Chapter 41
“Princess, would you come over here?”
When I called, April ran over to me in quick little steps. I smiled at her and lightly patted the spot where Kylen usually sleeps.
“Ah, I don’t lie down… I only lie down when I sleep—Ko—just when I sleep.”
Just like a clever little sister-in-law.
I exaggeratedly coughed, and Princess April’s eyes widened even more.
“Ah. If Princess lies down next to me and hugs me, I think I’d feel better… Princess, we’re like a married couple. Cough, cough.”
Pretending to cough and look pitiful, the princess hesitated for a moment before taking off her shoes and crawling onto the bed.
She smelled warm and nice.
“Eri, does it hurt a lot?”
I shook my head as I looked at April, lying next to me with her green eyes wide open.
“No. I’m okay because Princess hugged me. But right now, I just want to lie down.”
“Mm. April can do that too when she wants.”
In just a week, April had grown much more talkative.
As she lay next to me, chattering softly, her eyelids slowly closed. Listening to April’s gentle breathing calmed my racing heart.
Fidgeting with her tiny hands, I quietly called Mia.
“Tell the Grand Duke that Princess April will sleep here tonight.”
“Yes?”
“She seems very tired. It would be difficult to wake her, so we’ll let her sleep here.”
“Ah… yes.”
After Mia left, I smoothed April’s hair as I listened to the faint wind through the window. She was sound asleep, unaware that she had become a little shield.
Holding her tiny hand, I decided to rest for a short while, hoping that when I woke, the heaviness and stress would feel lighter.
“What’s this? Did you fight?”
Kylen ignored Isaya’s words and lifted a glass of Kisty liquor. Even compared to famous drinks from other regions, Kisty’s taste was unmatched.
The strong liquor left only warmth as it slid down, and the floral aroma lingered in the mouth.
“How long have you been married that you’re already having a fight?”
Isaya looked worried but his tone was light—half teasing, half concerned.
“They say marital fights are like cutting water with a knife. Just ignore it and go to the bedroom. Don’t do this here at night.”
Kylen, lying on someone else’s office sofa, wasn’t really in a position to lecture.
He refilled his empty glass, then walked steadily.
“Hey!”
Kylen drew a decorative sword from the wall. Isaya jumped up in surprise.
“I don’t have a weapon? That’s unfair!”
Swish.
Kylen swung the heavy sword with one hand, producing a terrifying sound through the air. He looked like a monster wielding such a massive weapon with ease.
Unimpressed with something, Kylen clicked his tongue and brought the glass in his other hand to his lips.
Isaya squinted, realizing Kylen must have done something wrong to the Grand Duchess.
Then he remembered her and struggled to hold back laughter.
Harmless.
That was his first impression of Eliana. Of course, that first impression was shattered when she pulled out the contract.
The petite Grand Duchess, with her fair face and large light-brown eyes, was not an ordinary person.
Despite her gentle and pretty appearance, she was lively and action-oriented.
Kylen sometimes lost words when she said something unexpected.
Isaya had missed Kylen’s rushed wedding, but even hearing that Kylen was marrying made him feel faint.
Yet here he was, seeing his friend’s clumsy attempts around the Grand Duchess, and he realized the situation might play out in an entertaining way.
“Tell him. No one in the empire knows better how to apologize to a woman than I do.”
Isaya proudly said this, leaving Kylen speechless, though he nodded reluctantly and began to speak.
“What?”
Kylen sat on the edge of the desk, spinning his glass. He watched the amber liquor swirl, thinking of Eliana’s image floating above it.
Her hands trembled slightly as she organized scattered papers. That delicate image stayed in his mind.
He wanted to scold her, to ask why she did that—but seeing her disappointed face, his excuses only spun in his mind.
It was the first time he had seen her expression like that. Kylen couldn’t apologize and had to leave her office.
“Crazy man.”
Isaya said.
“Why did you do that?”
He added a few scolding words, unable to understand Kylen’s behavior.
“…There was a reason.”
Kylen’s excuse made Isaya exhale sharply. He looked bewildered, moving his hands on his waist nervously.
“You said you were sorry, right?”
Kylen shook his head, and Isaya’s jaw dropped.
“Friend, just keep this up in the office… all night long.”
Clicking his tongue, Isaya shook his head and left, adding, “You don’t even deserve sleep!”
Bang!
After the door closed, silence filled the room. Kylen listened to the faint winter wind, the crackling fire, and the clinking ice in the glass as he returned the sword to its place.
“I think the princess should sleep in her own bedroom tonight.”
Greta said this coldly, almost scolding him. Kylen ignored her gaze.
“…April?”
She had fallen asleep in the bedroom now used by the couple. Kylen lifted his head.
Greta, watching him carefully, finally said:
“The sooner you apologize, the better.”
Kylen frowned and left the office.
Habitually heading to the marital bedroom, he turned and walked toward April’s room instead.
He paused, wondering if he should sleep in the office.
The bed was covered in colorful dolls staring at him. Kylen ruffled his hair, crossed his arms, and glared at them.
“What are you looking at?”
The dolls seemed to respond with equally pitiful eyes.
Kylen strode to the bed, tossing all the innocent dolls onto the sofa. The last one fell to the floor.
It was a knitted doll someone had made for April recently. She had proudly shown it to Kylen.
“Ha.”
He bent to pick up the fallen doll.
After arranging the dolls neatly on the sofa, Kylen removed his nightgown and got into bed.
He blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling, subconsciously turning his head. Seeing the empty space, he felt an odd emptiness and chuckled.
“Crazy man.”
He wasn’t used to sleeping with someone else. Feeling the emptiness, he laughed at himself.
Pulling the blanket up to his chest, he closed his eyes tightly.
“I guess… if I was wrong, I should apologize.”
“Whatever.”
Kylen tossed and turned for a while before finally falling asleep.
