While You're In Love

“Here’s a contract written while taking into consideration each individual’s requirements. Please check it out.”

Aslan held out the prenuptial agreement, written in his neat handwriting.

I realized it way later, that every word in the contract was in Aslan’s handwriting. It was probably written from start to finish by Aslan. All by himself, without the help of a lawyer or aide.

Unaware of this, I was busy reading the contents of the contract he had given me.

The prenuptial agreement he handed me had everything I wanted written on it. My safety, the whereabouts and protection of my family.

But he also gave me more than I asked for.

He promised me I could enjoy everything as the wife of Duke Tordell. Wealth, fame, or anything else I might need.

“I’m asking you one more time, is this really enough?”

“It is enough, Duke.”

This enough was more than enough for me.

I wondered if I, who wasn’t even his real wife, deserved such an undeserved treatment.

He reread the contract with a worried look on his face and suddenly asked in a low voice. “

“But how long will you continue to call me with that distant title, will you do this even after we’re married?”

Was it my imagination, or did he really sound like a whining child?

“But, then, how should I call you, Duke?”

I asked carefully, and he answered as if it were quite natural.

“Call me Aslan.”

I blinked rapidly. My heart was beating fast and my fingertips were shaking.

That’s ridiculous. To be given permission to call him by his name that was only granted for those close to him.

I’d repeated his name over and over in my head, but I never thought I’d actually be allowed to say it.

I clasped my trembling hands together and asked, my voice thick with nervousness.

“Can I really……?”

Aslan let out a small chuckle at the ridiculousness of my reaction.

I forced an awkward smile. I wondered if it was silly of me to be so happy to see him smile.

But Aslan quickly composed himself and spoke in a nonchalant voice, still smiling.

“That way, others won’t realize that we didn’t fall in love at first sight and got married.”

My cheeks flushed by the stern look in his eyes.

“Oh…….”

For a moment, I felt ridiculous and embarrassed for being so deluded.

I bit my lip and hung my head low. Hopefully, he didn’t see through me.

And I vowed to myself.

I’ll never be so deluded again.

---

The wedding was supposed to take place in a grand manner. It was Aslan’s idea.

He explained the reason for the lavishness of the ceremony, which would be compared to the emperor’s wedding.

“I want as many people as possible to know of our marriage. I want to marry you with everyone’s blessing.”

It was sweet to hear at first glance, but I quickly calmed down my excitement.

I won’t be mistaken this time.

“So that others won’t discover the secret of our marriage?”

I asked with a wry smile, but Aslan’s face, which I had expected to be smiling back, hardened.

Did I say something wrong?

But as hard as I tried to remember, I couldn’t find a single point where I’d made a mistake.

I don’t feel like I’ve said or done anything offensive, so why?

After an uncomfortable silence, Aslan answered.

“……Yes.”

After that, Aslan remained silent.

I was puzzled and anxious, not knowing what part of me he didn’t like.

But before the wedding day, he smiled at me as beautifully and affectionately as before.

Thanks to him, I was able to go through the ceremony with peace of mind.

The wedding was a success.

There was some disruption made by the uninvited Count of Larestine, but Aslan’s knights, who had been prepared for it, handled it well.

I wasn’t told what “well” meant.

But I have heard rumors that since the wedding, Count Larestine has been in great trouble, selling his mansion in the capital and fleeing to a country estate far away.

Even there, he was not at ease, plagued by creditors who kept coming after him, and one day, at dawn, he was found dead.

His wife and son were rumored to have disappeared.

At the sudden misfortune that befell Count Larestine, people muttered that he was unlucky, but no one realized that the chain of misfortune was no coincidence.

Only I had a theory. That someone had deliberately plunged the House of Larestine into a quagmire of misfortune.

Aslan kept all of his promises to me.

Aslan, acted so sweet even after our marriage that my heart and decisions were wavering.

If I could think of a particular time, then I’d say it was on my first birthday, or rather, Lyla Violet’s birthday.

It was raining that day.

It was pouring down so hard that I couldn’t see straight.

It was the kind of weather that usually keeps you inside, but that day, I couldn’t resist my longing and went out into the garden.

There was a small hill near the house I lived in with my family. It was small and not very high, so a slow walk up the gentle ridge would get you to the top in no time.

I climbed that hill every day. When I got to the top, I could see a beautiful landscape with colorful flowers.

When the wind blew, my hair would flutter and the petals would rustle. The fragrant smell of the flowers carried by the wind seemed to envelop me, and I enjoyed standing there with my eyes closed.

My family knew of my hobby, and they often climbed the hill to find me. On holidays when the weather was nice, we would bring a mat and snacks and have a picnic up there.

It was a happy and fond memory.

I wanted to feel a little trace of that time, so I came out into the garden and looked at the petals being dripped on in the rough rain.

But in the garden of mostly green trees, it was hard to find the spot I wanted.

I wandered to a secluded spot and found a few modest flowers, but that was the extent of the flowers.

I thought, ‘Thank goodness I found them’ and bent down, oblivious to the wetness at the hem of my dress.

The rain pounded into my umbrella, soaking my clothes and hair, but I didn’t even notice.

As I stared blankly at the flowers, reminiscing about a cherished memory, Aslan appeared behind me.

“Wife, it is raining heavily.”

He frowned as he saw me soaked through my umbrella.

“Come inside, you’ll catch a cold if you stay out here.”

“Wait, I’ll just watch a little longer.”

I was uncharacteristically stubborn; I had always been submissive to him since our marriage, but for once, I wanted to do as I pleased.

Fortunately, Aslan wasn’t angry with me for not following through.

“What are you looking at?”

He just thought it was strange that I wanted to linger in the garden when it seemed like there was nothing there.

I hesitated for a moment but then came clean.

“Them.”

“The flowers, you mean?”

“Yes. When I look at them, they remind me of a time when I was with my family.”

When Aslan came out to find me, I told him about my hometown because I was feeling emotional on a special occasion.

“I used to climb that hill a lot, even when nothing was going on, but when I was feeling down, I would always go there, and the flowers fluttering in the wind would make me feel better.”

It was the first time I’d ever said that much in Aslan’s presence.

In hindsight, I wondered if he’d gotten bored with my uninteresting story.

I rolled my eyes and studied his expression.

“I see.”

He gave me a lingering smile but didn’t seem bored as I’d feared.

But I felt a twinge of unease.

So I quickly added.

“It’s not that I don’t want to stay here, and I don’t mean any offense, it’s just that I miss my family because it’s my birthday.”

Oh, I shouldn’t have said that last part, I regretted saying it.

Predictably, he frowned and asked.

“So you’re saying that today is your real birthday, then what about the one you put on the paperwork?”

I replied meekly.

“That’s not my birthday.”

“I see …… I didn’t know that.”

“No one would know that. No one.”

Because I’m only valuable as Helena’s stand-in.

No one was curious about the real me, who was not Helena.

I glanced up, his face was unusually stiff.

He was a kind man, but this new revelation seemed to bother him.

I tried to open my mouth quickly to say, ‘Even if it’s my birthday, it’s a day that no one knows about, so you can just think of it as any other normal day.’

But then he said.

“From now on, I’ll remember and celebrate it with you, so don’t be alone and lonely on your special day.”

He said firmly.

“I won’t forget, and I’ll remember it.”