Chapter 7
“Did I write something wrong?”
“No. Not at all.”
He frowned. It wasn’t like I had written anything incorrectly. If he was frowning like that, maybe he had gotten dust in his eye?
I stared directly at his face and moved closer. He immediately leaned backward.
“Why are you approaching me?”
“Blink your eyes, Yezar.”
His beautiful gray eyes disappeared and reappeared. I leaned in close to his face and gently blew a puff of air near his eyes. His long eyelashes trembled faintly.
“Now the dust is gone, right? If dust got in, you could just say so. Why hide it?”
I grinned proudly, and he quietly nodded.
“Yes, that’s right… For a moment, dust did get into my eye.”
As I expected, my guess was correct. Feeling happy that I had helped him even a little, I asked him again.
“Is your eye okay now?”
“…I’ll go to the restroom for a moment.”
“Oh, is your eye still stinging?”
“Yes. It seems so.”
He hurried away, and the tips of his ears were red. It was early spring, but today wasn’t particularly cold.
“Do men’s ears usually turn red easily?”
Weaslet never did. Or maybe Yezar was just especially prone to it? People are different, after all.
Having mentally noted this new fact about Yezar, I patiently waited for him. Soon, he reappeared—but his face was damp, as if he’d roughly washed it, and his previously reddened ears had returned to normal.
“Did the dust come out?”
“Yes, it did.”
I casually tapped the parchment I had neatly organized.
“Then quickly, tell me if there’s another rule. We can always add more if any discomfort arises during married life, but it’s better to write them down in advance.”
These rules were meant to prevent any unfortunate incidents between us. If gaps in the rules led to repeated problems, then setting rules in the first place would be meaningless.
“Next, how about spending leisure time together?”
“Spend leisure time together? Are you sure? I’d understand even if Yezar wanted to rest alone.”
Given his personality, he might be saying this out of concern for me. Maybe he thought I’d feel lonely being left alone in the duke’s household. But that was a misconception.
When I had been practically confined to the count’s estate, how eagerly I had searched for alternatives to smartphones, YouTube, and various OTTs. There was no way I’d have time to feel bored.
“I’m fine. As an ideal husband, I want to spend my leisure time with you.”
Perhaps because his desires strangely leaned toward romance, I narrowed my eyes and stared at him, then blurted out what had been bothering me.
“Yezar.”+
“Yes, my lady?”+
“Are there many things you want to do together with me?”+
“Am I asking too much that you’re saying this…?”+
His calm eyes took on a sad glimmer. Surprised, I quickly denied it.+
“No! I just meant—sometimes you imagine, right? The scenery of a walk you’d take with a lover, the time spent eating favorite foods and chatting, or enjoying a shared hobby together!”+
I hurried to add more, before this gentle man misunderstood.+
“So I was wondering—maybe you’re saying this because you want to try the things you once dreamed of doing?”+
His gaze softened. He looked cautiously at my expression, seeming anxious.+
“…Perhaps. I’m sorry. This must be uncomfortable for you, Julietta. I suppose my own feelings got ahead of me without me realizing.”+
I never told him to feel discouraged, yet I couldn’t understand why he looked so deflated.+
I reached out my hand toward him, then hesitated.+
“Yezar.”+
“Yes, my lady…”+
“May I hold your hand?”+
“W-what did you just say…?”+
His eyes trembled as if he couldn’t believe it. In this case, it was better to keep it short.+
“Yes or no?”+
He avoided my gaze, then nodded.+
I firmly took both of his hands into mine. Speaking solemnly, like guiding a lost lamb, I said:+
“I’ve never once felt uncomfortable with Yezar’s actions. And just as Yezar strives to be an ideal husband, I will play the role of the ideal wife that Yezar wants. That’s our contract, isn’t it?”+
“But…”+
“No more drooping your eyes sadly. And no more automatic apologies either.”+
“What exactly does Julietta want from me?”+
Seeing his confused expression, I realized I needed to lead.+
“All I want is exactly that—during these two years of marriage, I want both you and me to be happy!”+
“This marriage was merely a forced contract.”+
“Forced? Yezar, we both agreed to this contract. So listen, Yezar—even though I’m not the one you love, I’ll be someone you can laugh with, talk with, and share worries with. Even if it’s a contract marriage, our time together doesn’t have to be unhappy. And my contract husband looks especially good when he smiles!”+
His previously gloomy expression brightened like sunlight breaking through. Indeed, he looked best when he smiled.+
