I Married the Mad Duke Who Killed My Husband - Chapter 48
“I told you to stay at the inn.”
“I never agreed to that.”
Though Cassion made an exasperated expression, I held my head high as I opened the door to return to our lodging. Unlike this morning, the now-disciplined innkeeper called out.
“Welcome back, madam!”
“Ah yes. Is dinner coming along well?”
“It’s a cream stew, and I added meat!”
“Good. Send it up. With washing water like yesterday.”
I received his greeting, sensing that rumors of my g***n kick from earlier had already spread here. Cassion let out an incredulous sigh at my thuggish behavior.
Whether he liked it or not, my body had loosened up considerably now, so I confidently climbed the stairs alone while talking to him.
“Did you find anything out?”
“Yes. I found out everything without you needing to come out.”
“I would have found out plenty too if that bastard hadn’t picked a fight. I heard there are fewer than five outsiders in this small village anyway. Did you check those people?”
Entering the narrow room, I took off my spotless outer garment and hung it carefully. Since I was already at the wardrobe, I reached out to hang Cassion’s clothes too, but he gave me a puzzled look and hesitated.
“……Sorry. I forgot.”
“What?”
What did he forget? I’m just asking for his clothes to hang them.
“Wedding gift….. Is that what you mean? Ah, there’s not much in this village, but I could go out now and-”
“What nonsense are you talking about? This isn’t even a real honeymoon. Just give me your outer clothes so I can hang them.”
“……”
Cassion’s neck turned bright red. Regardless, I practically forced the clothes from him, shook off some dust, and hung them up. Lately, I’ve been seeing Cassion’s face change color often – being this honest, I wonder if he’s okay when facing enemies.
Though I find it quite cute, he should probably maintain a poker face when dealing with enemies.
Knock knock-
Just then, there was a careful knock at the door. Must be the meal and washing water prepared by the innkeeper. Compared to yesterday’s door-breaking sound, it was incredibly timid.
“Please let me know if anything is lacking, madam.”
“Alright. You may go.”
The innkeeper didn’t leave first but rather waited at the door and even bowed to me. He stood there maintaining a smile until I had carried everything inside.
“What exactly did you do to make the innkeeper so subservient?”
“Oh, nothing much really. Just gave him a verbal warning. He seems rather weak-hearted.”
“What.”
“I told him not to live that way.”
“……I see.”
Though I hadn’t said much, Cassion’s expression crumpled. He had guessed from this brief exchange that I had received some unfair treatment. Well, the attitude hadn’t been good since we arrived yesterday.
“You… maybe you should buy a hood to wear?”
“A hood? It’s not even cold, and it would be stuffy.”
“It could prevent you from getting caught up in troublesome situations.”
“Hmm….. That’s tempting, but no. We’re already outsiders – wouldn’t it be suspicious if I went around with my face completely covered? Besides, this face can be helpful sometimes.”
My innocent and pretty face might cause trouble sometimes, but it was perfect for gathering information while appearing to have no purpose.
“Anyway, I expected this level of trouble, so it’s fine. Rather than buying a hood, maybe I should get an emergency dagger?”
“Right. You should have some weapon.”
After washing our hands, I handed Cassion the meal the innkeeper had brought, and we naturally sat facing each other on the bed. A cream stew spill would be disastrous, but the table by the window only had space for one person to eat, so we had no choice.
“Though I expected it, now that I’m experiencing it, I think marrying you was really the right choice.”
“Hup. Um. What does expecting trouble have to do with marriage?”
Cassion asks while skillfully suppressing a cough, having choked on the stew he was eating well. What’s so strange about that?
“Our contract. During the marriage, I have you as backing, and after the contract, I’ll have money. Beauty without money or backing brings more harm than good.”
Even when she made a contract with Cassion, despite being a fallen noble treated like property, she at least had her family’s protection. Now even that’s gone – what if I ended up on the streets with this beauty? There’s a limit to how tough I can act.
“Of course, my beauty isn’t at fault! But there are countless people who get bewitched and develop bad intentions, right? Honestly, no matter how much I yelled at the innkeeper, if I had come alone without you, he wouldn’t have been this submissive.”
“……Asil.”
