Chapter 13 My husband, Erich"s, mystery
It was the morning that I was to meet Dorotheoneesama. Somehow, I was feeling nervous.
I woke up early so I thought of dressing myself on my own.
I put on light makeup and wore an ecru dress that my maids would normally never choose for me. I carefully combed my long hair into a braid and let it rest on my chest.
When I finished changing clothes, I called for a maid.
I was thinking of taking my meal with my husband from now on.
He always goes to work earlier than sunrise, while I wake up along with the sun, taking my meals as I bathe in the morning rays. Which was why, we always missed each other in the mornings.
I guess it"s fine having breakfast in the dim like this once in a while.
Not even a minute pa.s.sed after I chimed the bell connected to the servant"s quarters, when the maid appeared.
「Morning」
「Good morning, madame」
I"d already changed clothes so the maid was surprised.
While she was in that state, I asked her:
「Is my husband still here?」
「Yes. He"s having breakfast right now」
「Sorry if it"s a rush but would you mind preparing my portion as well?」
「I understand」
Five minutes later, the maid who left to prepare, returned. She informed me that the setup was complete.
「Ah, wait」
When I stopped her abruptly, the maid, who"d been leading the way, turned around. I tried asking her about something that had been on my mind since a while ago.
「Do I… look strange?」
I tried doing my hair and makeup and even chose the dress myself.
I"ve done it several times before, but this was the first time I"ll go out like this in public. Which was why I asked her how I looked.
「You look incredibly cute and I think that"s good」
「Oh, really？」
「Yes. I always wind up picking nothing but flamboyant dresses for you because of my preference so with this, I learned that ecru dresses suits you very well」
「Then, that"s great」
Knowing there was no problem, I can go to the dining room with a peace of mind.
…It"s not like I was worrying over it because my husband was there.
My husband, who came to the dining hall earlier than me, happily greeted me a good morning.
「If I knew you were coming, I would"ve come fixed my hair before coming here, Herminsama」
My husband was in his knight uniform, but his hair was in a messy style as always.
His curly hair was bouncing all over the place. His baby-chick colored yellow hair looked incredibly soft.
My hair was thick and strong so I find his fluffy hair quality enviable.
After observing him closely, our eyes met and I suddenly came to my senses. I hurriedly glossed over it.
「W-we"re at home so you don"t have to be concerned about something like your appearance」
「I want to be a dreamy husband in front of my lovely wife, you know?」
「……is that so?」
Though the one who"d been concerned over her appearance like crazy since this morning had been me, the maid by my side acted like she didn"t hear anything and maintained a poker face.
My husband complimented me saying I looked like a lovely spring fairy today. I think I"ll try doing things I"m not used to once in a while.
I again asked for his help on the matter of going to Dorotheoneesama to explain and ask for her favor.
「Please don"t worry. I"ll come even if I have to crawl there」
「No it"s okay, you don"t have to if you"re busy」
According to my husband, it seems his h.e.l.lish schedule was about to come to an end.
The reason had been something that ought to be surprising.
「I"ll be transferring」
「From serving the prince?」
「Yes」
I heard he"d been offered to transfer a month ago. His successor had already been decided so he says his workload will gradually be decreasing.
「I heard you"ve been working for the prince for some time now, though」
「Twelve years, I"d say」
「Oh, was it? But, why so suddenly?」
「You could say I"ve accomplished my goal after seeing how remarkable His Highness has become」
「Your role？」
「I was in charge of His Highness"s education」
I was under the impression his job was just a guard because they said he served the prince.
When I asked what kind of education it was, he told me it wasn"t anything of significance.
It sounded like he"d been acting as some sort of secretary after His Highness turned into a diplomat.
「Hmm. I guess you had it tough, huh?」
「No, no, far from it」
He told me it was an honor to serve royalty.
People like my husband support this country behind the scenes like this.
As a person whose name is on the royal family register, I had to show him my grat.i.tude.
「I"m grateful for twelve years of your diligent service, so on your last day, let me give you something……」
I wonder why? Should I say I"ll give him a thank-you gift? It kind of sounds wrong.
「Don"t tell me, you"re giving me a treat?」
「Yes, a treat――」
Somehow, calling it a treat also sounds wrong.
But, I don"t exactly know what to do so I asked him if there"s anything he wanted.
…even here, my husband asks the unthinkable.
「Then, please give me a kiss on the cheek」
「Ha？」
My husband, thinking I might not have heard what he said, continued to ask me to give him a peck on the cheek.
「Is it no good?」
「No, it"s just I was thinking of something that"d be a memento」
「It would be the memory of a lifetime to receive a kiss from you, Herminsama」
「You really are something……」
He seems popular with the ladies so why was he begging me for a kiss? It"s really hard to understand.
「But it feels a bit lacking if that"s all so is there anything else――」
「Then, I"d like to hold hands and stroll with you in the garden once the roses bloom」
「I wonder why your requests involve me in every single one of them?」
「Because I want to get along with you」
Having been told those brief word with a smiling face, I spontaneously turned red.
Even though they were just a few words, I ended up overreacting.
Looking back, I"ve never once been hit on by the opposite s.e.x.
Maybe because I had a lot of friends around, there were virtually no guys that came near me.
Therefore , I"m not used to getting told things like this.
It feels kind of embarra.s.sing so I told him it was about time he get dressed and chased him out of the dining hall.
At any rate, is he really okay with just a kiss?
I was having a tea party with my friends today so I decided to try asking them.
◇◇◇
The ladies a.s.sembled today were all those married.
Everyone here seems keenly interested in me and my husband"s newly married life.
For now, I told them about our honeymoon. Naturally, I didn"t disclose the bit about me tailing my husband.
「It seems it had been a splendid trip, huh?」
「Yes. I"ve never left the capital before, so everything was new to me」
When they heard that, they told me they were relieved.
It seems they were worried about my married life with a husband rumoured to be a player.
「I wonder if the rumours were all just nonsense then?」
「What do you mean?」
「I heard something once, but――」
My husband, Erich Von Weimar had an immense love for women, so whenever he sees a beauty, he"d invite her to a date. There were many eyewitness reports about it as well.
But it abruptly ended when he got married.
「I"d thought for sure he"d turned a new leaf after being married to you, though, Herminsama」
It seems she"d spoken with a lady that had tea with my husband once.
「When she went to the place she"d been invited to, she said there were several ladies and another man aside from your husband there, Herminsama」
「Oh?」
「Your husband practically never spoke to the ladies directly, she said he only seemed to act as an intermediary for the unidentified man and the ladies there」
I hear that the other man had light-brown hair and wore colored gla.s.ses. It seems the man had been taciturn and not at all lively.
It seems those in that tea party had been sort of forbidden to speak by my husband but she got the lady to spill during a gathering with alcohol.
「She"d said that was three years ago」
「Could my husband have been calling out a lot of women to introduce to that man?」
「I suppose so」
I hear the ladies that he invited would suggest they meet with my husband again but they"d get flatly rejected.
「Ah, I heard something about that too！」
There many ladies who approach my husband, who was called a playboy. But, no matter how many times the ladies invite him, he would never accept.
「There were rumours like he only played around with girls that caught his eyes or that he was a chaste playboy but those might be a misunderstanding too, huh～」
I see.
It may have been established that Keira von Plovak"s child wasn"t my husband"s, but the rumour about him being a playboy was also something that was bothering me.
I think I"ll need to investigate this matter.