Duke, This Will Sting for a Moment - Chapter 46

The morning of the day of departure for the honeymoon.

Yuriella, squinting at the dazzling sunlight, stretched and sat up, then suddenly drew back.

The Duke, perfectly dressed from head to toe, was bending over and looking down at her.

“Oh. What time is it now?”

“If you’re tired, sleep more. We can delay our departure a little.”

“Duke. Your eyes are red.”

Yuriella reached out and gently placed her hand over Frost’s bloodshot eyes.

A soft green healing energy spread over Frost’s face. The bloodshot eyes quickly returned to normal, but his face was still rough, clearly having spent a sleepless night.

“Were you in your office all night? Didn’t you sleep at all?”

Yuriella’s earlobes turned red as she remembered fleeing in shock at the sound of the butler’s special instruction last night. She shook her head vigorously, trying to erase the words she had tried to forget.

“I caught a brief nap on the sofa.”

A lie. He did lie on the sofa but couldn’t sleep a wink.

As if it wasn’t enough that his ears were sore from listening to Rosalinne and Alexis’s special lecture on the ‘proper attitude of a husband on a honeymoon’.

Due to his sharp mind that never forgets once heard and the habit of a diligent knight who makes review a part of life, he couldn’t sleep a wink as various honeymoon guidelines and examples that must be remembered, taught by enthusiastic teachers, wouldn’t leave his mind.

Frost sighed lightly and picked up the long package he had placed on the bedside table. A shy smile appeared on Frost’s face as he handed over the gift wrapped in crimson leather.

“I hope you like it.”

“What is this?”

“It’s something my mother used to use, but I had it slightly modified to suit you.”

His red eyes, more transparent and clear in the morning sunlight, opened wide.

Yuriella began to untie the ribbon that bound the package.

Frost couldn’t take his eyes off her slender fingers moving busily as if enchanted. How could they look so small and fragile? He began to worry slightly that he might have chosen the wrong gift, but…

“Oh my. It’s so cool! You say Adelia Her Highness used this?”

Contrary to his worry, Yuriella exclaimed with wide eyes as she took out the gift.

What came out of the leather package was a sleek and elegant long sword.

“Yes. I heard she used it frequently since her days as a princess.”

He decided to give his mother’s treasured sword as a gift because of the scars he had seen on Yuriella’s hands.

A hypothetical scenario.

If it was really his wife who dealt with the assassin. Shouldn’t she have at least one decent self-defense tool to protect herself?

He and the knights of the Grand Duke’s household would protect her, but even the most solid wall is bound to have unexpected holes.

And even if his wife had nothing to do with the assassin. Those scars indicated that she was not unfamiliar with swords, so it was certainly an appropriate gift.

But…

Frost’s brows furrowed as he watched Yuriella’s hands touching his mother’s sword here and there.

The scars were already gone, and even if similar wounds appeared again, she could easily heal them with her healing ability.

Still, when that soft hand grips the sword, wounds will form and form again until calluses develop.

‘Would she be angry if I take it back?’

As Frost was having belated regrets, Yuriella’s excited voice settled in his ears.

“Now I remember! They say Adelia Her Highness was very skilled with the sword, right?”

Looking up, he saw Yuriella smiling brightly with sparkling eyes.

Frost stared at her as if dazzled.

“I heard that she first met the previous Grand Duke when she went to war against the barbarians. Commander Yubel also spoke a lot about Adelia Her Highness. He said she was quite a challenging disciple!”

Frost’s eyes narrowed slightly.

It was an elegant sword that anyone who had held a sword would admire. To the point where excited thoughts flowed out without filtering due to the elated mood.

“Can I really receive such a famous sword?”

How did she know about Yubel, the former Imperial Knight Commander who was his mother’s sword instructor?

“Mother would be pleased too.”

But right now, his wife’s joy at his gift took precedence over his habitual curiosity.

“This sword, it’s made of steel that only comes from the Dwarven Mountains, right? It’s really light. I’ve only seen one sword with this kind of luster and quality. It’s beautiful! So this is what they mean when they say something is breathtakingly beautiful!”

