SDD 09

Chapter : 09

“Deviation”

She blinked a few times, scanning her surroundings. Everything looked unfamiliar, which made her feel far from comfortable.

“When did I pass through the main gate…?”

Psyche muttered to herself as she looked around, then let out a sigh. Someone had tried to stop her, but she’d been angry and simply ignored them, walking on without thinking. It was probably one of the guards stationed at the main gate.

“Ah.”

This seemed like it had gotten out of hand. By now, word that Psyche had gone outside must have reached the duke’s ears…

There was no doubt they’d be in an uproar searching for her.

“So what.”

Let them suffer a little. Leaving the castle behind, she walked along the mountain path at random.

It was freedom she hadn’t enjoyed in a long time.

If she’d known it would be like this, she would have come out more often.

Every time she tried to go out, she’d run straight into the duke’s opposition.

“Absolutely not. It’s dangerous.”

Naturally, she mimicked the duke’s face and voice as they surfaced in her mind, sneering to herself.

“Dangerous, dangerous—everything’s always dangerous.”

At the duke’s estate, a place where she had come with no ties of her own, relying solely on the duke, there were an extraordinary number of restrictions.

But maintaining a harmonious marriage was important for both of them—especially for Psyche—so she rarely outright defied him.

Once again, a memory from the past came to mind.

Before their marriage, for reasons she couldn’t quite recall, Psyche had once asked him a question.

It was right after they had drawn up the contract between them.

“Your Highness, do you trust me?”

She herself believed that a contract was more reliable than trust born of a relationship, but she had been curious what the duke thought.

At that question, Clint wore a deeply contemplative expression. After carefully choosing his words for quite some time, he finally spoke.

“Trust…”

Clint seemed to smile faintly.

“Isn’t trust and faith what’s most important between husband and wife? Even if this relationship was formed by contract, I intend to try trusting you from now on, my lady.”

It was an unexpected answer.

And not an incorrect one, either, so she remembered nodding.

“You’re saying you’ll trust me, even though I don’t reveal everything that’s in my heart?”

Finding his sincere reaction amusing, she asked again.

“Isn’t it true trust, when you can believe without needing someone to bare all their inner thoughts?”

It was such a textbook, model answer that Psyche let out a laugh.

“But if you don’t know what’s inside, how can you know the truth?”

“Well,” he said, “I don’t believe laying bare every emotion is always the best course. A relationship that can be trusted even without that—that’s a genuine one.”

Clint seemed to smile faintly again, and then added,

“So now, Lady—no, my wife—you may trust and rely on me. At any time.”

Remembering that conversation, Psyche unconsciously let out a scoffing breath.

“Trust, faith—what a joke.”

What nonsense. Then again, the most seasoned con artists were always the ones asking others to trust them. She shook off those old thoughts and turned her gaze away.

The air outside the castle felt unfamiliar, yet refreshing. Admiring the trees around her as she walked, time passed quickly. She didn’t even feel bored.

Before she realized it, she had arrived in a bustling district. At first she’d been angry, but now curiosity stirred within her. Since coming here, she’d stayed only within the duke’s estate—she’d never been out like this—so to her, this place felt like another world.

Looking around, she headed toward what caught her eye the most.

“Are all of these for sale?”

The merchant who was arranging dried medicinal herbs in front of his shop jumped in surprise when he saw Psyche. Her attire was far too elegant for a place like this.

But Psyche didn’t notice her own appearance. Having never really been outside before, she had no sense of how non-nobles might see her. She was simply fascinated by the herbs laid out before her.

“So this is how they display them for sale.”

She murmured to herself, paying little attention to whether the merchant spoke to her or not, completely absorbed in examining the herbs.

“Ah—this one, if you do it like that, it’ll wilt quickly.”

“Oh! How did you know? It’s expensive as it is, but it keeps wilting so fast that I’m taking losses.”

“You shouldn’t let this one get direct sunlight. It naturally grows only in the shade. Just moving its position a bit should fix it.”

Murmuring to herself, she carefully adjusted the placement of the herbs.

“You’ll see results in half a day.”

“Oh, really?”

The merchant’s face brightened.

“Can I pay with gemstones?”

“Of course! That’d be more than fine!”

Psyche suddenly realized she hadn’t brought much with her, having come out impulsively, and felt a twinge of regret—but it couldn’t be helped.

Aside from the necklace and wedding ring she wore every day, she paid with a thin gold ring and the pearl earrings she habitually wore, and it turned out to be quite a satisfactory deal.

“Save these for me. I’ll come back to buy them later.”

Choosing mostly dried herbs that would be easy to carry, she smacked her lips regretfully as she looked at the most expensive herb she hadn’t been able to buy.

“This one is truly excellent. So make sure you keep it aside and sell it to me.”

She extracted a promise one more time, just in case someone else might buy it. In any case, it didn’t seem likely that anyone around here would pay that kind of price for herbs.

