Chapter 11. Because I’m Your Wife
Razel ended up just looking around the snow-covered old castle before returning inside. Even though it was just a brief outing, the tip of her nose and her fingertips were numb with cold.
As she headed to the bedroom, the servants, as if they had been waiting, prepared a warm tea for her. Feeling cared for, Razel inevitably became embarrassed.
“Oh, by the way, His Grace the Grand Duke has left to attend to matters in the grand duchy.”
“My husband left the castle in the meantime?”
Come to think of it, right after the meal, he had excused himself. Razel hadn’t realized that meant he was heading straight to work.
“He told us he would return as soon as possible. So please don’t worry too much.”
Had her expression darkened without her realizing it? One of the servants soothed her in a gentle tone.
Suddenly, Razel recalled what he had said during the meal.
“What kind of husband neglects his wife?”
Clearly, before, he had disappeared without a word about leaving, and given no notice about when he would return.
She felt anew how their relationship had changed since yesterday. With her cheeks subtly flushed, Razel nodded.
“Your Grace, would you like some freshly baked cookies with your tea?”
“I don’t like eating alone.”
“Pardon?”
“If we’re eating, you all should have some too.”
Razel spoke brusquely, her cheeks still tinged red. Then she averted her gaze, pretending those words hadn’t come from her mouth.
‘I know how grateful I am for the servants’ care.’
Back at Ephor, she had been ignored by her whole family and hadn’t received proper treatment even from the servants.
Perhaps that’s why even these ordinary things felt unfamiliar, leaving her unsure how to react.
There was no response from the surprised servants. Razel rolled her eyes, regretting if her words had come across as ridiculous.
She was just thinking she should send them all out when.
“May we really?”
“…Of course, since I permitted it.”
“Thank you for your generosity, Your Grace!”
Someone spoke in a bright voice, their eyes sparkling. Razel, flustered by the bigger reaction than expected, looked at them.
The servants’ gazes pouring toward her were filled with emotion.
Just as Razel had felt, this place had so few hands that all the servants worked without fixed roles, moving to wherever they were needed.
For them, hard labor and fatigue were ingrained as natural.
Moreover, Windmore was such a harsh environment that even in the grand duke’s castle, the food allocated to the servants wasn’t particularly abundant.
It was still better than what the territory’s residents got.
In the midst of being steeped in such hardship, for the grand duchess, who was like the heavens to them, to offer to share her snacks.
They were deeply moved by this small but clear act of consideration.
Unable to bear their fervent gazes due to embarrassment, Razel turned her head and muttered.
“It’s nothing special… And the fire in my room is too hot, so tone it down and use it elsewhere.”
As Razel spoke sincerely, the servants’ eyes sparkled again. But unlike before, they responded with unyielding expressions.
“Your Grace has a delicate constitution, so this much is necessary. It would be a disaster if you caught a cold!”
“That’s right. But since you said it’s hot, we’ll adjust the fire’s intensity. If there’s anything else you need, please tell us anytime.”
The servants began moving in unison once more.
Razel looked at the warm cookies prepared before her in an instant. The once stuffy room had already found a comfortable temperature with just her few words.
‘The people here are all kind to me.’
Feeling a warm glow spread in a corner of her heart, Razel took a sip of the tea and a bite of the cookie they had given her.
‘When Kylo returns, should I tell him about today? It might seem like I’m making a big deal out of nothing…’
If Ronedy had heard, she would have scoffed as if it were no big deal, mocking her for the foolish act of caring about underlings.
But even if it was trivial, she wanted to talk to Kylo about it.
Now that they were husband and wife, and he had shown consideration for her.
Razel chewed the cookie in her mouth crunchily, waiting for Kylo’s return. Her cheeks flushed pink from the sweetness.
However, that day, Kylo did not return until Razel grew tired of waiting and fell asleep.
Nor the next day, nor the day after, nor even a week later.
“Oh, he said he would really come back early today. Please don’t worry too much, Your Grace.”
The maid who was brushing Razel’s golden hair, gathering half of it and tying it with a ribbon, said. But Razel lowered her gaze gloomily.
If he were still her subordinate, and if this were Ephor during her immature days, Razel would have thrown things around and demanded he be brought back immediately in a fit of rage.
But now, Razel had no power to summon him.
