that part without knowing why.

I can’t believe he bought an island. It’s a line I’ve seen in gossip magazines featuring famous celebrities.

I asked Lucian in a frenzied tone.

“Excuse me, maybe, Mr. Lucian. Speaking of Ian… … Pardon me, but how wealthy is he?”

I didn’t know much about Ian’s wealth.

I knew he could throw 10 million Mars at me, but that was all.

Even though he was a member of the Imperial Family, the Emperor would not have granted him much money because he entered the priesthood as a member of the Holy Knights.

He knew that the salary of the commander of the Holy Knights itself was not astronomically high.

Despite this, he not only gave me 10 million Mars, but he also bought me an island.

How rich is he?

“Oh. Don’t you know?”

Lucian’s eyes widened in shock.

“The commander has several sources of income, but the biggest one is the Bernyl Mine.”

“Bernyl Mine?”

It’s a name I’m familiar with.

I quickly remembered who the name belonged to.

‘It’s a mine where the emerald from my wedding tiara was extracted!’

I listened to Annette’s admiration for the size of the emerald athe worth of my tiara, which was made of the highest quality emeralds found there.

But the owner of the mine was Ian?

“Yes. When the commander was just out of princely status and the Bernyl Mine was still being developed, he bought it for a reasonable price. It is now the largest emerald mine on the continent.”

Lucian laughed haha and said as if telling a trivial story next door.

I was delirious when I heard that.

‘I’m married to some munchkin.’

He’s a man with a face, talent, and money now.

It was both amazing and shocking.

‘What did the original author think?’

After creating a character with buff like this, forcibly corrupting as the final villain and killing him.

Is the author crazy?

Somehow I felt unfair.

What is the point of buff? In the end, he is killed by the main characters!

I used to stick out my tongue whenever I saw Ian’s munchkin side, but this time I was emotional.

“Saintess? You don’t look well. Even if it means inconvenience for you……?”

“Ah, ah. Hmm, nothing. But is it really okay? Buying an island isn’t enough, and taking the residents there is not enough. I’m wondering if the scale of lies is becoming too large……”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Lucian smiled confidently.

“Recently, a monster invasion devastated a village of settlers in a remote area near the southern border. Instead of providing those residents with a new place to live, they simply requested silence.”

“Did they accept it easily? The story of suddenly going to live on an island?”

“These are people who have had their hometowns destroyed. All of the money to move to another place and settle down has disappeared. Although Orbite is an island, the land is quite fertile. Everyone was delighted when they saw the beauty of the place. Above all, we provided them with a settlement fund.”

Lucian said with a wink of his eye.

“Um, I’d be grateful if that were the case.”

Lucian smiled confidently at me, who was still worried.

“You have nothing to worry about about that. You can really put your mind at ease. By the way, about what I’m here for today…….”

Lucian said as he opened a large book.

I wanted to pass out because I knew what was written in it was Esteban’s budget for the following year.

***

That was three nights later.

My face became anxious at myself in the mirror.

A modestly designed outdoor dress, as well as a non-flashy hair ornament.

I was dressed casually as if I were going out on the busy street before him.

But there was something unusual in my pouch this time.

I sighed, remembering the plain black mask that should have been lying facedown inside.

“I’m nervous.”

The underground ball is about to get started.

Knowing how debauched the meeting was from reading the original novel naturally discouraged me.

I pretended to be a dating expert in front of Ian, but in reality, I lacked practical experience.

I’ve heard that openly affectionate acts occur in public places… Will my timid heart be able to bear it?

“Madam Irene. It’s about time.”

I looked at my watch in horror as Dame Joan spoke.

Before she knew it, my watch was set to nine o’clock, the start time of the ball.