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Chapter: 6
“Ah, we’re quite lucky. To think we’d run into Your Grace at the manor at this hour.”
“Welcome, Your Grace. I hope we haven’t interrupted your time together.”
While the marquis and his wife exchanged greetings, Kaigan simply stood there, silently scanning them. But the coldness in his gaze soon softened, and he spoke slowly.
“I didn’t come here after making any prior arrangement with my wife.”
Wife. Even that single word—used for the first time in front of others—made me acutely aware of it, my cheeks growing warm.
“Oh my, then you must have missed her enough to come see her so suddenly.”
Despite Jace’s teasing tone, Kaigan’s expression didn’t even twitch.
“Jace.”
And the first name he called wasn’t mine, but someone else’s.
“Yes, my esteemed Duke.”
Still uneasy about that earlier cold glance, I looked between the two men with a slightly tense heart.
Kaigan lifted the hand he had kept behind his back and extended it toward Jace. In his right hand was a book. It was a thick volume bound in dark brown leather. The title engraved in elegant gold lettering was written in the language of the Elcon Empire.
“I heard you’re returning to Ligen today. I thought I might not have time to hand this over.”
“Oh wow, you really managed to get the book!”
Jace’s face brightened instantly. At that, Kaigan’s lips also loosened slightly. The cold look from moments ago vanished as if it had been a lie.
“Hm. A messenger brought it in this morning.”
“It’s completely brand new. Is it okay if I read it first? My mentor in Elcon said even he couldn’t obtain this book, so I had given up.”
“Read as much as you like, at your own pace. I’m not in a hurry.”
“Thank you. I’m the type who doesn’t refuse such things, haha.”
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the typical “hostile relatives” dynamic, and I let out a quiet sigh of relief. So I really had just been unnecessarily tense.
Jace flipped through a few pages like a child who had finally gotten a toy he had long begged for. Then he turned to the marquise and said meaningfully,
“As expected, he’s a man without shortcomings, isn’t he?”
The marquise touched the flushed edge of her cheek and looked away.
“Oh, of course. Who would ever think our duke is lacking in any way?”
Now it’s my turn. Time to step in.
“Um, Kaigan. Would you like to sit as well?”
My voice came out light and fluttery, as if it might fly away from my throat. Anyone listening would probably think I was either too excited or too nervous. Embarrassed, I cleared my throat quietly and straightened my back.
After all, this was the reception room that was now mine. If I didn’t invite him, Kaigan might just stand there like a post and leave like that.
It felt awkward to offer a seat to the master of this estate himself, though.
“…Yes. Then, just for a moment.”
As if it hadn’t been part of any plan, he hesitated slightly before sitting down.
Kaigan, seated beside me, lowered his eyes and said nothing. His gaze, fixed on his own teacup as if it were an unfamiliar object, was calm and still. His neatly closed lips looked almost petulant today.
I couldn’t tell whether he was pleased or displeased.
For the three weeks since our wedding and my arrival at this estate, I had only seen him in passing. He was extremely busy, and the manor was far too large to randomly run into each other. At most, we shared formal meals or brief walks.
He was always quiet and taciturn. Did he even know how to smile? So far, I had only seen him wear a faint, bitter smile a few times.
Still, could it really be that he had never smiled in his life? He had lived harshly as a hunter of Norska for a long time, so perhaps it wasn’t surprising. Or maybe it was simply the noble virtue of controlling one’s emotions with discipline.
“Please try it. It’s a blend I like.”
And yet, this man had last night poured such gentle, sweet kisses on me. He had carefully held me, caressed me. He had even cleaned my body himself when I had collapsed asleep in a disheveled state, and replaced the bedsheets—who knew when he had even prepared them.
“And, if it doesn’t suit your taste, there are other teas as well.”
While I was speaking mechanically, my soul felt like it was drifting away from my body. My face grew hotter and hotter, as if I might start steaming.
Ah… I was afraid of what kind of state I had been in while asleep in front of this man…
“The aroma is clean and quite pleasant.”
Even the way his long fingers wrapped around the teacup looked strangely suggestive, which only meant my mental state was seriously compromised.
“I’m glad it suits you.”
I was probably smiling fairly naturally.
“It’s good for relieving fatigue, so it would be nice to have it occasionally.”
It was difficult to meet his eyes properly.
How could that man look at me so calmly? Could he see my face and not be reminded of that shameful night? Could he remain so composed?
He looked like someone who had perfectly completed a task and neatly put it away afterward.
“How truly fitting, though it may be said again.”
As if to push away the awkward air, the Marquis of Ligen suddenly spoke.
“The two of you truly are a pair as beautiful as a painting.”
As if waiting for that cue, the marquise quickly chimed in again.
“That’s right. Just watching how affectionate you two are makes me feel so proud. If the late duke were here, how happy he would have been.”
