IHMEB - Chapter 28 < Dating >
Having An Enemy's Baby
“Give me everything.”
Even after hearing Kaian's words, I didn't immediately know what happened.
At that point, the jeweler briefly floated in the air as if he had wings.
"Thank you, My Lord. Haha! I know, right. Your wife has fair skin and is beautiful, so no jewelry doesn’t match her.”
"Ah....”
It was only then that I came to my senses as I saw the craftsman gesturing to his assistant to quickly close the lids of the jewelry boxes in front of me and pack them up as if Kaian was about to renege on his order.
“...Duke! Wait."
I quickly grabbed Kaian's jacket as he was already standing up and leaving the store.
“You’re buying all of that?”
"What is the problem?"
When I saw the imposing Kaian, I was speechless.
“There are too many.”
"Too many? Do you really think so?”
I nodded my head quickly.
“You're wrong. It's not much. It is necessary to maintain the dignity of the Duchess of Temnes. There’s no way you would know, having just become a Duchess.”
“....”
I wanted to retort something, but I had nothing to say.
In fact, I was having a gloomy day these days because of that.
It was not until I saw the tombstone with my name engraved that I realized I was the Duchess of Temnes.
This was the land where I would die and be buried, not the place where I would live.
But Kaian saved my life.
As I lived, I realized that I was also a Duchess.
“I’ll find something better when we have to go to the capital, so let’s leave it at this for now.”
“I don’t think I need this much. Really."
“You haven’t even had your dress fitted yet, so how do you know if you don't need more?”
"That...”
I bit my lower lip slightly inside my mouth.
Kaian was right.
Once I became a Duchess, it was common for me to wear several dresses each season as I socialized.
Then, I end up wearing my own accessories, such as wearing jewelry that matches the clothes.
“Unless you intend to disgrace me, you should behave in a manner befitting a Duchess.”
"Yes. All right."
“I have a place to stop by. Come on."
When Kaian gently extended his arm, I quickly placed my hand on his arm.
However, he seemed to have forgotten my existence and walked with wide strides, as if I was half-pulled by him, and ended up calling out to Kaian.
“Duke. Your steps are too fast. Go slowly.”
“I walked slowly.”
Surprisingly, the man's eyes seemed sincere, perhaps because he was considerate of me in his own way.
“The stride length is different!”
"Ah. Right."
The two started walking again, and their walking speed finally matched, unlike before.
It was a small city located not far from Rowen Castle.
As I rode the carriage, I couldn't see any houses where people lived, so it seemed like there were only commercial buildings and marketplaces.
Valmonde was a frozen land, so it was so cold that merchants had designated places for shops in the huge castle built by the Lord.
It was largely divided into an outer castle and an inner castle, and there was a market and shops in the outer castle, which was the outer perimeter of the castle surrounding the inner castle. The inner palace was the space where the Duke and knights stayed.
Since Rowen is warm, it seemed like the commercial city was separated from the outside in this way.
My eyes were busy looking outside for a long time.
Then, a wide garden with roses appeared on the side of the road.
'...Pretty.'
Now I was worried that I would be called out of place, so I just said “Wow” to myself.
But when I looked closely, it looked like a cafe.
Lovers and friends were sitting at a pretty table between the spacious rose gardens and enjoying tea.
It was when I was staring at the cafe without realizing it.
“This way.”
Kaian pulled me to him. I looked at his face as he headed toward the rose tunnel, the entrance to the cafe.
This is a man with a cold expression as usual, lowering his head and frowning for fear of getting his head caught in a tunnel filled with red, white, and pink roses.
“Would you like to have tea here?”
"Yes."
The cafe's rose garden was much more beautiful up close than from the outside.
The vivid scent of fist-sized flowers was fragrant.
And Kaian, dressed in a formal suit for going out and sitting with red roses in the background, looked very cool.
I'm excited.
My heart fluttered.
About this marriage.
To put it bluntly, I thought that I had married because I wanted to for the hungry children of the estate, while Kaian had married against his will.