Yuriella’s fingers slid down the blade.

Another question mark bloomed in Frost’s mind as he blankly stared at her fingers.

There is only one sword in the Empire with the same luster and quality as his mother’s treasured sword. Only the sword inherited by the current Emperor Justin Della Ponti when the previous Emperor passed away.

Frost’s lips drooped dejectedly.

It was no longer surprising or of interest that his wife knew about the famous sword inherited by the Emperor.

Frost simply wished his wife would focus on something else.

For instance, the beautiful new scabbard he had ordered. Or his praiseworthy thoughtfulness.

The original pure white leather scabbard had the golden lion emblem symbolizing the imperial family and his mother’s maiden name engraved on it.

Frost had a scabbard made in the same color as his wife’s strawberry blonde hair, and had it engraved with the Ielheim crest and his wife’s name.

He also specially ordered a sword belt that could be worn over a dress without issue. He even decorated the ring part beautifully with the highest quality ruby of the same color as his wife’s eyes, which he bought at an auction paying extra.

The butler’s jaw dropped when he heard the price of the specially made scabbard, but Frost only regretted not having time to find a better gem, saying it was no better than a street pebble compared to his wife’s eyes.

But Yuriella seemed to have no reaction to such things.

While he was glad Yuriella was pleased, it wasn’t in the direction he had hoped for.

“I’ll train hard to become worthy of this famous sword. I’ll protect you with this sword, Duke. I’ll work hard not to disappoint you!”

He even felt hurt as Yuriella pledged her resolve with shining eyes like a direct subordinate rather than a wife.

“I’m glad… It’s rare to find a woman who is happier to receive a sword than jewelry, so I was worried inside.”

Frost emphasized the word ‘jewelry’ and directed his gaze to the large ruby embedded in the sword belt ring. Yuriella’s gaze also followed his to the sword belt ring, raising his expectations again.

Wouldn’t she exclaim that there are jewels there too?

Wouldn’t she smile sweetly with her pretty eyes, saying that red light resembles her eyes? Wouldn’t she give him a light hug out of joy? Of course, he would be more grateful if it was more than that.

He looked on with a pounding heart, but his wife easily betrayed Frost’s expectations once again.

Her eyes, which had passed over the ruby decoration on the sword belt ring as indifferently as if it were a real street pebble, widened and crinkled prettily.

“Airy!”

Yuriella’s body leaped up as if flying and gently caught Airy fluttering in the air, hugging it tightly to her chest.

Frost glared at the troublemaker with disapproving eyes.

The mischievous wind spirit twisted its body and threw a tantrum at his wife, though it had no intention of running away.

[Let go! I said let go!]

“Where have you been? I was worried when you didn’t come no matter how much I called.”

[Hmph! Go ahead and hug the Duke who only shares secrets with you!]

Airy turned its head away in a huff, but still secretly glanced at Yuriella.

It had been bothered all along about recommending Colina Rosa as their honeymoon destination. And it couldn’t even answer when it heard Yuriella calling, perhaps because it was upset that she wouldn’t share secrets with it.

“I keep telling you there’s nothing between me and the Duke.”

Frost’s shoulders slumped as he suddenly became ‘nothing’ to her.

“We have to go on our honeymoon together, and I was so worried when you didn’t show up. Do you know how anxious I was?”

[Hmph. Why should I go on someone else’s honeymoon?]

“The butler is going, and the head maid is going, and the Archmage, Cassandra, and Commander Leo are all going too. Even my father and the medicine peddler’s group are all going. Are you the only one who’s going to be left out, Airy?”

[What kind of honeymoon is that? It’s a group retreat.]

‘That’s what I’m saying!’

Frost’s plaintive gaze turned to Yuriella.

“Airy. We’re not going on a honeymoon, but to deliver necessary supplies to the people of Colina Rosa and help with the shelter and clinic work. It’s absolutely not a pleasure trip.”

[So. Does Yuriella need me? Need me the most?]

“Of course I need you the most!”

