Chapter 145 – Patience
She looked like a little girl playing princess, peacefully asleep.
‘At least she didn’t hate it, that’s a relief.’
Whether it was due to the wizard or the assistant doing their part, each piece of jewelry seemed to perfectly suit Annette, as if it was made just for her.
‘The finale piece will surely look stunning on her.’
Loic, though no expert on jewelry, could imagine how beautiful she would look wearing it.
He didn’t say much today, afraid it would make her feel burdened.
After carefully setting aside the necklaces, earrings, hairpins, and brooches, Loic’s gaze fell on the remaining bracelet.
He gently ran his fingers along its chain.
Could he cast magic on it and turn it into a chain that would bind Annette to him?
‘You idiot.’
Loic bit his lip at his own dark thoughts and carefully laid Annette back on the bed.
It’s okay.
Annette had said she wouldn’t let anyone else into her heart.
— “I can’t say it now, but my situation is a bit complicated.”
What did she mean by “complicated”?
‘She came to the north because she wanted to escape her family, didn’t she?’
After all, the Marquis had even physically abused her, so it made sense Annette wanted to leave.
She must have chosen him over her family, who treated her worse than enemies.
But if she divorced, she would still be under the Marquis’ control.
‘If I ask her, she might feel pressured. If she’s startled and runs away…’
He didn’t want to think about such a horrible outcome.
He would wait.
He would wait until Annette let down her guard and could fully rely on him.
Fortunately, patience was one of Loic’s greatest virtues.
He could wait as long as it took.
As long as there was hope that one day, Annette would choose him.
For now, all Loic needed to do was help Annette do whatever she wanted.
She seemed to enjoy starting new projects, after all.
She had opened a wine business, created a merchant guild, built a second shopping district, and even started an opera…
As her influence grew, she would eventually be tied to the north.
Eventually, she might even forget her desire to leave the north.
Just thinking about it made a smile tug at Loic’s lips.
Annette, now lying comfortably on the bed, had her hand resting beside her face as she breathed softly.
The bracelet on her wrist glimmered faintly.
Loic lay next to her and gently pulled her closer to his chest.
A familiar warmth spread from his chest down to his entire body, and he couldn’t suppress the surge of desire.
‘Today, I couldn’t even give her a proper kiss. A little cuddle should be fine.’
Loic tried to justify his actions as he pulled her closer to him.
His body heated up uncontrollably.
He let the sensation take over, almost torturing himself with it.
This pain, too, felt strangely sweet.
Loic closed his eyes, intoxicated by the scent of her soft skin.
Later that day, she went to the theater with Cecilia to discuss details about the Alcent and the opera.
“Your Grace, that necklace…”
Cecilia gasped and covered her mouth when she saw the ruby necklace.
“This? The Duke gave it to me as a gift.”
Annette answered shyly.
“Could it be that the owner of the finale is…?”
“Finale? What’s that?”
At that moment, Annette finally realized the significance of the gift Loic had given her.
“…500,000 danir?”
“They say it caused a stir in the capital. Both the Empress and the Crown Princess failed to win the finale.”
Annette had thought it looked ridiculously expensive, but she hadn’t realized it was this much.
Why did Loic suddenly give her such a lavish gift?
Had someone said something strange?
‘I shouldn’t even touch it; it looks like it would break if I handle it too roughly.’
She shuddered just thinking about how fragile it might be.
“We should never have a gift like this again,” Cecilia said, raising her eyebrows in awe.
“It suits you so well!”
“Thank you.”
Even after they got into the carriage, Cecilia kept marveling at it.
Annette felt a little embarrassed and touched the ruby necklace around her neck.
When Annette woke up this morning, the handsome sculpture was lying right in front of her.
It had been a beautiful sight right from the start.
— “Loic! Did you really sleep here?”
— “I’m sorry. I must have dozed off from exhaustion.”
Despite his words, Loic didn’t look sorry at all.
She couldn’t really scold him for falling asleep, but the fact that Loic had put on the necklace himself made her feel a little strange.
Loic had been putting on the necklace and then casually kissed the nape of her neck.
It was clear that their relationship had crossed boundaries, but what else could she do?
After sleeping together in the temple, he had been falling asleep in her room too and kissing her neck.
‘He’s quick with his actions, so it’s hard to even complain.’
She had kissed him on the neck and gently wrapped her hands around his waist.
That memory alone made her face flush red.
“Your Grace? Are you hot?”
“Maybe a little.”
Cecilia, noticing the redness on Annette’s cheeks, opened the carriage window.
The carriage passed through Goldrain.
It was strange, though.
Goldrain had been too quiet.
There were almost no customers around.
“Could it be the new shopping district that’s causing a drop in traffic?”
Cecilia also noticed the eerie silence outside and muttered to herself.
‘This isn’t good.’
The shopping district near the lake was Annette’s doing, but Goldrain was still the center of Blenheim’s commerce.
‘Almost every business in Blenheim is based in Goldrain.’
If it fell, Blenheim’s economy would suffer.
‘What’s Count Gelfry doing?’
It was frustrating that the Merchant Guild hadn’t taken any action while Goldrain was in decline.
When they arrived at the theater, they saw Alcent and a young man talking in front.
“Just one or two would be fine. They are all hardworking and capable employees.”
The man begged, his face desperate.
“Well, that’s troublesome. Your situation is difficult, but I don’t need more employees right now.”
The conversation ended when Alcent noticed Annette coming.
“Sorry, this conversation will have to end here.”
The man left with a disappointed expression as Alcent quickly approached Annette.
“Your Grace, you’re here!”
“Were you in the middle of something? I can wait a little while.”
“No, no. Please come inside! I’ll show you the way.”
As they climbed the stairs, Annette couldn’t help but ask.
“Was that man a merchant?”
Alcent hesitated a bit before answering.
“That was Evan, a middle manager from the Iris merchant group.”
He explained that the Iris group had been struggling with losses lately and was now closing its alcohol business.
“They’ve also shut down their branch in Goldrain.”
“Alcohol?”
Annette remembered that Alcent hadn’t recommended the Iris group when suggesting wine.
“…I didn’t recommend Iris because they’ve been losing money,” Alcent added sheepishly.
Annette’s eyes widened at this.
“But the employees there were very diligent and hard-working. Especially Evan. He’s good at his job and has a lot of knowledge about brewing.”
“Doesn’t Iris have a leader?”
“I didn’t recommend them because the owner’s been drinking all day,” Alcent said quietly, lowering his voice.
Annette understood what he meant.
“The owner has ruined the business his father built,” Alcent added with a shake of his head.
“Did Evan come to ask you for a job?”
“Yes, he came to ask if I could hire at least one or two employees after the owner fired ten from the Goldrain branch.”
“But he was fired too?”
Cecilia blinked, surprised.
Alcent scratched his forehead. “Evan’s a responsible guy. He probably feels he needs to take care of his former employees.”
“Well, he’s smart. There should be a lot of merchants wanting him on their team.”
“Don’t worry too much, Your Grace.”
Alcent was reading her expressions closely.
“Evan is so smart that many groups will try to hire him.”
“I’m not worried.”
Annette smiled brightly.
“Right now, my main concern is not losing 150,000 danir. I need to save this theater first.”
“Well, you’re right, Your Grace.”
Alcent immediately straightened up.
“You mentioned the merchandise sale. I think it would be best to put it next to the entrance of the theater…”
The conversation turned back to the theater plans.