Forced marriage by royal order.
I made up my mind that there was nothing I could do about him hating me or Vermont.
It was different after Kaian saved my life.
Before that, after the incident during the crocodile hunt, he treated me in a softened manner for a while.
He said it was because I was a benefactor.
Then, after finding out about my Herzol, he became enraged and said that he 'got married because he was tricked'.
I never imagined that he would always ask for my medicine like this.
My dying day was only a month ago.
Clink.
A teacup with a nice scent was placed in front of me.
"Enjoy your meal, My Lord, Lady."
As I looked at the tea brought by the maid wearing a white frilly apron and the silver tray with layers of small, pretty desserts, I strangely felt like I was about to cry.
“Why are you doing this?”
He asked as iy stared intently at the silver tray, blinking my eyes to keep from shedding tears.
“I love it so much. I’m glad I’m sitting here right now.”
Instead of lying in a dark castle catacombs where no one will visit, I can enjoy flowers and tea under the brilliant sunlight.
And Kaian, who is cold but also a little different from his appearance.
"Thank you."
I smiled at Kaian.
It was a life where there was nothing to smile about for a while.
I laughed heartily every time I picked up and ate each and every small, pretty dessert placed in front of me.
'It's a good thing I listened to the butler's advice.'
Kaian couldn't understand why a place like a cafe existed, why he had to go to such a place, and why drinking tea in such a shabby place could be a date.
‘My Lord. You shouldn't think that way.'
'What's wrong?'
'When dating in a relationship, you must always listen to and accommodate the opinions of your partner.'
'So, aren't you telling me to go to a shabby, shabby building and pay to drink cheap tea?'
The tea they can drink at the Lord's castle must be the most expensive in Rowen.
The butler looked somewhat perplexed at Kaian's question.
'Does you really think she'll like this?'
'As far as I know, there is no garden cafe like this in Valmonde because it is cold. In particular, roses are the representative flower of the southern region.'
The butler insisted with a stern expression.
'Can you guarantee that Claudel will like it?'
'Of course. If your wife doesn't like the Garden Cafe, I'll accept a pay cut.'
Since the butler came out so strongly, Kaian eventually accepted the recommendation.
They decided to stop by a nearby cafe while buying some jewelry for Claudel.
"Thank you."
But he never expected to see something like this.
Claudel smiles brightly.
He had no idea that the woman who had been sitting with her mouth shut and expressionless with a pale, sunken-cheeked face until now could smile like that.
Claudel, who was in the midst of recovery, had her skin regaining color and her cheeks turning round.
Her red hair and golden eyes somehow made her look like she too was a blossom in this rose garden.
She was a simple Margaret flower. As she sat in the white flower garden, he thought that such a calm and quiet place suited her.
As she sat among the colorful flowers, Claudel seemed to be the most colorful of them all.
He must have been staring too hard, so Kaian cleared his throat and fetched the menu.
“Let me see if there’s anything else you want to order.”
Claudel smiled happily.
"Really? Is that okay?”
Kaian responded by crossing his arms.
Before leaving, the butler encouraged him several times.
‘My Lord. When you go to a cafe, be sure to let your wife choose what to order.'
'Does it matter?'
'It's important. Very important. If you don't give them a choice on the menu, it may be worse than not going to a cafe.'
Then he forgot and ordered the most expensive dessert set and tea for two people in the store.
He remembered it too late and thought she could order more, so he brought over the menu.
“Hmm.”
Unlike at the jewelry store earlier, Claudel was reading each and every item on the menu very intently and actively.
'Is that fun?'
Kaian couldn't believe that the 'ladies' the butler had mentioned liked something like that with the name, ingredients, and price of the food written on it.
However, Claudel in front of him seemed to really like what the butler said, so he kept his mouth shut.
Instead, he was able to slowly watch Claudel looking at the menu.
A southern-style dress made of thin fabric looked better on a slender woman than a dark-colored northern-style dress that went up to the neck.
'You must have only worn northern dresses the whole time before you came here, right?'
