I Married the Mad Duke Who Killed My Husband - Chapter 33
“It was nice to meet you today, madam.”
“I’m hosting a reception at my house next month, I hope you can come.”
After the tea party ended, the ladies all exited the Empress’s indoor garden at once.
But they didn’t disperse, instead crowding around me and striking up conversations. They’re even more enthusiastic than during the tea party. They probably intend to follow me and get a glimpse of Cassion.
“I’m glad to have met such lovely people too. I almost don’t want to leave…”
“Asil.”
As I was wondering if it would be okay to let this group see Cassion, I heard a voice calling me from nearby. We haven’t even left the palace yet?
“Is it over now? It was quite long.”
“Uh…”
“The air is colder than I expected as the sun is setting. Come here.”
“Oh my, oh my. You should go now, madam.”
“Yes, don’t mind us.”
Cassion, who had walked down the corridor leading outside in long strides, reached out his hand as if he couldn’t even see the women surrounding me. In his other arm, he was holding a woman’s shawl.
“It’s not strange, is it?”
“What? What is?”
“This. I tried to choose one that would match the outfit you wore.”
As I moved forward, pushed by the hands of the women behind me, Cassion unfurled the shawl he was holding and wrapped it around me as if reeling me in. I became even more flustered as I was pulled close, almost as if being embraced, but he just whispered with an awkward expression.
So, did he really come to pick me up?
“Did you come just to give me this shawl, not because you had something to say to His Highness the Prince or some other business today?”
“That’s right. You looked a bit cold when you left.”
He bent down a bit more and wrapped me up tightly, negating the effort of bringing the pretty shawl. It would look more stylish if it were draped loosely.
“And you didn’t want to go. I thought something might have happened.”
“….”
He whispered so that the people behind us couldn’t hear. There’s no way they could have heard the content, but I can feel the commotion behind us just from our appearance.
“My goodness, Your Grace the Duke. How affectionate you are.”
Someone exclaimed in a rather loud voice. As I turned to look, Cassion, who had been treating them like invisible people, finally raised his head, and the ladies who realized their voices were too loud composed themselves.
“Ahem. Excuse us, Your Grace. We were so pleased to see the Duchess at today’s party.”
“I’ve attended Her Majesty the Empress’s tea parties several times, but this is the first time I’ve seen a husband come to pick up his wife. Well, with such a lovely wife, I suppose you’d want to take her home quickly.”
“That’s right, I wonder if we were being inconsiderate and kept her too long.”
They resumed their chatter, rendering their previous effort to compose themselves pointless. It feels as if another party has started in the corridor.
“How long have you been waiting?”
“I thought a tea party would take about 1 to 2 hours. Isn’t it over after drinking tea?”
Despite my late arrival, the Empress’s tea party lasted almost the entire afternoon. He had indeed waited for over 2 hours, just as the Empress’s attendant had said.
“Goodness, why didn’t you just leave the shawl with an attendant and go back instead of waiting foolishly?”
I reflexively grabbed his hand. Though it was summer, the air was chilly as he said, right after the rainy season ended, so I wondered if his hands might be cold, but the hand I grasped was only warm.
“Your hands are cold. We should go back quickly.”
I looked up at him, pretending to be worried, as he looked down at me with a puzzled expression, then turned to the ladies and said, “I’m really sorry, everyone. I know it’s not polite, but would it be alright if we went ahead? His body is too cold.”
“Oh, of course! Please go ahead.”
Great. I was actually wondering how to refuse all their invitations to their tea parties and receptions, but this worked out well. I greeted the ladies once more, then turned around and secretly poked Cassion’s side.
“Well done! I was wondering how to escape, thanks for coming to pick me up, Cassion. Now let’s head straight to the carriage without looking back.”
“Didn’t you just say I waited foolishly?”
“Ah, that’s because the ladies were watching, of course.”
As we walked out of the corridor, there was a line of carriages assigned by the imperial family. We got into the first carriage and closed the door, finally left alone.
