Twenty years from now, the Ewen Trading Guild will have grown into a massive trade organization with even greater influence.

If Lagos was part of their foundation for growth…

‘Did Lagos share in the profits as much as the guild expanded?’

Are merchants truly the kind of people who willingly share their gains out of goodwill?

Or was Lagos prepared to handle cunning merchants?

‘…What’s the point of me thinking about this?’

What did Lagos have to do with her?

When she arrived at Lagos Castle, she had only one thought in mind.

For at least the next two years—during which nothing significant would happen—she would forget about her life, which was bound to end in tragedy.

After all, in this remote place, there was nothing she could do.

Suddenly, his face came close, and he pressed a light kiss against her lips.

Cecilia’s eyes widened as she stared at him.

“I thought you’d forgotten I was here.”

His lips came to hers again.

He swallowed her lips gently, lightly sucking before pulling away.

“What’s your schedule this afternoon? Are you going to the southern wing?”

“…I’m staying in my room today.”

Cecilia tried not to lower her gaze.

But through the unbuttoned shirt, his bare chest was right in view.

“I thought you were busy.”

“I never said I was.”

As his face came close again, Cecilia instinctively reached out.

Her palm touched his chest.

Startled, she quickly pulled her hand away.

She thought she had overreacted.

Sure enough, his expression looked a little strange.

Instead of making excuses, she revealed her curiosity honestly.

“Can I… take a look?”

“At what?”

Cecilia flicked her eyes downward.

“Your body. It’s so defined—it’s fascinating. I’ve never seen something like it up close before.”

Of her seven husbands, all but the third had been married before, and all were much older than her.

She hadn’t even spent a wedding night with the only young husband she had, the third one.

The men she had seen up close all had soft flesh that jiggled or sagging bellies from old age.

Russell’s eyebrow arched slightly.

“You’ve seen it from a distance?”

“I’ve peeked at knights training or seen them at banquets.”

“At banquets?”

“There were occasions.”

If a noblewoman ‘accidentally’ spilled a drink on a knight at a banquet, the knight would ‘flusteredly’ remove his shirt on the spot.

A silent understanding between noblewomen who wanted a spectacle and knights looking to become a noblewoman’s illicit lover.

Cecilia didn’t feel like explaining it further.

“That’s not something a proper lady should do.”

“By the continent’s standards?”

“Is Lagos different?”

“It’s natural for unmarried men and women to be interested in each other. Just looking isn’t something to be criticized.”

“Really?”

“There are rules, of course. Peeping into someone’s home is forbidden. Same goes for spying in public bathhouses or dressing rooms. But in open spaces—like when hunter candidates train in the village—they strip off their shirts, even in the cold.”

“Don’t tell me… they want to be seen?”

“Young ladies watch the training and choose potential husbands. There’s one exception—once you’re married, you’re not allowed to go shirtless.”

Cecilia burst out laughing.

“In that case, you broke the rules.”

“I’m an exception to the exception. In front of you.”

Because they were husband and wife.

Cecilia’s heart suddenly gave a hard thump.

She knew it.

Legally, he was her husband.

Even if the seven grand dukes of the continent joined forces, they couldn’t annul this marriage.

That was how powerful the continent’s marriage laws were.

Yet in her past life, Cecilia had never considered a ‘husband’ to be anything more than a loathsome shackle binding her by law.

But Russell was… different from how she defined ‘husband’.

She didn’t know exactly what was different.

And she felt she shouldn’t know.

She had a hunch—it would throw her into complete confusion.

She reached out and buttoned his shirt, one by one.

“Come to think of it, I do have something scheduled.”

Russell, for some reason, didn’t stop her as she hurriedly pulled away.

Because he could feel it—the subtle wall she had suddenly put up.

As he watched the door close behind her, he became lost in thought.