[Okay. Then Airy will go along too.]

That’s right. The honeymoon he had proposed with sweet expectations was destined to become a group retreat from the moment the destination was set as Colina Rosa.

But the northern man who never gives up began to quietly make plans inside.

He couldn’t take her on such a long journey just to make her suffer.

Although it’s a place that has suffered many wounds from the punitive force’s attacks, originally Colina Rosa is a beautiful city with spectacular golden highlands stretching in curves.

The Verde River, the lifeline of Colina Rosa, has a fairly fast current, so he could teach his wife the fun of salmon fishing.

It would also be nice to ride horses with his wife on the endless prairie. If they get tired, they could get off the horses and make flower crowns with the wildflowers in abundance to give as gifts.

His mother often used to boast to her young son sitting on her lap about various love tactics she had used on his father, who was leading the northern army when she participated in the war against the barbarians as a maiden. He suddenly wondered if those tactics his mother had used would work on his indifferent wife.

“What are you thinking about so intently?”

“Thoughts of my mother.”

“Ah, yes…”

Yuriella lowered her gaze to the elegant sword she was holding and asked carefully.

“What kind of person… was your mother?”

“A person skilled in hunting. One who could beat down the fiercest beasts of the north with bare hands.”

Frost chuckled as he recalled the image of his large father always flustering and not knowing what to do in front of his mother, who was not even half his size.

“She must have been a really amazing hunter.”

Looking at the admiring Yuriella, Frost sighed inwardly.

‘No. You are the more amazing hunter. Making me so desperate because I can’t hand over my leash to you.’

Would his situation improve a little after this trip? He hoped so.

“We should start preparing to leave, wife. I think we shouldn’t delay any longer.”

With cautious expectations, Frost gently put his arm around his wife’s shoulder.

“Yes.”

[Let’s go! Let’s go on the honeymoon! Airy is the best! Yuriella needs Airy the most!]

Airy stuck out its chin at Frost, showing off, and then fluttered away.

As Frost was about to close the carriage door after helping Yuriella in first, amidst the noisy send-off from the servants.

Swoosh-.

A long arm with clearly defined muscles split along the grain opened the door that was about to close.

“My darling Your Highness, let me ride with you.”

It was clearly Shavell’s tone.

But the woman who came in noisily and plopped down on the opposite seat was an unfamiliar lady with ebony-like black hair and cute green eyes.

“Shavell?”

Frost called out to the woman with a puzzled face.

“At the honeymoon destination, I’m not Shavell but Delilah, my darling Your Highness. Delilah means joy. With Delilah going along with darling, it will be a honeymoon full of joy, won’t it?”

Delilah sat lightly on Frost’s lap and put her arms around his neck.

“Shavell is most beautiful when he’s Shavell, but I changed my appearance in case people recognize Shavell and throw stones at him for being a mistress, which would make darling sad. I’ll stick close to you as your dedicated maid and love you a lot.”

Frost frowned fiercely at the illusion magic that was clearly the work of the damned Archmage, even without asking.

“Your Highness. Could you please close the carriage door? My beautifully prepared pretty face feels like it’s going to be torn apart by the murderous glares of the butler and head maid who are looking at me as if they want to kill me.”

Indeed, Alexis and Rosalinne were glaring at the black-haired beauty, emitting killing intent.

Killing intent was also pouring towards Frost.

This was because ‘Delilah’ had told the two people who were blocking her from getting into the carriage that ‘a magician who received special instructions from darling Your Highness had turned the beautiful Shavell into the joyful Delilah’.

Yuriella stood up abruptly, got out of the carriage, and slammed the door shut.

“Yuriella…!”

Frost hurriedly got out of the carriage, but Yuriella got into the carriage standing behind without looking back.

The Archmage, who was about to open the door to get into the carriage as the Grand Duchess’s dedicated physician, no, Delilah’s accomplice who caused this situation, looked puzzled for a moment before bursting into low laughter.

Somehow, this honeymoon seems like it will be quite exciting.

Though not at all for the Grand Duke over there who looks like he’s lost the whole world.