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Chapter 71

Wait a minute.

Did that mean he'd seen her sitting here alone, pulling her hair out in frustration?

Her ears flushed red with embarrassment.

"Ho-how do you know that?"

"I can see it from the study."

At Kayden's matter-of-fact reply, Emilia hastily protested.

"Even so! Usually, people don't remember things like that!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes. That's how it is."

Emilia buried her face in her hands and mumbled.

"...Don't remember things like that."

At that, Kayden's expression turned displeased.

"I'm not trying to remember—I just see it. What can I do?"

"Still..."

Of course, noticing her in the garden was probably just a chance glance out the window from the study.

And remembering it was, as he said, simply due to his good memory.

But why am I so embarrassed?

It wasn't like he'd seen anything shameful.

He just happened to know a habit she herself hadn't been aware of.

Still, her cheeks burned.

"Phew."

Emilia pulled her hands from her face, steadied her breathing, and tried to calm herself.

"Th-there's actually something I wanted to talk to you about when you got back—not about the tea party."

She'd been meaning to tell Kayden about Lucas anyway.

"Is that so?"

As he replied, Kayden supported her shoulders and knees and lifted her up.

"...What is this now?"

"You said you had something to talk about."

"Huh?"

"You seemed to be out there for quite a while. Let's go inside and talk."

At that, Emilia fell silent.

How did he know she'd been out there long?

More importantly...

His actions were so smooth and natural that Emilia asked in disbelief.

"But why do we have to go in like this?"

"I heard that a wife should never get even a speck of dirt on her feet."

Emilia glanced at her slippers sitting alone beneath the bench.

"My slippers are right there under the bench."

Kayden answered casually.

"Is that so? It's dark in the garden—I didn't see them."

"Impossible."

Emilia let out a short, breathy laugh.

"Where did you even hear that expression?"

"Never let a speck of dirt touch your wife's feet" was a common saying among commoners—a metaphor for not letting your wife suffer.

It wasn't something a high noble like him would know.

"...I just happened to hear it."

Kayden frowned, muttering.

It seemed to have brought back an unpleasant memory.

Either way, Emilia found it absurd that he'd taken the saying to heart and put it into action.

But at the same time, she felt a little envious of the woman who would one day receive such kindness from him.

...

Feeling awkward, Emilia buried her face in his chest.

Thump.

His stride halted.

She looked up in surprise—and saw his Adam's apple move visibly.

As she tried to lift her gaze higher, Kayden gently pressed her head back down.

Pushed deeper into his embrace, Emilia murmured.

"You smell."

"What do you mean by that?"

He asked quite seriously, and Emilia laughed.

"I wonder."

It was the scent of a man who had hurried back for her—a sham marriage partner—carrying the fresh breeze of the road.

---

A short while later, Emilia sat on the sofa, bewildered.

No!

She hadn't meant a literal smell...

But unable to explain properly, she'd brushed it off—and Kayden seemed to have taken it as if he really did smell strange.

Upon entering his bedroom, he'd set her down on the sofa, told her to wait, and disappeared into the bathroom.

But why the bedroom, not the study...

She'd naturally assumed he'd take her to the study, but Kayden had headed straight for his own bedroom.

Emilia let out a small sigh and leaned back against the sofa.

Through the thick door, she could hear the faint sound of water.

Feeling oddly self-conscious, she shook her head and looked around the room.

The overall impression was calm and neat—no unnecessary decorations or furniture.

Then her gaze fell on the bed.

Flinch.

It felt rude to be scrutinizing someone else's bedroom so closely.

Awkwardly lowering her eyes, the sound of water continued.

When... is he coming out?

Should she just sneak away and come back tomorrow?

Ah.

But then she remembered her slippers, left pitifully under the bench in the garden.

She sighed again.

Whatever.

As time passed, the steady sound of water from the bathroom began to feel like white noise.

Plus, having come in from the cold air, her body felt pleasantly heavy.

She hadn't been able to sleep at all when she'd lain down in her own bed.

Her head felt so heavy—Emilia rested it against the arm of the sofa.

Soon, sleep overtook her.

Click.

A short while later, the bathroom door opened, and Kayden checked the sofa.

He couldn't see the back of the brown-haired head over the backrest.

His brow furrowed slightly.

Well.

She wasn't the type to wait obediently.

She'd even left her slippers behind in the garden—she must have gone straight back to her own room.

He let out a low sigh and shook off the water, walking toward the desk—

Then stopped.

She was deeply asleep on the sofa.

"..."

His gaze lingered on her defenseless face.

It was a more dangerous sight than he'd expected.

Should I wake her?

After a moment of deliberation, he lifted her up and laid her on the bed.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled the covers over her—and a droplet from his hair fell onto her cheek.

"Mmm."

Emilia frowned in her sleep.

Unconsciously, she turned toward him and clutched his sleeve.

Kayden let out a small laugh and wiped the droplet from her cheek.

If only she were even half this affectionate when awake, he'd be more than satisfied.

---

"...Huh?"

Emilia's eyes snapped open.

An unfamiliar ceiling greeted her.

She stared blankly at it.

It's unfamiliar—but not entirely.

The same pattern with a different colored border existed in her own room too.

Blink, blink.

She blinked repeatedly, then bolted upright.

A man was sitting on the sofa, looking over documents.

The spot where she should have been sitting.

And the fact that she could see that sofa meant...

She realized she'd taken over someone else's bed.

Her eyes went wide.

"Wh-why am I in bed?"

"You fell asleep."

Kayden answered as if it were the most natural thing.

At his composed reply, her mouth fell open. She scolded him in disbelief.

"Then you should have woken me up!"

At that, Kayden chuckled lowly.

"Why would I?"

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