Eugenia’s face turned serious, as if following Enrique’s lowering voice.
Lowering her own voice as well, she asked cautiously.
“Um… exactly what kind of role do you plan on giving me?”
Up until now, all she had done was servant work… If it was anything beyond that, would she really be able to do it well?
Her voice was filled with worry and caution.
In contrast, Enrique replied without much concern.
“Not as a servant, but as my wife.”
Eugenia froze. As if time had stopped just for her.
Anyone who saw her at that moment might have thought she had turned to stone.
That’s how motionless she stood.
“Is that alright?”
Enrique stood calmly with his arms crossed, head slightly tilted, eyes fixed solely on her.
Only after a long pause did Eugenia’s eyelashes finally move.
Blink—
Blink—
Blink, blink—
Input, interpretation, understanding.
It took those exact three steps before a real expression began to form on her face.
“Whaat?!”
Startled, she unintentionally raised her voice—then startled herself with the volume, covering her lips with both hands as her eyes darted around.
Curious glances from passersby began to stick to them, making her even more conscious.
She quickly took a step closer to Enrique and whispered.
“What do you mean, I’m your wife?”
“Is that such a surprising thing?”
“Of course it is! Why wouldn’t it be? There’s no reason not to be surprised!”
Eugenia couldn’t hide the fluster on her face.
She jabbed her trembling finger back and forth between herself and Enrique.
It seemed she was so overwhelmed that she couldn’t find more words to say, her lips opening and closing wordlessly like a fish.
Enrique glanced around and pulled his hood lower, speaking quietly.
“This isn’t the place for this kind of talk. Let’s walk and talk. Too many eyes around.”
Eugenia nodded in agreement and turned her body in the direction they had been going.
As they resumed walking, she fired off questions at machine-gun speed, though still in a whisper.
“Your wife? Are you saying I should… marry you or something? Surely you don’t actually think that makes sense, right?”
“I was wondering if I needed to explain again since you seemed not to hear me properly, but I’m glad I don’t.”
“That’s not the issue here!”
“Then what is? Are you already married?”
“No, I’m not!”
“Then there’s no problem.”
No problem?! There are tons of problems!
Eugenia turned to glare at Enrique with an exasperated expression.
She opened her lips again, about to say something more, when Enrique suddenly exclaimed as if he had remembered something.
“Oh! One correction—I’m not actually marrying you.”
What now?
Eugenia furrowed her brow and let out a sigh.
“Ugh, I really don’t understand what you’re saying, Lord Enrique. I can’t follow even a tenth of what you’re saying—my head’s such a mess it’s starting to hurt!”
She felt like downing a strong cup of peppermint tea, freshly crushed and steeped, to ease the pounding in her head.
Seeing her frown and clutch her head, Enrique let out a light sigh.
“There’s no need to overthink it. Just take what I said at face value.”
“But if I do that, then your previous words and the last don’t connect at all. There’s no link between them!”
Her voice was now close to a sob.
Enrique paused, choosing his words carefully, then began to speak.
“I don’t know if Miss Eugenia is aware, but the current situation isn’t very good.”
Until now, a faint playfulness had lingered in his tone, but now it had completely vanished. He spoke with utmost seriousness.
Eugenia sensed the shift in tone and stopped her protests, her expression growing serious as well.
“You know that border inspections have been tightened, right?”
“Of course. That’s why I’m stuck here and so frustrated.”
It was clear she found it deeply unpleasant.
Enrique, agreeing with her, furrowed his brow.
“People are still crossing the border now and then, but compared to before, it’s been cut in half.”
“So now it’s like trying to squeeze through an ant hole.”
“Exactly. And those numbers are going to keep shrinking. It’s possible that very soon, all routes out of the country will be completely sealed.”
Eugenia gasped, then spoke with a strained voice.
“Isn’t that… a bit of an exaggeration?”
“I wish it were.”
Enrique muttered bitterly.
‘So the situation really is bad.’
Eugenia calmly reviewed the state of the region where she currently stayed.
More people were flooding into the city by the day.
Even though this place was only a waypoint for moving onward, the number of people leaving was far less than those coming in.
So Enrique’s words likely weren’t wrong.
Many reputable merchant caravans were stranded in the city.
‘I’m glad I took the time to visit places where people gather and information circulates.’
After arriving in this city, the first thing Eugenia did was gather intel.
She had felt bad about leaving the children alone in the room, but it had been too dangerous to take them with her.
She mostly visited cheap pubs, where she was able to hear a lot.
She wasn’t the only one trapped in the city—there were many others.
The merchants were especially desperate. For them, time was literally money, and being stuck in one place was a direct loss.
She’d even heard that their leaders tried to bribe the city gate guards to speed up their departure.
But the guards who used to accept such bribes no longer did. The merchants would grumble, cursing loudly about how they’d suddenly become so uptight.
‘Even so, some people are still getting through the gates.’
So what was the standard for escaping the Duchy of Harland?
Like the merchants, Eugenia was extremely curious.
And now, it seemed this man in front of her—Enrique—had figured it out.
“Every day, fewer people pass through the gates. But there’s one method that draws the least suspicion—posing as a family.”
“A family…?”
Eugenia repeated in a trembling voice.
It seemed like the most unfitting word in such an urgent situation.
It was probably because it was such a foreign concept to her.
Enrique nodded.
“Yes. That’s why you and I pretending to be a married couple is strictly temporary.”
“Ah.”
In that moment, Eugenia picked out the meaningful word from Enrique’s explanation.
“Pretend.”
“Yes, pretend.”
Now that it made sense, Enrique’s lips curved into a smile.
“Realistically, we’ll only have to do it for a moment—just when passing through the checkpoint.”
Eugenia’s green eyes gleamed with sudden interest.
‘If it’s only for a brief moment, that could work.’
Her mind, finally calm again, began to turn quickly.
For just a single moment, it might be manageable.
Without any hesitation, she nodded and answered brightly.
“I think it’s a great plan.”
Enrique let out a brief chuckle, seemingly unable to help himself at her quick change in attitude.
“Your attitude really flipped like the back of a hand.”
“Of course. It’s in my favor.”
“You’re quick-witted.”
He chuckled softly and added:
“And honestly, I don’t mind that at all.”
Hmm, so that was a compliment—right?
Eugenia didn’t bother overanalyzing it and simply smiled warmly at him.
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“Good. Since we’ve agreed, we’ll need to make some more detailed preparations.”
“What kind of preparations?”
Eugenia tilted her head in curiosity.
By now, the rain had thinned considerably.
“What else? We need to transform you into a proper noble lady.”
Eugenia frowned and replied sulkily.
“Wouldn’t it be easier and faster for you to pose as a commoner instead?”
“A good point, but not very realistic.”
“Why not?”
At that, Enrique lifted his chin proudly.
When she instinctively looked up at him, he asked naturally:
“Who would ever think of me as a commoner?”
