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Chapter 9
Amber carefully observed her husband, now twenty-four years younger, once more. And she compared him to the twenty-six-year-old husband she had first met in her past life.
‘He is…… different.’
The most noticeable difference was the presence or absence of scars.
In her past life, her twenty-six-year-old husband, having returned from numerous battles, had a body covered in scars.
Not only did he have many sword wounds on his back and sides, but there was also a thumb-sized scar next to his temple, making him look fierce to anyone who saw him. Her current husband, perhaps because he had never been on a campaign, was simply ‘smooth.’
‘Not that “smooth” is a word that suits him, of course.’
The second noticeable difference was the aura he radiated.
In her past life, her husband had been an absolute ruler. He was skilled at everything and never backed down from his position in any situation.
He seemed less like a human and more like a grizzled beast covered in scars.
<After experiencing hundreds of deaths and betrayals on a hellish battlefield, anyone would become like that. Of course, the only one who could survive that battlefield is the Duke of Talesto.>
People would say this about Amber’s husband, fearing him.
But the man currently before Amber’s eyes……
‘A child.’
She had thought it when she first met him at the training ground, but he was truly young.
Not just young in age, but younger in every way than the twenty-six-year-old Calix who had returned from harsh battlefields.
‘Is that why? Because his heart hasn’t hardened yet, is that why he took my side, even if only passively?’
Amber found her own thought amusing and let out a soft, deflating laugh.
Even if his heart hadn’t hardened yet, even if he had taken her side for a moment, the fact remained that Calix dreaded his marriage to her.
‘At most, in two years, he’ll return to his past self.’
No, since they would be together without any campaigns in this life, he might become indifferent even faster, his mood souring from facing Amber every day.
Amber no longer wanted to hope for something from her husband, only to be disappointed. Ten years of that miserable experience in her past life was enough.
Amber sighed and stood up on her own.
She lost her balance and staggered several times because she was holding Xenia in her arms, but Calix never reached out.
“I want to treat this maid. Where should I go?”
Amber spoke, addressing the blonde knight standing behind Calix. It was the same knight who had taken her side at the training ground.
The knight didn’t answer immediately and glanced at Calix.
“……Denis, escort the Duchess.”
It seemed the blonde knight’s name was Denis. Amber muttered the name Denis several times under her breath so she wouldn’t forget.
“This way, please!”
Denis said hurriedly, taking Xenia from Amber.
Heading toward the servants’ kitchen following Denis, Amber suddenly turned around.
Her eyes met Calix’s, who was standing rooted to the spot, not moving, staring intently at her retreating back.
“Wait a moment, Duchess.”
Then, Calix opened his mouth.
“Let’s talk.”
The maids and servants gathered in Calix’s audience chamber were shocked. Likewise, Bella, who had been frozen pale, also widened her eyes.
“Calix, you just…….”
Bella was so shocked she seemed unable to think of what to say next, merely opening and closing her mouth after calling Calix’s name.
Feeling the gazes on her, Amber barely resisted the urge to bite her lip.
‘I need to check on Xenia’s condition…….’
But it wouldn’t be proper to ignore her husband’s proposal and go to see a maid she had just met.
“Alright, I will.”
Amber finally nodded to Calix.
“You, take care of that maid. Not the basement kitchen, give her a separate room and lay her there.”
Calix commanded Denis.
Fortunately, Calix was not the kind of master who mistreated his subordinates.
Perhaps because he had grown up as the ruler of the barren East, he was particularly generous to those who were injured.
Confirming that Xenia would receive proper care, Amber sighed in relief and approached Calix with a somewhat lighter heart.
“This way, Duchess.”
Calix led Amber to a small study in the castle.
Given its location on the first floor, it seemed not a frequently used room, but one occasionally used for urgent matters like this.
Once Amber entered the study, Calix closed the door.
With the sound of the door clicking shut, only the two of them remained in the room.
“…….”
“…….”
A deathly awkward silence flowed for a while.
“You skipped breakfast.”
It was Calix who spoke first.
Without even looking at Amber, staring intently out the window, he spoke brusquely.
“Was that to go to the laundry room?”
Amber flinched, her body stiffening. She never imagined he would notice she had skipped breakfast, let alone worry about the reason why.
“Why did you go to the laundry room?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to cause a commotion.”
Amber, thinking Calix was blaming her, quickly apologized.
It wasn’t a false apology to escape the situation. She truly was sorry for causing a commotion in his castle from the very first day of their marriage.
“I had something I needed to do.”
But not wanting to silently endure his harsh reprimand, Amber added.
