87.

“Hey, did you know? Just yesterday, during dinner, our Lady actually smiled at her husband! And I don’t mean one of those sarcastic or angry smiles she usually has—she genuinely smiled, warmly!”

“No way! And did you hear about this? When the two of them are alone, they call each other by their first names! I was cleaning the eastern library, and it seemed like they didn’t realize I was there. Can you believe it?”

“Oh, and get this! I saw in the garden—his lordship secretly kissed our lady’s cheek—”

Yesterday, the day before that—!

Whenever the servants caught a glimpse of the lord and her husband, they gathered together, chattering excitedly about the two of them.

“But isn’t this the most interesting part of it all?”

One of the older maids, surrounded by the others, raised her finger with a flourish and declared.

“Our Lady still has no idea what kind of expression she makes when she looks at her husband!”

At this, the maids around her all let out dreamy sighs and clasped their foreheads in unison.

“…Oh my, how adorable!”

The servants always found themselves both shocked and delighted whenever they discovered an unexpected side of their Lady.

Though rumors painted the head of the McFoy family as a fearsome figure, she was surprisingly well-liked in the western regions. The people of the West took pride in their lord, who had brought their domain to an era of unprecedented prosperity since the Empire’s founding.

This was especially true for those who served her directly at the estate. They adored and cherished their lord, who, contrary to the malicious rumors, was small in stature, curt but caring toward her people.

‘Our small, precious Lady!’

With their fondness and love for their master, they had long hoped that someone would come along to bring warmth to their Lady’s seemingly cold, mechanical heart.

So, the five years of her drawn-out, lukewarm engagement with Phillip Morfolk had been a dark period for them. Just the mention of “Morfolk” made them sigh and clutch their chests.

None of them had expected that this dark period would end and that a man capable of not just oiling the rigid gears of their Lady’s heart but melting them completely would arrive at the McFoy estate.

The stories about the newlyweds were absolute gems. But what delighted them the most was, without a doubt, their Lady’s reactions.

‘To think our Lady is melting without even realizing it!’

Watching their Lady slowly but surely succumb to her husband’s charm became a daily source of excitement.

And then, last night, an event occurred that outdid any rumor spreading through the western lands about the McFoy couple.

It seemed the two of them had finally managed to break the headboard of a bed that was supposedly indestructible, even under the most strenuous activities of a married couple.

* * *

Erika glared at Aisa with dull eyes as she finally appeared in the office, well past noon. A few moments later, she broke the silence that had been filled only by the sound of shuffling papers.

“Today, it seems you’ve gone and broken the headboard of the bed. It’s truly a relief that both of you emerged unscathed.”

“…Broken, you say?”

Aisa didn’t immediately grasp the meaning of Erika’s words. She had been focusing all her efforts on keeping thoughts of that wretched “I love you” out of her mind and concentrating solely on her duties.

But the moment she remembered the intricately carved headboard, her face went pale. Pieces of her fragmented memories from the previous night suddenly made sense.

“Wait—so that wasn’t a dream?”

Aisa muttered, her face turning ashen. She vaguely remembered hearing a loud, earth-shaking noise right before she succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep last night.

‘Oh my goodness. That noise… it was the sound of the headboard breaking? What on earth were we doing?’

“Yes. Judging by the condition of the headboard, it seems our Lady might be something more than human,” Erika replied, her disdain barely concealed.

Aisa had, on occasion, wondered if Norma Diazi might be half-beast himself. But she was too flustered to entertain such thoughts right now, much less agree openly.

“I always wondered why you couldn’t leave your room in the mornings. I suppose it’s a miracle you’re both still breathing each day.”

“…”

“If your goal isn’t an untimely death from overexertion, perhaps some moderation would be wise.”

“…You think I don’t know that?”

“I honestly thought you didn’t.”

Erika shrugged, her gesture annoyingly dismissive. Aisa found it infuriating, but she knew that responding would only make her look worse, so she kept her mouth shut.

She’d drawn her own boundaries, claiming she’d stick to her duties, but even she knew she was behaving like someone who’d learned a new trick too late and didn’t know when to stop.