“It might be awkward to say this now, but when we first… no, the second time we met to make the contract, you might have looked at me like I was crazy, but I was desperate in my own way. As confident as I am in my beauty, I know the influence this face can have.”
From the beginning, the reason my family didn’t throw me away was this face. They just kept me like a pretty jewel they could sell for a higher price later.
“……I didn’t know you had thought it through that much. I’m sorry if I treated it too lightly.”
“It’s fine. I’m not saying this to get an apology now, and I wasn’t upset about it at the time.”
Though I wasn’t scolding him, Cassion’s eating gradually slowed until it finally stopped. I tapped his hand while chewing bread soaked in stew.
“Despite how beautiful I am, you valued my confidence more than my face. You were a new kind of person to me too. And I didn’t dislike that. I have many good points besides my beauty.”
“Heh. Right. It’s not common to find a woman who helps with assassination at the first meeting.”
“That’s right. I’m quite unique. You should be grateful for this unique item that rolled in on its own.”
As I was about to get up, having already emptied my bowl compared to the slowed-down Cassion, he suddenly grabbed my wrist. But it didn’t hurt at all and didn’t even shake the plate.
“Asil. You’re not an item.”
“……I was just saying. I know that.”
But Cassion’s serious expression didn’t change. His hand slowly released my wrist, but his intense gaze remained fixed on me, forcing me to turn away in retreat.
Why is he saying such things so directly? And why is my heart racing for no reason?
“Well, since we’ve finished dinner, shall we talk about this village?”
I clapped my hands to clear the somehow ticklish atmosphere and sat down slightly further away than before. I had suddenly become aware of how close Cassion and I had been.
“Seeing how you’re eating dinner without saying much, I guess none of the outsiders are candidates for being Lorang?”
“Right. They were completely different. I also checked anyone suspicious among the locals, but……”
As Cassion shook his head, his hair swayed gently. Looking at his jet-black hair again, I thought how nice its texture was compared to the innkeeper’s unkempt appearance, before suddenly catching myself. Why am I having such random thoughts?
“Well, we can’t expect success on our first try. This village is a bust.”
“There’s no need to look further, so when dawn breaks tomorrow, we should just stock up on supplies and move on to the next village. How’s your condition, Asil?”
“After sleeping until this afternoon, I’m fine. I agree with leaving right away since it’s not a long distance this time – it’s only an hour or two to the next village.”
“Is there anything you need before we leave? Like new clothes……”
“Commoner clothes would be useless when we return, so there’s no need to buy several sets. I think I can manage with these clothes throughout the journey. It might smell a bit by the end, but you’ll have to bear with it.”
“You’re worrying about unnecessary things. Still, think about it again before we leave. Is there anything you felt you needed or lacked while staying here? It’s fine if our luggage increases a bit.”
“This is all I need.”
I turned around and pointed to the tie holding up my skillfully arranged hair. Feeling it, I could touch the flower embroidery.
“It seems sturdy and good.”
“It seems too rough….. Though I’m not saying it doesn’t suit you.”
“Of course. If something doesn’t suit me, there must be a problem with the item.”
They say hair usually turns out better when tied casually than when carefully styled. Though it’s a shame the well-arranged style won’t last, I pulled out the twisted tie since it’s time for bed.
“I hope we can take a bath in the next village.”
“……”
Feels like there’s too much dust in my hair. While speaking and running my fingers through my flowing hair one more time, Cassion seemed somehow entranced. What is he looking at?
“Cassion? Is there a problem?”
“……Nothing.”
“Then lie down quickly.”
I patted the hard wooden bed with a mischievous smile.
Unlike yesterday, though the subtly ticklish awareness of our closeness isn’t completely ignorable, I deliberately ignore it and move closer to him.
“You have to be my pillow.”
I lay down on my side and casually draped one leg over his body. Comfortable. Actually, his body is as hard as the wooden bed, but I don’t know why it feels so cozy.
“……Asilia. You tend to trust me too much.”
“Zzzz. The pillow is talking.”
Unlike yesterday, worried that my pounding heart might reach him, I pulled my upper body slightly back while keeping our lower bodies overlapped as I closed my eyes.
Hoping that tomorrow morning, the space beside me won’t be empty when I wake up.
