Affter a passionate picnic, we hurried back to the mansion. There were only four hours left until the performance hosted by the Marquis de Celestine. It was when Madame Tilly received a dress from Madame Bertin’s dressing room and neatly arranged it. The employees opened their mouths in surprise when they saw us returning to the mansion. That’s also true, the way we looked neat and tidy is now…
“Oh my god, how could clothes get so wrinkled?”
“Sir, this usually doesn’t break when moved. What on earth are you doing here?”
“Hmm, why are you asking such a thing?”
I repeatedly cleared my throat in embarrassment. In comparison, Pervin was shamelessly confident. He said, running his hand down my shoulder.
“It was just an ordinary couple’s outing.”
“No, I went out so passionately that my clothes got torn and why did the button here get torn… Why is there a handkerchief wrapped around your neck?”
Pervin quickly whispered to Mrs. Tilly, who asked the question, what she was talking about. As soon as Mrs. Tilly heard her answer, she grinned and came to my aid. Pervin cleared her throat and kissed the back of my hand.
“Then Irwen, I’ll meet you at the entrance later.”
… Women have more to prepare than men. I hurried into the room, escorted by Madam Tilly and Marianne. It was an outing just the two of us, with everything happening. I took off the khaki riding clothes I was wearing. Looking at her clothes covered in all kinds of dirt and grass, Marie Anne shook her head as if she couldn’t understand.
“Are you here to explore a remote area, ma’am? Or what did you two do together?”
“Marianne, you’re being rude when you say that your wife is looking after you!”
Marianne was a bit upset after being scolded by her aunt, Mrs. Tilly. I quickly took off her clothes and took Marie Anne’s side. Now all I was wearing was a thin black slip.
“Have you ever explored a remote area, Marianne? The grass grew so long there that it got on my clothes a lot.”
“Is that really true? Hehehe.”
Mrs. Tilly wrinkled her nose as if suppressing her satisfied laughter. And she tried to put her hand on her handkerchief which was tied around my neck. When her handkerchief touched the wound, the stinging sensation returned again. The maids who served me, including Mrs. Tilly, were giving me strange looks.
“Oh my god… The mark I had only heard about in words, I was finally seeing it with my own eyes. After all, the owner was also a man.”
Mrs. Tilly hummed and muttered. After hearing her words, she hurriedly checked my appearance in the mirror. The red scars on her neck were clearly there from the kiss earlier. She tried to rub it with her hand, but it was in vain. In fact, it became even more bitter. Mrs. Tilly, who was waiting next to her, was busy giving instructions.
“Marianne, get a blue dress that covers your neck, and Jane, you go to the jewelry box and find a pearl necklace with sapphires, right? Bring some of that. Madam, don’t touch the wound, it will only make it worse. I’ll put a bandage on you, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
“How can they make something like this? Aside from being embarrassed, I can only wear clothes that cover my neck. It’s frustrating!”
She pretended to be angry because she couldn’t wear the dress she wanted, but in reality, she was filled with shame. Her face burned as he left his mark so deeply on her as if she were his own.
“Where is Pervin? Pervin!”
Before she could open her door and scream, Pervin, who had obviously just washed her face, was hurrying down the hallway with a robe draped over her body. He looked at me and smiled.
“How do you like my marks?”
Looking at his relaxed appearance, I was able to compare it to my shy appearance. I found that sight disgusting, so I punched his chest.
“You’re so shameless! Because of you, I can’t choose a dress carelessly, and what is this?”
“Since you are so worried, then let me choose it myself.”
Pervin quickly entered my room. Pervin has barely set foot in the couple’s bedroom I’m using. No, it definitely would have been like that. The maids seemed familiar and accepted his arrival. It took only a few seconds for him to pull the clothes out of his closet. Why does this place look so familiar? Pervin followed the familiar route, opened my closet, handed a dress to Marianne next to him, and said,
“Put this on Irwen. It will suit you very well.”
I turned my gaze to the dress he had chosen. It was an elegant black velvet dress with a revealing neckline. It has a luxurious design and is really pretty, but… A dress with a revealing neckline? Why bother? No matter how much I cover my neck with a handkerchief, still…
“Are you sure you want me to wear these clothes?”
“Yes.”
If he revealed the kiss mark left on my neck, he would definitely reveal his possessiveness to the world. In fact, some noble ladies came with kiss marks on purpose. Because it was proof of the passionate love of a husband or lover. Is that exactly what Pervin wants? My husband’s unexpected possessiveness was both cute and obnoxious at the same time.
“But the marks will be visible, as is the design that exposes the neck.”
As if he had been waiting, he held out the handkerchief he had brought with him. It was a handkerchief embroidered with lily of the valley that he always carried with him.
“Please wrap this around me.”
Marianne’s face turned red at his command to tie her handkerchief.
“Everyone will know that this is the master’s handkerchief, but if I were to tie it around your neck, it would be…”
“So, it means falcon. Because that’s proof that Irwen is mine.”
An embarrassed murmur could be heard from those around him at his subtly revealed possessive remark. It was the same for me, so I tried to calm down her burning face.
“You get something, but what do I get, you greedy duke?”
Pervin smiled sweetly as if it was natural.
“Instead, I will wear whatever you want. I’m prepared for anything.”
Pervin lifted his hand and placed his finger on my lips. Yeah, it comes out like this, right? I grinned and crossed his arms.
“Is it so? You also have to wear the clothes I choose for you.”
Pervin shrugged his shoulders.
“Wear colorful clothes? Like a clown? Well, I can tolerate that.”
“Are you going to wear anything more than that?”
His face turned pale.
* * *
“Goodbye!”
