Chapter 34: Chapter 34

Translator: Latte Editor: Sasha

After a while, Caville’s eyelids fluttered open.

Elody awkwardly fell out of bed and spoke, “…D-did you sleep well, Caville?”

“Yes. How about you, wife?”

Caville pretended to blink to get out of his stupor and rubbed the remainders of sleep from his eyes. He wanted to look like a cute cat but instead looked like a tiger in Elody’s eyes.

“I-I slept well too.”

There was an awkward silence. Elody stood up and looked at Caville’s eyes.

Normally, Marie would be in charge of waking, dressing, and accompanying Elody in her daily activities. After she woke up, Marie would help her take a bath and change her garments.

But… Caville was in the room, so she couldn’t call Marie to change her clothes.

Fortunately, Caville left the room, saying that he needed to wash himself.

‘He just woke up but his skin looks so flawless! Is it because of his young age?’

Elody pondered while waiting for Marie to come in.

Moments later, Marie came into the room and helped Elody wash up.

Then, Elody’s usually tied up hair was braided down to her back.

“Why not just tie it up like usual?”

“Because His Grace is here.”

So?

Elody was confused. Her oblivious self couldn’t figure out what her hair had to do with Caville’s return.

“……”

Marie sighed.

The duke had just returned, so she wanted Elody to look pretty in his eyes.

However, Elody never felt the need to look pretty in front of Caville.

“Well, it’s just… you know, Madame. Aren’t you tired after all that yesterday?”

“Not at all. It turned out fine, and I was actually able to get a good night’s sleep.”

“Then… how was it like with the lord?”

“What?”

“You know… you slept with him yesterday.”

“Uh, it was just a bit awkward.”

“Just awkward?”

“Yes.”

“……”

‘Just awkward… So they only slept,’ Marie thought.

“You didn’t do anything else?”

“What?”

She felt like she was talking to a wall… it was difficult to discuss this topic with the clueless duchess. So Marie decided to give up.

“I shall dress you now.”

Elody usually wore a white silk georgette chemise, decorated with frills at the bottom, and tied in a pretty bow on the waistline.

She wore it because the chemise was easy to pair, wasn’t tight, very comfortable, and flattered her frame but didn’t give too much exposure.

For today, however, Marie chose to dress Elody in more colorful clothes than usual.

The chemise she wore was richly embroidered with yellow silk, and dainty lace-like traceries trimmed the bodice and sleeves.

‘It’s quite comfy, but the laces and frills are more than usual.’

“I don’t want to wear this.”

“You have to!”

There was a brief scuffle over the ribbon on her waist.

Elody refused, saying it was cumbersome, but Marie argued that it was the most important part of the dress.

“Please, madame.”

‘What do you mean, please…’

Marie gave Elody her best puppy-dog-eyes, so she had no choice but to give in.

Marie smiled proudly and admired the duchess’ beauty.

“You look gorgeous, madame,” Marie said to Elody, who was standing in front of the mirror.

Elody gazed at herself wearing a pale yellow chemise dress full of frills, decorated with a large ribbon on her back.

‘This ribbon would definitely fall back and forth in the greenhouse…’

“Marie, is something wrong?” Elody asked.

She had a weird feeling in her gut.

“Yes?” Marie replied in ignorance.

“Did you fight with Sir Vedos?”

“No, not at all.”

“So, when are you two getting married?”

“…Why is madame asking me that?”

“Well, the two of you have missed each other for a long time.”

“Do you want to see me get married?”

Elody hugged Marie’s waist and said, “Of course. You will be the prettiest bride in the world.”

Marie kept silent for a moment, then nodded.

“I’ll discuss it with Sir Vedos.”

“That’d be great.”

“Ah, that’s right. Your meal is ready. I’ve also told His Grace.”

“Thank you, Marie,” Elody said as she quickly left the room.

After she left, Marie pulled out a handkerchief from her pockets and pressed the edge of her eyes.

* * *

After eating, Elody declared that she would stay in the next room from today onwards. She had already moved all of her stuff.

Caville seemed a little dissatisfied, but he nodded without pursuing the matter any further.

Elody sighed in relief.

‘Will he be okay?’

No matter how oblivious she was with the opposite sex, she knew very well what a marital relationship was.

But Caville didn’t seem to know.

She had raised him since he was very young; their relationship felt like a sibling relationship, so he didn’t realize how marriages actually worked.

