We're Married, After All - Chapter 4
I only managed to fall asleep, as if passing out, after Danel finally left the bedroom.
Feeling like I’d need a nap, I returned to the bedroom.
I had a maid pull the shutters closed, but I couldn’t fall asleep no matter how hard I tried. Instead, my head began to ache.
Was it because my mind was in turmoil?
In the end, I gave up on trying to sleep and called for the maid again.
“Prepare a shirt and pants for me.”
The perceptive maid quickly ordered the apprentice maid who had followed her to bring a practice spear. Thanks to that, my mood improved slightly.
I changed into the clothes right away and headed straight to the backyard. Perhaps she had been instructed beforehand, as the apprentice maid simply placed the spear down and left the training area.
I enjoyed the quiet of the empty training ground for a moment before picking up one of the spears and assuming a stance.
*Whoosh.*
The spear left my hand with the sound of slicing wind.
At the same time, thoughts came rushing in.
Everything was strange, from start to finish. The fact that Danel, who had claimed he’d leave at dawn, returned late at night. The way he buried his face between my legs, hurriedly swallowing my fluids. The thick, clumped s***n. And those clear, violet eyes that met mine this morning as if nothing had happened.
What could it be? Did he suddenly awaken to carnal desires? No way.
It wasn’t strange for a man in his prime to take an interest in a woman’s body, but if it was Danel Veloce, that was a different story. As far as I knew, he was the person furthest removed from such desires. It wasn’t for nothing that he entered the capital’s monastery at the age of thirteen.
Was it because he had developed an interest in me?
That made even less sense. Danel’s life had already been derailed by his older brother, Petios. But I, too, had played a significant role in ruining his life. After all, he had resigned from his priesthood and left the monastery because of our marriage.
*Petios….*
*Thunk.*
The spear flew in a perfect arc and struck the exact center of the target. If this had been a hunting competition instead of a training ground, I might have earned the top prize.
Even if I had thrown it while mounted on horseback—or used a bow instead of a spear—the result would have been the same. There was a reason my fiancé ran away from me.
Born into a moderately prestigious and well-regarded family, my marriage had been decided the moment I was born. My intended partner was the eldest son of Count Veloce, who was four years old at the time. Thus, I lived my entire life as the fiancée of Petios Veloce.
But one day, that man disappeared, leaving behind only a single letter. For the pettiest of reasons.
A lord’s duty is to protect their territory. For that reason, under the laws of the kingdom, one must hold a knightly title to be granted a noble title. In other words, taking the knight’s exam was a prerequisite to becoming the official heir of a noble family.
Of course, the knight’s exam for the eldest sons of noble families was different from the standard one. It was an exam anyone of average ability could pass with ease.
But Petios was far from average. He was sickly and physically clumsy. He failed the knight’s exam three times—an exam most could pass with their eyes closed.
Count Veloce, unable to bear the situation any longer, resorted to a workaround. He decided to marry the two of us.
As the eldest son and now a married man, Petios could not be left with nothing. So the count handed over Lapezia Castle to him—a territory that ranked among the largest in the Veloce domain. It was obvious that the count also intended to quietly transfer other territories to Petios over time.
But a week before the wedding, everything fell apart.
*”If I marry Laurea, I’ll be compared to her for the rest of my life.”*
When I found the letter Petios had left behind, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
I was talented in every hobby a nobleman might pursue. Horseback riding, spear throwing, archery—even running. I excelled at them all.
The problem was that none of those talents were of any use to the daughter of a marquis like me. As a woman, I could never inherit a title, and naturally, I had no need to take the knight’s exam required for succession.
Still, I didn’t think it would be a major problem—until my fiancé, who had failed the knight’s exam again, ran away.
Count Veloce searched for his eldest son until the very last moment. It must have been an extremely difficult situation for him. Many guests were already en route to the Veloce estate for the wedding, and Lapezia Castle, which was to become the newlyweds’ home, had been fully prepared. Postponing the wedding at this stage wasn’t an option.
My parents were in a similarly dire situation. Waiting for Petios to pass the exam had caused me to miss the proper age for marriage. Even as the youngest daughter of the Marquis Temesio, finding a suitable match at the age of twenty-eight was nearly impossible.
That’s when Count Veloce came up with a wild idea: replacing Petios with Danel, who had temporarily left the monastery to attend the wedding.
Thus, the wedding proceeded as planned. The official explanation was that Petios had suddenly passed away the day before, leading to Danel and me getting married instead. But no matter how it was framed, the situation looked strange. A monk, who had even been ordained as a priest, returning to secular life for a political marriage—it was scandalous, to say the least. Naturally, rumors and gossip surrounded us.
A marriage that began under such circumstances was never destined to be affectionate.
