"Hey, do you know something? About the Lady."
"The Lady? What about her?"
"Doesn't the Lady smell incredibly good? Like a woman's perfume."
The servant who said "woman's perfume" even had a dreamy look in his eyes.
"Right, I know what you mean. I think you can catch her scent when she passes by."
"It smells like flowers. It smells like fruit. But it's not a fragrance I've ever encountered before."
"Does she smell like Valmonde?"
"Hehe. Northern women seem to be somewhat different. Pale and delicate. She has such a tiny waist."
Kaian clenched his fists without realizing it as he heard the servants gossiping.
The person in Rowan Castle who knew best that Claudel smelled wonderful was Kaian himself. But he'd never imagined the other men in the castle would be discussing it.
Kaian didn't recognize it as restraint, but he was fighting a difficult battle with himself every night. He went to her bedroom every evening, whenever he wanted.
When he arrived at her bedroom at night, Claudel would nestle into his arms as if waiting for him. And that was it.
*Insomnia?*
Incredibly, the woman fell asleep almost instantly. Usually, when a couple sleeps together, they should talk about something or engage in more intimate activities. However, even though he'd visited her bedroom every night for several days, Claudel simply slept. As soon as her head touched any part of his body—without even time to speak with him—she'd yawn once and immediately fall asleep as if losing consciousness.
*Isn't this woman intentionally doing this to torment me?*
Perhaps while pretending to sleep, she was secretly hoping for his touch. He'd thought to himself, *Am I just some pathetic fool obsessed with women?* and had considered waking Claudel gently, but she was genuinely fast asleep and completely motionless.
Feeling spiteful, he'd once deliberately pretended to be busy with work and didn't go to Claudel's bedroom at night. Because Kaian was genuinely occupied with many responsibilities, and he made time to share meals with Claudel—sometimes leaving the office quite late—on those days her insomnia kept her awake until he arrived. It was true he was very busy, and he was making an effort to dine with Claudel, so he felt no remorse about the lie.
However, the next day when he stopped by for lunch, he saw the woman with dark shadows under her eyes. She sighed wearily, barely eating, and he felt as if he'd committed a grave error.
Small lie, great guilt.
In the end, he went to Claudel's bedroom every night except for that one occasion. As he did so, he felt increasingly tender toward her. He'd caress her forearm, which had gradually grown softer, and last night—for the first time—he'd secretly pressed his lips to her forehead.
The woman had frowned and flinched because his breath tickled her cheek. When she sighed and parted her lips, the air carrying Claudel's scent and body warmth had wafted beneath his chin. It had been so overwhelming all night that Kaian couldn't sleep properly himself.
*But what? A woman's scent?*
Kaian was furious. What kind of scoundrels were making such a fuss about a fragrance even he couldn't properly enjoy?
*Do they not realize she's my wife?*
When he thought about it, he supposed it was possible they didn't understand. Claudel had been injured during the crocodile hunt, then suffered from consumption afterward and was still recovering. He realized the people in Rowan Castle might think he'd made a woman who'd just arrived at the castle walk in the rain and shamed her in front of everyone over a stolen button decoration.
*The butler was right.*
He'd hated hearing the butler nag about how Claudel—not properly acknowledged by her subordinates—would struggle to raise an heir. Yet even after such a short time, the elder's insight had proven correct in every detail.
These were people who would risk their lives at a single word from Kaian, who upheld his commands as if they were divine oracles or heavenly law. How dare they discuss the Lord's wife, commenting that she smelled nice or remarking on her as a northern woman?
This had happened because he'd been blinded by his resentment toward Vermont—he couldn't blame anyone else. However, there was no reason for him to sit idly by while people talked about "how good your wife smells," as if instructing him to notice something he'd been too distracted to appreciate.
"Are you discussing my wife?"
As he spoke coldly, the servants' eyes widened and they jumped as if struck by lightning.
"M-my Lord!"
"We were just—"
Kaian radiated a terrifying aura, as if he could strike someone down with his gaze alone.
"I must have misheard. I wonder if you'll dare look at your Lord's wife with improper eyes again. If I hear even a whisper of such talk, I'm not certain your necks will remain attached."
"Y-yes..."
The servants hurriedly fled, shoving each other in their haste to escape.
"Damn."
Heat rose to his forehead.
"Duke?"
As he entered the room, Claudel stood, bent her knees, and greeted him. However, when she noticed Kaian's expression wasn't favorable, she paused and looked at him with concern.
"What's wrong?"
It wasn't her fault at all. He didn't blame her. Seeing a woman whose mood shifted so easily from bright to somber with just one look at his face, he thought it was his own fault for failing to manage his expressions.
"No. It's nothing important."
"Really?"
"Sit down."
Kaian sat and tried to focus on the meal before him.
"Duke?"
Claudel's question came suddenly.
"Why do you always look angry, Duke?"
"I do?"
When she asked, Kaian's eyes widened as if he had no idea what she meant.
"Don't you know? You're always frowning."
"Am I?"
