“Ah…”

“….?”

Jade sighed as if understanding immediately, but Reinhardt still had a puzzled expression, not understanding the conversation. This only further fueled Camilla’s anger.

“Did you not even know that Irovel’s dress and shoes were worn out?”

“…Is that so?”

“Is it really right for you to claim you love that girl? Why didn’t you know about that?!”

Doubt started to creep onto Camilla’s face.

‘Come to think of it, Irovel’s dress and shoes were different from those of other nobles.’

Until her mother pointed it out, Reinhardt had no idea about that fact.

Why was that?

“Do you know what she was wearing today?”

“Yes. She was wearing the dress you gave her.”

“How did she look?”

Should he tell her the truth? Reinhardt hesitated for a moment before answering.

“She looked no different from usual.”

“….”

Camilla was shocked by her son’s response.

Even though it was a readymade one, her daughter-in-law, who wore the expensive dress, could easily be mistaken for having a custom-made dress. Even when she wore the worn-out dress, it still looked good on her, though it was true that expensive items made a person shine even brighter.

The Irovel today was undoubtedly better than before, and even the butler who greeted them noticed the change in her appearance. However, for Reinhardt, the old shabby dress and today’s expensive dress looked the same.

It was incomprehensible.

Her son wasn’t usually lacking in taste.

“Perhaps…”

Camilla opened her mouth, still skeptical. She had a reason to suspect.

“Whether she wears an expensive dress or a tattered sack, they all look beautiful to your eyes, is that it?”

“….”

Reinhardt imagined Irovel wearing a tattered sack. She knew exactly how to position her arms and legs to make her hidden figure stand out, how to turn her head to make the picture look good…

Without a doubt, she would be beautiful.

“Yes.”

Reinhardt nodded calmly as if stating the obvious. Camilla’s blue eyes lit up.

“….I can’t believe it!”

She was fascinated by her son, who had been as expressionless as stone, being so blind in love that he couldn’t even differentiate between a dress and a sack! The anger that had previously burned in her had faded away by the time she said that.

Instead, that spark flew towards Jade.

“You must have known about the girl. Why did you let her go like that, even after seeing her in that state?”

“I suggested to Madam Irovel that it would be better for her to buy a new dress, but… she flatly refused, so there was nothing I could do.”

“Why did she refuse?”

Reinhardt turned abruptly towards Jade and asked.

Jade responded, “Madam Irovel stated that she doesn’t want to waste anything unless it is absolutely necessary since the Grand Duke’s valuable assets are not her own. She said that as long as she has enough to eat, it’s sufficient.”

“….!”

“….!”

Unbelievable! Even after marrying into one of the wealthiest families in the empire, she practices ‘restraint’ like that! Camilla, who once suspected that Irovel married Reinhardt solely for his wealth, couldn’t help but be amazed.

Meanwhile, Reinhardt was not only surprised but also angry.

Although it was a loveless marriage, he couldn’t tolerate his ‘wife’ being concerned about money. Especially Irovel, who had been persecuted to the point of having to secretly buy even a single magical tool.

‘Why on earth would she think that way?’

He questioned, but he already knew the answer.

Maybe she felt that she would be leaving Grand Duke Erestein’s household in a year, so she didn’t want to spend his money and felt guilty about it. There aren’t many people who can do what they want, disregarding such concerns in such circumstances.

How could he alleviate the burden Irovel must be feeling? As he was lost in thought about that, Jade spoke up.

“By the way, did she accept the dress that was given to her?”

“At first, she declined, but since I got angry, she accepted it.”

‘That’s it!’

Reinhardt silently cheered in his mind. Then, he asked his mother.

“How exactly did you get angry?”

* * *

Just because an invitation arrived didn’t mean we had to attend the party. Ella Candia’s party would include the Emperor and other concubines… It would be uncomfortable with several awkward greetings.

Naturally, I would want to avoid it.

However, I planned to go to Ella’s party. As the ‘Grand Duchess of Erestein,’ I needed to attend the party at least once to tell them that I was married when invitations were sent to me as the Duchess of Hoover.

Since I became the Grand Duchess of Erestein, I couldn’t tarnish the honor of the family, so I thought of acquiring a new dress for the occasion.

Fortunately, Camilla offered to gift me a new dress and shoes.

