Chapter 34


    <strong>Trantor:</strong> Latte <strong>Editor:</strong> Sasha


    <span>After a while, Caville’s eyelids fluttered open.


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


    <span>“Yes. How about you, wife?”


    <span>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.


    <span>“I-I slept well too.”


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


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


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


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


    <span>‘He just woke up but his skin looks so wless! Is it because of his young age?’


    <span>Elody pondered while waiting for Marie toe in.


    <span>Momentster, Marie came into the room and helped Elody wash up.


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


    <span>“Why not just tie it up like usual?”


    <span>“Because His Grace is here.”


    <span>So?


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


    <span>“……”


    <span>Marie sighed.


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


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


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


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


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


    <span>“What?”


    <span>“You know… you <i><span>slept</i><span> with him yesterday.”


    <span>“Uh, it was just a bit awkward.”


    <span>“Just awkward?”


    <span>“Yes.”


    <span>“……”


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


    <span>“You didn’t <i><span>do</i><span> anything else?”


    <span>“What?”


    <span>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.


    <span>“I shall dress you now.”


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


    <span>She wore it because the chemise was easy to pair, wasn’t tight, veryfortable, and ttered her frame but didn’t give too much exposure.


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


    <span>The chemise she wore was richly embroidered with yellow silk, and daintyce-like traceries trimmed the bodice and sleeves.


    <span>‘It’s quitefy, but theces and frills are more than usual.’


    <span>“I don’t want to wear this.”


    <span>“You have to!”


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


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


    <span>“Please, madame.”


    <span>‘What do you mean, please…’


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


    <span>Marie smiled proudly and admired the duchess’ beauty.


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


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


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


    <span>“Marie, is something wrong?” Elody asked.


    <span>She had a weird feeling in her gut.


    <span>“Yes?” Marie replied in ignorance.


    <span>“Did you fight with Sir Vedos?”


    <span>“No, not at all.”


    <span>“So, when are you two getting married?”


    <span>“…Why is madame asking me that?”


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


    <span>“Do you want to see me get married?”


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


    <span>Marie kept silent for a moment, then nodded.


    <span>“I’ll discuss it with Sir Vedos.”


    <span>“That’d be great.”


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


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


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


    <span>* * *


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


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


    <span>Elody sighed in relief.


    <span>‘Will he be okay?’


    <span>No matter how oblivious she was with the opposite sex, she knew very well what a marital rtionship was.


    <span>But Caville didn’t seem to know.


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


    <span>As a child, Caville was smaller and had dyed growth due to long-term abuse.


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


    <span>‘Where could the princess be…?’


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


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


    <span>‘When will Caville divorce me?’


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


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


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


    <span>Elody drank her freshly brewed tea.


    <span>It was the remedy she had made from the Salvation Herb.


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


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


    <span>“Yes, my wife,” Caville replied.


    <span>Elody smiled after hearing his kind response.


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


    <span>Elody began to exin step by step how sessful the business she had with Sirka was and what she had done with the money.


    <span>As she spoke, Caville listened with his twinkling eyes.


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


    <span>“What do you mean by that?”


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


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


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


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


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


    <span>Elody exined step by step to Caville, just like when they were children.


    <span>“But the duchy belongs to my wife too.”


    <span>“That’s right, but I’m only the…”


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


    <span>“Huh?”


    <span>“You said that married couples share everything.”


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


    <span>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.


    <span>It was to prevent him from being a picky eater.


    <span>However, why would he bring that up here…


    <span>Since yesterday, Caville seemed to be obsessed with the word <i><span>married couple</i><span>. It might be because of the mood.


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


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


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


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


    <span>Then he reached out his big hand to Elody.


    <span>“……”


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


    <span>‘This is awkward… .’


    <span>Elodyughed and grabbed his hand.


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


    <span>“You will be surprised when you see it.”


    <span>Elody wanted to be the first to show Caville her greenhouse andboratory.


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


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


    <span>But…


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


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


    <span>“You can wipe with this.”


    <span>“…Thank you, Madame.”


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


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


    <span>‘…What’s wrong with him?’


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


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


    <span>His wife’s handkerchief…


    <span>Caville bit his teeth.


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


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


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


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


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


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


    <span>Brien let out a chuckle, but it didn’t look as ttering due to his bloody nose.


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


    <span>“…It’s nothing.”


    <span>It couldn’t have been <i><span>nothing</i><span>, but Brien insisted that it wasn’t anything serious.