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Chapter 42
“Your Highness, please try this too!”
No matter how silently Blake stared at me without answering, my smile wouldn’t drop so easily.
After all, today’s dinner goal was ‘Be more cheerful than usual!’
Blake stared at the plate I offered him, then at me again, before finally sighing softly and taking it.
Hmm. Melting the frozen heart of the prince isn’t easy.
But I wasn’t about to give up. I went full-on classic candy-type heroine mode.
Smile, keep smiling!
A smiling face disarms anyone, right?
“You don’t have to bother yourself with me.”
Wow. And yet, it’s my husband who says that.
“Why not?”
Still, my personality was too bulldozer-like to play the role of a gentle, meek heroine from a romance novel.
No point sitting here sulking.
Why? Because this silence was so frustrating! Just say something already!
When I furrowed my brows and stared at him, Blake avoided my eyes and muttered:
“I’m the one who’s done so many wrongs… so why are you the one trying so hard? You don’t have to care so much about me…”
See?
There he goes again — acting all distant and villainous.
I couldn’t tell exactly what was going on in his head, but even though he looked angry on the outside, Blake always said something completely different whenever I pressed him long enough.
At first, I had mistaken his coldness for true indifference. But after a few experiences, I started to realize—
Yes. My husband, Blake, is actually…
“Far too softhearted.”
“Me?”
Aha, he’s never heard that before, huh?
Who would ever say such a thing to the hero destined to save the world?
Blake just stared at me, too baffled to even argue, as I gave him a sly little smile.
“Your Highness doesn’t need to trouble yourself over me either. I mean, it must not be pleasant having to welcome a commoner bride who already had a fiancé, right?”
“…What?”
“You didn’t go out of your way to torment me or anything. You just… pretended I wasn’t there. That’s all.”
“That’s not what I meant—”
“What I mean is, I understand your situation, Your Highness. Honestly, if I were you, I might’ve acted the same way.”
“…”
I was trying to be understanding — to say it was reasonable.
But why did his face darken again?
He looked almost hurt… as if actually imagining that scenario had made him sad.
“Anyway, the fact that you’re even worrying about it now means…”
“…Means what?”
“That Your Highness must be very tender-hearted. Soft, even!”
“I’m… soft?”
Blake repeated my words under his breath, like a man who had just been hit with a revelation he couldn’t process.
As he murmured the word soft, his expression grew stranger and stranger.
He finally dropped his utensils and pressed a hand to his forehead.
“That doesn’t even—”
“Your Highness, are you in shock from realizing your own hidden gentle heart? You’ve been acting cold to hide it, haven’t you—”
“My lady.”
Blake called me in a tone filled with exasperation.
After a moment’s pause, as though deciding where to even start explaining, he said quietly:
“Did it ever occur to you… that I only act this way toward you?”
“…Wouldn’t that make it even stranger?”
After all, I was just his commoner wife — someone he’d only seen once, at our wedding.
A woman who’d once had a fiancé.
A woman who, for some reason, had saved his life.
Naturally, I assumed he was being kind out of simple guilt.
That he was trying to make up for neglecting me, out of basic human decency.
But looking at that faintly lost expression… maybe not?
Then again, it was strange to call someone like him soft.
The Blake in the novel I remembered had been cool, composed, and even ruthless at times.
He treated those within his circle kindly enough, but never let anyone too close. The only one he ever opened up to was Seira.
But the situation I was in now was so different from the book that… I’d thought maybe even his personality had changed.
“My lady.”
Now he even scrubbed a hand down his face in frustration.
Hmm. That sigh sounded like I’d completely missed the mark.
“Yes!”
Feeling awkward, I scratched my cheek and answered as brightly as I could.
“…Haah… just eat.”
He looked utterly drained, as if even speaking any further would sap his will to live.
Hmm…
It seemed my cheerfulness had ended up exhausting him instead.
So I just shrank back and started eating quietly.
The only sounds were the clinking of utensils and Blake’s occasional sigh.
Sigh. Another dinner — another failure.
“Blalelia Ramirez, at your service. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
“Welcome, Countess Ramirez!”
“I heard about Your Highness’s situation through Scarlet. I do hope I can be of help.”
“Oh, you’re already helping me just by coming here, Countess. I’m so grateful.”
Just her presence was reassuring.
The countess, an elegant middle-aged lady, exuded grace with every step and gesture.
I couldn’t help but watch her with sparkling eyes.
I couldn’t copy her in an instant, of course, but I couldn’t keep hiding away forever as the clumsy, reckless crown princess.
I’d decided to help Blake — and I didn’t want to become a burden or a scandal to him.
When the magic stone I found in the Orion mines is revealed, my contribution will be announced too…
And when that happens, I cannot afford to look foolish or pitiable.
The kind of looks that say, “Poor prince, having to deal with that wife.”
“If I’m lacking in any way, please don’t hesitate to correct me. I promise I’m not so timid that I’ll get offended!”
“I may sound impertinent, but to my eyes…”
The countess’s gaze sharpened.
I swallowed nervously, waiting for her next words—
“You may think your common birth is something to be ashamed of, but you possess a liveliness and charm that no pretentious noble lady could imitate.”
“Me? Ahaha, you’re being far too kind, Countess.”
Still, I couldn’t help but worry.
That kind of innocent, unrefined energy might be a liability in the court, not an asset.
Was she trying to subtly scold me? Or was she genuinely encouraging me?
I couldn’t tell, so I just kept smiling blankly.
Then the countess sighed, her expression turning strangely wistful.
“My youngest daughter was much like you, Your Highness — bright and spirited. She had a way of making everyone around her smile. But after mingling in society a few times, she grew quiet and subdued, like her elder sister.”
Oh.
When I first heard of her from Scarlet, I’d assumed her daughter was still a child — but it sounded like she was of debut age already.
And judging by the countess’s expression, that poor girl must have lost her spark after enduring some cruel gossip in the social world.
“Seeing Your Highness today reminded me of how much I loved that brightness of hers. It made me want to protect yours as well.”
“Countess…”
That was… not at all what I’d expected to hear.
To say something so warm to someone she’d only just met—
Her kindness left me momentarily stunned.
But it was the good kind of surprise.
I folded my hands together and nodded eagerly, my eyes shining.
“Thank you, Countess. That means so much to me. I’ll do my best to learn everything I can from you!”
“I hope my guidance will truly serve you, Your Highness. I hear Her Majesty the Empress is hosting a ball in fifteen days.”
A ball — in just two weeks?!
That was far too soon, but at least I had some experience from the Gold Festival.
When I nodded, the countess’s expression turned firm — almost like that of a commander before battle.
“Her Majesty tends to prepare most of the simple matters early. When about a week remains, she will summon you — and assign you only the most complicated and troublesome tasks. Since the trap has already been laid…”
I gulped.
“…We won’t avoid it. Instead, let’s turn Her Majesty’s trap back on her.”
The countess… was fiery! 🔥
