Chapter 85

“Eli, if it’s all right with you… would you like to stay here tonight?”

“All of a sudden?”

“It’s gotten very late.”

I wondered why he suddenly stopped me.

Following Ed’s hesitant gaze out the window, I turned and froze in surprise.

I thought maybe an hour or two had passed, but dawn was already breaking.

‘Ah… it’s this late already.’

Edwin was right. Staying the night would be better.

Even if I didn’t go all the way to the inner chambers, it would take over thirty minutes. And though it was early spring, the dawn air was still cold.

On top of that, the moment I noticed my exhaustion, sleep crashed over me heavily.

“Then… should I?”

“Wh-what?!”

“Why are you more surprised than I am?”

Honestly, if I hadn’t known about that issue, I might have misunderstood Edwin’s suggestion.

But he was a modest man, and the kind of thing I might imagine was physically impossible for him.

Thanks to memories from my previous life, I was even more certain of his modesty.

It finally explained why he’d always been unusually strict about the opposite sex.

I decided to accept Edwin’s sincere kindness without suspicion.

“There’s a changing room here, right?”

“No, the dressing room is in the next room…”

“The hallway will be cold right now, so I guess I don’t have a choice. Sorry, but could you turn around for a moment?”

Unlike before, I’d admitted how weak I’d become to the cold and was layered up heavily.

I couldn’t sleep like this, so I took off my outer dress first.

Obviously, I was wearing an underdress, petticoats, and several layers of winter chemises underneath.

After a brief moment of thought, I decided to keep only the chemise on and remove everything else. Even so, it was for warmth, so not a bit of skin below my neck was exposed.

Srrk, srrk.

The sound of clothes being removed echoed through the quiet bedroom.

“I’m too tired to hold on. Sorry, but can I lie down first?”

“…Yes.”

“Thank you. I’ll go to the inside, yawn.”

The bed was so tall and wide that even after climbing up like I was scaling a wall, I had to roll around for quite a while before finally reaching the corner by the wall.

The outer side should be left for Edwin, since he’d wake up first.

“Good night, Ed…”

“E-Eli?”

I fell asleep as if I’d blacked out before I could even hear his reply.

Because of that, I never saw Edwin’s ears turn bright red.

* * *

‘Even considering Madam’s position, it’s the same. In the end, isn’t bearing an heir what truly solidifies her standing as lady of the house?’

In truth, Edwin had given Berthold’s words a great deal of thought.

The immediate crisis had been put out, but if no so called good news arrived, the pressure on Eli would only grow with time.

Was this really for her sake?

Or was he simply justifying his own base desires under the pretense of caring for her?

‘I won’t find the answer by thinking alone.’

Edwin decided it was best to ask her intentions directly and respect her choice.

He seemed dull at times, yet was unexpectedly perceptive.

He came up with a way to confirm her feelings without making her feel burdened.

‘Eli, if it’s all right with you… would you like to stay here tonight?’

How much courage had it taken just to say those few words?

But when Eli not only agreed easily, but even asked him to turn around and began undressing…

Just the sound of fabric brushing against her soft skin made his vision swim.

Honestly, Edwin had expected something like “it’s still too soon” as her response. This rapid turn of events left him frozen like a statue.

He couldn’t properly hear anything she said.

His mouth went completely dry.

Before he knew it, Elicia had shed three layers of dresses like a caterpillar molting. Just how many layers had she been wearing? Then she dove onto the bed and fell asleep instantly.

She even slept prettily, purring softly.

“Is it because she has no experience with things like this…”

Contrary to his expectations, she seemed to have completely missed the meaning.

Feeling foolish for having tensed up so much, Edwin tucked the blanket more securely around the soundly sleeping Eli and lowered his head in resignation.

“Ha… what do I do now.”

He briefly considered sleeping in another room, but if rumors spread that she’d been neglected, it would be troublesome.

After much deliberation, Edwin chose a compromise and rested his eyes on the sofa.

