CHAPTER 03
Bang! Bang!
A dull thudding sound echoed as if someone were knocking on wood.
“Ugh, Emma, that’s noisy…”
Groggily, I stirred and then suddenly remembered.
Emma was a servant from the duke’s estate who used to take care of me, and it had already been three years since I ran away.
Then what was this familiar sound?
“…What is this?”
Had I fallen asleep again?
There was a blanket over me.
The same one I had covered the man with.
“Did he leave?”
I looked around, but no one was there. And come to think of it, I wasn’t on the first floor anymore.
‘When did I come up to the second floor?’
I didn’t even know there was a bedroom here.
Stepping out of the room calmly, a delicious smell wafted through the air.
It was coming from downstairs.
I could see someone moving around in the kitchen on the first floor.
‘That man?’
Then it hit me.
He was the man I brought in yesterday.
The one with dark hair and broad shoulders. I watched him secretly from the stairs.
“You’re awake.”
Our eyes met.
It felt awkward—like I’d been caught peeking at something I shouldn’t.
I quietly approached, hiding a blunt object behind my back.
“What… What are you doing here?”
“I was… cooking, actually.”
He smiled shyly.
“Do you not usually eat breakfast?”
“No? I’ll eat whatever if someone else makes it. I prefer not having to cook. …But what do you do, exactly?”
“Ah.”
He let out an embarrassed laugh.
“Sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier.”
He moved around the kitchen like it was his own.
He wiped a wet knife with a dry cloth and placed it neatly aside. Then he took off an apron—who knows where he got it from—and folded it with care.
“As the owner of this house, my name is Dale.”
“I knew it. I had a feeling… you’re the owner of—wait, what?”
My eyes widened in shock.
“You’re the owner? You?”
I immediately went to see the land steward who had helped me buy the house to get an explanation.
“I did inform you beforehand that the property had a few issues. Unfortunately, I’m afraid we can’t refund your payment.”
So that was the “minor” issue he had mentioned.
Turns out I had only purchased part of the house.
To summarize the intermediary’s explanation:
- The house is divided into first and second floors.
- The second floor has its own external stairs, and a kitchen can be installed if needed—no problem.
- The only currently inhabitable area is Dale’s part of the house.
“No wonder the price was so cheap, even for the countryside.”
There was a reason it was well below market value.
“So, Dale uses the first floor?”
“Yes. Mostly.”
“And I use the second floor?”
“That’s correct.”
He consistently avoided eye contact with a sheepish, bashful smile.
Despite his cold and serious appearance, the man blushed just from eye contact.
‘The weirdest thing isn’t the house or the situation. It’s him.’
How can someone look like that and still lack confidence?
‘If I had that face, my self-esteem would inflate every time I breathed.’
There didn’t seem to be a mirror in this house—maybe he wasn’t the type to care about his looks?
I stared at Dale.
“If I’m making you uncomfortable, I can step out for a while.”
“No, it’s cold. Where would you go?”
“Anywhere…”
He looked down apologetically.
“Don’t go, Dale. Just stay. This is your house, after all.”
The handsome man with an intimidating build sat quietly on the sofa, acting reserved.
His eyes, moist and innocent, stared at me with a kind of… sincerity.
…Wait.
Is he… enchanting me?
I wiped away a bit of drool I hadn’t realized escaped.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh? What? I wasn’t thinking anything, really!”
I shook my head to snap out of it.
He didn’t have a fever anymore. He wasn’t sick. And he didn’t seem suspicious.
Now I was the problem.
‘Where am I even supposed to go?’
There were no available houses to rent in Grünwald.
Unless I wanted to live in a barn, I’d have to leave for another territory.
“Sigh…”
It was already getting dark—autumn sunsets came early.
If I wanted to find another place, I had to leave immediately. But there wasn’t a suitable one nearby.
I couldn’t exactly live with this man.
And there was no way to get my money back.
Dale watched me, face full of embarrassment, as I sat deep in thought.
Knock knock knock.
Then someone knocked at the door.
“Are you expecting someone?”
“…No. I’ll go check. Please wait here.”
Dale opened the door, revealing a man I didn’t recognize.
“Is the most beautiful Lady Ann in the world here?”
