Chapter 33
It had already been one week and two days since Blake was released from confinement.
As if nothing had ever happened, the Imperial Palace had gone quiet again.
If there was only one place still noisy amidst the calm, it would surely be the Crown Princess’s palace.
“Should we pin your hair up high today? Or should we braid it to emphasize Your Highness’s lively charm?”
“As long as it’s not too flashy, do whatever you want.”
“Oh, Your Highness, you leave too much up to me. Yesterday you only said you didn’t like the slip either.”
That slip!
Does she know how embarrassed I was because of that?
“If you dress me up so recklessly again, next time you’ll really get scolded. I mean it.”
“But it looked so good on you… Did His Highness the Crown Prince not like it?”
Lily’s voice dropped in disappointment as she carefully brushed my hair.
Last night, Lily had dressed me in a daring slip.
It didn’t seem so bad on the hanger, but once I actually put it on, the neckline and back were cut so low that I nearly jumped in shock.
But Lily just laughed and insisted it suited me so perfectly that when I said I’d change, she ran away before I could.
“Uh… aren’t you cold?”
That was all Blake said when he saw me in the slip, before grabbing a blanket from somewhere and wrapping me up tightly.
Lily, if only you’d seen his face then!
After that, Blake avoided my gaze as much as possible, turned his back to me, and immediately fell asleep.
The embarrassment was mine alone to bear.
“These days, you’ve been spending every night together again. His Highness the Crown Prince really is impossible to figure out.”
Well, that’s because we really do only sleep in the same bed.
Blake, who promised not to avoid me anymore, had faithfully stayed by my side since then.
For meals, for sleep.
And for today’s outing too.
“All done! Please return safely, Your Highness.”
At Lily’s words, I slowly lifted my head to look in the mirror.
My hair was tied up neatly in a single bun, and I wore a simple teal dress designed for easy movement.
Today’s outing was very important.
Because our destination was none other than the Orion territory.
Nodding, I bid Lily farewell and stepped outside.
Waiting already was the imperial carriage, and in front of it, standing with his hands behind his back, was Blake—looking strangely unfamiliar as he waited for me.
When our eyes met, he naturally held out his hand.
“You dressed warmly today.”
Hm. His words were still curt, but the gesture was undeniably my husband’s.
And he even went so far as to remind me of last night’s embarrassment.
“Yes, enough that it’s not an indecent sight, thanks to Your Highness.”
I answered primly and placed my hand in his.
Blake glanced down at our joined hands with an indifferent face, then led me to the carriage.
“I never said it was indecent.”
“…”
“More importantly, that ring—it’s pretty.”
…Did he notice something?
Right after returning from the salon, I had given Father the fluorescent powder that falls from butterfly wings.
I asked him to process it into a jewel-like form and set it into a ring for me.
No need for a skilled jeweler or a great alchemist—just fusing it with a low-grade mana stone was enough.
Father quickly granted my request.
And now I was wearing that very ring.
But somehow, it felt like Blake already knew what it was.
How could he?
I kept thinking it over as I climbed into the carriage with his escort, but no answer came.
“Thinking to yourself again, master.”
“Because Your Highness has never once said a ring looked pretty before.”
“Is that so.”
Blake said lightly, then lifted his head with a mischievous smile.
“If I’d known, I should have gotten us wedding rings.”
“Wedding rings?”
I stole a glance at his long, straight fingers.
Yes, a ring would suit them.
Still, he was the kind of man who never cared for ornaments or dressing up, his good looks making such things unnecessary.
And it wasn’t like he attached any great meaning to our marriage.
So why mention wedding rings now?
I still remembered his face on our wedding day—how he flushed with humiliation and shame at marrying me.
“That way, if my master tried to run away, I could chase after you. I’d inscribe a location-transfer spell in it.”
“Don’t you dare turn a sacred wedding ring into a tracking magic tool.”
Calling me “master” in words, while threatening to not let me go if I ever ran away—what was with him?
Honestly, ridiculous.
“Anyway, I’m not going to run away. And you promised not to abandon me either.”
The very idea of one of us abandoning the other was laughable.
“Good to hear.”
Whether it was my words he liked or simply my reaction, Blake chuckled quietly.
Then he leaned his elbow against the window, rested his head on his hand, and crossed his legs.
For some reason, although his expression was the same as when we went to the temple, he seemed strangely at ease this time.
With his head tilted and eyes half-lidded, he gazed at me lazily and said:
“When we reach Orion territory, the atmosphere won’t be good.”
Considering the good reputation of the previous Count Orion, the people there surely didn’t look kindly on the imperial family.
The Orion family had essentially been destroyed by the crown.
And now, with infighting over how to divide what was left, the people could only worry about their uncertain future.
“Stay close to me. You know as well as I do—there are plenty of knights who aren’t worth their titles.”
“Not worth their titles…”
I repeated his words, then couldn’t help but laugh at how fresh they sounded.
Like saying “not worth their pay.”
And it was true—most of the Imperial Knights were nobles, especially second sons who couldn’t inherit their families’ estates and took knighthood instead.
Their families usually bribed them in. That was the reality of the knight order.
Even with the prophecy of war and ruin looming, the knights had grown lazy, relying on the peace the supposed “hero” would secure.
I knew that laziness all too well.
“Once inside the territory, we’ll inspect the manor first. We won’t see everything—it’s too big—but we’ll take a general look.”
The Orion lands were blessed with fertile soil and a large pond nearby, ensuring the people never starved.
‘But… Blake intends to give that land to Alec.’
In the novel, on this very inspection trip, he discovered they were farming without distinguishing between fertile and fallow fields.
The rich soil had made this sustainable for now, but Blake predicted that if a drought struck or if slash-and-burn farmers came, the land would be ruined for years.
And the following year, a drought did come, proving him exactly right.
“The gold mine is next to it. I won’t go in, just meet the manager.”
Blake had already spoken to a miner beforehand.
Based on his testimony and the reports, Blake deduced that the remaining gold reserves were nearly depleted.
So he planned to hand that over to Alec too.
“After that, we’ll visit the abandoned iron mine. Then the inspection ends.”
Blake explained everything more patiently than I expected.
Until our eyes met and he tilted his lips into a crooked smile, speaking teasingly:
“So, what about you, master? If you’re tagging along on my estate inspection, you must have some great plan in mind?”
Ha. I wondered when the mockery would come.
I only shrugged silently.
It was better to see the ring glow with my own eyes than to chatter needlessly now.
I’d tested it, but I still wasn’t sure whether it would react to the mana stones buried in the abandoned mine.
Thankfully, Blake didn’t press further and closed his eyes, as if to rest.
Just as I turned my head, his voice came again.
“You seem to enjoy these outings quite a bit. How about tomorrow evening we visit Teshir Street?”
“Teshir Street? Why there?”
“Because I want to eat the food they sell there.”
I blinked at the sudden answer, giving him a strange look.
But then I remembered—he had grown up wandering back alleys as a child.
And Father often brought back the skewers that Ariel liked from that very street.
So perhaps even while eating the finest palace meals, Blake sometimes longed for those old memories.
I nodded, and Blake smiled faintly.
Then, in a voice unusually gentle for him, he added:
“And I’ll get you those chicken skewers you like.”