I glanced at Kaigan. Our eyes met, and though I gathered my courage and lifted the corners of my lips slightly, he didn’t smile at all. At the mention of the late duke, he only furrowed his brow, as if sinking into remembrance.
He must miss his adoptive father.
I recalled the late duke from the portrait I had seen as well. He had been an elderly man, but with a dignified presence. His dark hair and broad shoulders were so similar to Kaigan’s that anyone unaware would have believed they were truly father and son.
Adopted at twenty and inheriting the ducal title at twenty-two. Only two years. Far too short to build a father-son bond—but Kaigan seemed to have genuinely respected him.
“So you should get married soon as well, shouldn’t you, Jace?”
At the marquise’s sudden attack, Jace let out a groan.
“I’m fine the way I am, Mother.”
“Fine? Honestly, I’m not even surprised anymore that you think living like an immature colt even after growing up is somehow comfortable for you alone.”
It looked like the turn had come for yet another round of pressure on an unmarried man. Normally nobles began being pushed to marry around twenty-five, so Jace still had two years left—but still.
“Aren’t you doing well with the young lady of House Haswin?”
Even Kaigan joining in was somewhat unexpected.
“She seemed like a nice young lady.”
So he was someone interested in other people’s romantic affairs as well.
“Please don’t say such terrifying things, Your Grace.”
Jace shook his head in disgust.
“I can’t be anything more than friends with her. I’ve seen that girl since she was running around in diapers.”
“Oh dear, what an indecent thing to say. What do you mean diapers?”
“In any case, Mother, you know how it is. How am I supposed to marry her? It would be torture for both of us. If I tried to kiss her, I’d probably get punched in the face.”
“Jace! I’m starting to become genuinely curious about how far your foolish remarks can go.”
“If I really must marry…”
He ignored his mother’s widening eyes and turned his head toward me.
“I think I’d have to meet a lady like the Duchess of Waveriver to even consider it.”
Ah. I felt like I was about to break into a cold sweat. I knew it was just a casual joke, but at that moment Kaigan’s eyes shifted slightly, watching my reaction.
“Um, well, a lady like me…”
Could a person freeze to death from just a cold gaze?
Trying to pass it off as embarrassment from Jace’s teasing, I rubbed the back of my neck as if I were cold.
“I’d be looking for a bachelor like the Duke of Waveriver, of course.”
“Oh my.”
The marquise let out a small chuckle. Then Jace burst into loud laughter. Whatever was so funny about putting me on the spot, at least they didn’t seem offended.
But Kaigan’s expression grew even stiffer.
“Wow, did you hear that, Your Grace? I’ve been rejected before even meeting my supposed partner.”
His complexion was slightly flushed too. Was he angry enough to blush? I had learned that overly displaying marital affection was considered unseemly, but had I crossed a line?
Kaigan shot me a glare as if he could burn me alive with his eyes. His lips moved slightly as if he were about to say something sharp—but then he closed them again. My throat went dry.
Those lips… had just been on my body last night…
No, stop thinking about it.
“I’ve just been rejected, so please don’t bring up marriage for a while, Mother.”
“How pitiful. Though as your mother, I can’t say I’m not a little relieved that your foolish dream has been shattered.”
Meanwhile, the one who had caused all this chaos, Jace, seemed completely uninterested in us.
“But I still have plenty of time. I still have three years to follow in the footsteps of His Grace.”
After glaring at me to his heart’s content, my husband finally refused to even meet my eyes.
“Please grow up, Jace.”
I kept replaying whether I had said something to anger Kaigan. But I couldn’t figure it out. I could no longer casually interrogate everything like a child either.
“Oh, right.”
Suddenly, Jace slapped his knee as if remembering something important. His eyes looked exhausted from all the marriage talk.
“I heard Prince Zeke is deeply absorbed in fishing. Shouldn’t Father, the master of fishing himself, give him some guidance? And didn’t you say you needed to meet Duchess Schumann before returning home?”
Before anyone could respond, Jace stood up, hugging the book.
“Alright, let’s get going.”
“Hey, what are you saying so suddenly?”
The marquise, who had been slowly savoring raspberry pudding dipped in cream, shot him a glare.
“Do you think we get many chances to sit and have tea with the duke like this? We also had matters to discuss. We can see Duchess Schumann next time.”
“Opportunities like this will come again, so please get up.”
Like a guard dragging away a prisoner, Jace grabbed the marquise’s arm. She frowned in surprise.
“Look at him? Are you rushing because you want to read that demon mythology book?”
“It’s not demons, it’s the King of Monsters.”
“Aren’t they the same thing?”
“Hm hm. Jace does have a point, my lady.”
In the end, the marquis—caught between the two—agreed that they should go attend to Prince Zeke. The marquise reluctantly stood up.
“Then please enjoy your time alone, the two of you.”
Jace bowed exaggeratedly to Kaigan and me, his intentions as clear as day.
