Since the princess had arrived from the Kerujian Kingdom, Kaella could no longer leisurely enter the imperial palace every four days.

The engagement ceremony eve begins tomorrow. So today she enters the palace, tomorrow she enters the palace, the day after tomorrow she enters the palace, and the day after that she enters the palace.

Although she had been handling tasks brought by messengers from the imperial palace over the past few days, Kaella was able to catch her breath thanks to the help of capable maids and noble ladies of the empress’s palace.

Above all, Peon, who was always by her side, took care of Kaella with his usual taciturn face, showing extreme devotion to the point of exaggeration, so she woke up much more lightly.

After opening her eyes and stretching her arms, she looked to her side, and Peon was glancing at her. There was no trace of sleepiness in his eyes.

“Hello.”

Rather, somehow, his eyes looked very tired.

“You woke up early.”

Did something happen during the night? Kaella examined Peon’s slightly pale face. He smiled faintly at his wife who was just staring at him, then moved first to kiss her cheek.

These days, kisses were pouring down to the point where it felt like her face would wear out just from looking at him. It wasn’t something he did deliberately, but rather an irresistible gesture that he ended up doing without realizing it after holding back for so long.

Since when was it? Kaella wondered vaguely as she received kisses that lightly passed from her forehead to her temples, between her brows and nose, cheeks, and finally her lips.

Since when had affection been pouring down like a downpour? The affection Peon expressed was too continuous to be called a downpour. Rather than a downpour, it was more like a waterfall. Since when had this outpouring of affection started?

‘Since we remarried?’

Her hazy mind traced back through memories. He had always treated Kaella with courtesy and respect until their marriage. No, even before marriage after returning, it was different.

He came to see her several times directly, and they bumped into each other frequently. It was Peon who encountered her when she ran away, and it was Peon who came looking for her with peaches when she was crying in a corner of the imperial palace. Had he come with a heart full of guilt and a sense of debt?

“Kaella.”

That must have been it. Peon has a strong sense of responsibility and a righteous personality. His personality couldn’t have tolerated what he had done before returning.

“Kaella?”

But when did that guilt and sense of debt start to mix with affection? Is there any reason to have affection?

I don’t understand why he has such affection, constantly telling a skinny, unattractive woman that she’s pretty, and forcibly trying to save a depressed woman who only thinks about quietly dying.

“Kaella.”

The kisses that had been softly continuing suddenly became rough.

He was too overwhelming for the slender Kaella to handle as he dug in with the momentum of locking the bedroom door from the morning. Peon, who had cradled her head that was tilting back endlessly, separated his lips when she started to have difficulty breathing.

“Thinking of something else?”

The purple eyes looking down at her were cool yet gloomy.

“Is it that hard to look at me?”

He smiled and spoke words that could be either a joke or serious, then dropped his head. Kaella looked down at her husband who had once again rested his forehead on her shoulder. Could this simply be expressed as guilt or a sense of debt?

Peon showed a similar appearance to her from a time ago. Even though she tried to dismiss it thinking, ‘No way, that can’t be,’ it was too clearly visible to ignore.

“I guess so.”

Peon pulled back, seemingly convincing himself. He clenched his fist and withdrew his hand that had unconsciously reached out, wanting more contact.

‘Why?’

Why is he acting like this? Why on earth? Didn’t he always like Beatrice? In the relationship he had formed, wasn’t Kaella at best just a slightly annoying younger sister from a familiar household? So since when did he harbor such affection?

Unable to understand, Kaella kept trying to check and confirm when this affection had started. She tried to analyze with her head the emotion that she couldn’t comprehend mentally.

‘No, I shouldn’t care about it.’

That was right. That was ‘just’. When Kaella loved him, he was not only indifferent but even disgusted, so it was fair for her not to care either.

The affection Peon harbored must have stemmed from guilt. He probably did it out of pity and regret. Then isn’t it just sympathy? There was even more reason not to care.

In the end, emotions had no meaning between the two of them. There was no strength to believe, and Kaella, who had thoroughly learned that it was safer to give up, just let Peon withdraw.

When he came, she should do nothing as he came, and when he withdrew, she should do nothing as he withdrew.

“It’s been completed exactly as ordered, Your Highness. You can start wearing it from today.”

