Chapter 39
As the carriage left the Grand Duke’s castle behind, Yuri carefully observed Cecilia’s appearance.
Like him, Cecilia had twisted her hair up and hidden it beneath a hat. She wore a loose coat and boots that wrapped around her ankles.
With a thin muffler pulled up to cover her mouth, she looked nothing like a Grand Duchess.
“You look quite used to changing your appearance.”
“I studied a bit from books. Does it look convincing?”
“Somewhat.”
Perhaps because he was accustomed to seeing her with a gentle, composed smile, simply wearing practical clothing made her feel like a different person altogether.
Hearing his answer, Cecilia lifted the corner of her lips in satisfaction.
“That’s a relief. Ellie said it was fine, but she’s not very objective, so I was a little worried.”
Indeed… recalling the face of the maid she always kept close, Yuri twisted his mouth slightly.
She looks like the type who’d catch a rabbit from a ditch if the Grand Duchess ordered her to.
“I introduced myself to the merchants under a different name, so don’t be too surprised. And don’t call me by my real name either.”
She seemed to have put in quite a bit of effort—but no matter what, the moment she was seen together with him, their shallow disguise would fall apart.
Yuri still felt a bit skeptical. Northerners were big people, sure, but a build like his wasn’t common. Even with his face covered, anyone who knew him well would recognize him.
But still…
I’ll play along for now.
She looked so excited that he didn’t want to crush her expectations.
If this had been early in their marriage, he wouldn’t have followed along at all—he would’ve only scolded her. Yet he failed to realize how much his heart had softened.
“Let’s get off here. If we keep riding a carriage with the Grand Ducal crest, we might be recognized.”
After signaling the driver in a suitably quiet area outside the castle, Cecilia tried to hop down from the carriage.
Seeing that, Yuri instinctively stopped her. He got down first and held out his hand at an angle, beating her to it.
“You scolded me about this too, remember? Told me I should escort you properly.”
Cecilia noticed the faint purplish mist rising from his chest—joy. Perhaps pride at remembering that detail.
Seeing his self-satisfied expression, she couldn’t help but smile. With a soft grin, she firmly took his hand.
She felt the Grand Duke’s hand twitch, but pretended not to notice, gripping it even more tightly as she stepped down from the carriage.
“Thank you. You’ve really become a gentleman.”
“…You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”
“You’ve gotten quicker at picking up on things, too.”
She caught sight of the Grand Duke shooting her a look from beneath his hat brim. It wasn’t scary, though.
Giggling, Cecilia adjusted his outfit once more before moving a couple of steps ahead.
“First, we’re going to Café Krona. Have you ever been there?”
“I used to go sometimes.”
Back when his parents were alive, they’d occasionally come out to the city.
It was such a long time ago—and after their passing, he’d had no leisure, busy growing accustomed to his duties as lord.
As he sifted through faint memories, Cecilia’s chatter drifted into his ears.
“People usually gather around there. Maybe because the bread is good?”
“It is good.”
Yuri agreed in a gentler voice.
Perhaps because old memories had surfaced, he didn’t feel like being curt with her.
He also didn’t want to ruin the Grand Duchess’s mood.
“You said you’ve been out often—doesn’t it get repetitive?”
It wasn’t like the capital, full of sights. With a modest population, even the so-called city streets were slowly declining.
Her excitement intrigued him. When Yuri asked casually, the Grand Duchess replied as if it were obvious.
“But this is the first time I’m looking around with you.”
As if that alone were more than enough.
“I did go to the workshop before, but that wasn’t really an outing for fun.”
Yuri experienced a strange moment of speechlessness. He hadn’t treated her with particular devotion, yet she said being together was enjoyable—something he couldn’t quite understand.
…Why?
Did the Grand Duchess have some unusual tastes?
Bluish emotions flickered across Yuri’s chest as his thoughts spiraled.
Watching him, Cecilia blinked. What misunderstanding had he fallen into to look so confused?
That didn’t seem like such a strange answer…
She’d expected him to be pleased, if anything.
After all, hearing that someone enjoys being with you was one of the most gratifying compliments there was.
Unaware that Yuri had begun reflecting on the past several months, Cecilia shook her head to clear her thoughts, shrugged, and gestured to him.
“Oh, not that way—this way. They moved recently.”
“So business must be good. Enough to relocate in this economy.”
That was good news. A shop filled with his childhood memories doing well made him happy too.
At his words, the Grand Duchess’s expression turned awkward. Yuri cocked his chin slightly.
“What?”
“No, I was just thinking about how I might fix your way of speaking.”
Her gaze seriously swept over Yuri’s face, as if estimating something.
He was dumbfounded. Before he could retort, Cecilia continued.
“I’ve thought this for a while, but you tend to sound a bit harsher than you intend. Learning to phrase things more gently might help when we go to the capital.”
For someone saying that, the Grand Duchess herself didn’t mince words at all.
Is this only with me?
Her speech flowed on smoothly.
“Oh, and since we went to the trouble of changing clothes, I was thinking maybe we should change how we address each other too.”
While he was still debating how to respond—
She’d already moved on to a new topic. Yuri crossed his arms, looked down at her, then nodded as if to say, Go on.
“Something natural would be best, right? Dear.”
“De—”
Only one syllable made it to Yuri’s tongue before his mouth fell open. His breath caught in his throat.
Frowning deeply, he whispered quickly in a low voice.
“Isn’t that a bit… too intimate?”
“So what? We are married.”
“Mar—!”
His hand trembled. Unbothered, the Grand Duchess rolled the troublesome word around in her mouth a few times, as if practicing, then stepped closer to him.
“And you should try not to look so awkward either.”
Seeing her stern expression, the heat that had rushed to his face seemed to subside a little.
Right—this was all just acting. He was a lord closely observing the lives of his people, and the Grand Duchess was merely playing along.
Thinking that way, his stiff tongue loosened.
Swallowing, he murmured with a resolute expression.
“I’m ready.”
“I don’t think you need to be that tense, though.”
Smiling faintly at him, the Grand Duchess frowned as she noticed a shop already crowded with people.
“There are quite a few people. Let’s hurry.”
In her impatience, Cecilia grabbed Yuri’s hand and strode forward.
She had no idea that her husband froze stiff at even that small gesture.
As they plunged into the crowd, a greeting immediately flew in from somewhere.
“Well, Sara! You’ve brought yourself a handsome lover!”
“He’s not my lover—he’s my husband. Dear, say hello. This is Aunt Karen from the fabric shop.”
Calmly correcting the woman, Cecilia looked up at Yuri. The hand they’d hidden among the crowd tightened secretly.
“…H-Hello…”
He almost spoke casually out of habit and hurriedly corrected himself, his tongue tangling in the process. The more flustered he became, the stronger the grip on his hand grew.
Watching him, Karen’s eyes narrowed.
“He looks sturdy enough, but the way he talks is a bit…”
“He hasn’t met many people lately. He threw out his back chopping firewood, so he’s been recuperating.”
“Oh dear, that’s serious! A man’s back is everything!”
Clicking her tongue, Karen encouraged Yuri with a firm pat after hearing Cecilia’s excuse.
It was strong enough to make even a well-trained knight flinch.
He’d thought the excuse sounded remarkably natural for something made up on the spot—only to suffer a sudden attack.
Both the words and actions of the woman who ran the fabric shop dealt Yuri a heavy blow.
Embarrassed, he instinctively turned to Cecilia. It was an action born of the petty hope that at least she would be smiling calmly.
But—
Huh?
“Ah, um… th-that kind of worry is…”
Cecilia’s cheeks were flushed red like apples as she stammered in protest, before pressing her lips tightly together.
