Upon entering the villa, I ate the meal that was already prepared for me and eased in a warm bath.
It was so comfortable and enjoyable. A pleasant moment to be able to relax in my thoughts. Also, it was a good way to ignore Kyle and Sejan, who were exuding terrifying energy from behind those doors.
After this temporary moment of peace, I was guided to the room.
I immediately leaned on the chair and looked around. The room itself was simple. There was only a few furniture, some of them looked like antique. The room was quite charming.
‘Let’s see…’
The fresh flowers in the vase were not a species that could be seen in the Romani Great Duchy, as a result I was gorging my eyes from the view. The neatly decorated small wooden dolls also added a little fun. The room was also very clean, not a speck of dust in sight.
‘Just by looking at this, I can see how much dedication the employees have for the villa.’
After a pleasant examination of the space, Lily came to the room with a steaming glass of something.
“Your Highness try some of this. It’s a popular drink in the area. It’s a warmed wine with heated spices.”
“That’s Glühwein. Thank you, Lily.”
“What? Glühwein? Are you referring to this drink?” Lily tilted her head curiously at the same time as she asked me.
‘What? I’m sure this warm wine would be Glühwein.’
Perhaps they didn’t use the term here?
I replied with a nod. “Right. I’m talking about this. Do you call it by a different name, not Glühwein? Like mulled wine or vin chaud.”
I also recited other names in different languages from Glühwein just in case.
This warm wine was called “mulled wine” in America and “vin chaud” in France.
Lily nodded and answered my question. “Oh, I see. But none of the names you just mentioned are used for this drink. Actually, there’s no name for it, it’s just called warm wine. Anyway, go ahead and drink it. It will warm your body.”
“Okay, I got it.”
It was surprising that not any of the names were known, but Lily accepted the difference quickly.
Then Lily quietly stepped aside, knowing I would call her if I needed anything, anytime.
‘That’s why I like Lily.’
Unlike other maids, she didn’t cling to me more than needed.
Incidentally, I haven’t felt any difficulties in language since I arrived in this place.
‘There were some words that weren’t used here.’
It was a new discovery. Perhaps, it was nothing but knowing is power. You never know when and how little knowledge could be used to your advantage.
When I looked outside the window, it was already dark.
‘Today was a very hard and tiring day.’
There was something like riding a carriage for a long time, but Kyle and Sejan making a fuss at the last minute, increased my fatigue to a new intensity.
The two seemed united, but when you think they will be calm rational adults, the next turn of events was one of mishap.
‘… well, since it’s over, we’re good now.’
Anything good was good.
Having changed my mind in a positive way, I took a sip of the Glühwein.
‘Oh, it’s certainly bitter. I can’t even enjoy drinking this.’
I didn’t really like Glühwein back in Korea either. It was a wine with sweet spices, but the astringent taste was strong to me. I haven’t been in contact with it much in the first place.
‘Will Kyle and I end up in separate rooms?’
It was funny to think about this after refusing his hand, but I couldn’t help it.
Kyle seemed to have some questions to ask and things to be discussed. Although the two of us were in the carriage earlier, we could barely hold a conversation.
The atmosphere was not well suited for it.
‘In fact, I was distracted by the scenery outside.’
Hmm. I should reflect on myself.
‘If I knew it would be like this, should I have asked Kyle to be my escort before?’
I continued sipping Glühwein while organizing the complex thoughts in my mind. Although it was not my favorite flavor, I definitely could feel my body was warming up.
All of sudden, I could feel movement somewhere; nearby. Reflexively I turned toward the door and I saw Kyle leaning against it.
The light was reflecting on his face; his expression indescribably cold. It was fortunate that his eyes were not red at the moment.
A little surprised, I put down my cup nearby, calmed my mind, and asked.
“Archduke, when did you get here?”
“… When?”
Kyle’s voice, asking back, was mixed with sarcasm. He stared at me for a moment and soon said with an unpleasant face.
“Since you have been speaking to yourself.”
“… then shall I not talk to you? That’s weird.”
Instead of answering my question, Kyle lowered his eyes and stared at me.
Stabbing eyes.
Kyle soon moved slowly toward me. Then he nervously sat on the bed with his arms crossed. His expression was full of dormant questions.
‘Let’s see what he has to say.’
I stared at Kyle, ready for combat. He took a long time before asking me.
“Riddel Spencer, aren’t you my wife? But why do you keep trying to be with other men?”
‘What did you say? What are you talking about? Some might think I’ve committed an affair.’
I shook my head in strong injustice.
“Another man. Well, yes, but they’re both from the Romani Great Duchy. Sejan is one of your knights and Matthias is a coachman. Besides, Matthias has escorted me before, don’t you remember?”
“… I don’t.”
I just took a break. That guy. Why would I have lied?
‘But.’
There was an important question here.
“But why is the Archduke concerned about it?”
“What?”
He casually returned the question he asked as if he were really curious.
As expected, I continued to speak calmly.
“Please do not misunderstand me and listen to my words as they are.”
‘Sure.’
“Okay, so honestly, even though we are a couple, it’s a contractual relationship, so we don’t actually have the right to interfere in each other’s private lives.”
“…”
“But that doesn’t mean I’m going to meet another man. I am in the eyes of the public, and I despise infidelity.”
“…”
“What I want to say is, why does the Archduke care so much about me interacting with other men? It was nothing.”
The current remarks may be somewhat ridiculous.
‘Kyle always emphasizes the word marriage.’
But I wasn’t being sarcastic. It was an honest question.
‘Because…’
Dragons have no feelings.
‘No, that’s not quite exact.’
To be exact, dragons only have primitive feelings. One-dimensional emotions such as possessiveness, destructiveness, conquest, appetite, sexual desire, … The dragon couldn’t feel the various and complex human’s emotions.
There were even species that had no feelings at all.
‘Was it mainly the white dragons?’
Due to their nature, most white dragons were soft-tempered and had no desire for materiality. There was no reason for Kyle to say “other man” to me.
‘If there’s a possibility, this is it.’
It was because there was still human emotion left in Kyle, but to a very subtle degree. There was no way that human Kyle would overreact to me meeting another man.
‘Why? Oh, is that it?’
I came up with the answer after listing one thought or another juggling in my mind.
“Now, I see it… I see. If there is a strange rumor among the public, it will hurt your pride, is that why you care about it?”
I nodded vehemently as I spoke.
‘Right. This is it.’
It was not acceptable for the dragon’s pride that I, the wife, be entangled with another man and ruin my reputation.
‘I’m sure it is.’
I thought…
‘Why? Why is Kyle? Why is it so stiff and strange?’
At first glance, it was a minor change. Nevertheless, I could see that his body was completely rigid. It was the product of observing Kyle while staying together.
“Well, Archduke…”
I talked to him in concern of his stiffness, but he didn’t respond either.
‘Did I get too far?
Or did this remark itself hurt his pride? Either way, there was one thing that hurt my head.
‘He’s hard to deal with in many ways.’
He opened his mouth when I thought about it.
“… Why would it hurt my pride? It won’t happen.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but as you say, a couple is a couple even in a contract, so I hope they don’t meet with other men anymore.”
It hurts your pride just by thinking about it, right? What do you mean why would it?
And in a way, you can say that you were playing around. I have no idea.
I swallowed a sigh closely and responded to Kyle’s words.
“Okay, I’ll be careful not to get into trouble, so don’t worry.”
“Yes.”
“…”
“…”
Only then did Kyle feel better, his expression more relaxed. However, there was still a strange atmosphere between the two of us.
After a while, I opened my eyes wide.
“Hum, Archduke, what are you doing?”
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