Chapter 09
How many days had it been? For the first time in a while, I was finally enjoying some peace.
‘I haven’t had a moment to rest lately.’
“Still, why are you doing this here when you have your own room?”
Bella set her teacup down as she spoke.
I, who had been nibbling on a sweet choux pastry, lifted my eyes with a faintly sulky expression.
“My room doesn’t really feel like my room.”
“That’s a strange thing to say.”
“I want separate rooms. There are so many rooms in this place, it would be rude to leave them unused.”
“…You’re the first daughter-in-law I’ve ever met like you.”
“I’m kind of unique.”
Bella, who had grown somewhat used to me by now, simply looked resigned.
She asked, “Is Schubel that uncomfortable for you?”
I thought for a moment before answering.
“Not really.”
As I said, Schubel wasn’t an uncomfortable cohabitant.
He was generally clean, disciplined, handled his own affairs well…
‘And he’s handsome.’
That part was very important.
At the very least, he was one of those rare resources you could lie in the same bed with without feeling disgusted. Maybe even the only one.
“Then you’ll get used to it over time.”
“……”
I bit my lip at Bella’s words.
I knew what she meant. If there was no problem with the other person—
‘Then I’m the one with the problem.’
I lifted my teacup to hide my darkening expression.
Then—
“Now that you’re married, even if it’s uncomfortable, try to endure it. You should also have children, after all.”
“Pff—!”
Bella delivered the kind of “mother-in-law advice” every daughter-in-law in the world dreads!
The effect was immediate.
I choked on my tea.
“Slow down,” she said.
Though she frowned in disapproval at her clumsy daughter-in-law, she still wiped the corner of my mouth herself.
“I know you’ve lived freely, but now that you carry the name of the Lunain family, it would be good to receive etiquette training.”
“C-cough… what?”
“You shouldn’t let people look down on you. If you know your weaknesses, you must not leave them be. I’ll quietly find you a teacher.”
She said it casually, but it basically meant she was worried I’d be gossiped about because of my background.
‘It’s nice that Bella and I have gotten this close already…but isn’t this a bit too close?’
No, seriously, isn’t this too fast?
Wouldn’t a noble mother-in-law normally dislike a commoner daughter-in-law? Maybe even push for divorce? Or say children are out of the question!
“Ch-children…?”
“Yes.”
Bella looked at me as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
“Mother, in this day and age, newlyweds are supposed to enjoy their time slowly and lovingly, and children come later when they’re more mature…”
“The North is conservative. Tradition matters.”
That didn’t work at all.
“It’s thanks to you that the estate’s finances have improved. Since it’s all because of you, I’ll ask the cook to prepare an extra-large eel—”
“I have work! I’ll go first!”
In the end, I had no choice but to flee.
After escaping Bella, I spent the night buried in merchant guild work due to my unsettled mood.
When I finally came to my senses, the window outside was already pitch black.
RUMBLE—
In the darkness, a faint violet light flickered.
I rubbed my aching wrist. A storm was coming.
‘Let’s go to bed.’
Rainy days were one of the few times I always felt low.
I walked through the silent corridor where no one passed.
Then something that had been waiting for my weakened mind whispered.
‘It’s because of you.’
It was an auditory hallucination.
‘It’s all your fault. Even your parents’ death…’
Shhh—
Rain began to fall.
My reflection in the window showed an expressionless face.
Drip— water traced down my blank expression.
In the light, Elisia was someone confident, dazzling, someone who could do anything.
‘…Then what am I in the darkness?’
I was acting like nothing was wrong, but I knew I wasn’t normal right now.
Click. The door opened.
‘Right… my bedroom isn’t mine alone anymore.’
Just then—BOOM!—a violet lightning bolt flashed outside the wide-open window.
A semi-transparent white curtain fluttered like fairy wings.
Through it, a man sleeping quietly on the bed came into view.
Schubel Lunain.
Flashback
One summer, on a day when heavy rain poured endlessly—
I lost my parents in a carriage accident.
I had just turned twenty.
Elisia Seton was the only daughter of the Seton family.
A precious child born after years of effort.
Naturally, she was raised with utmost care and affection.
She had everything except noble status.
“Status? Who cares. If I need it, I’ll just buy it later.”
In truth, even being a commoner meant nothing to her.
It was that kind of world—magic trains connected the continent, and powerful capitalists transcended class itself.
Most nobles were inferior to the Setons. Elisia was always envied, admired, and resented.
She was born holding gold in her hands.
“Hurry, Dad!”
“You little thing, my arm’s going to fall off.”
“Do you really like going to see the snowy mountains that much? I picked a place where the aurora is best visible. If I’d known, I would’ve built the villa earlier.”
“The North barely even has trains. It’s rare to even go there.”
Elisia spoke playfully.
“And Dad, Mom is always busy. It’s been a long time since we traveled together.”
She really had everything.
Kind parents, endless money, sweet words from people trying to gain her favor, and the world’s attention.
She was happy.
“Looks like it might rain. The sky is dark.”
“In the North, it usually snows instead of rains. Maybe it’ll snow?”
“Wow! Snow! I hope it comes soon!”
And then that day—
RUMBLE—!
Elisia lost everything in the world.
A family trip she had begged for years to take.
A trip that was supposed to be nothing but happiness.
“Mo… mom?”
But the pouring rain and the violet lightning tearing through the sky left her unable to think.
It was a carriage accident.
The North had only one train station, so reaching the villa required a long carriage ride.
If she hadn’t insisted on the trip, would they all have survived?
“Mom… wake up. Please…”
If transportation in the North had been better, would things have been different?
She didn’t know. She couldn’t know anything.
When the rain started, her parents decided to stop at a nearby house until it passed.
Her father’s voice shouting at the driver still echoed clearly:
“Stop the carriage!”
“…!”
“Hey! Didn’t you hear me?!”
Rumble—the sky roared.
The carriage ran like a runaway train in the storm.
And then…
“ELISIA!”
A deafening crash.
Her mother had shielded her.
When she regained consciousness, her body was soaked in rain.
And blood.
“No…”
She muttered blankly.
Shhh—
The rain poured harder, as if trying to erase the tragedy.
The cold of the North was unbearable in wet clothes. Her consciousness faded as she wished—
‘I wish I’d just died too.’
Then—
“How interesting.”
A low voice.
Someone approached silently.
Where he walked, raindrops froze midair. Frost bloomed from his fingertips.
The magic field he created erased even the sound of the storm.
White snowflakes began to fall in the suddenly quiet world.
“How do you have color?”
Elisia lost consciousness.
It was her first meeting with Schubel Lunain.
One month later—
Elisia, who had been missing in the carriage accident that shocked the world, returned.
As the rightful heir.
Back to present
‘He really sleeps in an inconvenient way.’
Schubel was sitting leaned back with his eyes closed.
I watched him, lost in thought.
Sharing a bedroom with someone was already uncomfortable, but today it felt worse. I didn’t think I could pretend to be fine with the sound of rain outside.
Just as I turned to leave—
“Are you running away?”
A low, drowsy voice spoke.
I flinched and turned back toward the bed.
