IYWHM Chapter 96

Silence hung between the two people.

Kisa glanced at the firmly closed door and then turned her gaze to Seyard.

“…No matter what happens?”

“That’s right,” he affirmed her question with his usual expression.

A room that must never be entered. To be honest, it was quite a startling command.

“But don’t the servants need to enter for cleaning and such?”

“It’s fine. I do the cleaning myself.”

“You, Seyard?”

“Yes. Though it’s just basic sweeping and wiping whenever I go in there occasionally.”

Even so, it was hard to imagine the mighty Duke of Hillan himself rolling up his sleeves and doing menial chores.

Perhaps such thoughts showed on her face. He burst into laughter.

“Don’t worry. Despite appearances, I used to manage my own room when I was at the monastery. I was even mobilized for major cleaning several times.”

“Ah, I see. But…”

Kisa hesitated momentarily before continuing.

“If what’s inside is that valuable, wouldn’t it be better to move it somewhere else? Of course, the security at the duke’s residence is excellent, but you never know. There could be thieves.”

It would be several times safer to rent a safety deposit box at a bank rather than keeping it in an ordinary room.

However, Seyard firmly shook his head.

“No, there’s little risk of that. Because these things are only important to me personally, they have almost no objective value. They’re more like objects with memories attached.”

“I-I see.”

Kisa waited a moment, hoping he might explain what kinds of memories these were, but the words she wanted didn’t come.

“Anyway, you don’t need to concern yourself with this room. I’ll take care of everything.”

“……”

Kisa stared blankly at the key she had just received from him.

An antique decorative key made of brass. This key, which could open every room in the mansion, was truly a symbol of the Duchess of Hillan.

From the treasury where the family’s assets were stored, to the duke’s office containing various important documents, and even the duke’s most private space—his bedroom.

As the lady of the house, Kisa would have to manage these places alongside Seyard, and in his unavoidable absence, she would have to take full responsibility for the household alone.

In other words, handing over this key meant bestowing those powerful and weighty rights.

In truth, many heads of households were reluctant to pass such rights to their wives.

Even though she was a wife, she was still from another family. How much deep trust could exist between a couple joined in a political marriage?

For this reason, it was common to hand over the key only after several years of marriage, when they thought, “Now I can trust her.”

But Seyard had given Kisa the key even before they had officially married.

‘It means he trusts me that much.’

At the same time, it also meant that he didn’t want to show her that room, despite trusting her so much.

What is this feeling?

As Kisa was trying to examine her feelings, Seyard pointed toward the direction of his office.

“Well, shall we go back now?”

“Ah, yes.”

Because of this, Kisa missed the opportunity to mention the room in question and followed him to his office.

Afterward, he chatted about trivial matters as if nothing had happened, and when dinner time came, he led Kisa to the dining room.

Dinner passed as smoothly as usual, and soon it was time to return to the Vansfelt residence.

Only in the carriage on the way back did Kisa finally have time to reflect on what had happened today.

The secret room. Seyard’s secret. A room where he kept secrets he didn’t want to reveal even to Kisa.

Suddenly, her honest feelings burst out.

“…I feel hurt.”

Kisa couldn’t help feeling disappointed that he had secrets he kept from her.

But approaching it rationally, she couldn’t blame him.

No matter how close and intimate a relationship might be, could there exist a relationship in this world without any secrets at all?

Kisa herself hadn’t revealed everything to Seyard, and she wasn’t confident she would do so in the future either.

She tried to set aside her surge of emotions and judge based on objective facts alone.

“Right, I’m the same.”

Come to think of it, Kisa also had a place where she kept personal items away from others’ eyes.

It was the jewelry box resting in the lowest drawer of her dressing table.

In Seyard’s case, that place was just a bit larger.

Well, either the number of items was greater or they were larger in size.

“What am I thinking? It’s nothing special.”

With a lighter heart, Kisa returned home and headed to her room.

While she was at it, she opened the bottom drawer of her dressing table to check on her jewelry box.

“……”

She jerked her hand away from the jewelry box as if she had touched a hot object.

A memory she had been trying to forget came flooding back.

The most recent object she had stored in this jewelry box—memories related to Seyard’s old diary.

Those chilling phrases she still remembered clearly:

[Since coming here, there hasn’t been a single day I haven’t thought about death.”

