That's right.
Dale and I are newly married now.
“I was thinking that you should have one bedroom, one office, and the rest of the rooms for the children who will be born later.”
“Khhhhhh!!!”
The apple I was eating flew away.
“Kahhh!”
"Are you okay?
Ma'am?"
Madame Marie patted my back in surprise.
"Something wrong?"
“No, I'm fine.”
I never thought about children.
I thought carefully again.
It seemed unlikely, but we were a contractual couple.
'It's like a Sofia brooch.'
I had goosebumps from the feeling I felt.
“But it's still a little early for kids, don't you think?”
“Isn't it?”
Madame Marie smiled and thought.
“Come to think of it, since you and Master are still sleeping in separate rooms.”
"Yes?"
“Do you mean that you two will sleep in separate rooms afterward?”
“Yes, yes.”
click.
The only sound in the suddenly quiet living room was the sound of an apple being chewed.
I looked to the side and saw Mary ducking her head as if she'd misheard.
"naturally."
Madame Marie nodded happily, as if she finally understood.
“Then we'd better connect the two rooms together to make one big bedroom, right?”
"……Yes!"
I answered for once.
“Then we can use the other room as a multi-purpose room and keep a little place for any children we might have in the future.”
"and……."
I nodded stiffly.
Madame Marie packed her things as if she had already calculated.
“Awesome, excellent.”
“So, ma'am, do you think we should make the bed as big as possible?”
'Yes.
But even if it is only one bedroom, we need two beds…….’
“One bed, of course?”
"……Yes!"
While it was nice to have servants come in and take over the cleaning (99.9% of which Dale does), the laundry (99.9% of which Dale does), and meal preparation (99.5% of which Dale does), I also added a layer of caution.
'I don't think Dale would be comfortable in bed.'
He's the type of person who leaves in the morning and comes in at night, so sharing a bed with me might make him uncomfortable in bed and cause him to not sleep.
Dale is a light sleeper, but I'm the problem.
I'm rolling over in bed.
I looked out the window and saw the wind blowing.
The day was getting cloudier and a snowstorm was falling.
‘It’s snowing a lot…….’
The journey home will be difficult.
Dale left this morning and hasn't returned yet.
Apparently he was working extra hard to buy the furniture.
‘Good, works hard, feeds the family.
What's missing?'
“He should come back healthy and not catch a cold.”
“You mean sir?”
"Yes.
I hope he comes home safe, but I'm worried about the weather."
“I see you are in good spirits, but there is no need to worry.
Your Majesty the Emperor…….”
Madame Marie opened her mouth and froze.
As I was listening in amazement, I suddenly felt something strange.
Madame Marie's complexion turned pale.
“His Majesty the Emperor?”
Heard clearly in both ears.
“Did you just call Dale His Majesty the Emperor?”
She stared at Madame Marie.
Emperor?
Dale?
Just then Madame Marie screamed.
“His Great Emperor is very concerned about the freezing of roads throughout the empire, making it difficult for carriages to travel, blocking merchant roads and causing inconvenience to the whole country, so he has ordered special care for the roads.
His Majesty has personally ordered the preparation of a magic powder to melt the frozen snow, and he has already distributed it throughout the empire in the fall, so I am sure that Lord Grunwald has scattered it all over the roads, so I am sure that he will be fine.”
Madame Marie was speaking very quickly, without catching her breath.
Her voice was faster than the voice of a priest in prayer.
“Breathe, Madame Marie.
Breathe and speak.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
I gulped the water.
“I see that you admire His Majesty greatly.”
“I enjoy reading newspapers.”
“Reading the newspapers every day has broadened my horizons and deepened my faith in His Majesty the Emperor, so I...”
“I see.
Okay, calm down.
I think I have heard enough praise for His Majesty the Emperor.
It is snowing, Madam Mary, you should go home.”
Madame Marie calmed down and invited her to go home.
The house wasn't fully occupied yet, so there wasn't much she could do.
Madame Marie, always polite and calm, hurried home, looking pale for some reason.
She was strangely acquainted with the Emperor, as if she had received a great education somewhere.
She seemed to be a big fan of his.
……What if Madame Marie was one of the Emperor’s men?
I had sudden doubts.
'I'm sure Dale would know, but I'll do some research.'
I put the list of servants in a letter.
And Dale too.
‘I have asked Lord to reduce the workload several times, but Dale’s schedule is still the same.
'I think he's doing something dangerous behind my back, and I need to know about it.'
We agreed not to do dangerous things.
This was not an invasion of privacy, it was a breach of contract.
I closed the message.
Then I opened the response I received from Emma that day.
[I couldn't find the disease you asked about last time.
Maybe you are in love?
Ahhh, girl!
From the face of the earth-]
The letter was immediately thrown into the fireplace.
I stretched as hard as I could.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
It was a cold day, and I was stiff from being inside.
I was shaking.
Madame Marie and the other servants had taken care of the larger items, and I only had to arrange a few small belongings.
Madame Marie had arranged my herbal books according to the color of their covers and arranged them in a staggered manner.
'There are a lot of outstanding people in the world, after all.'
Advantages gained while roaming the continent to avoid the Emperor.
It was an experience where I was able to meet a variety of people.
There are many different people in the world.
‘People steal medicine without paying, people write a note saying they will pay in cash and never show up, people bring things to barter for medicine.’
The amulet found in the luggage she left behind was one of them.
One of the villages I stayed in was near a dense forest, where I was often cut by poisonous shears.
So, there was a time when I bartered the amulet and potions given to me by someone who introduced himself as a necromancer.
'Should I throw it away now?'
I had forgotten about it anyway.
I can throw it away now.
“……?”
Then I heard the sound of something breaking.
I had thrown the amulet, and suddenly, boom!
The sound was coming from outside the door.
I opened the door to my office on the second floor, walked out, and looked at the source.
The vase was broken.
……suddenly?
'Oh, I left the window open!'
But!
But the window was closed.
“…….”
The furniture has not been moved yet.
Shouldn't I light the candle?
Could there be a ghost?!
“…….”
ghost?!
‘Oh my God, there are no ghosts in this world, I have a very bad imagination…….’
But why did the vase suddenly break on its own?
There is no wind blowing.
I backed away slowly.
'Mmm~ When did Del say he'd be here?
Haha~'
I lay down and closed the door.
Oh, my God.
I picked up the amulet I had thrown in the trash and held it close to me.
* * *
A flash of green light revealed a man wearing clothes that seemed out of place in the quiet Grunwald.
Dale had traveled directly to Grunwald after completing his official duties.
He had torn a lot of magic scrolls.
Sometimes it was difficult.
'It's snowing heavily.'