“I hope you have a great time!”
“It would be better if you come back as a group of three, not two… Kup!”
“Alfred, stop talking hastily. You’ll take care of it!”
We came out after being greeted with excitement by the servants. I was on my way by carriage to the villa owned by the Marquis Celestine. The road to the villa located on the outskirts of the city was quite rough. Not only was the road not properly paved, so it was bumpy, but there were fallen trees lying around here and there. Moreover, the river that appeared in the middle was gushing with water, and was likely to overflow if it rained. Pervin twisted his body around uncomfortably and looked out.
“They said it was going to rain today, so I guess I’ll have to go home quickly after the performance.”
“Yes, the road is rough, but what if the water overflows? I’m so worried.”
“For your worried expression, don’t you think you’re too comfortable?”
Pervin pursed his lips and looked at me. When I saw the clothes he was wearing, I swallowed a satisfied smile. He always insisted on only black and dark blue colors. Today I wore black, and instead I dressed him in a bright red uniform. Every time he moved, the black mesh underneath stood out. This outfit shows off his white skin. Although this outfit was quite unconventional, it brought out Pervin’s languid yet sexy body well. It was a piece of clothing that he felt uncomfortable wearing. I don’t hate it, but the red color and the fishnet clothes underneath are too passionate or something. He agreed that it didn’t look objectively strange, as there was a fashion for young nobles in the empire to wear fishnet clothing. However, he was embarrassed to wear fishnet for the first time in his life. Contrary to how burdensome he looked, he looked very handsome. The white blonde hair that was naturally pushed back behind the forehead and flowing from the neck, the white skin that contrasted with the intense red uniform, and the deep glowing green eyes. And his inner skin just barely visible through the thin mesh. I said, fiddling with his clothes.
“A neat uniform has an ascetic elegance, but wearing a fishnet like this also has a sensual elegance.”
“Okay? Are you saying that I am both ascetic and sensual?”
“Well, that’s right.”
“That’s the best compliment I’ve ever heard from you.”
Pervin’s eyes sparkled. It seemed like the gloomy feeling from before had gone nowhere. I have a strange feeling that my true feelings have been revealed, but let’s move on. It’s the first time in my life I’ve seen him like something like that. He turned toward me and rested his arms on the cushions on his back. The one who is staring only at me.
“I get compliments for wearing it the way you want. It is true that you should listen to your wife carefully.”
Marquis Celestine was a public wife and had a good influence on Pervin. I nodded enthusiastically.
“If you listen to your wife, good things will happen even while you sleep.”
“I listened to you carefully, so I must be a good husband, right?”
He tilted his head and asked me, pretending not to know anything. The acting was poor. He asked me, pretending to be innocent and not expecting anything, but his eyes were full of expectation. His eyes ask me to praise him. It even looks cute for a strong man to do something like this. A smile came out of my mouth.
“Yes, you are very kind.”
“I’ve been a good girl, so please grant me one wish.”
“Yes? I also wore the clothes I wanted, so why is only you wishing for me?”
“Shouldn’t a good husband be rewarded?”
“You mark my neck with kisses… Anyway, you were punished because you made a mistake first. Is that a good thing?”
“I really want to receive your award.”
He approached me lightly, as if he couldn’t hear me. He subtly placed his hand on my waist and leaned closer to me. I pulled back, but it wasn’t enough to escape because I was inside the carriage.
“I have one wish.”
“Say something.”
Pervin whispered, pulling me by my waist. The sight of a man one head taller than me clinging to me like a child. It was a somewhat disconcerting scene.
“You must listen.”
“Okay, so talk to me. Now I’m even curious.”
“I will be a husband who listens well to you from now on, so please give me three children.”
I was speechless. I never thought I would make a wish like this. Not one child, but three? Of course, if I were to have a child with him someday, I was open to him so much that he would naturally accept it. However, regardless of my feelings, the existence of the ‘child’ that Pervin himself brought up struck me strongly. He seemed sincere. He urged me with sparkling eyes.
“Huh? Irwen? If I had even worn fishnets, wouldn’t I have said everything?”
I tried to step back. But now my body is trapped by his touch. There was nowhere to run. He wanted straight answers from me.
“What is the answer?”
“…I’ll think about it.”
“I just hate that kind of ambiguity. Promise me you’ll give birth to me, Irwen.”
Pervin frowned at me. I got angry without realizing it and responded.
“Not one, three? Aren’t you taking it too far? It doesn’t mean you think giving birth is easy.”
He made an embarrassed expression. He looked somewhat confused and apologetic. He looked at me and held up two fingers.
“…Then two?”
“What if there are too many?”
“…I definitely want you to give birth to one.”
“Why are you so obsessed with the child?”
“I don’t think you’ll ever leave my side if I have children.”
He lowered his gaze, unable to meet my eyes. He took the handkerchief tied around my neck and pulled it as if playing with me. Rustle, rustle. In the quiet carriage, the only sound was the sound of cloth touching each other. Suddenly, it wasn’t his hands that were touching my body, but his face. He buried his face in my chest and muttered.
“I’m so anxious. I’m afraid you’ll leave me…”
“Why do you think that? I didn’t even say that.”
“It’s just that your gaze is so detached. I’m so desperate…”
He continued his speech in a mumble.
“I know why you want to leave me. We got it wrong from the start. We met because of the war between the two countries, and we got married through a contract, not emotions, so it was only natural.”
“…”
“Irwen. It’s too late, but I’ll tell you now.”
Pervin lifted his face from my chest and looked at me. There was a sincerity on his face that had never been seen before.
“Let’s start again. Forget the twisted past and start again from the beginning.”
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on March, 19.
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