Four months into marriage. I began to feel suspicious about my husband's frequent outings. He left early every morning and didn’t return until late at night. Curious, I looked into it. But all I found was that my husband was simply working diligently. Nothing seemed off. After all, it was a contract marriage—we agreed not to interfere in each other’s private lives. And yet... why do I sometimes feel a strange sense of disconnect from him? > “The Emperor still hasn’t married.” “That’s serious.” “I wish he’d hurry up and leave me to marry someone else…” My contract husband is a mercenary named Dale, who knows the whole situation. I hired him for a one-year (364-day) contract marriage to break off an engagement with the Emperor. Unlike the original Emperor in the novel, Dale is pure, innocent, and kind. One day, I found myself thinking: If I were to truly marry, it should be someone like him. And then—something happened. --- Eventually, the day came when I had to return to my family, the ducal house. But I made a firm promise to myself that I would return to Dale no matter what. So I gave him strict instructions: > “Don’t open the door to strangers while I’m gone.” “Yes.” “Even if it’s someone close, don’t lend money without thinking.” “I’ll remember that.” “And don’t cry just because you miss me, okay?” Ah… I really don’t want to part from Dale. But I had no choice but to return to the ducal house, dragging my feet with reluctance. > “Your Majesty, the teleportation circle is ready.” “Let’s go.” Unaware of the events already unfolding behind me.