***
***
It rained heavily that day. So it seemed that he finished his work earlier than usual.
“You’re here?”
Standing with his back to the rattling windows, Victor smiled brightly like a child.
“Marion.”
He approached her, caressed her cheek, and smiled brightly again.
“It’s cold today, so would you like to go to bed early?”
She nodded with a slightly red face as she met his gaze.
The servant took Victor’s robe while Diederick and Sumona ordered the maids to prepare bath water and meals right away. The maids quickly bowed their heads and disappeared. They all smiled and whispered as they watched the couple.
‘What’s wrong with them?’
She tilted her head and walked with a smiling Victor to the dining room.
Victor sat at the head of the table, and she sat to his left, as usual. As soon as they sat down, dinner was served. The sweet scent of Beef Bourguignon wafted through the air, making her insides feel warm.
Seriously, today was colder than usual.
After dinner, the couple parted and entered their respective bathrooms. The maids made sure to give her a warmer bath than usual. She dipped her hand in the steaming water. She was glad to have a hot bath. In her hometown, she washed herself with any unfrozen water she could find.
After taking a bath, she put a thin coat over her shirt. As soon as she picked up her sword and headed for the bedroom, Victor entered.
“What do you have?”
“A new sword.”
She was looking at her sword. After their battle, she picked out a new weapon from the armory and brought it with her.
“Did you know that you look like a wildcat?”
She opened her eyes wide, not understanding what he meant.
She had been compared with a basilisk, a demon, wyvern… why did this comparison make her heart pound?
As Victor approached, she could smell his thick musk. He leaned towards her.
“Curled up like this… looking at me with amber eyes and sharp claws…”
His eyes were like that of a beast, admiring its prey before devouring it. His gaze swept up and down her body. She felt strange and hurriedly avoided his gaze.
“Victor’s eyes are yellow too.”
It was still very awkward to say his name out loud.
He smiled brightly.
“Right. We have a lot in common.”
She knew they didn’t look alike at all.
If her eyes were like the moon rising in the early evening, his eyes were as dazzling as the noonday sun. How could she compare herself to something so strong and beautiful?
He climbed into their bed and laid down.
He spoke in a cheerful voice.
“Come on, Marion. Put me to sleep today.”
The thick curtains were drawn and darkness crept in. The windows rattled from the rain.
A violent wind blew through the room. It was a sound she was used to, as she had heard it her entire life.
She put down her sword and walked over to Victor. His eyes were closed and he was breathing slowly. Soon he would fall asleep and suffer from nightmares.
It was so sad…
Without realizing it, her mouth opened.
“…When pure white snow accumulates on the window sill…”
He flinched, and his body trembled. She quickly grabbed his hand, fearing that he would open his eyes.
She remembered when she was young, she wanted someone to do this for her.
“…a star weeps over a black pond…”
It was an old song of Siland, which was sung to Amarion by a maid on nights when the wind and rain would shake her windows, terrifying her. Victor’s stiff shoulders slowly loosened.
She had no talent for singing, but she continued anyway.
She hoped that a deep, dreamless sleep would take him away, even for a moment.
***
When she woke up the next day, there was a blanket over her shoulders. She rubbed her cheek on the cozy blanket and got up quietly.
“You woke up early.”
Victor was sitting on the bed. She looked at him with a sense of helpless embarrassment.
His upper body was exposed. When she went to sleep last night, he was still wearing a robe.
When did his clothes come off?
She was used to hunting with knights and undressed men, but she was embarrassed that Victor was half n@ked in front of her. She tried to avoid his gaze and asked.
“Aren’t you going out today?”
“Yes… But I was waiting for you to wake up and talk to me.”
“What are you talking about?”
Victor laughed softly.
She couldn’t understand him. Why did he wait so long for her to wake up? He was too busy to wait for her to have a conversation with him.
He was even half n@ked…
Restless, she grabbed the robe lying on the bed and approached him. She needed him to cover up a bit.
“Victor, get up.”
As soon as she spoke firmly, he stood up, puzzled. She put his arms through the sleeves of the gown and turned his body to face her. His perfectly trained, dark chest was in the center of her vision. She closed her eyes and tied the front of his robe tightly.
She made sure to tie it tight enough that she couldn’t see any of his chest. When she was finished, heard a small laugh above her head. When she looked up, Victor was looking at her on the verge of laughter.
“Marion, I’m not wearing armor…”
She looked down and only then realized that she had tightened the laces too tight.
Blood rushed to the tips of her ears in an instant.
She was going to loosen the laces, but she felt strange touching him again. Her hand was hovering in deliberation. Victor quickly grabbed it.
“…Victor!”
“What? You held it tight last night.”
He let out a mischievous laugh.
She felt like her face was on fire.
She bowed her head in embarrassment.
It was more difficult to be with him than to catch dozens of monsters.
***
Victor held her hand for a long time and then left.
Even at breakfast, she trembled in embarrassment. The servants bowed their heads and pretended not to notice, but they couldn’t hide the smiles on their lips.
She was so ashamed she could die.
‘What’s so good about a hand covered in calluses?!’
She cooled her cheeks with the back of her hand and rang the bell. Several maids rushed in to comb her hair and change her clothes.
By now, she was used to being served by so many people. It felt a lot less awkward.
After she was fully dressed, Diederick came into her room. His presence meant that something important was going on.
“Madame, it will be socializing season soon.”
‘Socializing season?’
He brought up a topic that she had almost forgotten.
The social season was a period of several weeks in the summer when nobles from all over the country gathered in the Capital to host banquets and make connections.
Most fashion trends and huge scandals circulated during that period.
Noble girls looked forward to the day that they would be able to participate in the festivities…
Of course, she had only read about it in books.
She was taken aback by the seriousness of his words.
“Do I have to attend banquets too?”
When she asked anxiously, Diederick nodded.
“Yes. You are a foreigner and got married this year. It is standard to make the first social season after your marriage your debut. Your highness, it will not be too difficult for you.”
She frowned.
She knew she learned some social etiquette at a very young age, but she couldn’t remember all of it.
What she knew for certain was that you couldn’t talk to someone with a higher status first.
As far as she knew, there was only one Grand Duke in the Empire, so most of the ladies probably wouldn’t be able to talk to her.
Diederick gave her gentle advice, as if he had read her thoughts.
“You don’t have to talk to anyone at all. You just have to let them know that you are the new Grand Duchess.”
She looked down at the floor anxiously.
She didn’t know any ladies, and she certainly didn’t know how to dance.
Was it possible for her to act like a Grand Duchess in front of so many people?
She blinked her eyes and asked cautiously.
“I- Victor, will he go with me?”
The old butler raised his eyebrows and laughed out loud.
“His highness will likely be busy at a gentlemen’s meeting. He has been taking a long break from social activities.”
“Okay…”
“Sumona and I will help you both physically and mentally. Everything else will be prepared by us, so please read the etiquette book again.”
She curled her toes in the long carpet.
“Yes.”
***