Thinking of Xenia made her shoulders stiffen involuntarily, and her tone was stronger than she intended.
Amber and Calix’s eyes met in mid-air.
Calix seemed a little surprised.
Oops, thinking that, Amber brushed her lips with her hand, but the words had already been spoken.
“I am the master of this castle, so if there’s something you wish to do, shouldn’t you tell me?”
At Calix’s words, Amber forgot her tension and let out a deflating, tired laugh.
“There’s no way I could ask you for something, Duke.”
Silence fell again.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Calix asked, his voice rigid and unnaturally stiff.
‘Oh dear, was that a blow to his pride?’
Amber looked troubled.
Raised by soldiers from a young age, Calix was an authoritative person. When managing the knights and mercenaries, he was meticulous to the point of being called a control freak, making sure everything went through him.
Having made a remark that seemed dismissive to such a man, it was understandable that he would be sensitive.
“It’s…… nothing.”
Amber added a belated excuse, but Calix’s expression did not improve.
Unable to think of anything further to add, Amber simply closed her mouth. She was sick of being the only one chattering away while Calix remained silent.
Amber always felt drained whenever she faced his silence.
Seeing Amber’s weary expression, Calix flinched. His face contorted even more, but Amber decided not to mind.
“……Yes, I understand. I’ll take it as nothing.”
“Yes.”
With Amber’s awkward reply, the matter of his request was tentatively concluded.
Another long silence flowed.
Amber silently counted seconds, predicting how long this silence would last.
When she had counted to seventy-seven seconds in her head, Calix spoke again.
“I will return the entire dowry to you.”
“Oh, that.”
Having been distracted by the subsequent events, Amber had forgotten all about the dowry, and she let out a small gasp.
“You’ll return it to me?”
She looked at Calix with a surprised expression.
“Because…….”
He hesitated for a moment, then sighed and continued.
“Without your dowry, life in the East would be difficult for you.”
Amber’s face hardened instantly. Her heart also became as hard as stone.
‘So he thinks the same as Bella. That I’m making a fuss about the dowry, pretending not to see the difficult circumstances of the East because I want luxury goods.’
Calix had only spoken a vague, single sentence, but this is how it sounded to Amber’s ears.
In fact, from Amber’s perspective, she couldn’t help but interpret it that way.
No matter how different things were, she still couldn’t easily separate the Calix who had been indifferent to her for ten years from the Calix standing before her now.
‘I don’t even want to speak with him anymore.’
Amber stared at Calix with cold, hardened eyes, thinking. Calix also pressed his lips into a thin line, radiating discomfort.
“May I go now to see the injured maid? I’m worried about her.”
Thinking it was time to end this unpleasant interview, Amber asked.
“Go ahead. But how did that maid get injured?”
Now Amber was exasperated by Calix’s question. Did he mean to say he couldn’t guess what had happened even after seeing the entire scene with his own eyes?
No, perhaps her husband was mocking her this time.
“She got hurt because of me.”
“Because of you? What do you mean…….”
Calix’s pupils dilated.
His expression was still rigid, but for him, this was as close to shock as one could get.
But Amber had no intention of explaining in detail.
‘He’s still an Eastern man. And above all, Xenia might face retaliation.’
Given Bella’s personality, if she found out that word of this incident had reached Calix’s ears, she might kick Xenia out to eliminate the source of the problem entirely.
Amber did not yet have the power to confront Bella, who had the castle’s interior under her control.
‘Let’s be careful, at least until I can protect Xenia.’
Having made that decision, Amber shook her head.
“That too is nothing.”
At Amber’s cold reply, Calix flinched again.
“Then may I go now?”
Calix pressed his lips into a thin line and remained silent for a long time. Then, just as Amber, worried about Xenia, began to show signs of impatience, he finally spoke.
“Do so.”
Without looking back, Amber left the study and went to find Xenia.
—
Left alone, Calix listened absently to Amber’s receding footsteps.
His wife’s footsteps were as light as her small stature. So much so that even Calix would lose track of them if he didn’t concentrate.
Only after the patter of footsteps had completely disappeared did Calix let out a long sigh.
Calix thought of his subordinate knights who must be anxiously searching for him in the meeting room by now.
And of the breakfast growing cold on the table.
He hadn’t been able to eat a single spoonful of breakfast, waiting for Amber. When she didn’t come down by the time breakfast was supposed to end, he postponed his meeting and searched the castle for her.
Then, hearing from Denis that Amber was at the laundry room, he went there and found a chaotic scene.
“Haah.”
Calix ran a hand through his hair, messing it up, and sighed again.