Kaian was taken aback by Claudel's observation.
"Would you like to look in a mirror?"
Before Claudel could even finish saying "Let's see," she stood and, taking small steps, went to retrieve a small round mirror from across the room.
"Here, look..."
She was about to tell him to observe, but Claudel gently placed her hand on his shoulder while holding the mirror before him, causing Kaian's body to stiffen.
That was because the scent the servants had just been discussing assailed his senses through the red hair that nearly brushed his cheek. And the curves of the woman leaning down gently pressed against his back.
Without realizing it, Kaian straightened and calmly looked into the mirror.
"..."
But when he actually saw his reflection, he was speechless.
*Is this what I usually look like?*
Even when he glanced in mirrors to check his appearance, he had a stern, hard, masculine face. At his age, would he ever smile while looking at his reflection? He was the head of Temnes.
However, he hadn't expected to see himself with raised eyebrows and such a severe expression—it was an unexpected discovery.
"Didn't you know? The corners of your eyes are upturned and your eyebrows are furrowed, like someone perpetually angry."
"That..."
He wondered when he'd started looking like this, thinking back to whether it had been since his parents passed away. A young, untested heir had become head of a traditional ducal family and Lord of a vast estate. So that no one would underestimate him.
As soon as he'd become head of the family, Kaian had left for the battlefield without naming a successor. It had been five years since that young man—who hadn't fully matured and seemed like a half-forged blade—had returned transformed into a hardened sword with a keen blue edge.
"I've never seen you smile, Duke."
No one had dared tell Kaian such a thing, so he'd never been conscious of it until now.
"At first, I thought you were upset because of me. I understand that's not true now."
Kaian felt disappointed that he'd only shown her this expression the entire time. However, when he tried to force a smile, his facial muscles seemed frozen and wouldn't move in that direction. He felt extremely awkward even attempting to smile.
"Hmm. A Lord's work is demanding and exhausting."
Kaian deflected clumsily. Fortunately, Claudel seemed to accept this explanation.
"Let's eat now. Are you busy this afternoon as well?"
"Yes."
The conversation ended tersely. But Claudel's words continued to linger in Kaian's mind.
---
It was a beautiful day with sunlight filtering through the shade of trees.
I sat at the back of the castle, busy preparing for my long-anticipated picnic. Rowan had no cold winters, so the weather remained mild—almost like summer—year-round. Still, there must have been subtle seasonal differences. On the day I'd collapsed, colorful begonias had appeared where daisies had once bloomed in abundance.
"My Lady, I picked flowers."
"Oh, good. Give them to me."
I sat beneath the shade of a tree, busy weaving a flower crown.
"Shall I pick more flowers?"
"No, that's fine. You can go now."
When I motioned for her to leave, Hannah hesitated.
"Still, if you need anything, I can wait and run errands for you."
"I brought everything I need. What more could I want?"
Indeed, there were three large wicker baskets filled with food.
"Then I'll go, my Lady. I'm going. I'm really leaving now!"
As Hannah walked away, she seemed unable to let go of her reluctance and kept raising her voice to call back repeatedly.
"...She's gone, right?"
I looked in the direction Hannah had departed, then quickly gathered more flowers to make another crown. I couldn't make Kaian's portion earlier because Hannah had been watching.
"He'll probably think I'm childish."
Not long ago, I'd shown Kaian his reflection in the mirror, pointing out that he always looked angry. But I'd been embarrassed because he genuinely didn't seem aware he usually wore that expression.
*That handsome face always looks like that.*
My words had been truly well-intentioned and sincere. I wanted to make Kaian happy and do things that would make him smile and bring him joy. In truth, there wasn't much I could do since I couldn't even properly fulfill my duties as Duchess yet.
Still, since such a busy man was taking time from his day to have lunch with me, I'd racked my brain thinking of this impromptu picnic. Eating outdoors would be different from dining in my room—I thought it would provide a pleasant change of pace.
"I hope he likes it."
I didn't know why, but though he wasn't angry, I'd been worried because Kaian kept staring at me intensely these days. It wasn't as if he was upset or criticizing something I'd done wrong—I simply couldn't figure out why he was doing it.
"I told him we should eat lunch outside."
"Duke!"
I looked up to see a man leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.
*Oh my. How striking.*
There had apparently been training with the knights this morning, and the sight of Kaian wearing a training shirt and light pauldrons was breathtaking. He seemed somehow more masculine than usual.
"Please, sit here."
"It's hot."
When I handed my handkerchief to Kaian as he sat beside me, he frowned slightly.
"It's too soiled to clean with something so delicate."
"It's all right. You can use it."
"No. I'd rather rinse off properly."
Rinse off? Here?
I was about to question this when Kaian removed his armor, pulled off his shirt, and dove into the lake.
"Ah!"
It happened so quickly there was no time to stop him. The sound of splashing water echoed, and immediately well-muscled arms, his head, and shoulders emerged one after another from the disturbed surface.
Kaian swept his wet hair to one side as if refreshed.
"Now I can finally breathe."
---