Casus held his breath for a moment before exhaling shortly.

“What do women really like?”

“Women…?”

“Yes.”

A confused expression crept onto Zen’s face.

Zen, with widened eyes, thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Perhaps they like something bright and shiny?”

“Like what?”

“Jewelry or accessories, or maybe beautiful clothes.”

“What about flowers and plants?”

“Well, most would probably like them?”

“Most, huh.”

Casus immersed himself in his thoughts.

It seemed that Atia was not included in that ‘majority’.

Zen squinted his eyes, observing Casus’s unusual question.

It was the most unfamiliar sight of Casus he had seen in the past few years.

It was the first time he had brought up a conversation about ‘women’.

Even when he announced that he was getting married, Casus never mentioned anything related to that.

But now, his face looked somewhat serious.

Casus, watching the scattering sleet, raised his eyebrows.

“There wouldn’t be a woman who dislikes jewelry or accessories, right?”

“Unless she’s a crossdressing man.”

“A crossdressing man?”

“Yes.”

At Casus’ question, Zen began to think again.

About the possibility of Atia being a man.

“Whoa!”

“Go! There! Go! There!”

“Uwaaaaaaaa!”

The woman who intruded the training field and made all sorts of strange noises.

Although she actually had no strength.

“A crossdressing man…”

Casus kept repeating the term ‘crossdressing man’, as if something was bothering him.

In the Felrn Empire, women who are slim and slender are praised as beautiful.

Their actions are cautious, their speech is slow, and their steps are quiet.

That kind of woman.

But what about Atia?

She was a goddess in terms of appearance.

But her vigor shown recently in the training field was even more overwhelming than that of a muscular man.

Casus began to feel stranger emotions.

“Zen, what do you think of that woman?”

“Which woman, sir?”

“I’m talking about my wife.”

At Casus’s reference to his ‘wife’, Zen felt awkward.

“Hmm…….”

Zen recalled the appearance of the Duchess, whom he had been observing for several days.

She used to be a woman with no presence.

But now, she seems to have changed into a completely different person.

“She’s cool. Vibrant, brave, and valiant.”

“Hmm…….”

“She has accomplished what no one else could. She even made Leo cry.”

“…….”

“She even turned a puppy Cerberus into a docile neighborhood dog. Even a veteran knight captain couldn’t do this.”

Zen shrugged his shoulders and looked at Casus.

However, the more Zen continued to speak, the darker Casus’s face became.

He had always believed without doubt that Atia was a woman.

But thinking about it now, there were more than one or two strange points.

Even Casus had never slept in the same room with her.
Although rare, there were occasionally boys in the empire who were as pretty as or prettier than girls.

There were such ones in Casus’s troop as well, albeit rarely.

Among the mischievous knights, there were times when they would playfully apply makeup or dress up like a woman in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep.

Even Casus could be fooled into thinking they were women.

Atia could be a similar case.

One could not exclude the possibility that Atia, who was born a male in the Harad family, had been thoroughly hidden and raised as a woman.

Thoroughly enough to not be exposed even with an investigation.

Cautiously.

Atia, who had been quietly enduring it all this time, might have exploded because she could no longer endure it.

As he thought about her appearance, which had completely changed in a short period of time, Casus’s suspicion deepened.

“Zen, is there a possibility that my wife is a man?”

“Excuse me…?”

His eyes, which had been wide open, suddenly changed to a much heavier gaze.

Zen, who had been staring into Casus’s deep blue eyes, tilted his head.

“Your Majesty, you can’t mean…”

“Hmm, hmm…”

“You haven’t consummated your marriage yet?”

Zen opened his mouth as if astonished.

He had his mouth open for so long, not knowing how to close it, that it seemed like snowflakes would pile up in Zen’s mouth.

Casus ran his fingers through his hair, looking frustrated.

“I don’t want to answer that.”

“Sigh…”

Casus didn’t particularly want to discuss the matter of consummation with Zen.

What was important to him now was whether Atia was really a woman, that was all.

Casus, who had traveled all over the vast empire, had never seen or heard of a woman like Atia.

The emergence of the new Atia had shattered Casus’s common sense.

It had brought confusion to Casus.

“Her marriage was a choice for the Duke’s order. I thought the situation was similar since you also had something to gain.”

Even if it’s a sham marriage, it is customary to consummate it.

But Casus hadn’t even done that.

‘Whether it was because of Bolmoro or some other reason, it’s a convention to spend the first night since you’re married.’

Furthermore, for a normal man, it would be natural to be eager for a national treasurelevel beauty like Atia.

The fact that he had neglected Atia like a stone in the Duke’s mansion for a year could be enough to suspect that there was a problem with Casus.

And it wasn’t like he was looking at other women.

In Zen’s eyes, Casus was someone who had no interest or feelings towards the opposite sex.

‘Could the Duke… not be into women?’

Zen was finally a little convinced by what the Duchess had said.

On the other hand, Casus’s expression was seriously grave.

“It’s been strange. The more time we spend together, the stranger it gets.”

“Uh…”

“I’ve never treated her inadequately as a Duchess, even if we haven’t dined together.”

Casus raised an eyebrow, as if asking what the problem was.

Zen opened his mouth as he gauged Casus’s expression.

“Then, on this occasion… How about having a meal together?”

“Dining together?”

“Yes, you can get to know each other over dinner.”

“Hmm.”

“Have you two had a long conversation before?”

Casus tried to recall the memories of the conversations he had with Atia.

Zen had been Casus’s shadow for a long time. Sometimes as a friend because of their similar ages, sometimes as a sword to protect him.

However, as far as Zen knew.

So far, Casus had never shown any interest in a woman.

He had never even looked at one.

He was so engrossed in his work that he had no interest in women.

Like a man obsessed with work.

The marriage to Atia Harad, who became the Duchess of Wellington, was just one of the many things for Casus.

It was unusual for Casus to ask what women liked today, as Zen found it unfamiliar.

Zen tilted his head.

“Anyway, I’ve heard that women can’t resist glamorous and shiny jewelry.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Zen suddenly wanted to ask Casus why he was asking that.

But he decided not to open his mouth any further, fearing it would be rude.
Zen had not seen the Duchess many times either.

Recently, he had seen her often, but recalling her previous appearance, Atia was blurry enough for him not to remember her face.

“Zen.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

With a serious face, Casus stared at the snow falling from the sky and resumed speaking.

“I never thought my wife could be a man.”