“I have something to ask the young duke.”

Maximilian’s body stiffened with tension. He swallowed dryly and said.

“Please command me.”

“How did you become certain of this emotion called love?”

What he had asked was something Maximilian had never imagined. He felt his vision becoming distant.

Though it was about his sister, he didn’t want to talk about love with Jaina’s husband.

It was a kind of psychological rejection.

But since he was already caught, there was no way to escape. Maximilian barely opened his mouth, gathering his scattered concentration.

“What makes you say that?”

“I wish Jaina would look at me, but sometimes what she does makes me angry. Especially when she covers another woman in front of me, it feels very bad.”

Nathaniel’s face became fierce, recalling that moment. But as for Maximilian, who didn’t know the whole situation well, it was just awkward.

“If you let me know the situation more accurately, I think I can help.”

Maximilian’s words made Nathaniel tell him about what had happened recently.

From the woman who came in with the hope of becoming the secondary wife, to Jaina, who stopped Nathaniel from punishing her.

‘This is a bit…….’

He seemed to understand Jaina’s intentions.

Maximilian also knew that Nathaniel was refusing to accept the second wife too aggressively.

He thought it was annoying, but it was because he really liked Jaina.

And since Jaina took the side of another person without even being jealous in front of him, it was enough to make him angry.

“So, I’m not sure if I really like her.”

“No, you definitely do.”

At Maximilian’s plain tone, Nathaniel nodded slowly.

“What made me angry, maybe it was thinking that Jaina didn’t feel the same way as the crown prince.”

It was a cautious remark, but it was a big shock to Nathaniel.

He had never once thought that Jaina might feel differently from him.

“You, you two are a couple. You can approach each other slowly.”

Maximilian quickly added, seeing Nathaniel’s face turn pale, as if shocked.

Nathaniel, who seemed to be relieved for a moment, asked with a tilt of his head.

“What should I do then?”

Maximilian grinned tightly, showing his businesslike smile. Love counseling for a duke.

But it was too late to escape now.

(This is a time marker.)

It wasn’t long before the news came that the bait had been bitten.

“The Empress suddenly invited me to lunch.”

At Nathaniel’s reluctant words, I laughed. I knew this method would work.

“Didn’t I tell you? I knew she would contact you.”

“Indeed.”

Nathaniel still looked flustered. He rummaged through the documents several times, showing a thoughtful expression.

‘Come to think of it, Nathaniel helped me that day, right?’

I had forgotten about it again because I was busy.

“Were you the one who helped me that day, Nathaniel?”
I noticed a slight twitch in his shoulder at my question.

After living at odds for several months now, I could anticipate his thoughts even with a slight change.

“Right?”

He slowly nodded to my question.

Oh, my God.

It’s like a stubborn puppy responding to ‘Sit!’ for the first time.

“Thank you. For helping.”

Truthfully, I hadn’t even thought that Nathaniel would help. It was quite cute when he turned his head shyly. I headed towards the sofa where he was sitting.

“Why have you been so nice lately? Is there something you want to eat?”

I lightly stroked Nathaniel’s hair. His surprisingly soft hair tickled between my fingers.

“It’s not for food.”

His cheeks and ears turned slightly red, as if he was angry. It was quite cute, and I wanted to tease him more.

“Why? Are you shy?”

“St, stop fooling around.”

He grabbed my wrist. The subtly strong force made me involuntarily wince.

“Ah, sorry.”

Nathaniel hastily withdrew his hand and carefully examined my arm.

His cautious touch, like handling glasswork, was ticklish.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m, I’m okay.”

I embarrassingly hid my hand behind me and looked away. Since we had kissed, this subtle atmosphere had become more frequent.

Though we were husband and wife, I thought we would maintain a decent distance.

But as time went by, I felt our emotions deepening.

“Ah.”

I glanced at his face, and our eyes met inadvertently. A small sound escaped from me. Nathaniel’s face tightened slightly.

“Do you dislike me?”

“What?”

Nathaniel’s question made me reflexively blurt out.

Still with a stiff face, he stammered and slowly continued.

“I think I said I liked you, but there was no response.”

“Ugh.”

My mind went blank when Nathaniel brought up the story I had forgotten.

I never dreamed he would bring it up first.

“Uh, um…….”

Honestly, I hadn’t given it much thought.

There were many things, and I had been unconsciously avoiding it.

“You must not have thought about it.”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not asking for an apology, so don’t be so hard on yourself.”

Saying so, Nathaniel stood up, a faint look of disappointment in his face. But soon, he hid his expression, stood up from his place, and looked down at my face.

“We have plenty of time.”

He mumbled softly and brushed my hair behind my ear.

It was just a brief touch, but my ear felt hot.

I saw an unknown emotion flicker in his eyes as he looked down.

“We are husband and wife.”

Nathaniel smiled smoothly. He halfclosed his eyes and tidied my disheveled hair.

I just stared at Nathaniel’s face. No way, no way, the thought echoed in my head.

It can’t be.

We were just a regular strategic marriage, after all…

“I’ll wait for you.”