‘I know, alright? I know! But it’s not as if it’s that easy.’

Even if they started with just holding hands, at some point, they’d find themselves kissing. It was maddening.

Pure embarrassment flushed Aisa’s cheeks, and she finally buried her face in one hand, sighing deeply.

‘Good grief. This is ridiculous.’

Erika clicked her tongue softly, as if she wished she hadn’t heard any more. Her thoughts shifted to the new master of the McFoy estate, the one who had brought this change upon her normally stern employer.

Norma was no ordinary man. He had not only won over the hearts of the servants in record time but had also managed to charm Erika Seymour, who was known as the most unyielding mountain in the estate.

Yet, Erika was one of the few who knew that behind Norma’s gentle smiles lay a cunning mind. She had noticed how he engaged in subtle battles of wit with Kano, all while maintaining his pleasant demeanor. She knew Norma was not as harmless as he seemed.

Erika recalled the image of Norma’s gleaming golden eyes and thought of how he had managed to sway her normally guarded mistress, whose resolve seemed to melt in front of him. She had long ago predicted Norma’s victory.

‘The Lady doesn’t know, does she? That the servants have a running bet on when she’ll finally realize her own feelings.’

With a faint sense of exasperation, Erika finally spoke up. Watching her superior stumble through this chaotic romance was far from enjoyable, despite their long-standing camaraderie.

“In any case, it would be wise to moderate how often you, um, share your nights together. The paperwork is starting to pile up, and I’d rather not have to work late because of this.”

“…”

“Even a love that lasts a thousand years wouldn’t be so excessive.”

“A love that lasts a thousand years? What does that have to do with… with sharing a bed?”

Aisa, who had been trying to keep quiet, practically leapt at the mention of the word “love.” Her reaction was overly sensitive, and Erika’s eyes narrowed as she observed her.

“Sharing a bed is just that—curiosity about new experiences, simple desire. It’s entirely separate from love. You don’t think I can tell the difference?”

“…Yet you said I was toying with Sir Harry Forn, calling him naive and all that. Well, your remarks now sound even worse.”

“It’s a noble’s marriage. Talking about feelings like love is pointless and laughable.”

‘Then what exactly is it that you’re doing?’

Erika barely managed to swallow down the words that almost slipped out, biting back her frustration while Aisa continued her heated defense against the notion of “love.”

“Ha, love, you say? That’s a luxury! I have far more pressing and important matters to deal with. Love is simply out of the question. Honestly, you must be out of your mind.”

“…”

“Especially with a sworn enemy still out there breathing, do you think I can afford to lose myself in such trivial emotions? This whole… sharing a bed thing is just a passing curiosity! Simple physical desire!”

“Oh, yes. I understand completely.”

“Really, how could I possibly be distracted by something as fickle as emotions? You’re the one being strange.”

“Yes, yes. I made a mistake in speaking out of turn.”

Hearing herself voice these thoughts left Aisa feeling as if she had just woken up from a daze.

‘With Nyx still alive, I could find myself in mortal danger at any moment. Who knows if things will play out according to that damned novel? I don’t have the luxury of dwelling on love.’

Erika, for her part, thought that Aisa was digging herself deeper into a pit of her own making, but she chose not to say anything more. More than anything, she found it all too tiresome.

Instead, Erika changed the subject to a matter more suited to her role as Aisa’s chief aide.

“Yes, I understand now. Curiosity, simple desire, not a grand love. I get it. Are we done here?”

“…Fine.”

“However, even if the contraceptive tonic you’re taking comes from the Eastern Continent, it’s not good to take it every day.”

Damn it. I instinctively frowned. It didn’t matter what topic we touched upon; anything even remotely related to that “husband” of mine made me uncomfortable.

When it became impossible to deny that marrying Norma Diazi was a foregone conclusion, I belatedly addressed the matter of having an heir with him.

 

“My heir is Archie. Only Archie. There will be no children between you and me.”

 

I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at Norma’s expression after that declaration.

 

“Even if we were to have a child, they would not be eligible to become the heir.”

 

The words I spoke were undeniably a blow to Norma.

