FMTA 13

Chapter 13

[ To my beloved father,

Father, are you doing well? I have just finished my engagement ceremony and I am doing well here.

Life here is not easy. There is so much I must learn in order to live as the Duke’s wife. Still, I am learning little by little. I must become a daughter you can be proud of, and a confident and admirable Duchess.

Most of all, I am so happy because Killian treats me very kindly. He always puts me first and cherishes me. Just a few days ago, he said the weather was nice and took me out to look around the market. Thanks to that, I was able to see many different things and people.

And the engagement ceremony—how carefully it was prepared! He knew how much I love flowers, so the entire theme of the ceremony was like spring itself!

Hehe, I truly feel that I am loved here.

Oh, and I saw Floheta here too. Surprising, right? It turns out that Killian and Floheta are friends. I was shocked when I found out. What a strange coincidence. I thought I would never see him again.

Floheta has grown up very well, Father. Whenever he brings up stories from the past, he seems so happy, as if he remembers me clearly. Because of that, old memories come back to me too, and it makes me happy.

But please do not tease me too much. He is the friend who knows me best, so I feel comfortable with him and we talk easily. Of course, I feel the most comfortable with Killian, and everything is twice as enjoyable when I do it with him! Still, I just mean that I am glad to have Floheta as well.

So please do not worry too much. Instead, I worry about you every day. Are you eating properly? How often are you exercising? These are the small, everyday things I think about!

You know I cannot lie, so I will tell you honestly—I needed to lose some weight too. While adjusting to life in the capital, I actually did lose some. So now it is your turn. Please lose some weight! And exercise more often.

Once things settle down, I will return to the Duchy with Killian. Oh, and Floheta too! Though I feel like you might be even happier to see Floheta. After all, you were the one who allowed him to be my only friend. I believe you must have already noticed his kind nature back then.

As I keep writing, this letter is becoming very long. There is still so much I want to tell you, but my hand hurts, so I will stop here.

Do not just read this letter and put it away because it is troublesome. You must write back to me, all right? I want to know how you are doing too! If you do not write back, I might do the same to you. Understood?

Then, please stay healthy.

Your lovely daughter, who is adjusting very well to life in the capital,

Yuse.

P.S. Even if you do not reply, I do not think I will be able to stop myself from writing to you again.

Oh, and I almost forgot to say this. Father, I miss you very much. I love you.

Kiss, kiss, kiss. ]

A week had already passed since the grand engagement ceremony.

An engagement was not the marriage Yuse had long dreamed of, but it was the step right before it. It meant their relationship had grown even closer.

“…What is this?”

Yuse yawned widely and muttered to herself. Killian was very busy.

Not just busy—he seemed extremely busy.

“Where is Killian?”

Whenever Yuse asked about him, the answer was always the same: he had gone out because he was busy.

“Then when will he return?”

And whenever she asked again, the reply never changed.

“He will return after finishing his work.”

At first, it hurt her feelings. But she knew that Killian was working hard, so she could not complain.

Still, it was not always like this. Most of the time, he returned in the evening. It was rare for him to come home at dawn.

Killian’s daily life was busy, and he often came home late—but not every single day.

“The Duke has returned!”

As soon as the maid’s voice rang out, Yuse, who had been spending time idly in her room, stood up automatically.

“What? At this hour?”

It was clearly three in the afternoon.

And sometimes—very rarely—Killian would give her a surprise visit at this time.

Just like now.

“My lady, you should hurry.”

Seeing her immediate reaction, Beila quietly stood up and adjusted Yuse’s clothes.

“Yes! I’m going right now!”

With a bright smile on her face, Yuse took a deep breath to calm her excited heart and quickly went out to greet Killian.

“Killian!”

“Yes, Yuse.”

Whenever Yuse ran toward him, Killian welcomed her with a gentle smile on his beautiful face.

“You came home early today.”

“Yes.”

Killian smiled widely.

“After all, it has already been a month since you came here.”

“What?”

Yuse’s eyes widened in surprise.

She had not even realized it herself.

“Shall we go out together to celebrate?”

“I’d love to!”

Although Killian was always kind, this was the first time he had suggested going out first. That made Yuse even more excited.

“I found a place I know well. It is still before tea time, so I thought it would be nice for us to go together. That is why I came early today.”

There was no reason for Yuse to refuse. She nodded eagerly and gladly followed his suggestion.

“My lady.”

After Killian left first to prepare the carriage, Beila, who had briefly stepped out of the room, returned.

“Yes? What is it?”

Yuse asked.

“Earlier, Young Marquis Floheta was about to come up to your room. I ran into him.”

“Really? Why?”

It was true that Yuse had grown closer to Floheta while living here. In fact, he often seemed to know exactly when Killian was busy and would invite her to meals on those days.

Because of that, she had come to understand him better. She was slowly beginning to value him more as a friend.

“He said he wanted to have tea with you.”

At Beila’s words, Yuse shrugged.

“That’s too bad. But today I’m going out with Killian. I’ll tell him next time that I’ll come instead. Anyway, Beila, this isn’t the time to stand around. Please make me look prettier. Don’t I look a little pale? And my lip color too. No, this won’t do! It’s been a while since I’ve gone out with Killian. Make me even prettier!”

“I will call the maids, my lady.”

Beila nodded with a fond smile at Yuse’s playful behavior.

At that moment, Yuse had no time to think about Floheta. Just thinking about Killian filled her heart with happiness.

“Where are we going?”

Yuse asked as she looked out the carriage window at the passing scenery.

“To a place I know well.”

“Really?”

She nodded at his answer.

Still, it did not seem like the road that led to the capital as she knew it. Instead, the carriage was heading toward a path surrounded by trees.

“We have arrived.”

After a little while, the carriage stopped. It was not the grand capital Yuse had expected.

Instead, it was a small and quiet place with narrow streets.

“Where is this?”

“You seem to prefer quiet places over noisy ones, so I chose somewhere peaceful. This is Leticia Street.”

It was true—Yuse preferred calm places over loud ones. And Killian had quietly noticed that.

Killian held out his hand to her. Leading her by the hand, he guided her down a street decorated beautifully with flowers.

They walked slowly under the warm sunlight along the quiet road, then entered a café that Killian led her to.

“Welcome.”

The café seemed already prepared. As soon as they saw Killian, they greeted him and guided them inside. Soon, a table filled with various desserts and a cup of fragrant tea was set before Yuse.

“What do you think?”

Killian asked.

Without hesitation, Yuse smiled brightly and nodded.

To her, he was a perfect man without any flaws.

He was a man who seemed to fit himself entirely for her, as if everything about him was made just for Yuse.