Valmonde Castle was famous for the chill inside the castle even in summer.
The long, thin neckline, the nicely set collarbones, and the white nape of the neck that stood out even more because she didn't wear a necklace or anything like that, caught his eye.
When he thought that his lips and hands would have touched the bottom of Claudel's white neck before the midday sunlight even reached him, Kaian felt annoyed again.
He often said this when he saw Claudel these days.
It was a strange thing to feel irritated while watching the woman's illness go away and become healthy.
Even though it was a life that he saved with his own hands.
Today, his eyes kept falling on her red lips, blooming like petals among the red roses.
He had never yet kissed Claudel.
Looking back, he thought it was strange, but he was too busy spending the first night of the night to care about it at the time.
It is said that the disease Claudel suffered from caused pain that felt like scratching her chest with a thousand-pronged blade just by breathing.
So, what Claudel endured while covering his body with her eyes tightly closed and her teeth clenched must have been the pain in her chest caused by the disease.
Without even knowing it, Kaian thought it was because it was terrible for the woman of Vermont to give her body to him, Temnes.
Even though he thought so, he had no reason to look after a woman from his enemy's family when he had to pay for it at the King's command, so it didn't matter why she was sick until she died, so he just did what he had to do.
However, the woman who was not in pain, her lips kept fluttering before Kaian's eyes like flower petals blown by the summer wind, as if she had also been freed from pain.
Claudel gave Kaian a smile that she had shown for the first time today and ordered a few dishes to the maid she had met for the first time. Only then did she put down the menu and look at him.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Why did you save me?”
On this great day.
She asked Kaian the same thing again.
‘You don’t die. I won't let that happen.'
'Why? I'm Vermont.'
'I can't allow stains in my life. Do I look like someone who will live with the disgrace of holding a bride's funeral three months after getting married for the rest of my life?'
She probably didn't want to hear the same answer as before.
However, the judge, who was left with a tightly twisted knot that would not be undone, made him respond impulsively.
"Just..."
Like when she once said she saved him without meaning to.
“If anyone was dying like that, I would have saved them.”
It was then.
After hearing his words, Claudel's face brightened like a flower in full bloom.
'Why is your face like that?'
My dying day was only a month ago.
Clink.
A teacup with a nice scent was placed in front of me.
"Enjoy your meal, My Lord, Lady."
As I looked at the tea brought by the maid wearing a white frilly apron and the silver tray with layers of small, pretty desserts, I strangely felt like I was about to cry.
“Why are you doing this?”
He asked as iy stared intently at the silver tray, blinking my eyes to keep from shedding tears.
“I love it so much. I’m glad I’m sitting here right now.”
Instead of lying in a dark castle catacombs where no one will visit, I can enjoy flowers and tea under the brilliant sunlight.
And Kaian, who is cold but also a little different from his appearance.
"Thank you."
I smiled at Kaian.
It was a life where there was nothing to smile about for a while.
I laughed heartily every time I picked up and ate each and every small, pretty dessert placed in front of me.
***
'It's a good thing I listened to the butler's advice.'
Kaian couldn't understand why a place like a cafe existed, why he had to go to such a place, and why drinking tea in such a shabby place could be a date.
‘My Lord. You shouldn't think that way.'
'What's wrong?'
'When dating in a relationship, you must always listen to and accommodate the opinions of your partner.'
'So, aren't you telling me to go to a shabby, shabby building and pay to drink cheap tea?'
The tea they can drink at the Lord's castle must be the most expensive in Rowen.
The butler looked somewhat perplexed at Kaian's question.
'Does you really think she'll like this?'
'As far as I know, there is no garden cafe like this in Valmonde because it is cold. In particular, roses are the representative flower of the southern region.'
The butler insisted with a stern expression.
'Can you guarantee that Claudel will like it?'
'Of course. If your wife doesn't like the Garden Cafe, I'll accept a pay cut.'
Since the butler came out so strongly, Kaian eventually accepted the recommendation.
