🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 46
The moment the light brightened around her, Elaina startled awake and sat up.
She clearly remembered sitting on the sofa, waiting for Lyle to finish washing up—but when she came to her senses, she was in bed.
“Are you awake, my lady?”
Sarah was pulling open the curtains. Looking around, Elaina realized that Lyle wasn’t in the room.
“Where’s Lyle?”
“His Grace went out early at dawn for sword training, then had breakfast already. He told us not to wake you since you seemed very tired, but I worried it wouldn’t be good for your health to sleep too long.”
At Sarah’s words, Elaina glanced at the clock. It was well past what could be called morning.
“I slept this late?”
“What on earth did you do to be so exhausted? You’ve never overslept before, my lady.”
Sarah chirped happily. At first, she had tried desperately to talk Elaina out of marrying the “Murderous Duke,” but now that the marriage had happened, things were different. Even if it wasn’t a marriage one might wish for, every good servant hopes that the couple they serve will get along.
At Sarah’s teasing tone, Elaina rolled her eyes.
“Nothing like that happened, so stop it, Sarah.”
“Oh, come on. That’s not what His Grace said.”
“What do you mean?”
“He told me he had a wonderful night thanks to you. Surely you don’t expect me not to know what that means? I’m not that naïve, you know!”
Sarah nodded proudly, quite pleased with herself. She thought she’d done a great thing last night, pushing the young lady into the Duke’s chambers.
Elaina just stared at her, dumbfounded.
“A wonderful night?”
Sarah’s cheeks flushed pink.
“You didn’t even have those awful nightmares, did you? For someone as sensitive as you to share a room with another person and still sleep soundly—well, that says it all.”
Sarah covered her mouth and chuckled.
“You don’t need to explain how wonderful it was. I can guess. My, my, you’re blushing!”
“I said it’s not like that! I told you, I haven’t had nightmares for a while now.”
“Oh, sure, sure. I’ll take your word for it. I’ll go get breakfast ready now. You wake up properly, all right?”
Humming cheerfully, Sarah left the room. Elaina got up, flustered.
‘What was he thinking, saying something like that?’
A wonderful night? Could he have picked a phrase more likely to cause a misunderstanding?
“Why would you say something like that?”
When she came downstairs after breakfasting in her room, Lyle was sipping coffee and reviewing the final paperwork for founding his knight order. The servants watching the two of them together couldn’t help but smile warmly.
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
Lowering her voice so no one nearby could hear, Elaina said,
“Sarah told me you said you had a wonderful night!”
Lyle looked up at her, unbothered, as if he saw nothing wrong.
“You didn’t think she’d misunderstand?”
“I’m not sure what misunderstanding you mean.”
“Well, I mean…!”
The topic was too embarrassing to say aloud, so Elaina shut her mouth.
Lyle frowned slightly, as if he couldn’t understand her reaction.
“I thought it was a wonderful night. We talked during our walk, dinner was pleasant… Wasn’t it for you?”
“No, that’s not what I—ugh, never mind.”
Seeing the maid’s face flush with embarrassment earlier, Elaina sighed and shook her head.
There was one thing she’d learned after spending several months with Lyle.
He was, at his core, an incredibly intelligent man. The kind who considered every possible outcome before acting—a habit no doubt ingrained by surviving years on the battlefield.
But when it came to anything else, he was hopelessly ignorant.
Not knowing how to fix the folds of his clothes or how to dance at a ball was forgivable—those were things someone could simply teach him.
But when it came to understanding people’s hearts, or picking up on social cues, he was utterly clueless. Like this morning, for example. From his calm expression, she could tell he’d genuinely meant “a pleasant evening” in the literal sense—and had casually said it to Sarah without realizing the innuendo.
“I’ll have a cup of coffee too,” Elaina said to the maid, taking the seat across from him.
“If I said something wrong, you can explain it to me,” he offered.
“No, it’s fine.”
His utter lack of awareness over what “wonderful night” implied left her speechless.
Thinking it over, Elaina found herself wondering why she’d even gotten so flustered. Surely it wasn’t a big deal.
‘Well… it’s better than being on bad terms, at least.’
Even if their marriage would only last a year, as Sarah said, it was far preferable to spend that time peacefully than fighting. The rumor that she and Lyle were close could only help, not harm, either of them.
Resting her chin in her hand, Elaina studied him. She noticed again how tall he was, and how perfectly upright his posture remained even while seated.
It was such a strange feeling. Only months ago, they hadn’t even known each other’s faces—and now they were husband and wife, sharing a room and spending mornings together like this.
Was this what married life felt like? She still wasn’t sure.
When Lyle finished reading through the papers, he looked up—and their eyes met.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” he asked.
“Just because. Can’t I look at you?”
“Not saying you can’t.”
He lifted a brow and brought his cup to his lips again. It was a calm, peaceful morning—so ordinary that the tension of last night felt almost like a dream.
“Everything seems perfectly in order. The paperwork is flawless.”
Duke Winchester nodded approvingly after reviewing the documents Lyle had prepared.
“The papers should be processed by next week. The council has no urgent matters at the moment, so I’ll ask them to expedite it.”
“Thank you for your help.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
“I also wanted to thank you for looking after Nox.”
At the mention of the boy’s name, the Duke smiled fondly.
“Not at all. He’s a bright and clever child. My wife and I enjoyed having him.”
Lyle tilted his head, curious. The Duke went on to explain how Nox had spent the previous night.
“He took an interest in the chessboard in my study, so I taught him the rules. We played several rounds late into the night.”
At first, the boy had seemed awkward and shy, uneasy about staying somewhere other than the Grand Duke’s estate. But once he discovered the fine chess set, he lit up with curiosity—and once taught, he learned the moves so quickly it became a joy to play with him.
“I hope we can visit each other often,” said the Duke warmly. “Once your knight order is ready, you’ll be leaving for the Mabel mountain region, won’t you? Anytime you must leave the Grand Duke’s estate, feel free to send the boy to our house.”
Having someone to discuss the future with was a comfort in itself.
Since the death of his parents, Lyle had had no such person. He had faced everything alone.
Even the ice of the northern lands, unmelting for centuries, softens beneath spring sunlight.
As the Duke smiled at him, Lyle found himself smiling faintly back.
On the way home with Nox, another carriage followed behind—this one piled high with gifts for Elaina: jewelry, dresses, ornaments of all sorts.
Nox couldn’t take his eyes off the Duke and Duchess, who stood waving farewell. The sight made Elaina’s chest tighten a little.
Children existed to be loved, she thought. She was reminded that Leo’s younger sister, Marion, was the same age as Nox.
Gently stroking the boy’s hair, she said,
“Come visit often, Nox. My parents said they’d love to have you over.”
“…Really?”
The reply came shy but hopeful. When their eyes met, he quickly rolled his eyes away and mumbled, pretending indifference,
“I mean, I don’t want to bother them or anything.”
“What? Don’t be silly. Mother said next time you visit, we’ll all have strawberry cake together. And she never says things she doesn’t mean. If she didn’t like you, she wouldn’t have invited you.”
“…Really?”
Elaina nodded earnestly.
“Really. Our chef is amazing—you’ll love our strawberry cake.”
Nox turned to Lyle, as if seeking permission.
“The Duke said you’re very good at chess,” Lyle told him. “He asked me to tell you he hopes for another match next time.”
Nox ducked his head, hiding his face—but the grin tugging at his lips was impossible to miss
