Chapter 11.2 – I Will Put My Life On The Line
“Is ruby to your liking?” Shuden asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
As Valia blinked, he pointed to his wrist with a gesture of his chin. The cuff links that Valia personally attached gleamed brightly on his sleeve cuff. She didn’t realize it when it was on the shelf, but the rubies that reflected the sun’s ray had a pretty deep red color.
“Because it’s similar to the color of your eyes,” she answered.
“The color of my eyes?” Shuden, who was startled by the unexpected words, chuckled. “It seems that you have carefully observed my eyes.”
Valia was flushed and shut her mouth. He was right. Valia stared too much at Shuden’s face. He looked so handsome even when seen from a distance, but when seen up close, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. it seemed as if she wouldn’t get tired of looking at his face all day.
“I’ll thankfully accept these cuff links,” Shuden finished gracefully.
Valia gave a small nod. Strictly speaking, she could only choose it due to the Marquis’ donation, but she didn’t want to thwart it as it was a gift from her. Besides, she was somewhat excited to hear him thank her.
Shuden continued. “As you saw earlier, please do not accept any guests from today. I’ll notify the knights, so there’ll be nothing to worry about.”
“Yes. Got it,” she replied with an understanding nod at his words. She already knew why he said that.
In her past experience, she was fully aware of the authority the name Marquis Garth had. Whether it be out of good or bad will, many people rushed to see his face. To be honest, Valia wasn’t confident that she could avoid them well, so the best choice was to not see their faces at all.
They continued to stroll and, before they knew it, they were already at the entrance of the temple building. They walked through the door and corridors, heading towards Valia’s room. As Shuden walked with her to the entrance of the next building, he spoke in a passing tone.
“Next time I see you will be at the wedding ceremony,” he said.
“Huh? A-ah, yes,” Valia stammered.
Then, Shuden turned his back without hesitation. Sean followed him out to see him off. Valia felt sad as she watched his retreating figure gradually disappear.
“If it’s a noble’s wedding, it would at least be three months to half a year from now. We’re not going to meet at all during this time?” she lamented.
That was Ghel’s code of etiquette, but when Shuden said it, she couldn’t help but feel downcast. As she stood there, Robin lightly spoke.
“My Lady, I heard that your favorite apple cookie is going to be served as dessert this evening, so how about going for a meal?”
Valia turned to look at Robin. He was two years younger than her, and always took good care of her feelings. Sean was the strict one, but he was always courteous to her.
That’s right. It was only fair for her to be grateful that she had people who were so good-hearted to her. Valia shook off the gloominess and smiled.
***
Shuden had tried not to bother about Valia until he officially married her and they became a couple. Even without being so attentive, he had already promised her the position of Marchioness Garth. Wasn’t that a pretty good gift? She was treated as an honored guest at the temple and given the necessities of life, and her guard was taken charge by none other than the leader of the Knight Order of Garth. He had given her excessive kindness. And that was also true.
If he were to come and find her again, it would only be if there was a disagreement between Shuden and the Great Holy Priest. But today, he had come to visit Valia on a whim. There was no problem with his agreement with the Great Holy Priest, but he didn’t really have anything he wanted to tell her either.
‘It’s unpleasant.’
If he had to give a reason, it was because of the men who made those vulgar jokes at the bar. That was why he came to see Valia today. Shuden couldn’t figure out what the link between the circumstances ahead and the consequences behind was, as it had never happened before.
However, he was displeased when he walked in and discovered that Valia was ‘assaulted’ at the temple where she should have been safe. There were many unpleasant things that happened here and there. Shuden frowned.
“Sean,” he said.
“Yes, Your Excellency,” the knight answered respectfully.
“I’d like to change my order.”
“Please speak.”
“Make sure no one treats her badly from now on.”
Sean’s eyes slightly widened. However, as an experienced knight who was good at hiding his feelings, he would in the end obey.
“I will put my life on the line to protect her.”
***
Wedding ceremony.
Garth’s mansion was located in the capital. In the office used by the masters of each generation, ten people, including the chiefs of each department, stood in a line. They each had a different role to manage, but their purpose boiled down to one thing only—That the Marquis Garth household was prosperous and well. A considerable amount of manpower was involved in managing the enormous household.
These people saw each other for the first time today. When Shuden first became the Marquis, the manpower wasn’t the same as it was now. These people were chosen after several restructures. Most of them exchanged information through documents or a messenger, and for these people who carried out the orders of the Marquis, it was the first time since Shuden was named as Marquis that they were here standing side by side in the same location.
The reason they were gathered was simple.
The wedding ceremony.