“Huh?”

Kaella’s eyes widened slightly at the new dress shown by the maids as she was preparing to enter the palace. It was a very bright summer dress.

“Isn’t it pretty? It’s fabric from Austein that the Grand Duke ordered last time, Your Highness. You must be so busy these days, right?”

Denise worried about Kaella, who was too busy to catch her breath, and looked depressed.

“Ah, is this the one I had a fitting for last time?”

“Yes! That’s the one!”

There was a day when Peon suddenly took Kaella, who was looking after the affairs of the Lussenford territory while resting without entering the palace, to the reception room.

A famous tailor and assistants who had already arrived and spread out all kinds of fabric and design samples immediately started working. There were about two days when she was dizzy from changing clothes countless times.

Feeling a bit resentful about struggling to put on and take off clothes alone, Kaella had pulled Peon in as well.

“You don’t know how much the Grand Duke cared about it.”

“Denise, what I ordered was…?”

“You mean for the Grand Duke? That was delivered together. Don’t worry.”

“Everything came?”

“Of course. I checked with Sister Cecil that everything came according to the order. We even received enough spare buttons.”

“I see. Good job.”

“How do you like the dress, Your Highness? Don’t you like it?”

Even though she tried to pass by without particularly dwelling on it, Peon’s delicate care for her made her pause and look back again and again.

“It’s pretty.”

It’s so brightly pretty that I’m not sure if it will suit me well.

‘It would suit Beatrice better if she wore it.’

Kaella forcibly shook off the bad habit that had been deeply embedded in her bones throughout the cold 4 years, along with all the losses including her father’s death.

It wasn’t easy to shake off the subject of comparison for 4 years, but she had to quit anyway.

She quickly recalled the contents of Beatrice’s messy banquet that had plastered the recent newspapers.

Remembering that, the resentment she felt when comparing herself to Beatrice immediately disappeared. The pride of an Austein princess couldn’t harbor feelings of inferiority compared to such a woman. It wasn’t worth it.

“It suits you well, Your Highness. Oh my, it’s so bright and beautiful.”

“The Grand Duke has good taste. He said the cream color close to yellow would go very well with Your Highness’s hair color.”

He said such delicate words? A blunt man who only knows about the army and protecting Lussenford?

“All the other dresses were also beautifully made with a lot of input from the Grand Duke.”

What was Peon like then? He asked so many times which one was better, this or that, that it was even annoying. Kaella looked in the mirror once, then reached out her hand.

“Denise, my crescent pearl earrings…”

With the usual small, modest earrings she always wore and one ring, her dressing was complete. It had been a long time since she even bothered to search for what else there was or think about it. Just do what you’ve been doing, and if there’s nothing, so be it.

When she was the princess of Austein, looking at all kinds of jewels was one of her interests and hobbies.

When she married Peon, she tried to look a little prettier by pulling out non-existent jewels and arranging them this way and that, but she got tired of hearing that the Grand Duchess was being extravagant in their poor household, and that no matter how she dressed up, she couldn’t even be compared to the pure Beatrice.

If it doesn’t work even when you try, you should quit. Moreover, it was too expensive a hobby to enjoy. Kaella lost interest in everything in Lussenford.

“Denise?”

There was no voice answering, no hand holding out earrings. Kaella turned around. The maids who were helping with her dressing had slipped away to the far corner, smiling.

“That earring looks like it’s going to wear out from being used so much, in my opinion.”

As always, her husband, who had been watching over everything from when she woke up to breakfast, had somehow come with several large boxes and was standing close by.

It seems that now he wants to intervene in this area too, when morning dressing was the one thing he left to the maids and did everything else himself.

Or maybe the maids quietly passed it on to the Grand Duke because they were frustrated that she wouldn’t even open the jewels inherited from her mother.

“It’s a new dress, and you have to enter the palace continuously from today until the day after tomorrow, so wouldn’t trying some new jewels be a mood changer?”

Inside the box that opened with a click were well-crafted jewels of various types, sparkling. They were bright, perfectly matching today’s dress. It was the blue sapphire promised at the Ener River. It suited the fresh summer well.

“Don’t you like it?”