That afternoon, Edwin heard shocking news from Berthold.

Something he’d mentioned to only about six retainers had reached Eli’s ears in less than a day.

So Eli thought that he had some kind of unfortunate issue…?

“Is that true?”

“According to Sir Ramon, yes.”

Berthold’s answer was firm and unwavering.

Only then did Edwin begin to understand Eli’s unexpected visit the previous night and the meaning behind the fine wine she’d brought as a gift.

Eli hadn’t been clueless.

She’d been too quick. That is to say…

She’d understood his position far too well.

“Ha.”

Edwin, for perhaps the first time in his life, truly wanted to chase someone with a gossiping mouth beyond the Northern Wall forever.

* * *

Once things started moving in the west, official work poured in endlessly. Even after returning to the castle, Elicia’s days remained hectic.

During the day, she inspected areas inside and outside the walls, looking into the lives of the people.

Thanks to experience from her previous life, she already understood most of the issues. She would first pressure the officials into fixing them, then ask the people whether things had been handled properly.

“Did the seeds go in well this year?”

“Yes, yes! Thanks to you, Madam, planting finished safely.”

“That’s a relief. If the procurement office starts dragging its feet like before, let me know. I’ll drop by regularly.”

In the evenings, she discussed funding plans for Bellamare’s development with her close officials.

Many ideas were exchanged, but none were decisive.

Even setting aside the imperial pressure, if Lombard seized dominance over northern trade, neighboring lords who’d benefited from trade with Lombard would inevitably feel threatened.

“What if we propose investment to the great lords of the south?”

“The south?”

“Well… you know how much southerners based in the Capital look down on the north. I doubt they’d cooperate readily.”

The south was so fertile that massive tax revenue came in just from sitting around and breathing.

Their wealth was on a completely different level from the north, which struggled in a harsh environment. Even Lombard, ruler of the north, compared to a great southern territory…

Thinking further would only make me cry, so let’s stop there.

“My head hurts. Let’s think more about this later.”

After sending Nero back to the bedroom with tears in her eyes after he’d been clinging to her all through the meeting, Elicia headed to Edwin’s bedroom.

Spring was a busy season for planting, and also when monsters beyond the Northern Wall grew more active.

For different reasons, the couple was equally busy, and night was the only time they could sit together without being rushed.

“Eli, you’re pushing yourself too hard. You don’t look well…”

“It can’t be helped. Once planting season passes, I’ll be fine.”

Edwin, who’d been waiting, naturally took the fur cloak from her.

They talked a lot every day.

From major territorial affairs to small details of daily life.

Thanks to that, Elicia learned many sides of noble society she’d never known before.

It wasn’t like she’d get to use that knowledge, but she liked learning by nature, so it wasn’t a problem.

“Is it okay if I stay again tonight?”

“There’s no need to ask between husband and wife.”

“Then why do you sleep on the sofa every day? I mean, um, I’m okay with sharing the bed… Ah! But you know I don’t mean it like that, right? I’m not asking anything of you. It’s just that seeing you sleep uncomfortably bothers me, that’s all…”

The sad misunderstanding continued.

In truth, Edwin wanted to immediately correct the idea that he had some unfortunate issue.

No matter what, he still had a man’s pride.

But whenever he saw Elicia trudging around daily with sleep hanging from her eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

He wanted her to sleep peacefully without worries.

And Edwin knew that Elicia felt reassured by his so called modesty.

“I tend to sleep roughly. I might accidentally hit you, so it’s better if we sleep separately.”

“I did think the bed was suspiciously wide.”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, nothing. Then wouldn’t it be better if I slept on the sofa instead?”

Edwin quickly turned off the light to stop Eli from getting up.

There was no way he’d ever let her sleep on a sofa when she was already overworking herself.

“Good night, Eli.”

* * *

Warm spring air filled the southern Capital of Belenois.

But deep within the imperial palace, the air was chillingly cold.

“Is this really true?!”

The report the emperor slammed down clearly bore Elicia’s name.