MHWMM 71

Chapter 71

It was only in the evening, when people were returning from work, that Yulia was able to meet the estate folk with the blankets, flowers, and later-added sugar and salt she had prepared.

“Welcome to Bruwen, my lady.”

“I’m glad to be here.”

“It’s an honor just to meet you, and yet you even brought us gifts.”

“I hope they’ll be of help.”

“Of course they will. Thank you kindly, my lady.”

The estate folk all looked weary from their hard labor, but they welcomed Yulia with genuine warmth. Perhaps it was because, before she had even knocked on doors, the children had already spread word that the countess herself had handed out meat and bread.

“Looks like no one lives here.”

Sometimes, despite clear signs of life, there was no response when she knocked. Hayden, who was following her with the cart loaded with gifts, answered calmly as if it were nothing unusual.

“They must not be done with work yet. They’ll be back soon. Best to leave the gifts at their doors.”

“Is it because it’s shearing season that they come back so late?”

“Partly, yes. Though even normally, the work doesn’t finish early.”

“Why’s that?”

“Raising sheep is no easy matter. To make sure the grass grows well the following year, even last year’s grazing hills must be tended. And with so many sheep, there are always a few that fall sick or give birth. Still, this village has it better. The next one has even more sheep to manage, so they return home even later.”

So the rumors that Cayente overworked people weren’t baseless after all. And yet, considering how much they worked, their homes and clothes didn’t reflect any sense of ease.

“Just because we work more doesn’t mean we earn more money.”

That answer struck Yulia as deeply strange. In the Empire, at least for household servants, the more one worked, the more they were paid. It wasn’t always a fixed wage, but rather “thank-you” money handed out by one’s employer — but still, it was customary.

“But if they’re working this hard, surely the profits from Clue Weaving must be immense?”

“That may be so, but it isn’t really for us to concern ourselves with.”

“Are other places all like this?”

“Most likely. The count raises more sheep than usual because of his active business, but it’s not unmanageable. There are places far worse.”

Yulia found it terribly unfair — that nobles grew richer from business while the lives of their people hardly improved.

“There must be a way to let the people share a bit more in those profits, don’t you think?”

“Eh? Well, perhaps… maybe so?”

She didn’t know if her role as countess gave her any authority to weigh in on her husband’s business affairs, but this was certainly something she would need to discuss later.

Since she couldn’t promise immediate change, Yulia was glad she had at least brought something. Cayente spending money on this had been a big help too. The estate folk were touched enough that their lady had personally prepared gifts, but when they saw the sugar and salt, they even jumped up and down with joy.

“So it was true after all.”

As Yulia walked back to the carriage parked at the village entrance with Jason pulling the now-empty cart, she let out a small sigh. She had heard Cayente was not only discourteous to other nobles but also stingy toward those beneath him — and it was true.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t that Cayente deliberately mistreated his people. As Cain had once said, Cayente cared only for money and had no interest in, nor intent to look after, the lives of those below him.

“Brother, I’m back.”

Cayente, who had been waiting with the carriage door open and ready to leave, scolded her for what he called a pointless act.

“You could’ve just ordered someone to hand them out. Wasted effort.”

“But the people should at least know who their lord’s wife is.”

“Get in. It’s late.”

“Yes.”

“Then take care. Drive safely — the road is dark at night.”

“I’ll see you again.”

“Yes, my lady. We’ll always be waiting.”

Even though she was leaving after only half a day, Yulia already felt regret. She wanted to say they should stay the night, but bit her tongue. Cayente would surely want to hold her again that night, and without proper facilities to wash, she wasn’t comfortable with that.

The mountain road, bathed in the bright moonlight without a single cloud in sight, looked completely different from when they had come. Not even the cries of mountain birds could be heard — only the rattling car as it rose and dipped along the quiet trail, making Yulia feel as though she were dreaming.

Truthfully, it was just that the late hour had made her drowsy. The overly plush cushions she sat on lulled her eyelids shut almost as soon as they departed.

“I really should learn to drive too.”

“I told you, you don’t need to.”

“I just thought you might get tired.”

“You underestimate me. As if I’d tire from something this trivial.”

She tried to keep a conversation going, hoping it would ease things, but even then he rebuked her. Still, Yulia only smiled. Their talk didn’t flow naturally, and Cayente’s expression remained as cold as ever — but she had grown used to this Cayente.

As long as he didn’t suddenly step back twenty paces and treat her like a stranger, she could feel some comfort even in this state of things.

Perhaps it was because, after hearing him say he sought unhappiness, she had let go of certain expectations. Or maybe it was because lately Cayente’s actions often betrayed that claim.

“Why don’t you want me to learn? You already said I need your permission to go anywhere. In the Empire, I’d always have Lucy with me anyway, so it’s not like I’d go around alone.”

“There’s no law that a man like Cain must stay confined to the Duchy of Esacudia.”

“You just don’t like me being around other men, is that it?”

“I never said that.”

“Then what?”

“It’s the thoughts men have when they look at you that I can’t stand.”

“What thoughts?”

Perhaps because she was so sleepy, words she normally wouldn’t have spoken slipped out easily. Cayente clenched his jaw, his anger obvious even as he kept his eyes on the road.

“They imagine what you’d look like in bed.”

“No way. Just from seeing a woman they don’t even know? Not even their wife-to-be? Maybe times have changed, but still…”

“There has never been a time when men only imagined such things about their own woman.”

“Then did you do that too? Did you ever think that way, looking at other women?”

“No.”

Cayente, usually slow and measured in his replies, cut off this question without even a pause to breathe.

“Until I saw you, I didn’t even know I had such desires.”

“So seeing me awakens those desires in you?”

If holding her was nothing more than lust, that would be disheartening, but still better than doing it out of obligation with only a few half-hearted thrusts. Cayente didn’t answer, but from the way he deliberately avoided looking at her, Yulia read his silent confirmation.

She could no longer resist her drowsiness and, as she drifted into sleep, murmured words she wasn’t even aware of.

“Desire me more.”

Want me more — even if only like this.

When they finally reached the mansion at dawn, Cayente laid the sleeping Yulia on her bed. He hesitated for a long while, torn between leaving her be or embracing her.

― Desire me more.

So she hadn’t been crying yesterday because she hated it? He had thought so, but if she was asking to be desired more, wasn’t that the same as asking him to hold her more? Already, as he untied her cumbersome dress and loosened her corset to let her rest, his body grew hot.

If desire arose, wasn’t that reason enough not to restrain himself?

And yet he couldn’t bring himself to wake Yulia, who seemed to be sleeping so peacefully.

He hadn’t considered her circumstances their first night together, nor last night when he had pressed on though she wasn’t fully ready. She had even complained of her back hurting on the ride. That she collapsed into such deep sleep on such a short trip wasn’t only because of her weak constitution.

Abelle, who had once barged uninvited into his bedroom, had also exclaimed in near shock when he touched her — that she was far too untried for such things. For Yulia, with no experience, it must indeed have been too much.

“I must’ve pushed her too hard.”

There was no way Yulia could have told him directly it was difficult for her. And no matter how badly he wanted a child, it would be improper to take a woman while she slept. Carefully tucking the blanket around her, Cayente left her chamber — conveniently forgetting that he had never once shown such consideration for “propriety” in front of her before.