Chapter 08
The One Who Shares a Bed
“Who would’ve thought even dragons don’t catch spring colds.”
I lay trapped in what could only be described as imperial confinement, groaning on the bed.
Every time I tried to do anything, people kept popping out of nowhere to stop me, and in the end I was wrapped snugly in a fluffy blanket like a burrito.
“So much to do… and I get sick now of all times.”
It had been a month since I first recalled the original story. That meant I had 2 years and 11 months left until my execution by guillotine.
Just thinking of it as my remaining lifespan made my stomach burn.
“I need to quickly fix the collapsing North, turn my in-laws’ territory into the strongest power, and crush all those villains…”
In the original story, Shubel was the strongest being in the world after his awakening event.
He had no one to protect behind him, nothing to worry about, so he could freely swing his sword at villains.
But I wasn’t the same.
‘The lineup of enemies is way too glamorous for that…’
I sighed as I thought of the original villains.
The imperial family of the empire, House Erzhelga.
The hidden power of the West, House Beatrice.
The ruler of the underworld, Nine Tails.
‘Can I really take all of them down?’
I briefly fell into doubt… then dismissed it as unlike me.
How would I know if I never tried? If I don’t even attempt it, I don’t even have the right to regret.
“Of course, that only works if I recover first…”
“What is it that you can do, my lady?”
“I think I could hit you with a pillow for popping out like that all the time.”
I glared at the side of the bed. Shubel chuckled softly and replaced the damp cloth on my forehead with a fresh one.
“Please endure for now. Once you recover, you may do whatever you want in bed.”
“Ah—stop inserting weird meanings into normal sentences!”
“I’m not sure what you’re referring to, my lady. Would you like to explain it to me yourself?”
“Explain what, exactly?!”
I fumed at the man responsible for my so-called “imperial confinement.”
Ever since the day Shubel had cried, our relationship had become a little strange.
More precisely… I had started treating him quite carelessly.
And the fact that Shubel accepted it without complaint was also a problem.
Originally, there had been distance between us due to my discomfort with this unfamiliar husband and the discrepancy with the cold-blooded original Shubel.
But that distance had shrunk dramatically.
‘Feels like I’m being dragged into something…’
Even as I thought that, whenever Shubel gave me his refined eye-smile, all thoughts disappeared instantly.
Just like now.
“Please endure just one more day. The doctor said the cause is likely overwork and stress-induced coughing of blood, even if it isn’t certain. Rest is important.”
He knows. He definitely knows how unfair this is.
He knows he’s pretty and is doing this on purpose!
I grumbled internally but eventually nodded.
The Next Day
I got up and shook off the bed.
The desk welcomed me with a mountain of work accumulated from a few days of rest.
I first handled urgent merchant guild matters, then opened the northern territorial report that detailed the current situation.
And I fell silent for a while.
“…What kind of grand duchy is this?”
Food, transportation, finances, arts, security.
Every essential part of the territory was in decline.
I had never seen such a beautifully downward-sloping curve before.
“It’s almost impressive how badly this is managed.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
Most residents were surviving through household cottage industries.
For a grand duchy, it was absurd that even basic necessities like food and clothing were self-produced.
‘Still… the good news is that weapon craftsmanship and metallurgy are highly developed.’
If I used that, maybe there was a way to revive the North.
I glared at the report.
“This is insane.”
How am I supposed to fix this?
I grabbed my golden hair in frustration and sighed.
Now that the main estate of House Lunéine was slowly stabilizing, it was time to focus on the soil—the territory itself.
A giant tree that had been dormant for a century needed fertile ground to grow.
“Well, what else can I do? I’ll just have to tackle it one by one.”
Muttering, I drafted procurement orders for the Saturn Trading Company branches across the empire.
Fortunately, it was spring, so clothing shortages weren’t urgent.
First, I needed to strengthen the people’s livelihoods. When the storage is full, goodwill follows.
If consumers stop spending, the market falls into a vicious cycle. Public sentiment matters.
‘We’ve only just started… I can’t let that happen.’
I processed paperwork from across the empire and placed orders for supplies needed in the North.
After working for a while, my neck stiffened, so I looked up.
As if waiting for it, someone sitting opposite me smiled.
“…What are you doing?”
“Waiting for the moment my lady finally pays attention to me, I suppose.”
I asked flatly.
“Do you really have nothing to do? What about the report I gave you this morning?”
“The territorial security report? It’s here.”
My eyes widened when I saw a neatly organized document placed beside me.
When did that appear?
Suspicious, I glanced at Shubel and picked it up.
Determined to find even a single flaw, I examined it carefully.
But—
“….”
It was perfect. There wasn’t a single thing to criticize.
If he weren’t the heir of the ducal house, I would’ve tried to recruit him into my merchant guild.
My dissatisfied expression earned a soft laugh near my ear.
“You seem disappointed, my lady.”
“Be quiet.”
His voice was annoyingly pleasant. Almost mischievous.
I slammed the report shut.
“Thanks for this, but you still can’t just walk into a lady’s room like it’s nothing.”
“But… this is my room.”
Right.
It had been a month since I arrived at Lunéine.
I was sharing a room with Shubel.
‘No! My right to personal space!’
Except when I was a child, I had never shared a room with anyone.
So even after marriage, I had insisted on staying at the Saturn main residence.
But unfortunately, I had personally broken that clause in the contract.
Even my butler, Bikal, had declared, “Couples naturally share a room,” and forcibly moved all my belongings into Shubel’s room.
Thus, (former) Shubel’s room became the terrifyingly titled “marital bedroom.”
Annoyed, I muttered:
“If you hate hearing this, then just sleep separately.”
Shubel pretended not to hear and changed the subject.
“The flowers in the garden today were beautiful. They reminded me of you.”
“What are you talking about? Construction started ages ago. What flowers?”
“As expected, my lady notices everything. Truly impressive.”
That only irritated me more.
“…I’ll decorate everything in hot pink with frills.”
Shubel smiled brightly.
“What belongs to my lady is hers, and mine is also hers. Do as you wish.”
What is wrong with this man?
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
‘Is he really the same cold-blooded protagonist from the original story?’
After a month of sharing a room, I had realized something:
Shubel was an extremely colorless person.
He had no clear likes or dislikes, no strong preferences—like a refined aristocrat out of a classical poetry collection.
But did that resemble the ruthless protagonist I remembered?
‘No, not at all.’
Right now, look at him.
The moment I left the room, he followed me like a shadow.
I turned sharply.
He blinked in mild surprise, then smiled softly.
“Why are you following me?”
“I was worried you might collapse again.”
He looked at me with a pure, concerned expression.
This cold man—was he really the same species as this smiling one?
‘Even dogs would laugh.’
The original story was about Shubel, who loses everything after being falsely accused of treason and takes revenge on the villains.
A dry, harsh narrative with a protagonist as bitter as roasted sweet potato.
Since it wasn’t finished, I didn’t know everything—but still—
“My lady?”
“If you’re going to follow me, at least hold this.”
“Yes.”
I gave up shaking him off and let him follow me.
“By the way, Shubel. You don’t seriously only own gray-scale clothing, right? That’s all I’ve ever seen.”
“I prefer monochrome.”
“What a waste of a handsome face.”
“Am I handsome?”
“Are you joking? Apologize to every other man in the world.”
A faint floral scent drifted through the open window.
It was a spring day.
