Chapter 22
Even though I came home half-asleep last night, I woke up early the next morning.
It wasn’t because I was a particularly disciplined person, nor because my fatigue had gone away completely.
“Ugh, damn sunlight.”
It was simply because I’d forgotten to close the curtains before falling asleep.
“Ugh, I wish someone would just close and open the curtains for me every day.”
My legs still felt sore from wearing heels all day yesterday. As I buried my head in the pillow, grumbling to myself, my eyes suddenly widened.
“Huh?”
Now that I noticed, I was wearing my favorite nightdress. My makeup had been neatly removed, and all the bobby pins that had been stuck in my hair like a hedgehog were gone. I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair, tilting my head.
‘Wait—where did they all go? Did I put away that jeweled hairpin properly? I can’t afford to lose that!’
I looked around. My light green dress from yesterday was draped neatly over a chair a few steps away.
‘Ah, did I take care of all that before going to bed?’
If someone else had undressed me, the dress wouldn’t be folded so neatly over a chair. I patted myself on the back.
‘Good job, Edel. Even half-asleep, you still managed to stay organized. That’s what an adult should do.’
If I’d fallen asleep wearing that dress, it would’ve either torn or been too uncomfortable to sleep through the night.
With a relieved sigh, I slipped my feet into the slippers under the bed.
‘Will Cerulean come looking for me again today? Or maybe he’ll take the day off?’
Considering how exhausted we’d been yesterday, taking a break would make sense—but we didn’t have much time left. We had something important coming up.
The wedding!
‘Duke Luke said we absolutely had to hold the ceremony. Since he mentioned it, he won’t just pretend he didn’t.’
And knowing Cerulean’s meticulous personality, he’d definitely want everything to be perfect.
He might even be on his way here right now.
‘Before Cerulean arrives, I should at least do the crossword puzzle.’
I opened the door to fetch the newspaper and milk—but the person who greeted me wasn’t Cerulean.
“Good morning!”
It was Calima, her brown hair tied up high.
“Well, it is a good morning, but…”
I trailed off, staring at the black tent taking up the front yard, the large steaming cauldron beside it, and the wooden table and chairs squeezed into the remaining space.
The table was neatly set with dishes—and there sat the newspaper and milk I’d been looking for.
Except the milk bottle was empty.
‘Where’s my milk?!’
Ever since I got tangled up with Cerulean, I hadn’t managed to drink milk or read the paper on time even once. Was it just my imagination?
Calima smiled warmly.
“You fell asleep so deeply last night you couldn’t even stand up straight. I thought you’d sleep in today! I’ll get breakfast ready right away. Oh, the Captain said he’ll be here later.”
So Cerulean was coming. I sat down awkwardly and asked,
“Did I really sleep that soundly yesterday?”
“Of course. If the Captain hadn’t been there, you might’ve woken up still in the carriage.”
She said it casually with a soft laugh, but my eyes went wide and my body froze.
‘Wait—if not for Cerulean, I would’ve woken up in the carriage… meaning he carried me inside!’
Ahhh, how embarrassing!
He’ll probably mention how “heavy” I was again—he’s so bad at lying! I groaned internally.
‘I need to thank him later… somehow.’
I moved closer to Calima and asked,
“Did you sleep well?”
“Of course. I woke up early, tidied up the garden, and started breakfast.”
“Wow, so diligent.”
I clapped lightly and peered into the boiling cauldron—but what I saw inside was… suspicious.
‘Black… cheese?’
Thick, jelly-like black lumps were bubbling inside.
‘Is that supposed to be breakfast?’
Even with generous interpretation, it didn’t look edible. Seeing my stunned face, Calima mumbled nervously,
“I, uh… tried to make soup.”
“…This is soup?”
If I squinted hard enough, I suppose I could see that. It looked like something that had simmered too long and turned completely black.
“Wait—is that my milk?”
“Yes.”
The empty bottle on the table and the charred lump in the pot overlapped perfectly in my mind. I could already imagine what had happened—when the cooking started going wrong, she probably poured in the milk to “fix it.” I often used milk as a miracle ingredient myself—soak bread, soften cookies, things like that.
But this… was not edible.
Maybe my awkward silence gave me away, because Calima glanced up at me timidly.
“…Would it have been better to just drink the milk instead?”
‘Well, she’s good at so many other things. Maybe cooking just isn’t one of them.’
