My Dear Husband, Let's Keep It Business-Like! ~Countess Anastasia, Raised in The Downtown, Won't Give Up Her Way~ - Episode 23

The day after the day after I permitted Anastasia to go to her territory.

I woke up from a rather outrageous nightmare where I was being chased by a leopard with the face of the Fairfanville Duke’s daughter, only to be told that Anastasia had already set off for her territory.

A letter and, for some reason, a tin of cookies are given to me as a farewell gift by Sebastian.

“Did you already leave this early in the morning? Without even saying goodbye to me!?”

“Your wife said she felt sorry for waking you up. Since you always leave without saying goodbye, she thought it wouldn’t be a problem.”

I can’t even make a peep.

“What is this cookie?”

“Yesterday, my wife was very enthusiastic and baked a lot. It seems everyone will enjoy them together in the carriage heading to the estate.”

It’s unheard of for a noble lady to decide to leave on a journey and then set off the very next day, but she even baked cookies herself the day before??

His behavior is really bizarre.

After Sebas left the room, I tried eating a cookie.

“……delicious”

I don’t really like the overly sweet confections from the royal capital, but these cookies had a simple sweetness that made them easy to eat. The crunchy texture lingers on.

Come to think of it, I remember when my grandmother was still well, she often used to bake homemade sweets like this.

Back then, my mother was still alive, and my grandfather was wielding his power as the current Earl of Hamilton. We were respected by the surrounding noble families, and the servants all worked with smiles on their faces. Looking back, I feel that Eugene himself was the happiest during that time.

However, my grandmother, who was originally weak, began to have health issues more frequently as she aged.

The grandfather, who valued the grandmother above all else, bequeathed his title to my father, who was adopted as a son-in-law, and the two of them went to the neighboring country for a retreat.

The neighboring country has more advanced medical care than the Farmable Kingdom, and your grandfather, who traded with other countries for many years, must have had many trustworthy friends in the neighboring country as well.

Crunch… After eating a few more, I reluctantly closed the lid of the can, mindful of the remaining pieces.

At dinner time, I felt a sense of discomfort at Anastasia’s absence, as she had always been there recently.

Even though eating alone was supposed to be normal, why do I feel this strange emptiness in my chest?

Could it be that I’m… lonely?

Shaking his head from side to side, he hurriedly starts his meal.

“Yeah, delicious! As expected, whether that woman is here or not, the taste of the food doesn’t change! Hahaha!”

Sebas and Michel looked at me with disappointment, as I had said some nonsensical bravado.

Ten days later.

A report from Marcus arrived stating that Anastasia has safely arrived at her territory.

The report stated that Anastasia quickly became familiar with the estate’s servants and was happily spending time with Dahlia and Marie.

When I imagine Anastasia happily frolicking in that nature-rich barony, my cheeks naturally relax.

When I suddenly realized, Sebas was unusually grinning at me.

“Hmph. If you had sent at least one letter yourself, it would have been more endearing, but all I have is a report from Marcus.”

When I suddenly complained,

“Well then, how about you write a letter, young master?”

And, it was replied. It’s a valid point.

A letter, huh…

That night, when Eugene had fallen into a deep sleep.

In the butler’s office, Sebastian and Michel were holding their regular briefing.

“According to the report from the chamberlain, it seems that the young master was groaning for over an hour in front of a blank sheet of stationery.”

The two of them looked at each other and let out a deep sigh.

“Young master, you’re completely clueless when it comes to women, aren’t you? Even though you’re so popular with them.”

“Since I was a child, Samuel-sama has always told me, ‘Be honest with women.'”

“The previous head was quite the womanizer, you know. Even though he had such a wonderful wife…”

The name of Eugene’s grandfather, the previous count, is Samuel Hamilton.

He was renowned not only as an extraordinary lord but also as a person of great character.

And that only daughter is Sophia Hamilton.

Eugene’s deceased mother.

Sofia was also a highly regarded young lady, known as the perfect noblewoman. However, the perfect noblewoman had one and only one major flaw.

His taste in men was bad.

“Miss Sophia has, well, a weakness for men with handsome features since long ago… Moreover, it seems she prefers unreliable men because they stimulate her maternal instincts.”

It was Eugene’s father who fit perfectly into that.

Eugene’s father and the previous Earl of Hamilton, Joshua Carter (maiden name), was never a born villain, but he was quite a slovenly person. He also lacked the talent for managing the estate.

The history of the Hamilton family, “the history of completely delegating estate management to the steward,” began here.

Even so, as long as Sophia was alive, things managed to work out somehow.

However, unfortunately, when she lost her life to the epidemic, there was nothing more that could be done.

No matter how much he said he would leave the management to the steward, the head of the family had to make the decisions. Joshua, who knew nothing about trade or the territory’s industries, unexpectedly went all in, saying, “If it’s profitable, then we should just keep mining the mines!”

As a result of pouring almost all the budget and manpower that had been allocated elsewhere into the mines, the income of the earldom at first glance surged dramatically.

Encouraged by this, Joshua’s womanizing worsened, eventually leading to a scandal so outrageous that it caused his downfall.

As a result, Eugene had no choice but to become the head of the count’s family at the young age of just 20.

The head of a count’s family with one of the largest national assets is a 20-year-old young man. Moreover, he is single and has no fiancée.

It was as clear as day that the nobility and all sorts of people would flock to him.

If Samuel hadn’t learned about the situation and rushed over from the neighboring country, the Hamilton family would undoubtedly have been ravaged by other families.

“Young master, you resemble the previous generation quite a lot… Samuel-sama must have been worried as well.”

“I never expected to be this bad at dealing with women.”

Sebastian and Michelle exchanged glances and gave a wry smile.

“I’m glad that Lady Anastasia is such an intelligent person. When I heard that the duke’s family was looking for a daughter raised among commoners, I was furious.”

“I thought that since you, Samuel, accepted it without hesitation, you must have had something in mind.”

“Oh my, as expected of you. Hehe.”

May the precious young master we support find happiness…

The voices of the two people who sincerely wished for it were, strangely enough, exactly the same.

“I’m so glad I didn’t marry Christina over there!!”