“One room is enough.”

The “one room” that Valkyter had thrown at Kaian and Clodel was a test.

If they had obediently followed the servant’s guidance and used separate rooms, it would mean that things were not yet smooth between them.

When a king or noble invites another noble couple, they naturally offer the best guest room with a bathroom attached.

There had never been a case of inviting a couple and guiding them to separate rooms, but even the servants who received orders under the names of Vermonté and Temnes thought it more appropriate, which showed the relationship between the two families until now.

It was a simple measure to gauge their relationship.

But Kaian stepped forward and said they would use one room.

Valkyter was watching this scene directly from a high place in the central hall overlooking the entrance of the castle.

The woman he saw at the lake was probably the second daughter of Vermonté who married into Temnes.

There was no reason to wait until the royal ball to confirm this.

But he couldn’t wait until they came properly dressed to formally greet the king either.

Quite some time had passed since Kaian was called to the king’s birthday event after learning that Princess Irena was not that woman.

During that time, Valkyter had to suffer from sudden unpleasantness from time to time.

He felt an urge to meet the woman with the mysterious smile again as soon as possible, while at the same time feeling furiously angry at the fact that she was Kaian’s wife.

He had been raised as a crown prince from a very young age, so he rarely experienced such emotional turmoil.

But things were different when it came to matters involving Kaian.

“I should check it out.”

After all, sudden encounters can sometimes leave a more special impression on one’s mind.

Valkyter had essentially called Kaian to his birthday to see Clodel.

“I didn’t expect him to accept.”

It was quite surprising that he came this time when he had shown no intention of coming even after being invited once.

“Thanks to that, I got an opportunity. I’ll be able to meet her properly soon.”

A dark shadow fell over his blue eyes.

The cuisine at the royal palace was elegant.

What made it so was that each dish was decorated with other ingredients or gold leaf.

The cuisine of Vermonté often involved thoroughly cooking ingredients from the harsh and poor land to make them as tender as possible.

Unlike domesticated animals like cows, pigs, and chickens, wild game like boars and deer caught in the wild had many parasites and were smelly and tough. It was a cuisine that developed to make such meat delicious to eat.

However, in Rowen, there was no need to cook food in such a way. Everything picked and eaten produced rich and deep flavors.

The cows grazed in pastures full of grass, and pigs were let loose under orchards where unripe apples and such fell in abundance, resulting in excellent meat flavors.

Clodel thought she had probably eaten more sausages since coming to Rowen than in her entire life before.

But the royal palace cuisine felt like an entirely different realm, and she marveled at each dish as she tasted them one by one.

The fortunate thing was that Kaian, who was genuinely intent on increasing Clodel’s food intake, was not only not annoyed but seemed to be getting increasingly pleased as she ate and ate and ate more.

“It’s delicious. The decorations are pretty too.”

“When we go to Rowen, let’s hire a chef from the capital and take them with us.”

Clodel, who had just put a dessert spoon in her mouth with a bright smile, shook her head seriously.

“That’s not necessary.”

“Don’t you like it?”

Clodel was about to say “everything is pretty” but then remembered his past of robbing a jewelry store.

‘A chef isn’t a souvenir.’

If they took someone back to Rowen every time something was good, delicious, or pretty, there would be one unemployed person in the lord’s castle after each meal.

Clodel spoke calmly.

“The food in Rowen is the most delicious and best.”

As she dropped words pleasing to the ears of the Lord of Rowen, his eyes softened as expected.

“That’s true. Many of the ingredients in the capital are sent from Rowen as well.”

“Is that so?”

“We even send things like fruit to Vermonté. There are things that only grow in Rowen.”

“I see.”

Clodel looked down at her plate, which was already empty.

While it was nice that everything was delicious and pretty, it was embarrassing that plates were piling up beside her as each dish was served in new plates with just one or two bites.

‘It seems I’ve eaten quite aggressively.’

In front of her, Kaian placed down a new plate. Again, it was a dish she had never seen before.

“Why is each dish served in such small portions?”

In Rowen, food was served abundantly on large plates, and one could take as much as they wanted and take more of what was delicious.

While this style of dining was tasty and pleasing to the eye, Clodel didn’t like it much.

Kaian’s eyes narrowed.

“So you don’t pick and choose what to eat.”

“…Really?”

“Heh.”

Seeing him unable to hold back his laughter, Clodel rolled her eyes.

“You’re teasing me again, aren’t you?”

“Only in the royal palace do they serve food like this. It’s to show gratitude for His Majesty the King’s grace.”

Clodel counted the empty plates piled beside her by eye.

She was in a state where she had to thank His Majesty the King no less than nine times.

Clodel put down the fork she was holding.

“I’ll stop eating now.”

“Eat more.”

“I’ll get fat at this rate.”

“The doctor said you need to eat a lot more.”

“…Really?”

“He said eating well and resting well are important for recovering your health. You ate well during the journey, but you must have been tired. Eat well when you can, and go to bed early today.”

“Alright then.”

Clodel didn’t refuse and quietly picked up her fork again.

“By the way, this room…”

The room they were staying in was decorated in a bright and cheerful atmosphere.

“Doesn’t it feel similar to Rowen Castle?”

