My Villainous Husband

33

It was not time for me to adore Sylvia. Suddenly, I was now in a situation where I had to favor Duchess Nerma instead.

‘I am sorry, Sylvia…!’

I will try my best to take good care of you, though!

With that thought, I glanced down at Duchess Nerma with a face that was suddenly disturbed.

“Yeah, I see.”

As my voice trembled slightly with tension, the Duchess of Nerma smiled a little more. At the same time, her face was as if saying, ‘Oh, you should not show your weakness like that.’

…Scary.

At that, I resolutely stretched my shoulders so as not to reveal my weakness. I then felt like words of praise were conveyed through her eyes.

“The etiquette of social gatherings is the same in all countries, so I don’t think there will be any major problems.”

“Oh, my gosh. That’s a reasonable statement. You were a princess when you weren’t married yet.”

Duchess Nerma covered her mouth with her fan and chuckled after saying that.

On the other hand, I laughed at myself as I spoke. What would be the same thing? This is a crazy country, not my home country…! In my memory, Unro Kingdom was a bit small, and the people had common sense even if they had bad bones in their bodies.

I added quickly, thinking that I might be overly arrogant.

“Though the Actilus Empire has its own customs, so there might be very, very small, very subtle differences from my home country. That part, I’ll leave that to you.”

I think I said it well so that it does not feel like I am begging her for anything, right?

Even though I wanted to quickly turn my gaze to Cisen to confirm that I was speaking well, I did not, fearing that the act itself might be an act of revealing ‘weakness.’ Instead, she looked down at only Duchess Nerma, who was still smiling.

It seems my choice was correct.

Duchess Nerma was still sitting at my feet, not even paying attention to the dust on the ends of her dress before opening her mouth.

“I’m glad, Your Majesty. Actually, it’s presumptuous, but I was waiting for you to order it. I’ve been spreading rumors in the social world…”

It was ominous for her to speak with a shy blush on her cheeks like that…

I asked cautiously.

“What did you say…?”

“It’d be better to show your sincerity in advance, because…”

When she straightened her back, I bowed my head unexpectedly. Then, Duchess Nerma whispered in my ear, “At the beginning of next month, they’ll be given an opportunity to meet with the Empress up close, although that opportunity won’t go to everyone.”

It is in the middle of early July… So, at the most, it would be in three weeks.

Before my value, which peaked in hunting, withered and fell, I could see her intention to see the game quickly.

Haha!

Duchess of Nerma, you do your job very well. You are very good! I am about to cry—! I am not ready, mentally or physically, for this yet. Well, I wonder if the hunting grounds were ready…

I swallowed my tears inside and smiled.

“Ha, haha… Thank you.”

…Just like that, as soon as the summer solstice festival was over, I was destined to start a new job like crazy again. Even if you pretend to be a high person, you cannot eat anything raw.* There was no place where you could go on and win without lifting your finger.
[ T/N: Eating something raw is an idiom which means, (disparaging) To do or have something without making efforts. ]