I Married the Mad Duke Who Killed My Husband - Chapter 54
‘Asil, Asilia!’
I woke up to the sound of banging noise.
I didn’t realize how tired I was. It seems I had fallen asleep at some point while soaking in the warm water, and now Cassion was calling for me from outside the door.
“Ugh, it’s cold. I’m in here!”
‘Why aren’t you answering? Did something happen?’
It seems I had been asleep for quite a while, as the bathwater that the inn staff had heated to steaming was now cold. Thinking I might catch a cold, I got up to put on my clothes, but I noticed they were covered in dirt.
I don’t really want to put these on after I’ve just bathed.
‘Asilia, can I come in?’
“Just a moment… Alright! You can come in now!”
Cassion must have bought new clothes, so I’ll wear those. For now, I wrapped myself in a spare sheet and unlocked the door.
“What were you doing in there…!”
Cassion was waiting impatiently, tapping his foot and keeping an eye on Lorang while standing sideways. When he saw me, he started to yell but quickly pushed me back into the room.
Bang!
“What are you doing!”
“What are YOU doing!”
I shouted as I saw Lorang, who had tried to follow Cassion in, almost bump his nose on the door that closed right in front of him. But Cassion shouted even louder than me. He was about to hand me the clothes but turned his face away with an exasperated look when he saw me completely wrapped up in the sheet, arms and all.
“What if you leave Lorang alone outside! You should bring him in!”
“Are you out of your mind? You want to let a man in when you’re like that?”
“I’m more covered up now than when I’m dressed, what’s the problem? Besides, aren’t you a man too?”
“That’s right! Don’t treat me like I’m some roadside rock or grass, I’m a man too, Asilia!”
“Who said you weren’t? Why are you being like this? Really. Just put the clothes over there and quickly bring Lorang in.”
“Not even if my eyes were filled with dirt.”
That’s a shame. If we were outside, I would have picked up some dirt from the ground and sprinkled it in his eyes.
Seeing Cassion’s absolute refusal to back down, I finally gave up first. Realizing that I needed to get dressed quickly to let Lorang in, I approached the clothes Cassion had placed on the bed.
“What are you doing!”
“Ah, you startled me. I’m getting dressed!”
Like changing clothes inside clothes at some point in my vague past life, I wriggled inside the sheet, pulling my hands out to put on the clothes. Cassion recoiled in disgust, fleeing to the farthest corner of the room and averting his gaze.
For a moment, I wondered if I looked like a hatching monster rather than someone changing clothes as I squirmed inside the sheet.
“Sigh, are you getting irritated because you’re too tired? I’ll ask them to change the bathwater, so you should also…”
“No need! I’m not just being difficult, I…”
Cassion, who had been facing the wall as if in meditation, turned around at my words, but then turned pale, covering his mouth and staggering as he saw me lowering the sheet.
“You look like you’re about to faint. Don’t exaggerate. I’m fully dressed now.”
“Please… Say something first, Asilia!”
“Yes, yes. I’ve changed my clothes completely. I’m going to let Lorang in, so don’t be surprised, baby bird Duke~”
Too shocked to even pick on my sarcastic tone, Cassion clutched his chest and lowered his face, which had turned pale.
“Ah, madam! I thought I had done something wrong.”
When I opened the door, Lorang was standing there with an innocent face, tapping his feet, far from trying to escape. It’s fortunate that he’s so stupid.
“The clothes suit you well. It seems the Duke has good taste. I recommended a pink outfit.”
“What?”
“These days, even commoners imitate noble clothes, dyeing them with cheap dyes to make colorful outfits. I thought a pink dress would look good with your hair color…”
“…”
…Is he serious? Well, there are many pretty pink clothes. But the color that cheap pink dye would produce on rough, unbleached fabric was obvious without even seeing it.
“Hahaha. Looking at it now, this outfit seems much better than that pink one. I’m embarrassed that I recommended trusting an artist’s aesthetic sense.”
Cassion, who had been half-collapsed because of me, looked back and forth between Lorang and me, closing his eyes tightly with a drained expression.
