It was the one of the reasons she had fallen for him then because beneath this untouchable persona was a man who would burn the world down to keep his people warm.

A strange ache throbbed behind her ribs, the itchy sensation returning to her heart with a vengeance. She realized that despite everything, she had never truly stopped respecting that part of him.

She leaned back in her chair, her fingers trembling slightly as she interlaced them, "Are you commanding me, Duke Alvarez? Because I believe I made my stance on military orders quite clear this morning."

Ace’s gaze didn’t waver. He remained on his knee, his pride discarded on the dusty floorboards like a useless trinket.

"I am pleading," he responded.

The word was a heavy stone dropped into still water. Pleading.

The Duke of the North was begging a woman he had once dismissed as a frivolous heiress to save his world.

Evelina’s heart gave a violent thud against her ribs. The [Merchant’s Eye] interface flashed a deep, vibrant gold.

[Target’s Status: Absolute desperation/Unconditional trust]

[Note: In the current situation, Host’s Influence over the ’Sword of the North’ has reached 98%]

She stood up slowly, walking around the desk until she stood directly in front of him.

She looked down at the crown of his dark hair, feeling the immense power he was surrendering to her.

"Stand up," she said, her voice as gentle as the springs/

Ace rose, his height once again looming over her. The air between them was thick, charged with a dangerous electricity that made the heat of the room seem insignificant.

"I will help the North," Evelina said, her eyes locking onto his with a lethal clarity, "I will activate the steam pumps as I have planned. I will release the grain. I will turn this wasteland back into a kingdom."

She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper that carried the weight of a decree.

"But you must understand the price, Ace. From this moment on, the North belongs to me. Not to the Imperial Council, not to your military tradition, and not to your lineage. You might still look like the one holding the reins in public, you will still be the Duke, the face of the Alvarez power but I will be the one in power."

She tilted her head as a cold smile touched her lips, "Do you understand? You are effectively surrendering your sovereignty to a woman the world and you have always looked down on.’’

Evelina expected him to flinch or to argue that she was being unreasonable.

Instead, a hint of a rare smile quirked the corner of Ace’s mouth, a expression so mystifying and beautiful it made Evelina’s breath catch.

His eyes brightened, reflecting the orange glow of the dying sun like twin embers.

"Do you really think so little of me, Evelina?" he asked, his voice becoming a low that seemed to resonate in her very bones, "Did you even have to ask...?"

Evelina blinked, bewildered.

He took a half-step forward, closing the distance until the heat of his body was the only thing she could feel.

"Anything that is mine naturally belongs to you," he whispered.

The sheer weight of the statement was more overwhelming than any military command.

"The land, the titles, the people, everything of mine and me..." He leaned in closer, his breath warm against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine that had nothing to do with the drought, "... It was always yours to claim.’’

Before she could process the words or find a biting retort to shield her heart, Ace stepped back.

He gave her a military salute, half-mocking and half-sincere... and turned on his heel.

He left the study with a newfound lightness in his stride, leaving behind a bewildered Evelina.

She stood in the center of the room, her hands pressed against her chest where the kitten scratch felt like it had turned into a full-grown tiger’s claw.

[Warning: Heart rate exceeding 130 BPM]

[Current State: Host is... Bewildered?]

"That... that insufferable man," she breathed, touching her burning ear. She had expected a political surrender or even a cold war with him.

Instead, he had turned her ultimatum into a flirtation, leaving her standing in the heat of her own victory, feeling more breathless than the drought made her feel.

She looked down at the blueprints. There was no point analyzing the actions of that man. He was just a distraction... at this point.

The heat of the morning was already clawing at the stone walls of the Duke’s private chambers.

Ace stood before a tall, silver-rimmed mirror, his fingers fumbling with the heavy brass buttons of his formal military coat.

"Your Grace!" a guard shouted through the heavy oak door, his voice muffled but urgent, "The Duchess... she is here! She has come to see you!"

Ace’s fingers froze midway up his chest. The breath hitched in his throat.

It has been months since their marriage but Evelina had almost never sought him out in his private quarters. If they spoke, it was in the neutral territory of the dining hall or the cold formality of the study. For her to come here, now, at the break of dawn...

"Wait!" Ace called out, his voice cracking slightly, "Tell her to... tell her to give me a moment!"

He turned back to the mirror, his movements becoming frantic. He smoothed his hair with a trembling hand, checked the collar of his shirt, and tried to force his racing heart to slow down.

He looked like a man about to go to war, yet he felt like a boy about to meet his first crush. He reached for his discarded coat, trying to pull it over his broad shoulders.

But in the next second, the door opened with a ’thud’.

Evelina stepped in, a bundle of rolled parchments tucked under her arm. She paused in her tracks, her eyes sweeping over the room before landing on Ace.

He was standing half-dressed, his coat hanging awkwardly off one shoulder, his face flushed a deep, crimson.

"I told the guards to tell you to wait," Ace managed to say, though his dignity was currently sliding off his shoulder along with his sleeve.

Evelina calmly walked toward him, setting the parchments and a portable inkwell down on a side table. Without a word, she stepped into his personal space, the scent of jasmine filling his senses.