“That’s correct.” Emily nodded. “His Majesty is a fair man. Since we insisted on a Witch Princess, we thought to send someone of equal rank.”
Of course. While the title of duchess was good, it wasn’t much compared to the title of princess. I had no expectations in the first place, but my husband ended up being a beloved hero of the empire.
“When all the nobles cast their vote, the majority picked Prince Albert; however, the result was overturned last minute.”
“Why?”
“His Highness is… problematic.” Emily sighed. “He hates witches and is known to be extremely violent.”
To summarize the explanation that came after, the crown prince, not the emperor, was the leader of the anti-witch faction in the Edelin Empire. He and his father were at odds all the time, so when he heard he was chosen to be the husband of a witch, he grabbed a sword and went on a rampage.
“One person was stabbed in the shoulder. A soldier had his face ruined permanently,” Emily said.
“Oh, my.”
“In any case, His Majesty decided your life would be in danger if you married His Highness.”
I was relieved to hear that. “The royal capital almost became my tomb.”
I didn’t know how much of a madman the crown prince was, but he was the leader of the anti-witch faction. If I married him, I would’ve been killed on the first day. As soon as I imagined myself laying on a bed like a corpse, I shuddered.
“That was why His Majesty’s nephew, my lord, was chosen. His Majesty has a lot of faith in him.”
“I’m aware.” The emperor’s affection for Duke Havel was so strong that there were rumors he cared more about the duke than his own son. “Prince Albert—”
“Hmm, did you want to be a princess instead?”
I frowned, hearing that familiar, awful voice.
“My lord! Why are you back so soon?”
“I just returned.”
Lukas was finally here. Sighing, I looked at him. As he approached, he took off his gloves; there was the fresh scent of grass on him.
“Is it because my lord missed his new wife?”
Hold on, why was I mentioned?
“I always miss her. Alas, she does her best to hide from me.”
“My lady, how could you!” Her glare demanded that I hurry up and greet the handsome duke with a lovely smile.
How dare he manipulate her like that. I narrowed my eyes at the man known as my husband.
He whispered, “Please, don’t forget Lady Duncan is on my side.”
“Unless she finds out you strangled me on our first night.”
He glanced at Emily who was busy making tea since he arrived. His mouth tightened into a thin line upon being reminded of the unpleasant incident. “I already apologized.”
“The pain and shock from then are not going to just ‘go away’.” I remember what happened. He better be nice to me and not drag Emily into our spats.
“…Oh, dear, it was worse than I thought.” He sighed. With a very serious expression, he said, “I heard if a couple is often in disagreement as newlyweds, problems will plague their marriage until they die.”
He was needlessly concerned. Our marriage won’t even last long. I laughed at him in my head as he outstretched his hand before me.
When I gave him a look that asked what he was doing, Lukas smiled. “Shall we have tea time together?”
I blinked.
He continued, “Lady Duncan’s efforts will all go to waste otherwise. Regardless, I think our relationship needs some improvement.”
I grinned. “Would you like it to be a little more intense?”
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He was at a loss for words. I turned my attention to the book in front of me. This was another assignment from Emily. She wanted the loving couple to have tea time, so she left as soon as she could, saying she had important business to attend to.
Anyway.
“If you’re not going to drink tea, leave the cup alone. It’s annoying seeing you just hold it and put it back down over and over again.” I was the only one drinking tea here, so this couldn’t be considered tea time.
“I am a duke. I cannot help but do what is expected of me.”
I grimaced. It was unimaginable a few days ago, but it seemed I got used to living here. I gave up trying to persuade him.
“I hope this isn’t inappropriate to say.” With that serious expression again, he said, “I hate tea.”
“No one’s making you drink it.” If you don’t like it, don’t eat it. Forcing himself to have tea time with me was baffling. I chose not to understand how this human in particular was my husband, but still.
“I was worried my wife would abandon me.”
He was forcing himself to have tea time because he was worried his wife would abandon him.
“Do I have the power to do that?” I planned to tell him I was going to return to my room and sleep if he kept spouting nonsense.
“My lord, there you are. I’ve been looking for you for some time.” Two, tall men walked toward us. “The knights you sent to the border have returned.”
“If it’s not a pressing matter, it can wait. I’m taking a break at the moment.” Lukas appeared displeased as if they ruined our tea time.
The man with a stern expression stopped in his tracks. Our eyes met. His hair was as orange as a pumpkin, and his eyes were like sparkling amber. He frowned. Oh, I get it. He hates me. If you were to ask if I was offended by this obvious show of contempt, I would say I wasn’t. His attitude was to be expected of a human. However, I found it strange. Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen such a reaction in a long time.
“Now that I think about it, you two haven’t met before. Ella, this is Sir Evan Cross, the knight commander of the Order of Phyllia, the Havel Knights.”
I was curious about what the Pumpkin Knight muttered under his breath. He reluctantly bowed.
“…It is an honor to meet you, my lady. I am Evan Cross.”
“I am delighted to make your acquaintance.” It was not a delight. He was clearly glaring daggers at me. For some reason, I felt I would bump into this human often in the future.
“My lord, you can’t forget me!” Behind the Pumpkin Knight was a red-haired man.
“Worry not, Jade. I cannot forget someone as loud as you. Ella, this is—”
“Wait, my lord. I heard that you die if a witch says your name. Is it true?” He wanted to check before introducing himself. “My apologies, but I wish to live a long and happy life. Don’t you think it’d be embarrassing if I just die all of a sudden?” The red-haired knight was enjoying the situation, but he did appear to be genuinely concerned.
Indeed, it was better to be honest and straightforward than to be on guard. I smiled. “Lukas Havel.”
As if surprised by my calling his name, my husband’s blue eyes focused on me.
I continued to smile. “See? He’s fine.”
The Pumpkin Knight shot a look at me. In his mind, he was probably cursing me for using his lord as a test subject. Meanwhile, unlike the ill-tempered knight commander, the red-haired man burst into a fit of laughter. He stomped his foot and punched the wall like he had gone insane. It seemed this one wasn’t normal either.
“Hahaha, it was all superstition, wasn’t it? Jade Luen, at your service. Just call me Jade.”
“My name is Eleanor Rowen. It’s all right if you refer to me as Ella.” I happily introduced myself because I thought we’d get along.
“He is forbidden from doing that.” This husband of mine frowned as he stood up and tightly gripped Jade’s shoulder. “Address her as ‘my lady’. Be very polite when you say it.”
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“…”
“Ella, you must address him as Sir Luen. You may say it rudely, especially to his face.”
“…”
“Of course, my wife may address me as casually as she wishes. Please do keep this in mind.” Lukas grabbed the teacup and drank all the tea in one go. He then looked like he was in a lot of pain.
Truly, I didn’t know what was wrong with him.