They decided to stop by a nearby cafe while buying some jewelry for Claudel.
"Thank you."
But he never expected to see something like this.
Claudel smiles brightly.
He had no idea that the woman who had been sitting with her mouth shut and expressionless with a pale, sunken-cheeked face until now could smile like that.
Claudel, who was in the midst of recovery, had her skin regaining color and her cheeks turning round.
Her red hair and golden eyes somehow made her look like she too was a blossom in this rose garden.
She was a simple Margaret flower. As she sat in the white flower garden, he thought that such a calm and quiet place suited her.
As she sat among the colorful flowers, Claudel seemed to be the most colorful of them all.
He must have been staring too hard, so Kaian cleared his throat and fetched the menu.
“Let me see if there’s anything else you want to order.”
Claudel smiled happily.
"Really? Is that okay?”
Kaian responded by crossing his arms.
Before leaving, the butler encouraged him several times.
‘My Lord. When you go to a cafe, be sure to let your wife choose what to order.'
'Does it matter?'
'It's important. Very important. If you don't give them a choice on the menu, it may be worse than not going to a cafe.'
Then he forgot and ordered the most expensive dessert set and tea for two people in the store.
He remembered it too late and thought she could order more, so he brought over the menu.
“Hmm.”
Unlike at the jewelry store earlier, Claudel was reading each and every item on the menu very intently and actively.
'Is that fun?'
Kaian couldn't believe that the 'ladies' the butler had mentioned liked something like that with the name, ingredients, and price of the food written on it.
However, Claudel in front of him seemed to really like what the butler said, so he kept his mouth shut.
Instead, he was able to slowly watch Claudel looking at the menu.
A southern-style dress made of thin fabric looked better on a slender woman than a dark-colored northern-style dress that went up to the neck.
'You must have only worn northern dresses the whole time before you came here, right?'
Valmonde Castle was famous for the chill inside the castle even in summer.
The long, thin neckline, the nicely set collarbones, and the white nape of the neck that stood out even more because she didn't wear a necklace or anything like that, caught his eye.
When he thought that his lips and hands would have touched the bottom of Claudel's white neck before the midday sunlight even reached him, Kaian felt annoyed again.
He often said this when he saw Claudel these days.
It was a strange thing to feel irritated while watching the woman's illness go away and become healthy.
Even though it was a life that he saved with his own hands.
Today, his eyes kept falling on her red lips, blooming like petals among the red roses.
He had never yet kissed Claudel.
Looking back, he thought it was strange, but he was too busy spending the first night of the night to care about it at the time.
It is said that the disease Claudel suffered from caused pain that felt like scratching her chest with a thousand-pronged blade just by breathing.
So, what Claudel endured while covering his body with her eyes tightly closed and her teeth clenched must have been the pain in her chest caused by the disease.
Without even knowing it, Kaian thought it was because it was terrible for the woman of Vermont to give her body to him, Temnes.
Even though he thought so, he had no reason to look after a woman from his enemy's family when he had to pay for it at the King's command, so it didn't matter why she was sick until she died, so he just did what he had to do.
However, the woman who was not in pain, her lips kept fluttering before Kaian's eyes like flower petals blown by the summer wind, as if she had also been freed from pain.
Claudel gave Kaian a smile that she had shown for the first time today and ordered a few dishes to the maid she had met for the first time. Only then did she put down the menu and look at him.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Why did you save me?”
On this great day.
She asked Kaian the same thing again.
‘You don’t die. I won't let that happen.'
'Why? I'm Vermont.'
'I can't allow stains in my life. Do I look like someone who will live with the disgrace of holding a bride's funeral three months after getting married for the rest of my life?'
She probably didn't want to hear the same answer as before.
However, the judge, who was left with a tightly twisted knot that would not be undone, made him respond impulsively.
"Just..."
Like when she once said she saved him without meaning to.
“If anyone was dying like that, I would have saved them.”
It was then.
After hearing his words, Claudel's face brightened like a flower in full bloom.
'Why is your face like that?'
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