Published: August 10, 2026
Lord Cyrus returned just one hour after they left, much earlier than the time we had been told in advance.
"There was a bit of trouble in the port town. I left at dawn without even eating breakfast."
As he handed his cloak to Wolfgang, Lord Cyrus said vaguely, as if trying to brush over the details. I was curious about that "trouble," too, but I had something else I needed to report first. I told Lord Cyrus about Yan and the others' visit, then handed him the documents they had left behind.
He flipped through the thick stack of papers, more than a hundred pages long, scanning them quickly.
"What is this!"
Lord Cyrus stared wide-eyed and shouted.
"This is absurd. The part about rewarding granado trading company and Marie only goes as far as the third page. After that, it's meaningless filler—introductions to history and geography. Near the end, it completely overturns what was written on the third page! All profits go to Hadwell Trading Company, and if there's any loss, it's the responsibility of whoever signed at the beginning—Marie!? And in print this tiny?!"
"Yes, I read it carefully afterward too, and was completely drained..."
Clenching my still-not-fully-recovered hand, I muttered.
Yes, as I thought, the contract they had brought was a trap. Padding it out with meaningless text was probably part of the scheme as well. If anyone were handed a document this thick, they'd hesitate. And if they were told to read it thoroughly right away, even more so. Then if someone said, "We already have approval from the person in charge; all you need to do is sign," people might relax and take up the pen.
It was simple, but horribly underhanded, a sickening trick.
Lord Cyrus sharply arched his noble brows and slapped the documents with obvious disgust.
"In the first place, I never promised to hand over 'the mermaid's promise.' I've never done business with Hadwell Trading Company, and I've never even heard of Yan. What kind of best friend is that? It's all lies from start to finish."
With a look of growing revulsion, Lord Cyrus spat the words out and pulled me close. After hugging me tightly, he rested a hand on my head.
"You were absolutely right not to sign something so easily. Good judgment, Marie."
"Y-yes... but, um, now that I think about it, maybe I should have kept them here until you came back..."
"No, you did enough. Thank you for driving them away."
Lord Cyrus patted me like he was praising a child. Comforted by his large, warm hand, blood finally returned to my body. Then, feeling greedy, I held out my now-cold fingertips to him as well.
"Touch this too..."
He immediately took my hand and squeezed it tightly.
It felt as though he was drawing away my anxiety and fear along with the cold from my blood.
Once again, I let out a long, deep breath.
"...However... Hadwell Trading Company..."
Still holding me by the shoulder, Lord Cyrus muttered in a low voice.
His usually gently slanted green eyes were shining sharply.
Cyrus Granado was tall. It wasn't just his height—his shoulders and chest were broad, giving him a large frame, and simply standing there made him intimidating. That was probably why he always seemed to make a point of speaking in a mild manner. But when he wore such a grim expression, even I, his wife, found him frighteningly sharp.
It was not a face I wanted our daughter to see too often. Lisa was asleep on the bed, right in the middle of her nap, curled up in Lord Cyrus's crossed legs.
"...Is it actually a real trading company? I had been wondering if that might be a lie too."
"I've heard the name. It's definitely a jeweler from Oracle, and the owner is Hadwell Decken... a huge man with fiery red hair, they say."
"So he's famous."
"The man himself is, yes. His appearance is so distinctive that his name has spread far beyond the scale of his company. They call him the red-haired monster, or a beast, or worse."
"T-that's... kind of cruel, isn't it..."
The words slipped out before I could stop myself.
I wasn't trying to defend the man who had tried to deceive me, but he didn't seem like the kind of fierce person who'd be compared to a man-eating beast... Well, I'd only heard two words about him, so it's not like I knew anything about him...