If he had challenged me to a ‘duel to the death’ at that moment, I wouldn’t have been able to argue. But as someone who had already chosen my nephew as my successor, it was a discussion I had to have before the marriage.

 

“I’m aware that backing out of the marriage would be difficult at this point. But I’ll ask you again: do you…”

 

I continued, uncharacteristically averting my gaze.

 

“Do you still want to marry me?”

 

Would marrying me truly make you happy? Even though I said it would be difficult to turn back now, this was my final chance to give him a way out.

I remembered what Norma had said back then.

 

“I already consider young master Archie as my own child, and whatever you wish, that is what I wish as well.”

 

Norma had spoken as if he would have no greater wish than to be my husband.

 

“Yes, I wish to be your husband.”

 

His quick and clear answer left me speechless, and I stared at him for a long while. In the end, I made a promise to him, knowing he always seemed to make choices that left him at a loss.

 

“I know this is an unreasonable demand. If we have no children between us, and if any children were not to be considered as heirs, your position could become unstable.”

“It’s alright.”

“In return, though this is hardly adequate—”

 

The influence of a lady’s power often stemmed from her lord’s support.

 

“I will do my best to cherish you.”

 

I promised to treat Norma Diazi with all the care I could muster. This promise was the beginning of the vow I made to him at our wedding ceremony.

The reason I insisted there would be no children between us wasn’t solely to solidify Archie’s place.

I knew how the Empire’s nobles would gossip about a childless couple. It wouldn’t just put Norma in a difficult position.

But another reason I made this declaration to him was my own physical condition.

After a series of incidents, there wasn’t much of my body that remained unharmed. My cycles were erratic, and long ago, my physician Yan had told me that it would be difficult for me to conceive.

At the time, I hadn’t cared much. I wasn’t in love, nor did I have any desire to build a family that would span generations. I already had a suitable heir, so it hadn’t seemed like a problem to me.

But by the Empire’s standards, I was undeniably an imperfect candidate for marriage. And so, this topic remained an uncomfortable and sensitive one for me.

87.

“Hey, did you know? Just yesterday, during dinner, our Lady actually smiled at her husband! And I don’t mean one of those sarcastic or angry smiles she usually has—she genuinely smiled, warmly!”

“No way! And did you hear about this? When the two of them are alone, they call each other by their first names! I was cleaning the eastern library, and it seemed like they didn’t realize I was there. Can you believe it?”

“Oh, and get this! I saw in the garden—his lordship secretly kissed our lady’s cheek—”

Yesterday, the day before that—!

Whenever the servants caught a glimpse of the lord and her husband, they gathered together, chattering excitedly about the two of them.

“But isn’t this the most interesting part of it all?”

One of the older maids, surrounded by the others, raised her finger with a flourish and declared.

“Our Lady still has no idea what kind of expression she makes when she looks at her husband!”

At this, the maids around her all let out dreamy sighs and clasped their foreheads in unison.

“…Oh my, how adorable!”

The servants always found themselves both shocked and delighted whenever they discovered an unexpected side of their Lady.

Though rumors painted the head of the McFoy family as a fearsome figure, she was surprisingly well-liked in the western regions. The people of the West took pride in their lord, who had brought their domain to an era of unprecedented prosperity since the Empire’s founding.

This was especially true for those who served her directly at the estate. They adored and cherished their lord, who, contrary to the malicious rumors, was small in stature, curt but caring toward her people.

‘Our small, precious Lady!’

With their fondness and love for their master, they had long hoped that someone would come along to bring warmth to their Lady’s seemingly cold, mechanical heart.

So, the five years of her drawn-out, lukewarm engagement with Phillip Morfolk had been a dark period for them. Just the mention of “Morfolk” made them sigh and clutch their chests.

None of them had expected that this dark period would end and that a man capable of not just oiling the rigid gears of their Lady’s heart but melting them completely would arrive at the McFoy estate.

The stories about the newlyweds were absolute gems. But what delighted them the most was, without a doubt, their Lady’s reactions.

‘To think our Lady is melting without even realizing it!’