It was sometimes my own death, but mostly the death of others.

The death of Brother Makkio, who forced his twisted faith on others.

The death of the abbot, who was only interested in the money from the Hillan family.

The death of the arrogant and stupid Cobi.]

Kisa unconsciously murmured a name.

“Cobi…”

Why, at this moment, did that name strangely linger in her mind? And with such an ominous resonance.

To prevent her thoughts from straying in an unpleasant direction, she hastily shook her head.

“Well, I met Cobi recently.”

So it had simply come to mind without any significant meaning.

Why was she feeling so uneasy about this? He should be doing well at the Hillan family’s villa by now.

Originally, this diary was written during a time when Seyard harbored resentment toward the world.

Kisa knew it was just a passing phase, as she herself had gone through a period when she disliked most people, including her cold-hearted father.

Didn’t they say that Seyard and Cobi got along well afterward?

“Needless worry.”

Even as Kisa tried to console herself with those words, she couldn’t bring herself to open the jewelry box as originally planned.

For some reason, she didn’t want to check that old notebook for the time being.

A few days later, Kisa met Seyard and returned the brass key she had received earlier.

She asked him to entrust it to her after they were married, though she appreciated the gesture.

Since the safe in Kisa’s room wasn’t particularly expensive, she didn’t feel secure keeping such an important key that could potentially determine the fate of the Hillan family.

At the same time, it wasn’t appropriate to keep it in Count Vansfelt’s safe either.

Seyard accepted Kisa’s explanation and took back the key without showing any particular disappointment.

As always, he simply responded, “I see.”

****

The existence of the secret room left an inexplicable uneasiness in Kisa’s heart, but the passage of time helped her bury it in the back of her mind.

Meanwhile, the year changed, and the noise of celebrating the new year spread throughout the streets.

Kisa spent time with the people of the Vansfelt residence as well as with Seyard, eating commemorative food and telling fortunes with cards for the coming year.

By then, a certain change had occurred in Kisa.

“Kisa.”

“…Yes?”

“Let’s stop now. It’s getting late.”

“Oh, come on, Seyard.”

Kisa looked at Seyard sitting across from her and pleaded with her index finger raised.

“Just one more glass. Let me have just one more.”

Hearing her slurred speech, he gave an embarrassed smile.

After appearing to contemplate for a moment, the man shook his head and took the glass from Kisa’s hand.

“No. You’re already quite drunk.”

“I’m fine.”

“Not from where I’m sitting.”

Kisa made a sulky face but obediently followed her lover’s wishes.

In fact, contrary to what she had said, she was aware that she was quite intoxicated.

Looking outside, darkness had long since fallen—it was time to return home.

“I should go now.”

Saying this, Kisa stood up.

But seeing her stumble severely, Seyard supported her.

“You seem to be enjoying alcohol more than before.”

It wasn’t just “seem”—it was definitely.

“Yes, I’ve discovered the taste for it. I just meant to have a glass or two with meals, but…”

Originally, it had been to forget the anxiety that came without reason, but before she knew it, she had come to enjoy the alcohol itself.

Wasn’t that good? When pleasantly intoxicated, she could sleep peacefully without any worries.

“……”

Seyard gazed at her giggling face and merely said in a gentle voice:

“It’s all fine, but I’ll have to stop you if I think you’re drinking enough to harm your health.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And I think you should stay here tonight and go back tomorrow.”

“What?”

“You’re too drunk. I’m worried you might fall on your way back.”

His words seemed reasonable, so Kisa, with her spinning head, agreed.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, Seyard swept Kisa up into his arms.

Ignoring Kisa’s protests that she could walk on her own, he quickly carried her to the guest room—the same one where Kisa had stayed during the engagement ceremony.

Lily, who had received orders from the Duke of Hillan, quickly prepared the room, and it was soon ready.

The servants must have cleaned it regularly to be able to receive guests at any time.

While Lily went to fetch water for washing, Seyard laid Kisa on the bed.

“I’ll be going now. Rest well.”

Just as he gave his greetings and was about to leave:

“Wait a moment.”

Kisa grabbed his sleeve, and their gazes met.

“…Don’t leave. Seyard.”

Nervously swallowing, Kisa looked at him with yearning eyes.

“Stay by my side tonight. All night.”