I Married the Mad Duke Who Killed My Husband - Chapter 21
“No, I was trying to come back quickly! I really meant to just take a quick look around, but he kept talking to me. He’s the son of a Count family, so I couldn’t just ignore him… You understand, right?”
I turned away from Lex Romenel, who was about to kiss the back of my hand again while promising a next time, almost brushing him off. Then I hurriedly returned to the room with the attendant.
Cassion was still standing like a statue at the window where I had looked up, staring outside with a terrifying gaze. Seeing his eyes not looking at me, I reflexively started making excuses.
“I got caught on my way back! Besides, didn’t you come back too early? This… this is too unfair to me!”
I made excuses, panicking that this might be my last walk. But Cassion’s attitude, with his arms crossed, doesn’t seem likely to crumble easily.
“You seemed to be enjoying yourself, haha. Didn’t want to ignore him, did you?”
“I was being polite. I can’t just scowl and tell him to get lost like you do.”
I regretted it as soon as I said it. I should have begged for forgiveness, but I ended up making a sarcastic comment without realizing it. However, Cassion seemed more concerned about something else than my words, as he turned his head abruptly and glared at something outside the window.
“…I didn’t know you had a taste for such youngsters.”
“What?”
“He looked like a kid whose head isn’t even dry yet. Is he even fifteen?”
“He said he’s eighteen. He’s only a year younger than me.”
“…A year means he’s eaten at least a few more meals than you.”
“Then are you an old man compared to me? It’s all the same, isn’t it?”
In fact, as someone who lived a bit longer in my previous life, both twenty-three-year-old Cassion and eighteen-year-old Lex look pretty much the same to me.
But Cassion seemed shocked by the word ‘old man’.
“I’m sorry you had to marry an old man, then.”
“Well, my previous husband was on the verge of death, so…”
“So now you prefer younger men?”
“Younger isn’t bad… No, why is this conversation going in this direction?”
I approached him, taking off my hat in bewilderment. I understand he’s angry because my walk took longer, but isn’t this too childish? He’ll be the one kicking himself later at this rate.
“He said he was the second son of the Romenel Count family, so I thought I might be able to extract some information and chatted a bit longer. That’s all.”
“….”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise to return before you came back. But you know it was an unreasonable promise, right? Please let it slide just this once.”
I looked up at Cassion, clasping my hands together and pleading. If this method doesn’t work… I won’t use gentle methods from now on.
Why should I always be the one to give in? I’m just pretending to give in because I’m grateful that he’s worried about me.
“…Alright. Consider yourself lucky that you didn’t accept the handkerchief.”
There’s no more backing down. If he doesn’t let it slide even now, I’ll fight fire with fire! Just as I was thinking this, he finally accepted my apology. …But wait, since when was he watching? Could he see even the handkerchief from that distance? He’s got good eyes.
“Oh, of course, of course. The handkerchief could have been laced with poison or sleeping drugs. I know all about that.”
“…Hah… fine.”
Why are you sighing like that? Cassion, you’re really pushing my buttons, aren’t you? Should I just fight back?
“So, walking isn’t forbidden, right? Can I go out tomorrow too? The flowers were pretty.”
“Not alone. You’ll go with me.”
Well, I don’t mind… as long as I’m allowed to go out.
“Don’t you have the Imperial banquet and things to discuss with His Highness the Prince? I thought you were busy.”
“With your current physical condition, you can’t walk for long anyway. I can spare that much time.”
“Well, I suppose it’s nice to have someone to enjoy the sights with. Let’s go together then.”
As I easily accepted his proposal, Cassion’s sulky expression softened. I didn’t particularly want to go out alone, but maybe he was more upset because he thought I was resting while he was working.
“Tell me about what you discussed with His Highness the Prince during the walk. We’re in this together, aren’t we?”
“…You said the flowers were pretty. That’s not the kind of conversation to have in such a place, is it?”
“Let’s save the romantic whispers for when we each have our own lovers.”
“….”
