A Way to Confirm Your Husband’s True Feelings - Chapter 15
Regina let out a shriek at Beatrice’s answer, and the calm she had just barely managed to regain began to unravel again.
“Why, Sister? I-Is that strange?”
Was it really that abnormal, enough to warrant such a shocked reaction? Her heart pounded even more, anxiety quickly overtaking her.
“But… during pre-marriage education, they never said anything about frequency. I mean… aside from that, we’ve followed all the proper customs.”
Even intimacy had its own etiquette among nobles. And though she had vaguely realized it, Beatrice was now acutely aware that by noble standards, the frequency of their marital relations was abnormally high.
There were no specific guidelines about frequency, but most noble couples only fulfilled their marital duties on designated days in an orderly fashion—strictly for the purpose of producing heirs.
As Beatrice began to regret having answered honestly, worrying that even this could become an excuse to criticize Caesar’s background, Regina suddenly burst out in frustration.
“Forget about all that! If a newlywed husband had left his new bride alone in bed, that would’ve been something to drag him out and beat him for! What I want to know is whether that bastard forced you to perform your marital duties— Every. Single. Day!”
Thankfully, Regina didn’t seem to care about noble refinement or appearances. She was worried only for her younger sister’s wellbeing.
“No, never! It wasn’t like that at all. If anything, I was the one who didn’t want to be apart from him, so I suggested we share a bedroom…”
“Whaaat?”
“There were even days when he was going to skip it because he thought I was too tired, and I was the one who… insisted first…”
“…Haa, Beatrice.”
Seeing her little sister, blushing bright red as she confessed her deeds, Regina let out a long sigh.
Her entire pale face flushed peach, Beatrice looked so adorably lovely that even another woman might be captivated by her. But that didn’t make what she had done any less misguided.
“You’ve completely spoiled your husband. Hopelessly spoiled him.”
“…Spoiled him?”
“Yes, Beatrice. Like I told you earlier. Men are ungrateful beasts who must never be allowed to get too comfortable. You could be the most giving wife in the world, but the moment they start feeling too at ease, they’ll spout nonsense like ‘I’m bored,’ or ‘you’re annoying’. I’ve never seen one that didn’t!”
Regina, who had debuted at sixteen and was now twenty-seven, had been immersed in the social world for eleven years. Naturally, she had seen and heard much more than her sister.
After a few years in society, Regina had lost interest in marriage altogether and redirected her passion into her studies.
But women of her age group had all, one way or another, ended up marrying, and their torrent of grievances inevitably landed on Regina, the only unmarried one left.
“My conclusion from observing noble marriages is this, Beatrice. Even between husband and wife, you mustn’t trust each other too much.”
Having watched so many relationships dissolve into messes or disaster, Regina had developed this theory.
No matter whether it began with love or mutual gain, overly close intimacy was dangerous. Even married couples needed separate time and independent space.
“You hear me? I get that you’re thrilled to have Margrave Valentin as your husband, but marriage isn’t the end. You need what they call push and pull, Beatrice. All this ‘he’s distant’ or ‘I think I annoy him’ nonsense? That’s just a man getting fat and lazy. What you’re dealing with is a small power struggle between the two of you. And right now, you’re losing! I can cover your bail money if it comes to that, but I refuse to watch my sister lose!”
And so the conclusion of her long-winded lecture was that Beatrice had treated her husband too gently, making him underestimate her. Therefore, she needed to create distance and observe how he responded.
But for Beatrice, who had only ever showered Caesar with overwhelming affection since their marriage, the idea of pulling it all back left her completely at a loss.
“But, Sister… how do I even start doing that…”
Regina sighed again, looking at her soft-hearted little sister.
“If it’s too hard, I’ll give you a set of rules. Listen carefully.”
The number of times you sleep together: no more than once a month, and if he acts smug, reduce it to once every two months. If you can endure it, skip it altogether. He’ll come crawling back.
Separate bedrooms are a must. No more than one shared meal a week. Don’t show that you’re crazy about him. Limit face-to-face time. And above all else, build a life for yourself that doesn’t revolve around your husband.
This was Regina’s guideline.
Except for the last one, the rest sounded far too difficult for Beatrice to manage.