She’d probably been tired too, yet still got up early to cook. That alone was admirable. I shrugged.
“Let’s make our culinary motto from now on: ‘Respect the natural taste of ingredients.’”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Calima nodded quickly.
I rummaged through the cupboard and found some hard bread. We spread jam on it and nibbled in silence. Eating plain bread with water made me miss milk even more.
By the time we’d finished our meager breakfast and started sipping tea, Cerulean arrived.
He leaned casually against the low garden wall and tilted his head.
“Why do you two look so gloomy?”
“We’re out of milk.”
“I see.”
Clicking his tongue lightly, Cerulean stepped into the garden. Since there were no empty chairs, he sat on the edge of the table and said,
“For someone who isn’t a growing child, you really do like milk.”
Why bring children into this? I answered passionately,
“Milk is beautiful, delicious, and nutritious—it’s the perfect food! Don’t you like milk?”
“I don’t particularly enjoy it.”
“Well, many adults can’t handle milk well.”
(But not me!)
While I sparkled with enthusiasm talking about milk, Cerulean studied me quietly and said seriously,
“Since you like it so much, we should buy a cow to have fresh milk at all times.”
“…Excuse me?”
I blinked in disbelief, and Calima waved her hands, laughing.
“Oh, one cow wouldn’t be enough! Cows only produce milk when they have calves. You’d need to buy an entire farm.”
“Is that so?”
“What do you mean ‘is that so’? Absolutely not! Don’t even think about it—and Calima, don’t encourage him!”
One bottle of milk is plenty for me! I don’t need that much!
Both of them looked unconvinced, but when I glared and shook my head vigorously, they dropped the subject.
Feeling strangely parched, I gulped down some water. Talking about milk made me think of that teddy bear–like kid I met yesterday.
‘I wonder if that chubby little thing drinks lots of milk? He should—he’ll grow tall that way.’
Setting down my cup, I asked Cerulean,
“Your little brother’s name was Charles, right?”
He nodded casually.
“He’s so cute. His arms bend like this, and he’s all soft and plump—how does someone get that perfectly chubby?”
His white, smooth skin looked like it would jiggle like pudding. Remembering Charles’s adorable face, I sighed dreamily. Cerulean tilted his head. I blinked.
“What?”
“I was just observing your expression when you called him cute.”
“Why are you looking at my expression? You should be thinking about Charles! Have you never thought he was cute?”
“Never.”
His blunt answer shocked me.
What? That adorably squishy child isn’t cute to you? Impossible!
‘If it were me, I’d be poking those cheeks all day long.’
Just remembering his doll-like face made me melt again.
Cerulean gave me a puzzled look, clearly unable to understand, then pulled a pocket watch from his coat.
“In any case, you’re done eating, right? Then let’s get ready to head out. We have much to do.”
“But didn’t we just have dinner with the Duke yesterday? Do we really need to rush this soon?” Calima asked as she stacked the plates.
Cerulean shrugged.
“His Grace ordered that the wedding be held quickly—and as splendidly as possible.”
“What? Duke Luke himself said that? That’s unexpected!” Calima exclaimed.
I was just as surprised.
He never said splendid!
“Cerulean, he only said it shouldn’t be too simple!”
“That’s exactly what he meant—make it splendid.”
I was pretty sure that’s not what he meant.
‘I just want to keep it simple…’
Even if we do, who knows how Vanerinne will try to interfere. As I pondered, Cerulean said earnestly,
“I simply wish to do everything within my power to help.”
“How diligent of you.”
It’s a contract marriage—was that really necessary?
“Well, either way, we’re a team now. Let’s do our best.”
Cerulean gave a dignified nod.
“Of course, Edel.”
Good. I nodded back and said as I headed inside,
“But I’ll need about an hour before we leave.”
“Of course. May I ask why?”
“Because I need to write tomorrow’s headline.”
If we were going to have a grand wedding, I might as well use it to my advantage—sell some juicy articles, and keep Vanerinne from trying anything reckless.
‘I already thought of the perfect headline yesterday.’
“Duke Luke Greets His Future Daughter-in-Law!”
“The Duchess in a Foul Mood!”
“And Cerulean, the Official Heir Apparent!”
‘Alright, let’s do this.’
If I was going to be Cerulean Luke’s bride, then I would play the part of the bad daughter-in-law—until the day Vanerinne was finally gone.
I clenched my lips with determination.