‘…Was it foolish to expect Kylo to come early thinking of me?’
Due to the war between Crombel and Vertia, he had left the grand duchy vacant for a long time. Because of that, Kylo was unusually busy with matters inside and outside the territory.
It was an aspect of Kylo that Razel didn’t know.
The man who had been hers for so long now felt like a complete stranger. Even though their actual relationship had grown closer, making them family.
Moreover, not coming to see her for over a week seemed like he truly didn’t want to see her.
‘It’s understandable for Kylo.’
The one who wanted to keep him in her sight was solely herself, harboring dark desires for him.
Just then, someone knocked on Razel’s door. After giving permission to enter, the door swung open, and a maid said in a bright voice.
“Your Grace, His Grace the Grand Duke has come, saying he wishes to have tea with you.”
“Kylo?”
Razel’s eyes widened, and she reflexively stood from her seat.
As the maid stepped aside from the door, the man who hadn’t shown his face for nearly a week entered her view.
With a single glance from him, the servants in the room retreated to the corners.
Kylo scanned Razel once, then dove straight into the main topic without any greeting like “it’s been a while” or “how have you been.”
“I’ve prepared tea in the greenhouse. Let’s have some together.”
“Don’t you have… a lot of busy matters?”
“One day won’t hurt.”
He replied in a flat tone and lightly gestured to a servant. The maid who understood brought Razel’s coat and helped her into it.
Once the simple preparations were done, Kylo turned and left the room first.
‘He means for me to follow…?’
Razel hurried after him in small steps, his even ordinary stride quick.
As the two moved together, maintaining a slight distance, one of the servants said.
“You know, somehow… the two don’t seem very close.”
“What do you mean?”
“They seem to like each other… but their gazes keep missing each other.”
The servants only watched from behind, but even to them, the subtle misalignment between the two was apparent.
When Razel looked at him, Kylo wasn’t looking at her, and when Kylo looked at her, Razel wasn’t looking at him.
The maids’ concerned gazes landed on the retreating backs of the pair. Then someone spoke again.
“Maybe it’s because they were separated for so long due to the war? They need to get close again soon.”
“Yeah. But since they’re married, their hearts will open up quickly. We know how devoted the master is to Her Grace.”
“Right. I hope everything works out well.”
The servants who had long guarded the snow-covered castle now watched the path the two were taking, hoping for their masters’ harmony.
* * *
After leaving the castle and crossing the snow-covered area, a hidden greenhouse appeared in the back.
This was Razel’s first time here. She turned her head to survey the surroundings.
As expected, meticulously draped spiderwebs caught her eye everywhere. Razel’s brows furrowed reflexively.
‘This is more like… a weed habitat than a greenhouse, isn’t it?’
Feeling discomfort throughout her body, Razel followed Kylo and sat at the tea table in the greenhouse. A tea set was already prepared there.
A waiting maid approached and poured tea into their cups.
“Drink.”
“Mm.”
Razel did as told and waited for him to bring up the topic.
However, with her before him, he only moved his teacup, showing no sign of speaking to Razel.
In the end, after hesitating, Razel spoke first.
“Lately… why haven’t you come to my room?”
In other words, why hadn’t he come at night.
Razel had pondered for a long time what her use to him was and realized it was the duty of a wife.
For a moment, Kylo’s gaze sharpened.
“I didn’t have time to visit because I was busy.”
At his cold reply, Razel closed her lips in disappointment.
His sharpened gaze and indifferent answer made her feel like she had said something wrong.
However, not long after, such signs slowly faded from Razel’s expression.
‘What am I doing, getting disappointed over this? I shouldn’t expect much from Kylo.’
Before she knew it, a firm resolve had risen and was solidly flickering.
He was no longer the slave who moved only as Razel wished.
She had regretted using him freely, thinking he was her possession.
In the end, on the day war broke out between the enemy nation Crombel and her homeland Vertia, she had arbitrarily driven Kylo to the battlefield.
Though there were hidden circumstances, Razel regretted abandoning him without having done anything for him.
How often she had thought that if she met Kylo again, she wanted to support the future she had once trampled.
‘I want to be of help to Kylo now too.’
So, tucking away the disappointment, Razel looked at Kylo with eyes etched with firm determination.
“Because I’m your wife… if you have a lot of busy matters, I’ll help too. Tell me what I need to do.”