Then, should I tell them to bring out the mother-in-law’s jewels that are stored away unused? Peon was always anxious because he couldn’t tell what Kaella was thinking as she just stared.

She lived alone trapped in winter. The person who confined her should take her out, but all the methods he came up with seemed shabby and not good enough. It’s a mess.

Kaella, who had been watching that extremely anxious and helpless expression, suddenly asked.

“Did you match it with the dress?”

More precisely, he had chosen the jewels to match the fabric color from when he was selecting the fabric and placed a separate order.

Peon’s taste had already been proven when they suddenly went on a picnic to the Ener River. All the dresses, jewels, and accessories he was involved with were extremely delicate and beautiful.

“Yes.”

She looked down at the sapphire jewelry set that was like the sea on a clear day, then stood up from her seat. She didn’t like seeing Peon being uncharacteristically anxious and uneasy. It looked familiar, so she didn’t want to see it anymore.

“I have something to give you too.”

“Huh?”

I’m receiving too much. After hesitating and hesitating, she found what she should have given today but couldn’t.

“Denise, His Highness’s… that I mentioned earlier…”

“Ah, it’s right here.”

Denise held out a large box with a bright smile. It came with the dress, but she had set it aside thinking Kaella should probably do it herself. She had been waiting for the right moment, and this was perfect.

Kaella’s ears turned slightly red as she pushed that box into Peon’s arms.

“What’s this?”

“Go change into this, I’ll put on those…”

She pushed the box with her head bowed low, unable to even look at his face.

“Is this for me?”

“I’m giving you something too since I’ve received a lot. It’s nothing special. Go. Go change into this instead of that outfit.”

“Why, can’t I change here?”

Peon grinned and tugged at his collar, and the maids quickly started to leave with an “Oh my!”

“Ah, no!”

“No ‘you’?”

The maids’ movements were so quick that by the time they had all slipped out and the door closed, Peon was already loosening the tie he had neatly tied.

Then he unbuttoned everything without hesitation. Kaella screamed inwardly. This is bad.

“If not, then what can I do, ‘wife’?”

Even the form of address changed. Peon clearly didn’t like the honorific that popped out unknowingly, just like before.

Because he was in a bad mood, he roughly opened the box while simultaneously quickly taking off his clothes. It’s the first time I’ve seen someone undress so quickly with both hands. No, this isn’t right.

“W-what are you doing undressing here!”

“Is there any reason I can’t?”

Kaella flinched in surprise as she saw Peon lean in close. He had already opened his upper body completely, showing his bare skin, and his eyes looking at her were smiling yet blazing brightly.

“We’re married, Kaella.”

And a married couple that had done everything there was to do.

“I-I don’t know how to help you dress!”

“Who would make the precious Your Highness do such a thing? I’m not a child, I know how to dress myself.”

“Then go change behind that screen over there!”

“I need to see if the clothes you bought me suit me well, Kaella.”

“You can change and come out to show me!”

“And admire my body while I’m at it.”

“So your purpose is always that kind of thing! Who do you think you’re fooling!”

That’s why I told you to go change somewhere else!

“Why, do you want to do it if you see?”

That was just the limit for the noble princess. As she was about to run out first, Peon calmly added.

“I always want to. I want to hug you and touch you. I’m happy just having you look at me.”

Kaella turned her head, but the direction she averted her gaze happened to be his firm side.

Unable to find a place to rest her eyes on his shoulders covered in red scratch marks, she had no choice but to look back into his eyes. The clear purple eyes were sparkling with joy.

“Thank you for the gift. I’m glad you thought of me. I’ll wear it well.”

“Ah…”

Why is that man’s face so bright? Rather, summer flowers would suit Peon’s handsome face better, Kaella thought absent-mindedly before coming to her senses.

“Yes, um, yes. I… I’m grateful for your care too. The dress, shoes, and jewelry are all pretty and colorfully bright, anyway I like them.”

“I’m glad. I’ll give you more since it’s not enough.”

“It’s okay.”

“I’m not okay.”

Peon hugged her tightly. He hugged her, and as usual, kissed her cheek. Some habits are pleasant.

“Kaella.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t we have some time?”

“Ah, I said no! We can’t be late!”

“‘We?'”

He smiled faintly and hooked his fingers into his pants.