47
Ah, right. That happened.
“I’ll do whatever I want too.”
…His mood was properly twisted.
Since I had arbitrarily thought that Kaiden would kill me, he was saying he’d act arbitrarily as well. It seemed there was a need to soothe him.
“Your Highness. Earlier, I….”
“Name.”
No, but really, this guy! Was he that resentful for not hearing his name!
“Kaiden, Kaiden! Is that enough?”
When I shouted, his eyes widened. I immediately regretted it.
‘Damn, I didn’t mean to yell out of anger.’
I had time to think all afternoon, and only then could I somewhat understand Kaiden’s feelings.
Because I knew the original story, I had constantly thought that he might kill me.
But he had never once thought about killing me—the person he had watched since childhood, the one who might soon become his wife.
Moreover, he was trying everything to keep me alive, so how hurt he must have felt hearing those words. I admit I lacked consideration for him.
But because of the subtle irritation he had been showing since noon, I ended up exploding without realizing it.
…I should have held it in.
While I was reflecting and clutching my head, Kaiden’s voice came.
“Call it again.”
When I looked up, I saw him smiling.
…Why does he look so happy?
I muttered with a suspicious face.
“What?”
“Name.”
“…Kaiden?”
Ah, I forgot the “nim.”
Just as I was about to correct it, he let out a soft laugh.
“It sounds better than I expected.”
Kaiden slowly rose from his seat. I took one step back from his towering figure. It hit me again—how huge he was.
“Let’s go.”
Why does he keep smiling? It made me unnecessarily nervous.
“Uh, where?”
“Where else? The bed.”
“…….”
For some reason, my heart was pounding.
No, but I said I’d sleep on the sofa….
* * *
Toss, turn
Kaiden felt Marion tossing and turning beside him. It had been an hour since they lay down, but Marion still hadn’t fallen asleep. And the same was true for him.
Kaiden had suggested they sleep together fully prepared not to fall asleep.
Of course, Marion refused several times, but he stubbornly insisted until she finally climbed into the bed.
He had many thoughts today.
First, let’s think about the escort issue for Marion.
Kaiden knew in his head that Marion needed an escort.
But the fact that the escort might have physical contact with Marion was something he very, very, extremely disliked.
With his eyes closed, Kaiden thought of Bethel.
The guy was a little smaller than him, but still bigger than the average man.
He had a gentle, handsome face with no sharp edges, and most importantly, the thing that bothered him the most was that he was three years younger than Marion.
Once, Marion had said her ideal type was a man four years older or younger than her.
The problem was that Kaiden was five years older than Marion.
‘…….’
For some reason, it annoyed him. It bothered him that he missed her ideal type by just one year.
He never felt this way even when Marion was dating other men.
Lately, seeing Marion with another man made him irritated for no reason.
It felt unfamiliar and troubling, but as soon as he remembered what Marion had said, those thoughts were pushed to the back.
“If I kill the Crown Prince, I might die by Your Highness’s hand, but that would still be a cheap price.”
It was shocking.
‘Me killing you? Ha, what nonsense.’
Kaiden was genuinely hurt. That Marion thought of him only that way.
But as time passed, this thought came to him.
‘I haven’t given you enough reason to trust me.’
What is a married couple? Isn’t it the only person you can rely on in hard and difficult times—your one true ally?
They weren’t married yet, but in a month, the two of them would become a complete married couple.
After chewing over Marion’s words all day, Kaiden made a resolution. To become a dependable husband for Marion.
But then another problem popped up.
“No matter how much we’re a couple, Your Highness is still Your Highness.”
Marion had said this.
And Kaiden realized. Marion saw him first as the “Grand Duke” before as a “man” or “husband.” In other words, she thought of him as a superior she had to serve.
It was mountain after mountain. How on earth was he supposed to solve this?
Marion had served Kaiden as her superior for nearly half her life. So it wasn’t unreasonable for her to see him only as the “Grand Duke.”
But Kaiden no longer wanted to be tied to her in a superior-subordinate relationship.
