“A member of the royal family is coming?”

Dante told me about the royal visit while we were in bed.

Just before falling asleep, as we were about to lie down side by side, he hesitated and then spoke up.

“Yes. Normally, preparing to welcome guests is the role of the lady of the house, so I’m telling you in advance. But if you don’t want to, we can pass it on to Barhan…”

“No. I’ll do it.”

“You don’t have to push yourself. You’re not in the best health, madam.”

Oh boy. That health nagging again.

I was sick and tired of the health lecture that kept coming back like a broken record whenever I thought I’d forgotten about it.

Anyone would think I had some terminal illness.

I swallowed the surge of annoyance and emphasized again.

“No. As the lady of the house, I should fulfill my duties. I want to do it. I’ll do my best. Don’t you trust me? Or do you not trust me?”

“…No. I trust you.”

“Yes. I’ll live up to that trust.”

Dante looked like he wanted to say more, but he finally closed his mouth and nodded.

Instead, he added some advice that sounded like worry.

“Please don’t overexert yourself, and if you need help with anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Okay. I will. After all, this is my first time doing something like this, so I’d be clumsy doing it alone in many ways.”

I answered cheerfully, then lay down first with the intention of refusing any further conversation.

Then, I patted the empty bed while looking at Dante, who was still sitting up.

“Come on, lie down. Quickly.”

This time too, Dante obediently lay down without a word.

“Good night.”

“Good night to you too, madam.”

“Yep.”

The next day, after finishing my meal, I was alone in my room drinking tea and making plans to welcome the royal family.

“So these rotten bastards are finally coming, huh?”

While grinding my teeth.

Dante had explained to me that ‘a member of the royal family would be visiting in person to congratulate us on our marriage,’ but I knew that wasn’t the whole story.

No. It’s not that it’s not the whole story, it’s that it’s not the story at all.

They’re coming to monitor our married life, without the slightest intention to congratulate us.

It’s a good thing I have at least a vague memory of the original story, otherwise I might have really thought they were coming to congratulate us and ended up walking on eggshells alone.

In the original story, the royal family comes to monitor Dante twice.

The first time was to monitor his married life with me, and the second time was to monitor his married life with Flora, the original female lead.

As a result, the royal family was greatly disappointed both times.

During the first marriage, they clicked their tongues saying “This is hopeless, what should we do?” when they saw me trembling and dry heaving at just making eye contact with the male lead. In the second marriage, they felt “Ah, these two seem a bit hopeless too?” when they saw the male and female leads appearing distant due to being overly considerate of each other.

To this, the emperor directly summoned Richter and gave him a big lecture, and also constantly pressured the wives.

Pressure to hurry up and use their power to have children, that is.

Oh. Thinking about it again, it’s ridiculous.

They’re not even our parents, why are they so interested in other people’s married lives and child issues?

Do they have nothing better to do?

They should mind their own children.

Perhaps because of this, Dante in the original story greatly despised the royal family.

I think there might have been some other reason, but honestly, I can’t remember.

But whatever the reason, what does it matter?

If someone who gives his wife money and a house and divorces her nicely because she can’t adapt to married life dislikes something to that extent, it’s definitely the other party’s fault.

Therefore, I decided to dislike the royal family too.

From the standpoint of wishing for Dante’s happiness, I should naturally dislike the people he dislikes.

Moreover, thinking about it, I had plenty of reasons to dislike the royal family myself.

Being sold into marriage through the royal family’s mediation, and now being forced to have children and walk on eggshells.

Sure, right now I’m living happily here because I like this place and can brush off whatever the royal family says like a dog’s barking, but how miserable must the timid original me have been?

Having to have children with a man who needs courage just to make eye contact, she must have wanted to bite her tongue and die.

Anyway. For various reasons, I decided to prepare properly for this royal visit.

I’ll give them such an impressive reception that they won’t dare think of pressuring us.

I’ll make their surveillance lax, and in the moment they let their guard down, I’ll show them a beautiful farewell with the male lead and give the royal family a proper smack on the back of their heads!

Ah, just thinking about it was thrilling.

…Yeah. It was perfect up to this point, but soon a problem arose.

“So, what exactly am I supposed to do?”

I understand that the lady of the house oversees the preparations for receiving guests, but I don’t know exactly what I should do.

After pondering for a moment, I decided to ask Dante for help.

