—It happened about an hour ago.

Before Dylan, who had finished getting dressed, a letter was presented on a tray.

“Dylan, Count Allingham has written you a letter. It’s basically from the house of Avril’s parents.”

“I see.”

Upon receiving the letter from Chris, Dylan was shocked by its contents.

“…What is this?”

“What on earth did they write?”

“They’re reminding us of the preparation money. Chris, you should read the letter as well. At first glance, it seems to be formally written. But without the embellishments, it’s nothing more than a continuous rant.”

“That’s true, ‘Quickly deliver the preparation money.’ ‘This isn’t like what you promised.’ ‘If you can’t give us the money, please return our daughter.’ …Simply marvelous. It’s their first letter ever since Lady Avril was married, yet there’s no mention of her at all.”

 “For the time being, I’ll clarify the situation with Avril. Chris, you don’t have to follow me.”

“Understood.”

Thus, Dylan left.

Who would’ve thought that their letter, which was supposed to come off as polite as possible, would instead shed light to the fact that they think of their daughter as a mere object?

—At first, I was skeptical. But I’ve finally found out why Avril behaves so strangely.

***

Upon seeing the letter, Avril put her hard bread down. She could already tell that its contents were unpleasant. Thus, Avril sighed.

…Did they find the stack of papers I left in the closet for the assistant from the academy?

Before leaving the Count of Allingham’s house, Avril hid the documents that’d be the key to rebuilding the house in an easily identifiable place. The whereabouts of those documents was only known to her personal servant, Keira. Said documents were to be presented to the assistant if the need arose.

It’d indeed be a disaster if either her parents or Corinna were to find them.

…But I’m sure it’s alright. After all, neither my father, stepmother, nor Corinna like to read small print.

With that in mind, Avril confirmed the recipient of the letter. Dylan’s name was written there. If they had discovered the documents, then the letter would’ve been addressed to Avril.

Avril smiled in relief. Thankfully, those three weren’t that perceptible to small details.

“Then, Lord Dylan, what of this letter?”

“All it says is, ‘I want you to deliver the preparation money as soon as possible.’ I don’t mind, but I came to confirm Avril’s intention. Didn’t you say that you’d manage the money by yourself?”

“If so, can you pretend that this letter never arrived?”

“Of course. Then let’s just say that I never read it.”

Oh, my!

Well, that was easy. As Avril contemplated, Dylan took out several documents back to back.

“…Speaking of which, the academy has sent me a list of excellent assistants to be hired for the Count Allingham house. All of them are excellent and come from solid backgrounds. You don’t need to worry, since they can be entrusted with financial matters.”

“Oh, uhm, thank you…”

He went to such an extent…?

Being utterly honest, Avril didn’t expect that from Dylan. Not only did he just become the head of the duke’s family at a young age, their marriage was also contractual in nature.

Even though he’s already so busy, and yet, for my sake…

“What kind of person is Count Allingham?”

“…Let’s see, my father is optimistic, to say the least. He always chooses what’s easy and simple for him. Therefore, it was up to me to perform the difficult tasks.”

“So, he delegated his work to you.”

Avril failed to notice the wrath in Dylan’s eyes.

“For example, this year’s crop yields were unsatisfactory. The previous year’s drought has taken its toll, and the people are exhausted. However, my father is unaware of it. Against my advice, he wanted to levy the taxes as usual.”

“I understand your point. Albeit far from the territory of Allingham, the Lancester territory is going through a similar crisis. It’s inevitable that this year and the next will be difficult.”

“…The same is true for all the servants. I was very surprised that you know the full names of everyone who works here by heart. It’s very important for both parties to know and respect the people to whom they entrust the house. We shouldn’t take advantage of the kindness of those who’ve provided their service for generations.”

“…”

Dylan listened without a word. Due to that, Avril let her true feelings flow out.

“The Count of Allingham isn’t in a healthy state, as evidenced by the fact that I jumped at the offer of marriage. I fear only for all the servants I’ve left behind.”

“I understand. I’ll take that into consideration. You’ll be given a separate wing away from the house. You can bring as may servants from your parent’s house to work there as you like.”

“…What?”

She let out a dumb voice.

“If you want, I can write each of them a letter of introduction to work at another residence.”

“Oh, but, Lord Dylan…?”

Dylan’s offer couldn’t have come at a better time.

But how in the world did this come about?

…Is Lord Dylan some kind of benevolent god?

“—More importantly.”

A voice mixed with tension greeted the amazed Avril. In Dylan’s hand, her father’s letter had been crushed.

When she looked at Dylan’s face once again, she saw the anger in his sky-blue eyes.

“—Avril, who dared call you an incompetent villainess? I won’t forgive them.”

---

***T/N: Oop, dear doting husband is mad.

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