Are you treating me on the same level as Lorang? What did I do wrong?
“By the way, it seems to be getting noisy outside. Are you two planning to stay inside?”
Oblivious to the atmosphere, Lorang kept chattering, showing his desire to see the festival, and Cassion’s sigh deepened.
Well, it would be difficult to take Lorang around in a crowded place. But I want to see it too.
“Thanks for the clothes. Now you should rest. This time, I’ll go out and buy some food while I’m at it.”
“Absolutely not.”
No matter how I looked at it, Cassion didn’t seem to want to go out again, so I was being considerate, but he stood up with his eyes wide open. The bloodshot look in his eyes as he gazed at Lorang and me suggested he should rest, but he’s being stubborn.
“Neither of you should think about straying more than three steps away from me.”
“You’ll be escorting two beauties, then.”
“….”
Cassion covered his face with his large hand once more.
***
“Oh, look, the lord and his daughter are coming out! Let’s go watch!”
The lord really went all out; the village festival celebrating his daughter’s wedding was truly grand and splendid. Every street was lit with lanterns and small colorful flags, making it bright and lively despite being nighttime.
We had already eaten our fill of various street foods and were now fully immersed in sightseeing, holding fruit skewers for dessert. Well, it seemed only Lorang and I were immersed.
“Why bother with such… Asilia! I told you not to stray!”
But Cassion’s shouts, while holding a sugar-coated fruit skewer, didn’t scare me at all.
Lorang and I joined the crowd trying to see the wedding of the lord’s youngest daughter, and soon we could see a shyly smiling woman on the terrace of the lord’s castle, visible even from here.
“Oh, how cute.”
“…She doesn’t look much younger than you, madam?”
The young lady, blushing like an apple and waving her hand while standing between her groom and the man who appeared to be her father, the lord, was truly beautiful and adorable.
Easily ignoring Lorang’s words, I joined the gathered people in blessing the young lady’s future.
“Congratulations, be happy~!”
As I enthusiastically waved my arm holding the fruit skewer, immersing myself in the lovely festival atmosphere, Cassion looked at me with an ambiguous expression.
“…It truly is a grand wedding.”
“Du… Eek. Your wedding must have been this grand too, right?”
Lorang, who almost called Cassion ‘Duke’ again, looked back at us with a bright smile. I burst out laughing, remembering the onion-net-like gloves and the oversized dress that kept slipping off my shoulders. That’s a memory too.
“Our wedding was remarkable in a different way.”
“Of course, you both look so tall and handsome, it must have been amazing.”
“The onlookers couldn’t close their mouths. Right, Cassion?”
I chuckled and patted Cassion’s shoulder, but his expression wasn’t good. He looked at the lord’s daughter in her splendid wedding dress once, then at me once, and spoke in a hesitant voice.
“…I don’t know why I did that.”
“Gasp. Don’t tell me you regret marrying the madam… Never mind.”
Lorang shut his mouth at Cassion’s murderous glare, which looked like he might kill him regardless of the people around. I was still chuckling and agreed with his words.
“We were a bit crazy that day. We were in a hurry too.”
“…Don’t you regret it?”
“That day? Not at all. I think it was a good choice.”
Although not everything that followed was good, I don’t regret my choice. I just did my best in my situation.
“No, I don’t regret marrying you either. It’s just… too…”
“Too much of a mess?”
“…”
I laughed as I chewed on the remaining fruit on the skewer. It was a bit too sweet for my taste, but sometimes this kind of thing is okay too.
“What does it matter? I enjoyed it.”
Come to think of it, I kissed Cassion then too. Although it was more like a teeth collision.
“It doesn’t matter anyway since it’s not a real marriage.”
I stood on my tiptoes to whisper so Lorang couldn’t hear, and Cassion, who naturally bent down to bring his ear closer, froze.
Was it a bit dangerous to mention the contract outside?
But I really…
“I’m glad I married you that day.”
I felt like I would always be able to smile when remembering that day.
Gnfjfjfj
Poor cassion sjjzjshshsh