Just as she thought she should come back again later, someone suddenly cut in between the merchant and Psyche and spoke.

“Huh? Well, look who it is.”

The man was quite tall, his shadow looming over her. Psyche had to tilt her head far back to look up at him.

Seeing the man address her as if he knew her, Psyche narrowed her eyes, thinking his face seemed oddly familiar. She felt like she’d seen him somewhere before, but she couldn’t place exactly who he was. And if he recognized her, then he must at least be a noble or something close—yet meeting him in a place like this didn’t quite add up.

As Psyche frowned and struggled to remember him, the man let out a disbelieving chuckle.

“Wow. Are you seriously not recognizing me right now?”

“Who… ah! Crown—”

As she was about to acknowledge him, he hurried closer and covered her mouth. The words “Crown Prince” were cut off by his hand.

“You weren’t planning to expose my identity here, were you?”

He whispered near her ear. Psyche stared at the Crown Prince with wide eyes as he covered her mouth.

“Nice to see you, Miss Psyche?”

The way he deliberately omitted the title “Duchess” sounded extremely cheeky.

Running into the Crown Prince—who looked every bit like a “high-ranking noble” no matter how you looked at him—in a place like this made Psyche feel strangely unsettled.

Come to think of it, unlike her, who had come out wearing the same clothes she wore at the duke’s estate, the Crown Prince’s outward appearance was perfectly that of a commoner.

Only then did she realize how conspicuous she must look here. Naturally, the Crown Prince and Psyche began walking together.

“Oh, so you come here often to buy herbs?”

“Of course. Think about it—why would merchants bring such expensive herbs here? There’s no one else who’d buy them anyway.”

Only then did Psyche understand where the costly herbs ended up, and she nodded.

“Well, most people here probably don’t even know how expensive those are.”

“Is that so?”

They strolled around casually, continuing their conversation with ease. The Crown Prince showed a deep interest in medicinal herbs, poisonous plants, and making things from them.

“Honestly, nobles don’t really know much about that stuff either. Apparently it used to be mandatory to learn, but these days everyone studies history or the like. Who bothers learning herbalism anymore?”

“Oh, I see.”

“I was really surprised, you know? Madam—no, Miss Psyche, you could be a professor of herbal studies at the academy.”

He praised her lavishly.

“Oh no, it’s not that impressive.”

Caught off guard by the praise, Psyche didn’t know how to respond.

“I’m serious. Which is why—since meeting you here feels like fate—would you be my teacher for a while?”

Startled by the sudden request, Psyche stopped walking.

“What? All of a sudden?”

“It’s not all of a sudden. I was planning to formally ask you next time we met. But look at this—what luck, meeting you today. Is this what they call destiny?”

“Haha…”

Psyche forced a laugh.

“What’s with that laugh? Ah—right. Does the duke dislike it?”

He stroked his chin, looking thoughtful.

“Oh, by the way. Where is the duke?”

“Pardon?”

At the mention of the duke, Psyche’s face stiffened immediately. Thinking of the chaos that must have erupted at the duke’s estate left her feeling uneasy.

It wasn’t that she worried about the duke himself—rather, she felt bad knowing that if he caused a scene searching for her, the servants would be the ones to suffer.

“Don’t tell me you came out here alone?”

The Crown Prince looked around. Only then did he realize she was by herself, and his expression turned strangely subtle.

And then he burst out laughing.

“Ah! No wonder. That outfit of yours—did you sneak out? Honestly, you never disappoint me.”

Laughing so hard he wiped tears from his eyes, he roared with laughter. When Psyche pouted at the sight, the Crown Prince finally managed to stop, suppressing his amusement as best he could.

“You’ve got some nerve. Or is it that you’re just clueless about the world?”

“Don’t say that.”

As Psyche walked ahead again, clearly displeased, the Crown Prince quickly caught up to her.

“But now that I think about it, you didn’t used to give off this kind of impression.”

“My impression?”

She decided she should return to the duke’s estate before things escalated any further. There was no need to make a big fuss.

Half-listening to the Crown Prince, she quickened her steps.

“You always seemed very obedient and delicate. This is completely different. Did you and the duke have a fight or something?”

He spoke rapidly, like a machine gun. In truth, that had been her image in high society. She always attended banquets quietly by the duke’s side and left without much fuss. She hardly ever spoke to other men. She was beautiful, but the duke’s presence was so overwhelming that her own image seemed faint by comparison.

Of course, there were those who disliked her behavior. More than anything, the reason she could move about so quietly was the duke’s excessive protection—though now that she thought about it, it felt more like surveillance.

Because of that, noblewomen who initially tried to befriend her eventually drifted away on their own, put off by Psyche’s consistently indifferent attitude.

Quiet, cold, and proud—the duke’s woman. That was Psyche’s reputation. Gentle only toward the duke.

“You two even fight? I never would’ve thought it. That’s unexpected—and I like it.”

The Crown Prince smiled slyly.

End Of Chapter : 09