‘Ann’ was the alias I used when I ran away.
That whole “most beautiful” part? Emma’s over-the-top idea of a secret phrase.
“Wait, Dale! He’s my guest.”
“Ah! My lady. So you were here. A pleasure to meet you.”
What can I say, the mercenary Emma sent…
He looked strong. Built like someone who could protect me.
If people were divided into those who prioritized form or function, Emma was clearly the functional type. I was the form type.
…In other words, he was not my type.
Especially standing next to Dale, who was exactly my type.
After seeing Dale, my standards had sky-rocketed.
“I’ll be your assigned hunter starting today. I look forward to serving you.”
He showed me a handwritten request from Emma.
So this was the guy. Not Dale—this was supposed to be the man I’d live with from now on.
“…”
I asked him:
“What rank mercenary are you?”
“I’m S-rank.”
“What about the commission fee? Any extras I need to pay on top of the hiring cost?”
“Yes, since I was referred by the Mercenary Guild, there’s an additional—”
“You don’t have a house in Grünwald, do you?”
“Eh? No, of course not.”
I straightened up from the polite bow I’d taken for the conversation.
“Sorry, but I’m cancelling the request. I don’t have money for commission fees.”
“You said your name was Dale, right?”
“Yes.”
He wasn’t very talkative.
He answered cautiously in his low voice when I spoke to him.
“According to the intermediary, I have the right to use the second floor for a year. That’s correct?”
“Yes.”
I sent the other mercenary away and carefully observed Dale.
Dale was a mercenary too.
A-rank was more than decent, no brokerage fees, and I’d already paid the non-refundable money. Plus, he was… gorgeous.
The house exterior? Also gorgeous.
“And you, as the owner, are okay with that?”
“Yes.”
“If the house belongs to you, then when someone comes to check the registry, it’ll be under your name, not mine, right?”
“You, uh…”
“It’s Ann.”
“Miss Ann, since you’re renting the second floor for a year, you’re right.”
Wait a second.
My mental calculator spun fast.
‘That increases my chances of avoiding the emperor.’
“But it doesn’t have to be like that. If you’d prefer, we could register it under your name.”
“No. That’s the best part.”
I tapped the table.
“But this situation is basically like I was scammed.”
“I sincerely apologize for that.”
It wasn’t even really his fault, but he looked genuinely sorry.
“So I’d like to add a clause to our agreement. What do you think?”
“Please feel free to suggest anything.”
“It’s not exactly about the house. It’s an offer to you, Dale.”
“To… me?”
Dale’s eyes widened.
“I saw your ID tag when you collapsed. You’re a mercenary.”
Thud.
I placed my coin pouch on the table.
“This is…”
Dale looked puzzled.
“I’d like to make a request. Starting salary: 1 million Krovats.”
“One million Krovats?”
His eyes widened in shock at the unexpectedly large sum.
“As you can guess from the amount, this won’t be an ordinary job.”
Normally, 100,000 Krovats was enough to support a family of four for a year.
“Are you willing to hear me out?”
Dale rubbed his forehead, staring at me with visible confusion.
“…I’ll listen.”
“I needed a place to live. More accurately, I needed a place to hide. I ran away.”
“…”
He listened to my story seriously.
“And I need someone who can protect me.”
“That’s why that other man came.”
“Exactly.”
“Is your life in danger?”
Dale’s face suddenly sharpened.
“It’s… similar, but not exactly.”
“If it’s similar, who’s threatening you?”
“I can’t say. It’s someone… powerful.”
“Powerful…”
Whatever he imagined, Dale looked even more serious.
“1 million is the base pay, but given the risk, I’m thinking of a bonus.”
I held up one finger.
“I’ll add 10,000 Krovats per day. For 364 days, that’s 3.64 million Krovats.”
A total of 4.64 million Krovats.
Enough to buy several mansions in the capital.
“That’s a huge amount. Which means it’s dangerous… especially for you.”
“Exactly.”
“I will not speak of the details to anyone.”
He was quick on the uptake. I liked that.
I placed a few more coin pouches on the table.
“This request is hard… but also simple.”
“I understand.”
“There’s only one thing I want to ask you.”
I leaned forward and looked him in the eyes.
“For 364 days, be my contract husband.”