Watching their Lady slowly but surely succumb to her husband’s charm became a daily source of excitement.

And then, last night, an event occurred that outdid any rumor spreading through the western lands about the McFoy couple.

It seemed the two of them had finally managed to break the headboard of a bed that was supposedly indestructible, even under the most strenuous activities of a married couple.

* * *

Erika glared at Aisa with dull eyes as she finally appeared in the office, well past noon. A few moments later, she broke the silence that had been filled only by the sound of shuffling papers.

“Today, it seems you’ve gone and broken the headboard of the bed. It’s truly a relief that both of you emerged unscathed.”

“…Broken, you say?”

Aisa didn’t immediately grasp the meaning of Erika’s words. She had been focusing all her efforts on keeping thoughts of that wretched “I love you” out of her mind and concentrating solely on her duties.

But the moment she remembered the intricately carved headboard, her face went pale. Pieces of her fragmented memories from the previous night suddenly made sense.

“Wait—so that wasn’t a dream?”

Aisa muttered, her face turning ashen. She vaguely remembered hearing a loud, earth-shaking noise right before she succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep last night.

‘Oh my goodness. That noise… it was the sound of the headboard breaking? What on earth were we doing?’

“Yes. Judging by the condition of the headboard, it seems our Lady might be something more than human,” Erika replied, her disdain barely concealed.

Aisa had, on occasion, wondered if Norma Diazi might be half-beast himself. But she was too flustered to entertain such thoughts right now, much less agree openly.

“I always wondered why you couldn’t leave your room in the mornings. I suppose it’s a miracle you’re both still breathing each day.”

“…”

“If your goal isn’t an untimely death from overexertion, perhaps some moderation would be wise.”

“…You think I don’t know that?”

“I honestly thought you didn’t.”

Erika shrugged, her gesture annoyingly dismissive. Aisa found it infuriating, but she knew that responding would only make her look worse, so she kept her mouth shut.

She’d drawn her own boundaries, claiming she’d stick to her duties, but even she knew she was behaving like someone who’d learned a new trick too late and didn’t know when to stop.

‘I know, alright? I know! But it’s not as if it’s that easy.’

Even if they started with just holding hands, at some point, they’d find themselves kissing. It was maddening.

Pure embarrassment flushed Aisa’s cheeks, and she finally buried her face in one hand, sighing deeply.

‘Good grief. This is ridiculous.’

Erika clicked her tongue softly, as if she wished she hadn’t heard any more. Her thoughts shifted to the new master of the McFoy estate, the one who had brought this change upon her normally stern employer.

Norma was no ordinary man. He had not only won over the hearts of the servants in record time but had also managed to charm Erika Seymour, who was known as the most unyielding mountain in the estate.

Yet, Erika was one of the few who knew that behind Norma’s gentle smiles lay a cunning mind. She had noticed how he engaged in subtle battles of wit with Kano, all while maintaining his pleasant demeanor. She knew Norma was not as harmless as he seemed.

Erika recalled the image of Norma’s gleaming golden eyes and thought of how he had managed to sway her normally guarded mistress, whose resolve seemed to melt in front of him. She had long ago predicted Norma’s victory.

‘The Lady doesn’t know, does she? That the servants have a running bet on when she’ll finally realize her own feelings.’

With a faint sense of exasperation, Erika finally spoke up. Watching her superior stumble through this chaotic romance was far from enjoyable, despite their long-standing camaraderie.

“In any case, it would be wise to moderate how often you, um, share your nights together. The paperwork is starting to pile up, and I’d rather not have to work late because of this.”

“…”

“Even a love that lasts a thousand years wouldn’t be so excessive.”

“A love that lasts a thousand years? What does that have to do with… with sharing a bed?”

Aisa, who had been trying to keep quiet, practically leapt at the mention of the word “love.” Her reaction was overly sensitive, and Erika’s eyes narrowed as she observed her.

“Sharing a bed is just that—curiosity about new experiences, simple desire. It’s entirely separate from love. You don’t think I can tell the difference?”

“…Yet you said I was toying with Sir Harry Forn, calling him naive and all that. Well, your remarks now sound even worse.”

