They stared at me.
Faye stared at me harder.
"I'll pay it," I added, scratching the back of my neck. "Gradually, or immediately. Whichever your association prefers."
The first merchant snapped out of it first.
"Immediate payment would be... I mean... of course, gradual is perfectly acceptable! Entirely acceptable!" he said quickly, nodding far too much.
The second merchant followed suit. "W-We can draft the revised contract today!"
The third one looked like he was on the verge of tears. Not only were they granted mercy for kicking down a door that led to the duke, but they were even able to get a new contract!
I nodded. "Good. Do that."
Then, after a pause, I added, "And next time, knock."
They flinched as if struck.
"O-Of course! Deepest apologies, Your Grace!"
All three stood, bowed so deeply I was half-afraid they'd hit the floor, and scrambled toward the exit. They were quite flexible, they could probably become gymnasts in another life...
The door shut behind them with far more care than it had been opened.
Silence returned to the room.
Slowly, I turned around.
Faye was staring at me.
"…You didn't have to do that," she said finally, voice barely steady.
"I know," I replied. "But it seemed like the simplest solution."
"S-Simplest!?" she sputtered. "That was eight thousand gold!"
"I could earn that back in a month." I tilted my head, I'm a novel's main villain for gods' sake, there was no way I'm going to go broke from that.
"Don't fret about it."
She stared at me like she was reassessing reality itself.
"You… you barely even hesitated."
I shrugged. "If I let it drag on, they'd keep bothering you. And I don't like the thought of having debt collectors visit my fiancée's estate."
Her hands trembled slightly.
Then, very suddenly, she bowed.
Deeply.
"Thank you," she said. "Truly. I… I don't know how to repay you."
Ah.
That was a dangerous sentence. I'd rather not have a woman say that to me while I'm living inside this body.
I don't want to be filled with yesmen who only like me because they owe me after all, best to keep my circle full of people who actually like me.
I immediately raised my hands. "You don't have to. This wasn't a loan with expectations attached. I'm not—" I paused, choosing my words carefully. "—I'm not trying to buy anything."
She looked up, startled.
"I just thought," I continued, "that if we're going to figure this engagement thing out, it'd be better if you weren't constantly worried about debts."
Her expression softened.
And without warning, suddenly jumped at me and hugging me while I was still sitting on the chair.
"Thank you so much!"
She cried dramatically, not in a sad, emotional way, but more like an overwhelmed, comedic main heroine kind of way.
Then she caught herself, immediately stopped crying, and stood up, as if she just remembered something important she should do.
"R-Right! I should tell my parents about this!"
She went to a nearby desk, grabbed a piece of paper, and began writing on it, and of course, I was curious.
I leaned over her shoulder just enough to peek.
Her handwriting was neat, a little rounded, careful in a way that made it obvious she rewrote things often. The letter itself was… very Faye. Polite. Gentle. Almost apologetic for existing.
Mother, Father,I hope this letter reaches you safely…
She explained the engagement first. Carefully. As if softening the blow with every sentence. Then the debt part, how House Noctierre had taken responsibility for it, how it was resolved, how there was no need for them to worry anymore.
She hesitated before the last line, pen hovering.
"…You can read it later," she said suddenly, turning just enough to block my view.
"What's wrong?"
She shot me a look, cheeks faintly pink, then folded the letter and slipped it into an envelope with practiced motions.
"I-It's nothing!"
"I'll have a courier send it immediately," she said. "They'll… they'll be relieved."
"I'm sure."
She rang the bell again, this time with more confidence than before. When another maid arrived, Faye handed over the letter with instructions, her voice steady despite the lingering excitement.
Once the maid left, the room felt… different.
Lighter, somehow.
Faye exhaled, long and slow, then leaned back against the desk as if her legs had finally remembered they were allowed to relax.
Then, once again tensed, her face turning red as she realized how frenzied and hyper she acted. First, hugging me and crying, then immediately writing a letter like nothing happened?
Showing something like that to a duke, especially her fiancé, was disgraceful to say the least.
"I-I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me!"
She covered her face with her hands, trying to hide her embarrassment and relief.
"I-It's like… it's like I've just had years of stress lifted, y'know? In the blink of an eye, no less." She whispered softly, as if embarrassed to voice her thoughts.
I don't blame her. I wouldn't expect anyone—especially her—to react cleanly after I just fixed what I vaguely remember taking a hundred chapters to resolve in the original novel.
I smiled faintly.
"Yeah," I said. "I get that."
She peeked at me through her fingers, clearly not expecting agreement.
"Really?"
"Really." I returned to the chair again. "If someone told me a problem I'd been losing sleep over for years was suddenly gone, I'd probably act worse than you did."
"E-Even you, Duke—I mean... Cassian?" she muttered.
"What kind of question is that?" I replied. "I'm still a human."
That earned a small laugh, short, surprised, but real. She lowered her hands, though her cheeks were still red.
"I still shouldn't have jumped on you like that," she said, bowing her head slightly. "That was improper."
"I'll survive," I said dryly. "No lasting injuries."
She hesitated, then added, "…You didn't mind?"
I shrugged. "I've been hugged before."
That was a lie. Well, half a lie. I've been hugged in my previous life, but for my current life? I don't even think I was hugged as a baby...