“Did I interrupt your pleasant time together?”

Taken aback by Cedric’s sudden appearance, Adrian and I glanced at each other with puzzled looks.

Adrian also seemed quite flustered.

“…Cedric?”

“Your Grace.”

However, Cedric’s demeanor was utterly relaxed and languid.

Leaning against the window frame, he looked up at me with his sculpted face.

“Hmm? Rebecca.”

That exquisitely handsome face, as if painted.

And that angle, that tone of voice…

My breath caught as if my heart had been unexpectedly struck.

‘Wow, our Duke… I thought he was only good with his body in the original, but now I see he’s good with his face too. Phew.’

If I fell for that face, the affection level I had barely raised to ‘friend’ with Cedric might plummet.

‘Get a grip right now, or you’ll end up in the hellfire attic!’

I struggled to regain my composure, scolding myself internally.

At the same time, I felt a sense of indignation.

‘If he acts like this but then neglects the marriage bed for 5 years straight from the first night, even I would go crazy if I were Rebecca, wouldn’t I?’

To think I would come to understand the feelings of the mad dog Rebecca…

I kept chanting to myself like a mantra.

‘He’s a fox, a nine-tailed fox. I absolutely must not be enchanted.’

Only after finally calming my heart was I able to turn back towards Cedric.

“We meet again, Cedric. But what’s with this carriage? It doesn’t seem to be the Twins family carriage.”

At my question, the corners of Cedric’s mouth lifted slightly.

“I bought a new carriage this morning and am on my way back.”

“A new carriage so suddenly? And why such a rush for one without even the family crest engraved…”

Of course, compared to the mountain-like wealth of the Twins family, it would be mere dust, but the price of a carriage was by no means a small amount.

As I looked over the carriage, tilting my head repeatedly in confusion, that’s when it happened.

“I suddenly remembered what you said about not wanting to stand out in town.”

“…What?”

He immediately bought a carriage because of something I said?

“Even so, that’s too much. To buy such an expensive thing so quickly…”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Unlike my dumbfounded expression, Cedric casually lifted the corners of his lips.

For some reason, his face at that moment reminded me of a sly fox.

“It was what you wanted last night, wasn’t it?”

Even his eyes, usually so fierce, curved into gentle lines.

“…It seems you spent the night together. I’m truly glad to see you two are getting along well.”

Adrian nodded slightly, lowering his gaze a bit.

‘Oh no, Adrian seems to have misunderstood something…’

However, Cedric maintained a nonchalant attitude despite having said something that could cause misunderstanding.

“Of course. Married couples are often different behind closed doors.”

He even added such a remark.

It seemed that Cedric intended to faithfully carry out my request to act as a show-window couple.

But the problem was that he was being too faithful.

‘If you change so suddenly like this, it looks even stranger. How did it go from one extreme to the other…?’

Furrowing my brow in bewilderment, I hurriedly turned to Adrian.

“I know what you’re imagining, Adrian, but that’s not it.”

“Huh? How did you know what I was imagining…”

“Anyway, it’s not that. I just happened to run into Cedric while taking a walk last night.”

At the same time, a subtle crease appeared between Cedric’s brows.

“Rebecca, there’s no need to make excuses for what happened between a married couple.”

At those words, I gave him a meaningful look.

‘No, Your Grace… It’s all well and good, but let’s keep things in moderation, shall we?’

However, Cedric merely turned his head nonchalantly towards Adrian, as if avoiding my gaze.

“Adrian, it’s been a while.”

“Your Grace. I hope you’ve been well.”

“Of course. I’m grateful for your diligent management of the Dark Mansion from when it was vacant until now.”

“I’m simply doing my duty, Your Grace.”

Adrian bowed his head lightly once more.

“I heard that the Marquis of Monter’s condition is worsening day by day.”

At Cedric’s words, darkness clouded Adrian’s violet eyes.

“That’s correct. But fortunately, my older brother and sister-in-law are taking good care of Father.”

“That’s a relief, but. I thought you might return to the demon realm because of that.”

“Yes, of course I considered returning, but…”

Adrian paused briefly, his gaze falling on me.

His lips curved up slightly as he looked at me intently.

“I found a reason to stay here again.”

Cedric’s eyes, following Adrian’s gaze, stopped on me.

As he looked at me, Cedric’s expression was somehow subtly peculiar.

Only then did I realize that the reason Adrian stayed was ‘me’.

‘I had no idea Adrian had such circumstances and was only thinking about putting him to work until the end.’

Feeling sheepish, I absently fiddled with my hair.

“Adrian, I had no idea you had such a situation. I’m truly sorry about your father.”

“It’s alright, Lady Rebecca.”

“While I’m away from the mansion today, go and see your father for a while.”

“No, there’s no need…”

“This is an order.”

“…Yes, I will do so. Lady Rebecca.”

“And if the reason you stayed at the Dark Mansion was because of me…”

“…”

“You don’t have to force yourself to stay here.”

Adrian shook his head, his attitude polite but firm.

“It’s not like that. It’s purely because of my own desire to stay here.”

“But Adrian…”

As I was about to continue speaking with a heavy heart, that’s when it happened.

Tap tap—

Cedric lightly tapped on the carriage window to get our attention.

“Rebecca, we should get going now.”