It felt like facing a huge wall, but he decided to take it one step at a time.
First, he tried to make Marion call him by his name. It may seem like nothing, but when you think about it, Marion had never once properly called him by his name.
“Kaiden, Kaiden! Is that enough?”
When Marion called his name, Kaiden felt like he had become a new person.
Just changing from “Your Highness” to “Kaiden.”
‘Why does it feel so good?’
He could feel her presence lying beside him.
Shh, shh.
After tossing and turning for a long time, she was now breathing evenly.
Only then did Kaiden turn toward Marion.
Marion looked peaceful, without a trace of worry.
Looking at her face, Kaiden thought,
‘I want to be a true married couple with you.’
* * *
A week passed quickly.
They measured me to alter the wedding dress that Kaiden’s mother had worn at her wedding to fit my body, and a famous tailor from the capital was called to the dress shop to try on several dresses for the second dress.
Not only the wedding dress, but the second dress for the wedding day also had to be unique, so they had to buy the design itself.
When I heard the price, my eyes nearly popped out because it was so expensive.
“…The price for one dress, is this correct?”
“…The price for one dress, is this correct?”
“Oh my, Lady Marion. This much is only natural. Hohoho.”
The March’s laughter still seemed to linger in my ears.
And every day, I received skin treatments. Indeed, after having my face steamed and massaged daily, my skin glowed smoothly.
But March said she couldn’t be satisfied with just this.
“I’ll make it smoother than pearls.”
It was a terrifying obsession.
I wrote the wedding invitations as March instructed.
Since a mage would be hired to copy and paste the content with magic anyway, I only had to write it once.
Next was selecting the nobles to invite, and the March had already made the list, so I just had to write the nobles’ names at the top of the invitations. But that was the problem.
“…There are a lot of nobles to invite.”
“Of course. It’s a joyous occasion for the Baltstein Grand Ducal House, so we have to invite all the nobles of the empire. Since it’s the social season, most of them will be in the capital, so everyone who can come will come.”
I asked again in surprise.
“All the nobles of the Gratier Empire?”
No wonder the list seemed endless.
Whether I clutched my head with a tearful face or not, March urged me.
“Now, Lady Marion. There’s no time. You have to finish writing all the names today so we can send the invitations tomorrow! The wedding is just around the corner, so move your hands quickly!”
I had no choice but to move the pen until my hand went numb, like eating mustard while crying.
Meanwhile, Kaiden was so busy that I rarely saw his face.
He seemed busy handling the duties of the Grand Duke that he had put off.
Seeing him come in after I fell asleep every day and disappear early in the morning, he seemed to have no time to breathe either.
Still, the fact that he diligently confirmed the necessary decisions for the wedding in writing showed that he was at least alive.
And Durante, the half-demon, half-human mage who had helped lift my brainwashing spell, was hired by the Grand Ducal residence.
After I fell victim to the brainwashing magic stone, Kaiden and the Grand Duke thought they needed a mage to monitor whether any magical items were circulating in the Grand Ducal residence.
The one chosen was Durante.
Durante was so happy to be hired by the Grand Ducal residence that he almost cried while expressing his gratitude.
“Thank you for employing me. The Baltstein Grand Ducal House is the only one that has paid me what my skills are worth.”
According to Vito’s investigation, despite his excellent skills, he was an unfortunate man who couldn’t receive proper pay because his appearance was different from humans.
Moreover, Durante was an orphan and was barely making a living while taking care of other orphans in similar situations.
Hearing his circumstances reminded me of my childhood, making my heart feel complicated.
A week later, when my house arrest was lifted, I decided to go with Kaiden to “Asil,” the largest jewelry store in the capital.
We could have had them come to the residence, but I wanted to get some fresh air outside to celebrate the end of my house arrest.
Kaiden, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, had slightly sharper facial lines.
“Your Highness, have you lost weight?”
“…….”
Kaiden didn’t answer.
When I asked why he wasn’t answering, he said only one word.
“Name.”
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