It was a stroke of luck. I didn’t expect her to buy so much for me. Regardless, the dress and shoes were taken care of, but I hadn’t arranged any accessories to match them yet. I plan to go shopping for accessories tomorrow.

Despite the fact that I’d spent all the money I secretly saved to buy a house this way, it wasn’t a problem.

‘Money can always be made.’

Once my tears, which were once so precious to me, were put up for sale, I could earn as much money as I needed. Even though the Grand Duke’s household would provide me with anything I needed, I couldn’t just take away Lucia’s precious assets. I’d use them sparingly and only for essential things, and I’ll repay them.

While contemplating such thoughts, I heard a knock from outside.

Knock, knock.

I quickly put my money back into my personal pouch and replied.

“Come in!”

Reinhardt entered the bedroom. It seemed he had finally finished all the paperwork.

“You’re late. You must be tired, go to sleep quickly.”

I opened my mouth as I sat on the sofa and pointed to the bed. Since he often couldn’t sleep due to his insomnia, I decided to occupy the sofa this time.

He looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“It’s not right to put my wife on this narrow and uncomfortable sofa and sleep comfortably alone on the bed.”

“As expected, the sofa is narrow and uncomfortable, so you couldn’t sleep well. I don’t have insomnia, so I sleep well, even on the sofa. Don’t worry.”

“Still, I don’t like it. Please move aside. This is my spot.”

“What if I won’t move?”

At that moment, Reinhardt’s expression became strange and eerie. Just as I was wondering why he was acting like that, he suddenly raised his voice.

“If you don’t move right now….”

‘If I don’t move…?’

“I’ll fatten you up and roast you alive!”

…Did he use an expression that meant he’d feed me delicious food as a threat? Why would he say such a joke while getting angry like that?

While I looked at Reinhardt with a gaze that clearly showed my lack of understanding, even in this situation… he was so handsome.

‘He’s even sexier when he’s angry!’

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Oh no, even my heart is going crazy over how sexy Reinhardt is.

‘If I let him keep getting angry, I might really fall in love with him.’

I had to somehow calm him down.

“Oh, alright. I’ll move, so please calm down.”

I tried to calm his anger and quickly jumped onto the bed. Only then did Reinhardt’s anger disappear from his face.

“… That’s actually a good idea.”

He muttered those mysterious words.

* * *

I had a dream last night.

A housemaid was about to drop a plate, but she skillfully caught all five plates without dropping a single one.

‘Is this a dream…?’

Even though I woke up a while ago, I still yawned because I wasn’t fully awake. While I was walking around the corner of the hallway…

“Oh!”

“Oh!”

I bumped into a housemaid. At that moment, something amazing happened.

Exactly five plates slipped from the maid’s hands. However, with nimble skill, she caught all five plates without dropping a single one.

“Excuse me.”

She greeted me with a calm face, as if nothing had happened, and quietly moved away. The scene from my dream unfolded just as it was!

“Strange…”

Thinking it was fascinating, I urged my steps again.

“Good morning, Madam.”

“We will quickly prepare your meal. Please wait a moment.”

As soon as I arrived at the dining room, the servants welcomed me. Reinhardt also noticed me while having a meal with Camilla and greeted me.

“You seemed to be fast asleep, so I was going to have my meal first, but you woke up quickly.”

The area under his eyes was still puffy today, probably because he couldn’t sleep properly due to his insomnia.

‘Because he sleeps on the sofa…’

I sighed and took my seat. Shortly after, a meal perfectly heated to the right temperature was set in front of me.

…But why did it seem like there was a lot?

I knew that the head chef tended to make a generous portion even on regular occasions, but today, it was excessive.

“Oh my. Why is there so much food?”

I asked the servant who brought the food, and Camilla replied.

“I told them to serve twice as much as you usually eat.”

“What? Why?”

“You’ll be attending Ella Candia’s party soon. You need to eat a lot for that.”

‘Fatten me up and roast me alive!’

Wasn’t that comment just a threat she used to buy me clothes, like Reinhardt’s threat last night? Was it actually because she couldn’t bear to see me so thin, and it slipped out unintentionally?

While I had such thoughts and felt gloomy alone, Camilla responded.

“When I see you, anger wells up inside me.”

“…Why?”

“Thinking about how you were treated poorly by those snobby aristocrats at Hoover, it makes my blood boil! Those trashy people!!”

—