She had felt that way about the entrance they had passed earlier, the corridors of the palace, and many other places.

When she went from Vermonté Castle to Rowen Castle, she felt the atmosphere was clearly different, but Rowen Castle and Oberon Royal Palace seemed somewhat similar.

“My mother extensively renovated Rowen Castle, that’s why.”

“Ah.”

“She grew up in this royal palace. Also, basically, Oberon Royal Palace was built modeled after Rowen Castle.”

“I’ve read about that in books.”

No matter how much one wanted to make them similar, if the basic structure was different, the atmosphere would inevitably be different. But since the Oberon Kingdom started from Rowen land and the first castle built was Rowen Castle, when they moved the capital to the center of the continent and built the new Oberon Castle, they referenced parts of Rowen Castle.

“Maybe that’s why I’ve never had trouble sleeping when I came to the royal palace since I was young. It felt as comfortable as my own home.”

“You do look very comfortable.”

“I’m not particularly picky about where I sleep. How about you?”

“I don’t think I’m picky about where I sleep, but I have insomnia.”

It was hard to tell whether she couldn’t sleep because the bed was uncomfortable or because of insomnia.

“We’ll find out when we sleep tonight.”

However, in the bedroom with a familiar atmosphere said to be modeled after Rowen Castle, Clodel couldn’t fall asleep even after lying down for a long time.

“I can’t sleep.”

“Why?”

“The pillow and blanket feel different.”

In Vermonté, they used thick wool blankets because of the cold.

Rowen was cool year-round, so they used soft and thin linen bedding.

The smooth, silk-like blanket of the royal palace felt stuffy and unpleasant against her skin. Moreover, the bed she was lying on was a bit harder than the one in Rowen Castle, which was also uncomfortable.

“The bed is hard too.”

Hearing her complaints, Kaian said,

“Can’t be helped. Come on top of me.”

“What?”

“Sleep on top of me.”

“No, that doesn’t seem right. I’ll try to sleep like this.”

“You need to sleep properly. You don’t plan to spend time in the capital dozing until the sun is high in the sky, do you?”

That was true.

On the way up to the capital, Clodel had read travel books about the kingdom and made lots of notes about places she wanted to visit, but she was worried that she might not be able to sightsee since they ended up staying in the royal palace instead of a mansion.

Kaian had said straightforwardly that they didn’t need the king’s permission to go sightseeing.

“But how can I treat you like a bed?”

It was a completely different matter from lying down together with his arm as a pillow.

“Treating me like a bed is a bit much? You were riding me plenty earlier.”

Clodel jumped up, kicking off the blanket.

“I think we should use separate rooms.”

Her face felt like it was burning.

As Clodel picked up her robe to put it on over her nightgown, Kaian caught her by the waist.

“What are you being shy about?”

“You’re being too shameless.”

“How long are you going to be shy? You were the one begging me to do it first.”

Clodel reluctantly followed along as if being dragged as Kaian pulled her hand.

“Come up.”

Clodel awkwardly lay down on top of his body.

She had never slept like this before.

But once she actually lay down, it felt quite nice with her lower belly warm, and instead of the flowery scent from the unfamiliar royal palace bed, she could smell Kaian’s body scent.

“Good night, Clodel.”

With Kaian gently stroking her hair, her eyes soon felt heavy, and a cozy darkness enveloped her.

“Yawn.”

Surprisingly, she woke up early in the morning.

Kaian was sound asleep.

The man who had faithfully played the role of her warm bed all night must have been quite tired himself.

Clodel fondly gazed at her husband, who was usually always up before her due to his busy schedule, enjoying a rare leisurely sleep, before getting up.

Despite eating so much yesterday, she felt hungry again soon after waking up.

Clodel put on a white dress in the Rowen style from the clothes she had brought, tied an apron around her waist, and draped a shawl over her shoulders.

The morning air felt quite chilly, probably because the capital was much further north than Rowen.

She gently covered the man lying with his bare upper body exposed with a blanket before quietly leaving the room.

The maid who had been standing listlessly in front of the door all night bowed her head with a surprised look upon seeing her.

“Please light the fireplace in the room. Don’t put in too much firewood.”

“Yes, Duchess.”

“And please prepare a light meal. Bread and soup will be sufficient.”

As the maid withdrew, she slowly walked along the long corridor.

Perhaps because of what Kaian had told her, she kept looking for similarities to Rowen Castle as if playing a hidden picture game.

Then something strange caught her eye.

Seeing something bluish that looked like folded colored paper in an odd place, Clodel looked at it closely.

It was a large butterfly about half the size of a palm.

“Why is there a butterfly here?”

As Clodel sat down on the floor carpet and reached out to touch the butterfly sitting with its wings folded, it fluttered its wings and flew along the corridor.

“I should let it out.”

She walked slowly, following the butterfly aimlessly.

Soon a terrace with golden bars appeared, and the butterfly flew through the gaps and disappeared.

“Wow.”

An unbelievable landscape unfolded beyond.

A vast garden spread out, greeting the morning sun rising from the high position of the lofty royal palace.

Clodel stood holding onto the bars, watching for a long time as the dew-laden grass blades sparkled, welcoming the sunlight.

Then she heard an unfamiliar man’s voice from behind her.

“Do you like it here?”