“Julietta, you truly are…”
“I know. I’m solid.”+
I winked and gently pulled my hand away, but he immediately grasped it back.+
I tried to pull my hand back, wondering why he was holding it. But Yezar wouldn’t let go.+
“Julietta, may I add one more rule?”+
“Huh? What is it?”+
“That you listen to my words until the very end. Will you promise to uphold that?”+
“Oh? That wasn’t my idea?”+
Then I had interrupted what he was about to say. Was I worried I had cut him off and interpreted things my own way?+
His soft yet deep voice reached my ears.+
“Yes. What I meant to say was… Julietta, you are truly lovely.”+
Huh? Is my hearing faulty? Did Yezar just say what I think he did?+
“That was exactly it.”+
Since he repeated it, I must not have misheard. I realized there was still much I needed to teach this man, and carefully waited for him to release my hand.+
He kept smiling brightly at me, only letting go of my hand several minutes later, finally freeing me.+
Before I forgot, I quickly tapped the parchment listing our marital rules.+
“Calling your contract wife ‘lovely’ is also forbidden. Add it to the rules immediately.”+
At my firm words, Yezar seemed to crumble, losing all vitality. But I couldn’t back down.+
In business relationships, there should always be appropriate boundaries. If I let him be overly kind like this, what if—accidentally—we actually fell for each other… Hmm…+
Would it really be that bad? But I immediately wiped that possibility away.+
Absolutely not. The man before me was a pure-hearted man who had faithfully loved only one woman for a very long time.+
And now he’s fallen head over heels for a wife he’s only known for a few days? That defies all logic.+
Yezar, who had been staring intently at the parchment, finally asked me.+
“Must we really add this rule?”+
“Oh come on. Why not? And there’s one more.”+
At my words, his voice slowed and lowered in pitch.+
“What is it…?”+
“Being this kind to other women is also forbidden.”+
At that, the man who hadn’t moved a muscle began smoothly writing down the rule. The scratching of the quill echoed in my ears as the foundational rules for our future married life were neatly recorded.+
“Julietta, I will certainly uphold this rule.”+
That’s right. Otherwise, naive young ladies might misunderstand his kindness and start chasing after him like moths to a flame.
I knew about his long-standing love, but to those who didn’t, how enchanting he must seem. So cutting this off early was better—for both Yezar and those young ladies.+
“Yes, I’ll hold you to it.”+
Thus, after many twists and turns, the rules for our contract marriage were finally set. I let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the bed.+
“Phew. I’m tired in many ways.”+
“Is your hangover gone now?”+
“Thanks to a certain duke who ran off, it disappeared long ago.”+
That certain duke looked awkward and gave an embarrassed smile. I answered jokingly and tried to lie down properly. Then, beside me, he began preparing to lie down too. I remembered the previous disaster and spoke up.+
“Yezar, what time do you usually wake up?”+
“Due to training, I rise in the early dawn.”+
So that explained why he hadn’t woken up late that time—it must have been the alcohol. Fortunately, there was no alcohol now to create an awkward situation, and my mind was perfectly clear.+
“Oh, good.”+
“What’s good about that?”+
“I sleep deeply—I won’t wake up even if someone shakes me. And aside from when I’m drunk, my sleeping habits are perfectly fine. If you wake up first and leave, nothing will happen.”+
Really, nothing would happen between us. After all, I had no intention of touching Yezar’s pure body.+
I raised both hands as if to reassure him and smiled brightly.+
“…If anything, it should be me saying that. My lady seems to regard me as quite a gentleman.”+
“Of course. I know you’re not the kind of person who would touch a woman without her consent.”+
When someone loses the woman they’ve loved for a long time to another man, many would go mad and do crazy things, wouldn’t they?+
But Yezar didn’t. Instead, like a fool, he even married a woman he didn’t love—just to help them.+
“I also accepted your marriage proposal because I liked your kindness. Even if it’s a contract, you seemed like someone who would treat me gently. And my prediction was right. Perhaps, in this marriage, I’m the one benefiting the most.”+
I answered cheerfully and tightly closed my eyes. Could it be because it had been so long since I’d fallen asleep beside someone?+
The warmth seeping into the blanket felt comforting. Today, for some reason, I felt like I would have a good dream.
