CHAPTER 43
The journey back to the count’s manor was unbelievably easy.
Adèle opened the carriage window and lifted her pet onto her lap, showing it outside.
“Here, you probably won’t be able to come here often for a while, so at least look outside a bit.”
“Milady, I must say… you really are amazing.”
“Hm?”
“I’m not going to worry about you anymore. Not at all.”
Jacqueline, sitting across from her, made a somewhat resigned yet determined face.
To think I worried about someone like her.
The time she had anxiously fretted over the lady possibly returning empty-handed and losing everything to Lady Noella—now that seemed a complete waste of heartache.
‘I might as well have peeled another potato instead.’
Unconsciously, Jacqueline made the peeling motion and suddenly realized it.
While she caught this terrible illness, her lady found both a man and even got a pet.
There was no way this was the experience of someone who had only lived once or twice in this world.
“I’d even believe it if you said you could grind tea leaves and bake bread.”
“Oh my, I probably could.”
“…Really? You really think that’s possible?”
“Of course. If I announced in tomorrow’s paper that anyone who could make bread from tea leaves would be awarded ten thousand gold coins, I bet at least a hundred people would bring me their bread immediately.”
“…”
“Jacqueline, that’s how the world works. It’s not that there’s no way, it’s that there’s no money. It’s not that it doesn’t exist, it’s just undiscovered.”
In her dictionary, as long as there was money, nothing was impossible.
Watching Adèle fondly stroke some unknown animal with a fresh smile, Jacqueline couldn’t shake a bitter feeling somewhere deep inside.
“So what about the commander? You mean he can be bought with money too?”
“No. He’s not a human belonging to this world.”
“Oh…”
Repeatedly accepting that truth left Jacqueline letting go even of the tiny resentment she might have had.
Come to think of it, those two might be a perfect match. A statue removed from the world and the embodiment of money ruling it—it’s almost miraculous they met.
“By the way, the commander seems to be late. Has he gone far?”
“He seems to be coming now.”
Adèle guessed Killian’s presence from the animal’s suddenly wagging tail.
You’ve got a good instinct, too.
When she tapped his back as a sign that she found him cute, the creature stretched out as if it liked it.
At that moment, the carriage door opened, and Adèle looked up warmly.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“…What were you doing?”
“I thought this one wanted to look outside.”
Killian held the door handle and gazed long at the two on the lap. His complicated look lingered on Adèle and grew even more refined.
Jacqueline quickly moved to store their luggage in the carriage, and Killian took the vacant seat.
“So, commander, where did you go? You stopped the carriage to get some fresh air. Are you feeling unwell?”
“…No.”
“We’ve passed the rough roads. Why the sudden motion sickness? Maybe I should have come along with you.”
“Not at all.”
Adèle felt a little disappointed by his firm denial.
He looked fine but suddenly said he went out for fresh air. She hadn’t shown it, but it worried her.
They weren’t really married yet, and she couldn’t keep meddling in every little thing he did, so she kept it to herself.
And it was the same the other way around.
Killian probably didn’t care much about her private life or thoughts either.
That thought made a hollow feeling in her chest. Wanting to avoid sinking into gloom, Adèle reaffirmed her determination.
She felt both guilt and responsibility for dragging Killian—something like a natural monument—into this ruthless world.
‘I have to do well.’
If anything happened to Killian, it would be her fault.
Though she only said “Marry me,” it took two whole weeks just to convince him to descend this snowy mountain. She hadn’t even properly explained how to navigate the secular world.
She needed to meet her father first, at the very least.
Adèle’s worry grew.
“Commander, as I said, I will explain carefully later, but right now there isn’t much time. Leaving the detailed contract aside, the count’s manor and the merchant guild are very different from the army base.”
“…Is that so?”
His voice was indifferent as he took off his leather gloves.
How much of the world has he seen?
If he came from a nominal noble family and rose to become commander, he probably spent his life shuttling between training grounds and battlefields.
Especially since the last few years were spent only in the ice caves and the army base, he wouldn’t know much about the outside world.
‘He’s basically a Mowgli.’
Where to even begin? She looked at him with a sense of helplessness.
The difference from Mowgli was that this man had been picked up from the divine realm, not a jungle.
His natural elegance set him apart, so he would never be underestimated or ignored anywhere. But the place she lived in was not an ordinary world.
A tower built on money, crawling with greedy humans.
