Dear Contract Husband, I Didn't Know You Were Like This? - Chapter 33
Without fail, Maya stepped on Tristan’s feet.
She had repeatedly told Tristan, but it was never intentional.
‘I thought I’d quickly learn anything physical.’
Realizing belatedly that swordsmanship and dancing were entirely different, Maya accepted the fact that she was not gifted in physical coordination.
‘Not having a debutante ball might have been a stroke of luck.’
Otherwise, she might have notoriously stepped on every partner’s feet, becoming infamous as a foot assassin.
“I’ll try practicing after I return from my awakening.”
Considering seriously, Maya shook her head.
One clear realization from dancing with Tristan was that she lacked talent in dancing.
Sadly, the gods were quite fair in this respect. They didn’t give Maya everything.
‘But still, it’s nice.’
Her spirits were sky-high regardless.
‘It was a gift I didn’t even know I wanted.’
An unexpected gift, but it was so pleasing it moved her.
She felt like she could do anything for Tristan.
‘Is this what it feels like to be a loyal subject to a monarch?’
Even if she were to live quietly after the divorce, it was good to have someone to fall back on.
Building a positive relationship with Tristan so far had been gratifying.
Unlike with Kendrick, whom she knew through family connections, Tristan was a bond Maya started entirely on her own.
‘Sorry, Kendrick.’
The feeling was truly different from when she was with Kendrick.
After the dance, Maya sneakily checked if Tristan’s feet were hurting, to which Tristan pointed to a table, smiling.
“Really, enjoy yourself as if we were hosting a banquet.”
On one side of the ballroom, finger foods and drinks were prepared, not to mention the charming desserts.
‘An assembly held just for me.’
Drinking the prepared champagne, Maya hummed along to the still-playing waltz.
It seemed familiar.
‘Dancing alone should be fine.’
Maya twirled in the center of the hall under the chandelier’s glow.
The skirt of her dress spread like petals blooming in sunlight.
The soft green resembled the new sprouts of spring.
‘A time for myself.’
Yes, if there were more days like today, life wouldn’t be so bad.
Maya smiled faintly.
After enjoying the feeling of attending a debutante in the elegant hall, Maya realized it was her turn.
She strode confidently towards Tristan.
Honestly, after receiving Tristan’s grand gift, her own gift felt somewhat modest.
She had never given or received such materially abundant gifts.
But that feeling was fleeting.
‘It’s the thought that counts, right?’
Receiving Tristan’s gift today certainly had a significant impact on Maya.
And it was also a gift of great value to Tristan.
‘I even spent money on it.’
To her, this seemed to be the perfect gift.
Maya, clearing her throat quietly, placed the wooden box brought by the maid on the table.
She politely gestured in front of her.
“Tristan, would you please stand here?”
“Yes.”
Maya took out and opened a box containing a brooch. Given her limited personal assets, she used a modest wooden box to save on the cost, but the brooch inside was in excellent condition.
The brooch, engraved with her favorite sword, came in a pair.
She handed one of the two brooches, laid side by side inside the box, to Tristan.
“This is my gift to you. A brooch can be used regardless of your age.”
Maya Pendragon pondered as deeply over this gift as Tristan had shown consideration to her, just as she had when choosing Kendrick’s gift.
The curse was something Tristan Bayarden would want to be rid of.
Maya hoped that seeing her gift would not remind him of the curse even slightly. Thus, most gifts that varied with height and physique were rejected.
Furniture and tools he likely already possessed were also dismissed.
Eliminating options one by one, she finally settled on a gift that was quite expensive.
Even in the resource-rich North, jewels were fundamentally expensive. But giving up was something she had left behind in her past life.