Chapter 47
Yuri, who had been staring at her as she let out a quiet chuckle, subtly leaned back with an uneasy expression.
A gap of about a hand’s breadth opened between them.
“What—why are you looking at me like that?”
The way she puffed herself up and pretended to be fierce after sensing a threat looked almost laughable.
Of course, thinking that it would be better to correct that habit was a separate matter altogether.
Her natal family was a small house with little reason to travel to the capital, but Berserk was a grand ducal family—who knew what might happen. There could be occasions when they would have to go to the capital.
If he kept up such a sharp attitude even then, it would make managing connections difficult, so it would be better to fix it if possible.
Still… he behaved quite politely when dealing with the merchant guild master. Maybe it’ll be fine?
As Cecilia recalled Matilda’s visit to Rotleben, her thoughts drifted even farther south.
…And if I get the chance, I’d like to visit Eldova at least once.
Until recently, she had thought that even returning to her family would be something far in the future.
But now she knew that her husband listened to her fairly well, and their relationship hadn’t been bad lately. It seemed worth suggesting at least once.
Above all, she wanted to introduce her husband to her family.
Mother cried so much, after all.
She wanted to clear up misunderstandings, too.
Perhaps because she knew her family’s perception of the Berserk house and Rotleben was far from favorable, her heart felt unsettled.
Of course, I’d need to polish his way of speaking before we go.
He wouldn’t speak as carelessly as he did to Noah, but everyday speech habits were frightening things. If he let his guard down for even a moment and spoke like a ruffian, Countess Gwen would faint on the spot.
While Cecilia imagined her mother collapsing in a dead faint, Yuri—who had been battling vague forebodings on his own—was carefully studying her face.
This makes me uneasy.
She smiled to herself, then suddenly went quiet.
What on earth was she thinking that the silence dragged on for so long?
…Was I too sharp with her?
Had she laughed because she was dumbfounded?
Compared to the early days when he truly spoke with sharp edges, this wasn’t even particularly rough—but he couldn’t compare then and now.
Growing anxious for no reason, Yuri stared at his wife’s face before turning his gaze away.
The bustling city streets came into view. Inside his head, thoughts clashed fiercely as he glared at the scenery.
I was planning to wrap up the outing here out of embarrassment…
Should he follow the route Noah had told him about after all?
When he recalled Noah proudly boasting that he’d personally planned the course to suit the Grand Duchess’s tastes, the scales in his heart tipped a little more.
Swallowing hard, Yuri made up his mind and turned back to Cecilia.
“Cecilia.”
For someone calling his wife’s name, the pronunciation was remarkably awkward.
His throat tickled as if something were stuck there. Even though the sound wasn’t harsh, it felt that way.
Calling his wife by name was unfamiliar and strange. Feeling a faint sense of guilt, Yuri forced himself to continue.
“How about we move on somewhere else?”
More than anything, her startled gaze made him uncomfortable.
Still, he held firm and waited for her answer.
Cecilia blinked, eyes wide as if unused to this, her lips parting as though she might speak—yet after a brief silence, she calmly replied,
“Sure. I think I’ve gotten a sense that the new apprentices are responding positively.”
As she neatly folded the bread bag, she squinted and tilted her head when Yuri took it from her.
“But you’re acting a bit strange today.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Calling me by my name all of a sudden, for one.”
“…That’s something spouses can do, isn’t it?”
“But we—”
Cecilia, who had been about to continue without hesitation, closed her mouth. Yuri swallowed and waited, but she soon shook her head, ending the thought there.
“You’re right. You are.”
Then she smiled demurely.
“It feels new. Maybe because the way we address each other has changed? Both you and me…”
Trailing off, Cecilia pressed her lips together. After a moment of thought, she tugged the corner of her mouth upward and whispered,
“Should I start calling you Yuri, too?”
Yuri bit down hard on the inside of his cheek. Otherwise, it felt like his heart might burst right out of his chest.
He could feel heat rush to his face, but he couldn’t manage any excuse or response.
Maybe it was because it had been so long since anyone had called him by that name. There was no one left who might call him that anymore.
Since his parents’ deaths, he’d scarcely heard it at all. That unfamiliarity was probably why he was so flustered—or so he told himself.
“…It’d be better to change that slowly.”
“Hm. That makes sense. We only just decided to speak more casually, after all.”
Cecilia nodded quickly in agreement.
Even though she was simply respecting his wishes, why did it feel so disappointing?
Yuri licked his dry lips, took a deep breath, and suddenly stood up.
“Enough chatting. Let’s move.”
If he didn’t shift his attention quickly, he felt like he’d say something unnecessary.
Cecilia rose and followed him without complaint, moving close to his side.
“But where are we going? Haven’t we already done what we came out for?”
“Since we’re already out… and Noah asked me for something.”
Grasping at the excuse that flashed through his mind, Yuri cast a casual sideways glance at Cecilia. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to doubt him.
“I always think this, but you really care about Noah. He feels the same way about you, too.”
Maybe her attention had simply wandered elsewhere.
Yuri’s expression hardened.
“As if I’d run out of people to care about and chose him.”
“Why not? You two get along pretty well. You even indulge his jokes.”
“If that counts as getting along, then the concept of enemies wouldn’t exist in this world.”
“Still, you do look after him.”
Cecilia laughed softly and rolled her eyes. Annoyed, Yuri furrowed his brow.
“You say that because you’ve never seen how I treat someone I truly care about.”
“Then how do you treat them?”
“Well, that’s—”
Yuri reflexively turned his chin toward Cecilia, then hastily swallowed his words. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
He gulped, lips parting uselessly, before sharply lifting his brows and changing the subject.
“You’ll find out eventually.”
“Oh, come on. You just don’t have an answer.”
“That’s not true!”
Perhaps because their forms of address had grown more casual, his wife teased him more freely now.
He didn’t quite know how to respond, but her change didn’t feel unpleasant.
She had always been somewhat mischievous around him, but now—
It feels like the distance between us has shrunk.
Rather than just smiling faintly, she laughed out loud, showing her teeth—and that was quite… nice.
After flaring up for only a moment, he found himself feeling an embarrassingly youthful flutter in his chest.
“So are you really not going to tell me what we’re buying?”
Of course he couldn’t tell her. There had never been a plan to begin with.
Perhaps because he felt cornered, his mind spun rapidly.
Something Noah Larsson liked. Something you could only buy here. Something that wouldn’t make his wife suspicious.
“I can’t remember the name exactly. Some kind of sweet dessert.”
Vaguely brushing it off, Yuri cast a glance toward an alley lined with stalls.
That shouldn’t sound too suspicious.
It’s true Noah likes sweets, after all.
Taking his words more seriously than he expected, Cecilia pondered before gesturing ahead.
“I’ve heard of quite a few famous dessert shops while walking around.”
The shop she pointed to was indeed well-known, judging by the crowd gathered in front.
Lowering his head to hide his face, Yuri waited as the line crawled forward—then shook his head, grabbed Cecilia’s wrist, and stepped back.
“Let’s just go back.”
“But you said it was a favor. Isn’t it a waste to turn back after coming all this way?”
“Wasting my time standing in the street is a bigger loss. He can buy his own bread.”
He answered firmly, squeezing her wrist just enough not to hurt as he led her away.
They’d already escaped the crowd, and there was no reason left to keep holding on—but desire outweighed reason.
Pretending not to notice, he kept hold of her wrist as he walked—until his steps halted again at Cecilia’s soft gasp of admiration.