In short, normal common sense didn’t apply.
Adèle thought of the people around her, then shook her head.
“Is your head hurting?”
“Huh? Ah… no.”
“Lean back in the seat. Coming down suddenly from the mountain could do that.”
He seemed distracted, but when Adèle touched her head, Killian quickly reacted.
Though he said he was fine, Adèle pouted but didn’t mind much. Honestly, it was rather nice.
I have to protect this man.
Adèle thought of her father—the biggest hurdle and first challenge.
“Commander, as I said, my father is…”
“I know. Count Sergio is quite strict.”
“I…”
If only it were that easy to say.
Count Sergio was unique even in Adèle’s eyes.
A living embodiment of money.
He blindly loved money but didn’t necessarily like people who had it. In that sense, their ways of thinking matched.
“Father, even if no one else, you should keep an eye on the Duke of Georgia. The businesses he owns in the South are many.”
“Adèle, I’ve told you many times—even if you have a lot of money, you can’t have more than me.”
Right. That was her father.
If a middling rich man said that, it would be arrogance, but from her father, it felt humble.
Even she didn’t know the full extent of his wealth.
To know it all, she would have to become the official heir.
From head to toe, all mine. Everything is mine.
Adèle’s eyes gleamed with resolve.
“But your family or your wealth aren’t the kinds to be looked down on, so don’t worry about that.”
“…”
“Oh, if that upset you, I’m sorry. I just thought it better to be honest.”
Worried she might have sounded like she was belittling his wealth, Adèle immediately waved her hand.
Killian didn’t seem offended. Rather, he appeared more interested in something else.
“So, lady, how do you see me?”
“…Me?”
“How do you think of me?”
Killian’s eyes across the carriage were calm.
His presence filled the rather spacious carriage, and only then did Adèle realize they were alone.
A young lady new to society might have been breathless at that thought alone.
“How do I think of you? You’re the husband I chose with my own hands.”
She wasn’t sure if that was the answer he wanted to hear, but his expression wasn’t bad.
He probably meant not how she thought of him personally, but whether she was acceptable despite her lack of family or wealth, so Adèle had no hesitation.
“If I had cared about such things, I wouldn’t have come this far.”
“So you wouldn’t have done the dishes or pulled weeds every day?”
“Bingo.”
When Adèle lightly pointed her index finger at him, a faint twitch appeared at Killian’s lips.
Someone might think he was holding back a smile, but he wasn’t that kind of man.
Still, she liked how they communicated well and that he showed no inferiority complex about it.
‘How could I not like him more?’
The more she saw, the more satisfied she became.
From what she’d seen, men with lesser family or title than their wives often took out their frustration in petty ways.
How pathetic.
Whenever she saw such men, Adèle vowed to avoid them no matter what.
“So, commander, you don’t have to worry about that side.”
“People are different from ladies.”
“I don’t fit those standards anyway. Unless you’re a prince of the imperial palace, that is.”
“…”
“Why do you ask, commander?”
Killian’s hand paused as he was about to put away his gloves. He quietly looked at her with blue eyes.
Adèle touched her cheek, wondering if something was there.
Just then, her pet squirmed on her lap, grabbing her attention.
“What’s wrong now? Feeling restless?”
Whining noise!
“You were fine before—are you uncomfortable now?”
The creature curled its tail, spun around, then sniffed the air eagerly.
Its fur, patterned like scales, bristled sharply, and Adèle tried to calm it down.
“What’s wrong, hmm? What’s bothering you?”
Growl.
It sniffed like an excited hunting dog.
Adèle had no idea why, but she thought calming it was the priority and reached out gently, when suddenly the carriage window flung open.
Looking up, Killian was pulling his hand back from the window.
“It felt a bit warm.”
“Oh… yes, it is.”
Adèle nodded, feeling uneasy. Though Killian sat upright and neat, her sharp eyes caught a small detail like a puzzle
piece.
“I guess the mountain air is refreshing, but the heat below must be exhausting.”
The sunlight poured through the window, but the fresh air of the highlands was different.
The creature was restless but not frightened.
“You might be right.”
Killian glanced at the scenery as if evaluating.
Adèle watched him for a moment, then decided to change the subject.
“Commander, the count’s manor is almost in sight. Are you ready to meet my father?”
Killian’s eyes darkened, and he nodded slightly.
Adèle smiled faintly and leaned back, her pet curling in her arms.