“It’s a noble’s marriage. Talking about feelings like love is pointless and laughable.”

‘Then what exactly is it that you’re doing?’

Erika barely managed to swallow down the words that almost slipped out, biting back her frustration while Aisa continued her heated defense against the notion of “love.”

“Ha, love, you say? That’s a luxury! I have far more pressing and important matters to deal with. Love is simply out of the question. Honestly, you must be out of your mind.”

“…”

“Especially with a sworn enemy still out there breathing, do you think I can afford to lose myself in such trivial emotions? This whole… sharing a bed thing is just a passing curiosity! Simple physical desire!”

“Oh, yes. I understand completely.”

“Really, how could I possibly be distracted by something as fickle as emotions? You’re the one being strange.”

“Yes, yes. I made a mistake in speaking out of turn.”

Hearing herself voice these thoughts left Aisa feeling as if she had just woken up from a daze.

‘With Nyx still alive, I could find myself in mortal danger at any moment. Who knows if things will play out according to that damned novel? I don’t have the luxury of dwelling on love.’

Erika, for her part, thought that Aisa was digging herself deeper into a pit of her own making, but she chose not to say anything more. More than anything, she found it all too tiresome.

Instead, Erika changed the subject to a matter more suited to her role as Aisa’s chief aide.

“Yes, I understand now. Curiosity, simple desire, not a grand love. I get it. Are we done here?”

“…Fine.”

“However, even if the contraceptive tonic you’re taking comes from the Eastern Continent, it’s not good to take it every day.”

Damn it. I instinctively frowned. It didn’t matter what topic we touched upon; anything even remotely related to that “husband” of mine made me uncomfortable.

When it became impossible to deny that marrying Norma Diazi was a foregone conclusion, I belatedly addressed the matter of having an heir with him.

 

“My heir is Archie. Only Archie. There will be no children between you and me.”

 

I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at Norma’s expression after that declaration.

 

“Even if we were to have a child, they would not be eligible to become the heir.”

 

The words I spoke were undeniably a blow to Norma.

If he had challenged me to a ‘duel to the death’ at that moment, I wouldn’t have been able to argue. But as someone who had already chosen my nephew as my successor, it was a discussion I had to have before the marriage.

 

“I’m aware that backing out of the marriage would be difficult at this point. But I’ll ask you again: do you…”

 

I continued, uncharacteristically averting my gaze.

 

“Do you still want to marry me?”

 

Would marrying me truly make you happy? Even though I said it would be difficult to turn back now, this was my final chance to give him a way out.

I remembered what Norma had said back then.

 

“I already consider young master Archie as my own child, and whatever you wish, that is what I wish as well.”

 

Norma had spoken as if he would have no greater wish than to be my husband.

 

“Yes, I wish to be your husband.”

 

His quick and clear answer left me speechless, and I stared at him for a long while. In the end, I made a promise to him, knowing he always seemed to make choices that left him at a loss.

 

“I know this is an unreasonable demand. If we have no children between us, and if any children were not to be considered as heirs, your position could become unstable.”

“It’s alright.”

“In return, though this is hardly adequate—”

 

The influence of a lady’s power often stemmed from her lord’s support.

 

“I will do my best to cherish you.”

 

I promised to treat Norma Diazi with all the care I could muster. This promise was the beginning of the vow I made to him at our wedding ceremony.

The reason I insisted there would be no children between us wasn’t solely to solidify Archie’s place.

I knew how the Empire’s nobles would gossip about a childless couple. It wouldn’t just put Norma in a difficult position.

But another reason I made this declaration to him was my own physical condition.

After a series of incidents, there wasn’t much of my body that remained unharmed. My cycles were erratic, and long ago, my physician Yan had told me that it would be difficult for me to conceive.

At the time, I hadn’t cared much. I wasn’t in love, nor did I have any desire to build a family that would span generations. I already had a suitable heir, so it hadn’t seemed like a problem to me.

But by the Empire’s standards, I was undeniably an imperfect candidate for marriage. And so, this topic remained an uncomfortable and sensitive one for me.