My Contract Husband Resembles the Male Protagonist - Chapter 45
Since then, the herb garden has been found devastated several times.
I’ve decided not to seek out the perpetrator to question them.
“…Should I just kill them first?”
Unable to find the ring and with the herbs in disarray, I began to lose my patience.
“Not wild boars, not rabbits, then who’s eating the herbs?”
“Miss Enya?”
“Ah! Dale?”
I saw Dale approaching from a distance and hurried towards him.
“Did you come to pick me up again today?”
Dale nodded with a smile.
Lately, Dale has been coming to fetch me every day after work. Sometimes he looked around as if searching for something, but I didn’t know why.
‘Anyway, I think it’s sweet.’
I happily acknowledged having a contract husband with the best performance and character.
Dale took off my gardening hat for me.
“What shall we have for dinner tonight?”
“I’m thinking of making tomato soup and turkey slathered in butter.”
“Wow, sounds delicious. Can I look forward to it again today?”
“I won’t disappoint you.”
Dale smiled gently.
He was doing too well in his role as a contract husband, dedicating himself both physically and emotionally, more so than a real husband might.
Weeding the garden, chopping wood in advance, fixing the house, cooking, cleaning, doing the dishes, managing the household accounts, grocery shopping, disposing of the trash properly, waking me up when I oversleep, taking me to the Lord’s mansion, and coming to fetch me.
If Dale ever accuses me of an unfair contract, I’d quietly have to be taken away.
And Dale, importantly, had a handsome face.
And a kind heart.
‘Is this the value of 10,000 Crobats per day?’
No. Dale’s kindness is a priceless talent that can’t be quantified in money.
Meeting Dale was a stroke of luck.
“…..”
“What? Is there something on my face?”
Dale stood still with an expression of curiosity.
“Go ahead and say it. It’s okay.”
“…It’s nothing.”
He seemed to smile bitterly as he also attempted to take off my gloves.
“I’d rather not take these off.”
“Aren’t those gardening gloves?”
“Well, yes, but…”
Taking them off would reveal that the ring was gone.
“These are incredibly warm! My hands are so warm I couldn’t bear to take them off even if I died.”
“I wasn’t aware. Are your hands cold?”
“It’s gotten colder, hasn’t it? Hahaha, there’s no other pair of gloves that keep you as warm as these do. Ah, my hands are freezing!”
“..…”
I blew on my hands exaggeratedly.
Pretending to be cold, Dale quickly took me to the carriage.
“..…”
But inside the carriage, Dale continued to look at me.
It seemed like he had something to say…
“Actually, I went looking for you earlier.”
“When?”
“It was during the day. I finished work a bit early and went to see you, but you weren’t there.”
“Ah, right.”
“Is there something going on?”
At that time, I was with Sophia.
Sophia was too embarrassed, and had asked to keep our etiquette lessons a secret between the two of us.
“I just had some errands at the Lord’s mansion.”
“May I ask what those errands were?”
“I had someone to meet.”
“Someone.”
The air in the carriage felt heavy for a moment.
“Someone…”
Dale’s expression became complicated.
His face seemed to be cast in shadow, oddly enough.
His handsome features appeared to darken.
“…..”
Could he have noticed that I lost the ring?
I cast Dale a sideway glance.
It didn’t seem like he knew yet.
“But you came home early today too, didn’t you? Has your workload decreased?”
I quickly changed the subject.
“I think I’ll be coming home early for a while.”
For some reason, his gaze seemed slightly disappointed.
“I’ll be spending more time with you than before.”
“That’s a relief.”
His eyes widened.
“You seemed more tired every day, Dale. I was worried about you.”
Dale looked at me quietly, then shook his head.
“I’m not tired. I’m fine.”
“That’s something my brother would say.”
I wrapped my chilly body with both arms, and then Dale took off his robe and draped it over me. It was a high-quality robe made of a light yet warm material.
“Thank you. That’s something a brother would do.”
I couldn’t help but smile.
“Right. I once saw Dale riding a horse from behind and thought he resembled my brother. He had the posture of a nobleman through and through.”
“…..”
“Dale, you’re truly capable of everything.”
He seemed flustered by the compliment, blushing, but he didn’t seem to dislike it.
Dale really couldn’t lie.
It was all over his face.
