🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 18
When Ares held out his hand, Herina hesitated for a moment before taking it.
Perhaps it was because a thought she shouldn’t have entertained had crossed her mind. Things she normally wouldn’t have noticed—like how large his hand was, or the warmth of it—suddenly stood out to her.
Their hands didn’t separate until they reached the carriage.
It was Herina who let go first.
It was no longer a moment where she could blame the sentimental glow of the sunset or the slight buzz of alcohol.
“It’s not dangerous anymore.”
When she said this with an awkward smile, Ares didn’t argue and simply opened the carriage door for her in silence.
As she climbed inside, their hands brushed briefly once more before separating, but Herina decided not to dwell on it.
Clatter, clatter—
Inside the carriage rolling along the dim, unpaved road, there was no sound of conversation.
Herina was busy organizing her thoughts, and Ares, unable to read the feelings of his wife as she stared out the window, chose his words carefully and remained silent.
Their picnic—and the duke’s official vacation—had come to an end.
No one noticed, but that day, Ares grew up just a little more.
The end of the duke’s vacation meant that the servants of the ducal household became busier as well.
“Chief Butler, Her Grace asked that the invitations be brought up to her room, so I’ll take them!”
The butler, who had been sorting documents to present to the duke, nodded after seeing Benny’s face.
“Her Grace seemed to have been confined to the study for quite some time. Has her health worsened, perhaps?”
Since the day they returned from the picnic, Herina had stopped visiting the duke’s office, which she had previously gone to every day, and handled most of her work in her own room instead. As a result, only Benny—her devoted personal maid—ended up even busier.
“Um… no! His Grace has been very busy, and she said she didn’t want to disturb him. She said handling the mistress’s duties on her own would ease the duke’s worries.”
Benny relayed exactly what she had been told.
The butler accepted it at face value and smiled contentedly, remarking that she was “truly fulfilling her role as the lady of the house.”
But Benny, being the closest to Herina, couldn’t help asking her mistress the question that had been bothering her as she carried the invitations upstairs.
“Milady.”
Herina, who had been sorting the laid-out invitations, glanced back at Benny, who was fidgeting behind her, and gestured for her to speak.
“Did something happen between you and His Grace?”
Caught off guard by the question as she was taking a sip of tea, Herina coughed violently. Benny skillfully patted her back.
“W-What do you mean, something? Why would you suddenly ask that?”
Herina was flustered, unsure how much this sharp-eyed maid might already know.
Benny had been by her side ever since the day Herina first opened her eyes in this body. She was perceptive enough to realize early on that her mistress was no longer the same person she had once served—and trustworthy enough to keep that secret from everyone else.
“Judging by how flustered you are, Milady, I guess my suspicion was right. Shall I stop asking?”
Herina narrowed her eyes. Benny was asking like that precisely because she knew Herina didn’t truly want her to stop.
“It’s really nothing. Just…”
“Just what? If it’s nothing, then it’s fine, right? I’ve been covering for you, but you’ve been using invitations as an excuse for three days now to avoid dining with His Grace, and you go out to the plaza even though there’s nothing you need to buy. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
Herina gave an embarrassed smile.
Even if only Benny had noticed so far, if this continued, all the servants would eventually realize something was going on between the master and mistress of the house.
Ares might have already noticed, too.
“Well, we did go on a picnic not long ago.”
Leaving out her own feelings entirely, Herina told Benny only what had happened that day.
As Benny silently listened while braiding her hair, the words flowed out of Herina before she realized it.
“So why are you avoiding him, Milady? It sounds like a wonderful memory. And it was your first time traveling together, too.”
That question was one she couldn’t bring herself to answer. To do so, she would have to admit that what Ares felt toward her was merely human goodwill—while what she felt was something more, something unsettling.
“Maybe it was awkward because it was our first trip together. It felt like he wasn’t the person I thought I knew. Anyway, before I realized it…”
As she was making excuse after excuse, a knock sounded from outside.
The visitor knocked repeatedly without announcing themselves, and before the door even opened, Herina knew exactly who it was.
“I’m coming in.”
The owner of that voice spoke, and the heavy door opened.
Benny withdrew her hands from Herina’s hair, stepped back, and bowed her head.
The person Herina had wanted to avoid so badly stepped effortlessly into her space, smiling.
“It’s been difficult to see you, my lady,” he said, even invoking the bond of marriage she couldn’t escape.
Only after Benny brought in freshly brewed tea and left the room did Ares finally speak.
“Have you been very busy?”
There was no hidden meaning in the question as he poured the tea. The only one who felt uneasy was Herina herself.
“I suppose so. There were party invitations that had piled up, and as you know, now that I’m the lady of the ducal house, I can’t live as leisurely as before.”
She avoided his gaze, needlessly shuffling through invitations that had already been neatly sorted. Ares placed the tea in front of her and nodded.
“I haven’t heard that you attended any tea parties. Even if you didn’t attend, I’ll believe that you’ve been busy.”
For the second time that day, Herina choked on her tea and coughed again.
“Pardon?”
“There’s something I wanted to ask you, so I came. I couldn’t come up with a solution on my own.”
As always, Ares showed no particular emotion as he placed a glass of water in front of her.
“What is it?”
At her question, Ares briefly turned his gaze toward the window.
It was still fully spring. The rain that had fallen until the night before had cleared, leaving the day bright and blue. Pale green leaves, just on the verge of turning fully green, looked refreshed and lively.
“It will soon grow warmer. Would a short walk be acceptable? I thought that even if you’re busy, you might be able to spare that much time.”
Herina nodded slightly, then remembered her unfinished hair and looked troubled.
“Ah, but my hair isn’t finished yet… If you wait outside, I’ll finish getting ready and then—”
Her hair was already braided; all that remained was tying it off.
Ares looked at it quietly, then picked up the hair ribbon lying nearby and stood.
“What are you doing?”
“I can manage a knot like this. I’m not very skilled, but if I give you more time, it feels like I’d just be giving you another excuse to run away. Isn’t that so?”
Herina looked faintly guilty. Ares then stepped behind her.
“You just tie it at the back, don’t you? It seems like a hairstyle you often wear.”
When Herina nodded, Ares carefully gathered the braided hair behind her head.
She felt the warmth of his hands at the ends of her hair caught between his large fingers. It was strange—her hair shouldn’t have any sensation, and yet…
“All done. Is a walk acceptable now?”
He asked as he handed her a mirror from the table. When Herina nodded again, Ares gestured, as if escorting her.
After walking through the garden for some time, Ares pulled out a chair at the table in the center.
“You want me to sit?”
He only gestured with his chin, so she asked with a sideways glance. Ares burst out laughing.
The sound was reminiscent of a clear early summer day.
“Why are you laughing?”
After she sat and asked, Ares reined in his laughter and spoke.
“It feels like I’m finally seeing the young lady I know again. The past few days have been difficult. I don’t know you well, but I couldn’t find anything of the person I thought I knew.”
Herina looked around awkwardly.
Though the scenery hadn’t changed at all, she lifted a single leaf for no reason, as if to change the subject.
“Isn’t the color beautiful? I like this season. It’s not too hot or too cold. They say it’s usually like this around the capital of the Adenman Empire, but I especially like this time of year. The change in colors is the most vivid, after all.