“Wow, freedom! I didn’t think you’d be so tactful, what’s the occasion?”
“I can’t tell if you’re criticizing or praising me.”
“You’re not good with women, but you’re surprisingly attentive to these things. If you hadn’t come, I might have been stuck there for another couple of hours and even ended up with invitations to the next tea party.”
“…Am I not good with women?”
“Ooh, I think I see a twitch at the corner of your mouth.”
Ignoring Cassion’s muttering, I slipped my heels out of the tight shoes. As I massaged the muscles that had worked hard to maintain a silly, innocent smile while rubbing my face with both hands, Cassion’s teeth clenched.
“What are you doing?”
“Face massage. I guess someone like you, who can be sullen wherever you want, wouldn’t know about facial muscle spasms.”
“Weren’t you just praising me?”
“It is praise. Did you see the ladies talking earlier? It’ll be the talk of the town in no time. I bet your approval rating among the ladies has hit an all-time high right now.”
“What use is it for me to look good to those women?”
“Oh my, what a dangerous thing to say. It was the Empress’s tea party to begin with. It’s a battlefield for women in all but name.”
“No, that’s not what I meant… Never mind.”
“You keep stopping mid-sentence lately. It’s making me curious.”
“…Nothing happened, right?”
“If I had been poisoned, do you think I’d be talking normally like this?”
“Don’t even joke about that.”
I shrugged at Cassion, who was looking me up and down. But he grimaced and examined me more closely.
“Her Majesty the Empress did seem to be keeping an eye on me and testing me, but it was actually milder than I expected. The ladies were wary at first, but they quickly warmed up.”
“Hmm. I guess your face had a big effect again.”
“My face is always working hard. But this time, the story of our first night together played a big role.”
“…What story?”
“The story of our first night.”
Cassion made an expression as if he doubted his ears, then repeatedly rubbed his face. I looked at the scenery gradually approaching the Duke’s residence as we left the imperial palace.
No matter how I think about it, the Duke’s residence is too close to the imperial palace.
“It would be nice if you could receive a territory soon.”
“Hah… What are you talking about?”
“The Duke’s domain. Do you need to serve for a year or achieve some new merit before they grant it? If they gave you the title of Duke, shouldn’t they give you a territory, not just a mansion? It feels like they’re keeping you too close to monitor you.”
“No, what do you mean by the story of our first night?”
“Oh, that.”
It’s not a big deal.
“It’s because of my ex-husband’s family. She was giving me betrayed looks when they were the ones driven me out, so I made up a story.”
“What kind of story did you make up that involves our first night?”
“What does it matter? It’s a gathering of married people. The marriage with the Marquis fell through because we didn’t consummate it, right? I thought it would be good to make this clear too, so I said we fell in love at first sight and slept together.”
Cassion’s mouth slowly opened. I reached out and closed it for him, just like before. This is oddly addictive.
“Come on, when adult men and women get married in a few days unless it’s a contract marriage, it’s obvious they would have slept together, right? What else is there to say? If we left it alone, they were about to say things like we were practically in bigamy.”
“Ha. I’m not blaming you. I’m just… surprised every time.”
“What’s there to be surprised about?”
“Everything in that small head of yours.”
“I am quite brilliant, aren’t I? Beauty and brains, what can I say?”
“This is driving me crazy.”
“You should be grateful to have someone like me as your wife, even if it’s temporary. When our contract ends, you’ll probably regret it. You’ll think, ‘Ah, that woman was useful,’ and regret it for sure.”
“…”
“Ah, we’re here.”
The carriage entered the garden of the Duke’s residence. I quickly put my shoes back on and prepared to get off. As soon as we get back, I need to change into comfortable clothes and eat the amazing dinner prepared by the chef.
“…Right. I’ll be careful not to regret it.”
Although I prepared first, Cassion, who had somehow gotten out of the stopped carriage before me, escorted me.
Do you have to grit your teeth like that when acknowledging my usefulness? Seriously.