It’s ridiculous to ask for help after boasting that I’d do well, but it’s better than wasting time worrying alone.

It was just time to go out to the field, so I quickly changed into work clothes.

When I went outside, Dante was already there waiting for me, wearing fancy work pants.

I’m proud. Honestly, I didn’t think he’d wear them so uninhibitedly.

Dante and I exchanged light greetings before starting work.

I watered the plants with a watering can, while Dante spread fertilizer on the ground.

As the work was nearing its end, I casually threw out a question.

“You want to know how to prepare for welcoming guests?”

“Yes. I’m embarrassed, but I don’t have that knowledge. I’ve never learned it.”

In fact, it was knowledge that an ordinary young lady should have learned long ago.

It was knowledge that an illegitimate child, ignored and abused at home, dared not learn.

Fortunately, Dante answered kindly without showing any sign of bewilderment.

“Simply put, just think of it as deciding the overall atmosphere.”

“The overall atmosphere?”

Dante answered as he stuck a large shovel into the ground.

“The atmosphere of the mansion, the atmosphere of the meals, the atmosphere of the garden. The lady’s job is to decide what kind of atmosphere to welcome the guests with, and to oversee, manage, and review this.”

Ah, so you mean I should start by setting the theme for the house and then determine the details?

Like what kind of menu I’d like prepared for meals and desserts, what kind of feeling I’d like the garden to give off, how the mansion should be decorated, and so on.

After roughly deciding even the detailed parts, I should communicate this to the subordinates, and my job is to review the progress and modifications from time to time.

It seems kind of tough but not too tough, but I think I can manage this much one way or another.

“…But you really don’t have to push yourself. In fact, the Richter family isn’t very welcoming of royal visits.”

I stared at Dante with round eyes at the sudden, direct expression of dislike.

Somehow, his face seemed to have hardened.

Ah. I know that expression.

It’s the expression of someone who regrets what they’ve just said. The expression of thinking they shouldn’t have said it.

Well, I guess it would be tense to badmouth the royal family even in front of your wife.

I nodded in understanding and joined in the criticism.

“I’m not very welcoming either, actually. Somehow, the royal family seems a bit annoying…”

Usually, when you join in criticizing someone, it makes you feel better and creates a sense of camaraderie, right?

And I went a step further.

“Honestly, they’re too arbitrary. Marrying us off as they please, then coming to see us under the guise of congratulations. We’re not animals in a cage. Right? By the way, I’m really satisfied with our married life right now.”

Dante showed an uncharacteristic look of surprise, then soon let out a laugh.

Wow. Every time he laughs like this, his beauty goes wild.

“Then why are you putting effort into hosting guests you don’t like? You could just prepare half-heartedly.”

“The more you dislike the guests, the better you should treat them.”

“Pardon?”

Oh my. He’s clueless in this area. Well, how could such a kind-hearted man understand this high-level trickery?

“When you’re hosting your enemies, you need to appear extremely happy and well-off. No matter what they do, I’m incredibly happy and doing great right now. Something like that, you know?”

“Ah.”

At this exclamation of realization, I nodded with satisfaction and added:

“And I’m really, really happy and I like the North. So I want to boast about how great this place is. Even though it’s a marriage you forced on us, I absolutely love my husband and the North. Like that.”

Most importantly, I didn’t want to create unnecessary weaknesses.

If I showed my dislike openly and treated them poorly, I’d just be giving them something to criticize.

I flashed a sly smile.

Not noticing what kind of expression Dante was giving me.

“Did something happen, Your Grace?”

“…Hm? What did you say?”

Dante responded half a beat late to Barhan’s question.

He had been like this all day.

Somehow seeming absent-minded. Even now, after asking what was said, his gaze was again directed at empty space.

What could make the Duke so absent-minded?

After pondering for a moment, Barhan cautiously asked a question.

“Did the Madam say something perhaps?”

“How did you…”

The response came quickly.

Dante, startled for a moment, soon shut his mouth tightly and stared at the documents.

“It’s not like that.”

“Hehe. Whatever it was, it seems to have been something good.”

“I told you it’s not like that. You may leave now.”

At the awkward dismissal, Barhan left the room with a hearty laugh.

“That’s good. Haha.”

Muttering even as he left.

Dante, who had glanced at Barhan’s retreating figure, let out a long sigh as soon as the door closed.

“Ha. Damn it.”