What’s this? Why is he sulking again? I really can’t figure him out!
***
“…So, you’re saying the First Prince’s faction wants to spend money on managing the vassal states rather than preparing for heavy rains?”
“It hasn’t been long since the war ended. It seems they want to strengthen their military power.”
He answers well despite his sulky face. That’s one of Cassion’s good points. Although he’s more naive and prone to sulking than I thought, he doesn’t disrespect others based on his mood.
He readily answered when I asked about his conversation with the Prince to change the atmosphere.
“Hmm… What did you say in response?”
“I’m against spending more money on war or military, but as for preparing for heavy rains… well, I’m not sure.”
I tried to recall the original story. In the original, preparing for heavy rains was a bigger episode than I thought. After all, flood damage tends to hit the poor commoners harder, and around that time in the original story, Cassion and the female lead were in a rural village, not in the Duke’s mansion.
This time, we’ll be in the capital’s Duke’s mansion or the Imperial Palace, so we probably won’t suffer direct damage like in the original story… but it doesn’t feel right to just ignore an event that’s bound to happen.
“So the Second Prince’s faction is only half in favor of spending funds on preparing for heavy rains, right?”
“Most of them are like me, people who rose from commoner backgrounds or nobles living in the borderlands.”
As expected, only those who might suffer realistic damage are moving. These nobles.
“Then… let’s make some investments.”
“Investments?”
“Money isn’t just for shopping, you know. Let’s invest in dam expansion. It might not be a small amount, but if we join hands with those who were half in favor, we should be able to construct in a couple of areas that would suffer the most damage.”
Cassion strokes his chin, falling into contemplation. He doesn’t seem to be particularly opposed, but he looked puzzled.
“I don’t mind if that’s what you want, but how does that help? Are you just doing it as part of saving commoners?”
“It does save commoners, but it also helps raise public sentiment towards His Highness the Second Prince!”
“The Second Prince already tends to help flood victims a lot.”
“There’s a world of difference between helping after an accident happens and creating a system to prevent accidents in the first place.”
Moreover, according to the original story, this year’s flood damage was severe enough to cause landslides. Thanks to that, the female lead and Cassion built their love while overcoming adversity… Let’s think about that later.
“It will definitely be a big help. If necessary, you can even deduct it from the money you were going to give me.”
“No, there’s no need for that. As you said, we’re in this together, right?”
Cassion grins. Actually, I just said he could use my money, but I knew he would say this, so I smiled back.
“If it’s hard to cover up weaknesses, let’s highlight the strengths. Even if the noble faction is weak, public sentiment is leaning more towards His Highness the Prince, right?”
The First Prince seems to be trying to gain public support by strongly pushing and managing the vassal states and carrying out projects, but that won’t work well.
The Empire had greatly increased taxes to wage war. Now that they’ve brought even the vassal states to their knees, it’s time to give the people a carrot.
“If they oppress the vassal states and carry out projects like the First Prince’s side, discontent will inevitably build up there too. It might seem suppressed by fear at first, but it won’t last long.”
The First Prince’s projects, which extracted more resources than necessary by oppressing the vassal states, will be ruined when they coincide with the heavy rains.
In the original story, this was glossed over in one line because it focused on Cassion braving through the floods, but as long as we’re in the capital, we can’t treat it so lightly.
“Now His Highness the Prince needs to stand out too. And you have a weapon.”
Cassion reflexively looks down at his sword. But I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
“Money. If there are the most powerful weapons in the world, they would be the pen, money, and fists, and you have two of them.”
“…So I don’t have the pen?”
“I’ll cover that for you.”
I looked away from Cassion’s enigmatic expression. It’s not like you’re particularly good at speaking, writing, or diplomacy, right? Instead, I can help with those things.
“You’ve never suffered from listening to me, have you? Trust your wife this time too.”
I winked at him, and Cassion made a ‘heh’ sound as if he was about to burst out laughing. Come to think of it, he smiles quite often, but I’ve never seen him laugh out loud.
“I always trust you.”