At those words, Adrian nodded in agreement with a smiling face.

“I’ve delayed you too much.”

“…”

“Please get in the carriage, Lady Rebecca. I’ll help you up.”

Click—

With a soft sound, the carriage door suddenly opened.

Cedric, who had somehow gotten out of the carriage, naturally took my hand from Adrian.

Cedric’s large hand gently grasping mine.

Surprised by the unfamiliar yet warm touch, I looked up at Cedric.

“From this moment on, escorting Rebecca is the husband’s duty.”

His eyes, blue to the point of being chilling, stared directly at Adrian.

“So you’d better be on your way now.”

* * *

The Twins Grand Duke’s castle, close to the demon realm forest.

Even the nearest town from there was quite far away.

For a long while, the scenery of the dense forest passed by outside the carriage window.

At some point, commoners’ houses began to appear, and soon the bustling scene of a busy street came into view.

“This is the Northern Central Market. Is this your first time here?”

Cedric asked me, as my gaze was completely captivated by the scene outside the window.

“Yes, I’ve never had any reason to come out this far before.”

That was probably true for the previous Rebecca as well.

The range of activities for noble ladies was usually limited to their family castle, social gatherings, or shopping streets exclusively for nobles.

I looked up at the sign hanging over the street through the window.

At the heart of the Northern Central Market was the Demon Realm Commodity Gift Exchange, and the five streets converging on that center were all market streets.

Inside the carriage traveling down 1st Street, said to be the busiest of them all.

I simply couldn’t take my eyes off the lively scene outside the window.

On both sides of the market street, formal shops were lined up, while in the center of the road, stall vendors were loudly calling for customers.

“Buy your herring! Fresh herring brought in this morning from Luard Harbor!”

“The parsnips are good today! What’ll it be? Scenery vegetables?”

“One rut for a cup of milk! I’ll add rum if you want!”

And on top of that, peddlers carrying all sorts of goods on their backs, roaming the streets.

As I was involuntarily exclaiming at the strange and fascinating sight, that’s when it happened.

“Let’s stop here for a moment.”

As Cedric tapped on the window connecting to the coachman and gave the order, the carriage slowly came to a stop.

“Why are we stopping here? I don’t think we’ve reached the gift exchange yet.”

“You were looking out the window with such curiosity. Didn’t you want to take a look around?”

“Ah… Of course I’d like to, but won’t we stand out too much?”

“I don’t think so. Both you and I came dressed appropriately to avoid standing out.”

As I had instructed in advance, Cedric had come out in more modest attire than usual.

Moreover, in this place filled with commoners, there were hardly any who would recognize him as the owner of this Twins Grand Duchy.

Of course, that may be true, but…

‘…Cedric, your face stands out too much.’

As it was clear that his appearance would captivate attention wherever he went, I was hesitating to make a decision when suddenly:

“We’re only a short walk away from the gift exchange anyway. Let’s walk from here and look around.”

Noticing my internal conflict, Cedric immediately opened the carriage door and stepped outside.

Then he extended his hand towards me inside the carriage.

“Hmm? Come on.”

I looked at Cedric like that and pondered for a moment.

‘It might be a bit embarrassing, but it’s true that I want to walk through the market.’

Finally, I took Cedric’s hand and got out of the carriage.

At the same time, I felt the gazes inside the market suddenly turn towards Cedric and me.

However, Cedric seemed accustomed to such attention and paid it no mind.

“Rebecca, is there any particular shop you’d like to look at?”

I looked around at the surrounding shops, trying to ignore the gazes around us.

“Hmm… Rather than the regular shops, how about that stall selling accessories over there?”

“A stall? I thought you wouldn’t like such things.”

“I told you, didn’t I? You’ll soon get used to being surprised about me.”

Now that we were actually out of the carriage and walking through the market street, I started to feel excited.

As we approached the stall I had noticed, a middle-aged man greeted us with a friendly smile.

“Welcome. Is there anything you’re looking for?”

“Hair pins. Something that children would like.”

“Ah, these ones over here have been selling well lately.”

The merchant pointed to the left side of the stall.

There, an array of colorful and cute hair pins was on display.

‘What color would suit Bianca? Blue, I suppose? Oh, pink might be cute too.’

As I was excitedly picking up hair pins, that’s when it happened.

“By the way, what’s your relationship? You’re a couple, right?”

The merchant spoke up in a friendly manner.

As expected, he didn’t seem to recognize me and Cedric.

“The husband is handsome, but the wife is quite a beauty too! The husband must not be able to relax when going out anywhere! Am I right?”

I was shocked by the merchant’s words as he chuckled and joked.

No matter how determined Cedric was to act as a show-window couple with me, there was no way he would respond to such embarrassing remarks.

‘Even if we have to act as a show-window couple, that’s going too far. I wouldn’t blame Cedric if he can’t hold back his irritation.’

Sure enough, Cedric’s face stiffened slightly.

“…You ask unnecessary things.”

It seemed his patience had finally run out.

It’s unfair. I didn’t say anything, so why do I have to bear all the embarrassment…

Just as I closed my eyes tightly and bit my lip, that’s when:

“Is an answer needed?”

His unique low voice continued nonchalantly once more.

“My wife is a rare beauty, so of course I’d be concerned.”