As a child, Caville was smaller and had delayed growth due to long-term abuse.

She washed him, put him to bed, and wiped his nose every day. So, he thought of her as his guardian.

‘Where could the princess be…?’

Elody thought about asking Caville, but she changed her mind.

People said she was the emperor’s niece, so it was highly possible that she stopped by the capital.

‘When will Caville divorce me?’

In the novel, Caville divorced Elody as soon as he returned…

However, the plot might have changed because her actions had differed since the beginning.

Even so, ‘Caville meeting the princess’, this event should’ve remained the same.

Elody drank her freshly brewed tea.

It was the remedy she had made from the Salvation Herb.

Meanwhile, Caville was drinking lemon tea with sweet honey, which he had always liked since he was a child.

“Caville, now that you are back, you have to manage the estate by yourself.”

“Yes, my wife,” Caville replied.

Elody smiled after hearing his kind response.

Elody felt nostalgic since he had always answered her obediently since he was a child.

Elody began to explain step by step how successful the business she had with Sirka was and what she had done with the money.

As she spoke, Caville listened with his twinkling eyes.

“From now on, I will call my wife the lord of the estate.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I couldn’t have made achievements like you, wife. My wife has done great in managing the land. You are truly the coolest person I’ve ever known.”

Elody grinned after being recognized for her contributions to the duchy.

It was all because of Caville that Elody had been working hard to manage his estate.

She was proud to hear that from the person she did it for.

“But, you shouldn’t make me call me lord, Caville. The estate is yours. You went directly to the battlefield to protect this land.”

Elody explained step by step to Caville, just like when they were children.

“But the duchy belongs to my wife too.”

“That’s right, but I’m only the…”

“That’s not fair. We’re a married couple.”

“Huh?”

“You said that married couples share everything.”

Elody didn’t know what to say because she did teach him that way.

When he was young, Caville never ate vegetables, so Elody would say, “What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours. Couples share everything,” and feed vegetables to each other.

It was to prevent him from being a picky eater.

However, why would he bring that up here…

Since yesterday, Caville seemed to be obsessed with the word married couple. It might be because of the mood.

Anyway, Elody was thinking of giving her work to Caville within a few days.

‘However, today was devoted to plenty of leisure!’

“Caville, let us stroll around the estate. Ah! I’ll show you the lab and the greenhouse first.”

At Elody’s words, Caville nodded with a fresh smile.

Then he reached out his big hand to Elody.

“……”

Elody stared at Caville’s hand. They would always hold hands wherever they went.

‘This is awkward… .’

Elody laughed and grabbed his hand.

Caville grinned in satisfaction and headed to the greenhouse with Elody.

“You will be surprised when you see it.”

Elody wanted to be the first to show Caville her greenhouse and laboratory.

She was going to show him the ginseng and ask what the effect was like.

On the way to the greenhouse, the two met Brien and stopped.

But…

“Sir Vedos, why is your nose bleeding?” Elody asked.

He stood neatly, bowed his head, and mumbled a bit.

“You can wipe with this.”

“…Thank you, Madame.”

Elody took the handkerchief out of her pockets and gave it to him.

Then Brien took a handkerchief and wiped his nose, making eye contact with Caville.

‘…What’s wrong with him?’

Caville glared daggers at Brien. He had fought with countless enemies on the battlefield, but his gaze was never this scary.

Brien felt like a knife was pressed above his exposed neck.

His wife’s handkerchief…

Caville bit his teeth.

Brien swung his head down, avoiding Caville’s menacing eyes.

“I didn’t get the chance to welcome you yesterday but welcome back, Sir Vedos. It’s been a while indeed. You must’ve had a hard time. I’m truly glad you’re alright.”

“Yes, madame. I’m delighted to see you healthy as well. You’re not as big as I… cough. But yes, it’s been a long time.”

Elody’s eyebrows wrinkled when she heard him saying she wasn’t tall.

“…Yes. Sir Vedos also looks older than I remembered.”

It had been a long time since Brien heard one of her insults. And somehow, he was happy to listen to it again.

Brien let out a chuckle, but it didn’t look as flattering due to his bloody nose.

Elody frowned and spoke, “Thank you for taking good care of Caville. But what’s wrong with your nose?”

“…It’s nothing.”

It couldn’t have been nothing, but Brien insisted that it wasn’t anything serious.