I Had No Complaints About This Marriage - Chapter 39

Starting a few days ago, Herman had stopped coming home. She considered going out alone, but the servants only gave her awkward looks and humored her.

“The hiring of additional guards for young madam has not yet been finalized…”

“It would still be best if you went out with the master…”

Even the butler and head maid were like that.

Since when had this neighborhood become a place where a wife couldn’t go out without her husband? When she gave the butler a look, his reply was—

“Lately, external threats have grown severe. The master has been conducting business aggressively, you see.”

“……”

“He worries that someone with a grudge might harm young madam. We ask for your understanding.”

That left her with nothing to say. It did seem like Herman was working hard, after all.

Every morning, the newspapers delivered to the mansion carried stories about Herman—finalizing deals with foreign traders, signing contracts for large coal mines.

This time, he’s making sure there’s no issue even if he severs ties with Telloien.

On top of that, new kinds of articles had begun appearing—lists of gifts Herman had lavished on Esina, descriptions of the luxurious facilities he was building for her.

Next to them were editorials, a line or two about how the Duke of Telloien still hadn’t given up on his wayward heir, or how the duke seemed eager to negotiate with Herman.

By then, she could guess a little.

‘The duke still has lingering attachments to Herman, and Herman…’

…is trying to give the impression that he’s obsessed with a shrew like me.

That’s his method—to ruthlessly, relentlessly cut off a family that clings to him with pathetic desperation.

And to restructure his business so there’s no issue even if he completely severs ties.

For someone who had been so quiet about Esina until now, this was an unusually aggressive move. Once she thought that far, it was hard to complain.

Still, was it really necessary to forbid her from going out without Herman? To insist that if she wanted to do anything, she had to stay indoors?

‘It’s not like he’s physically restraining me indoors.’

Separate from her thoughts, the butler regarded Esina almost like a spoiled, endearing granddaughter. Then, he diligently coaxed her.

“Let’s see. If you’re bored, shall we summon every jeweler from the department store here? You might find gems you desire beyond what you’ve already seen.”

“Hmm……”

“Or perhaps have the chefs prepare desserts of every variety. The newly hired pastry chef’s skills are exceptional.”

“Not bad, but……”

“What about a massage? Behind the opera house, the master ordered a greenhouse and hot spring built. You could even call actors for a private performance……”

The butler listed off activities possible only indoors. Listening, some ideas were admittedly tempting.

‘Virtual shopping, desserts, hot springs, private performances…’

The list alone was dazzling. Under normal circumstances, she’d have indulged without hesitation—living luxuriously on someone else’s dime. A paradise on earth couldn’t compare.

…Or at least, that’s how she would have felt any other time.

Esina turned away listlessly and shook her head.

“No. I’ll return to my room and rest.”

“Very well. Perhaps some tea…?”

“I’m fine.”

“If you change your mind, call for me anytime.”

She shook her head again and retreated to her room.

‘Right now, I need to go outside.’

Because the place she had to go was out there.

“The black-market dealers in the capital’s back alleys.”

In the original story, the slums of the capital’s outskirts were portrayed as a terrifying place—a den of criminals, mercenaries, and covert slave traders.

But she had a reason to go. The empire’s most prominent information broker operated there.

In the original, the villainess Esina—blinded by jealousy toward the heroine—had tried to sell the pregnant heroine into slavery through that very broker. It failed, of course, when the male lead intervened just in time. That scene, where the heroine endured harrowing ordeals before her rescue, had been a gripping, grimly thrilling part of the story.

Naturally, her current goal wasn’t to sell the heroine into slavery.

‘It’s time to investigate Herman’s illegitimate child.’