“Are you going because of the flood?”

Ruan answered as he lay down on the opposite end of the bed to Mercian’s question from her bed.

“Yes, my lady. So, I was thinking of leaving next week, which means we’ll have to sleep together every day until then.”

Ruan wanted to confirm once again if his insomnia was related to Mercian.

“What? Oh, since we won’t be able to share a bed for a month. Yes, let’s do that.”

It’s not like it matters much since he sleeps at the edge of the bed anyway, right?

“How long will you be gone this time?”

“I’m thinking about 2 weeks for now, but it could be longer.”

“Will you be alright? What if you collapse again like last time.”

“My lady, are you worried about me right now?”

No, it’s not so much worry as thinking that it wouldn’t be right for my husband to die less than a month after we got married.

“Haha. Yes. Well, I suppose it is worry.”

Seeing Mercian’s awkward expression, Ruan happily grasped her hand and said,

“Since my lady is so concerned, I will make sure to return in good health.”

“Yes, please come back safely.”

At Mercian’s words, Ruan smiled and fell asleep right away.

What? He’s already asleep again?

Ah. He must have taken sleeping pills.

Thinking that Ruan had fallen asleep after taking sleeping pills, Mercian also tried to sleep.

A few days later, Ruan left for Saffron with Prince Harmen and the carpenters, and peaceful daily life continued at the duke’s residence.

After Ruan’s departure, Tablo still stayed in the guest room, saying his secret mission wasn’t finished yet.

He spent time eating breakfast and dinner with Mercian, and while Tablo was out of the duke’s residence, Mercian slowly began preparing to live alone.

And so, for the first time in her life, Mercian’s peaceful life continued for several days without anyone’s interference.

***

It had already been two weeks since arriving in Saffron territory.

Thanks to the emperor’s consideration in providing food supplies to last 2 and a half months, warm clothes and blankets to survive the coming winter, and 200 carpenters to repair their homes, the flood victims welcomed Prince Harmen and Ruan’s group warmly. Despite being accustomed to palace life and finding the accommodations and everything else uncomfortable, Prince Harmen began helping with the restoration work without showing any displeasure.

As a result, the restoration work was progressing faster than expected.

However……

Ruan, who had been waving his hand in the air, opened his eyes, got up, looked at the clock, and sighed.

Even with sleeping pills, he only managed to sleep for 2 hours at most.

This is driving me crazy.

Or am I really going crazy?

It was only 10 days.

Making the excuse that they needed to sleep together every day since they couldn’t share a bed while traveling to Saffron region…

Ruan, who hadn’t been able to sleep deeply no matter what sleeping pills he took since suffering from insomnia.

But during those 10 days, he slept deeply as if insomnia had never existed for him from the beginning.

In his 22 years of life, those were the nights he remembered sleeping most deeply and comfortably without having a single nightmare.

Ruan thought it was just a coincidence.

It didn’t make sense to him that he could sleep so well just because Mercian was next to him.

But since coming down to the territory, Ruan would wake up at 2-3 AM even after taking sleeping pills and couldn’t fall back asleep afterwards.

At first, he thought it might be because of the change in sleeping environment…

What could be the problem…

The sleeping pills were the same ones he always took.

Even if he couldn’t sleep deeply, he didn’t usually wake up this frequently.

Could the bed be the problem?

Ruan pressed down on the bed he was sleeping on with one hand.

It was a bit hard, but not much different from the bed in the duke’s residence.

I’m really so tired.

.

.

.

Bang! Bang!

“Cassel. Wake up!”

“Who… who is it.”

As Cassel opened the door while rubbing his eyes after being woken up by knocking, Ruan looked at him with an annoyed expression and said,

“I can’t sleep because of you!”

“What’s the reason this time?”

“You keep snoring and waking me up. Either cover your nose or sleep with a blanket over your head, just be quiet!”

Sigh. This guy has finally gone crazy.

Cassel was fully awake now and felt annoyed, but tried his best to be patient and said,

“Duke, do you really think that makes sense?”

“What?”

“My room is 50 meters away from yours. How can you hear me snoring when you’re sleeping? And didn’t you take sleeping pills?”

At Cassel’s words, Ruan took a step back and looked at his room at the very end of the long corridor.

“Even if I take sleeping pills and am sleeping, I still can’t sleep because of your snoring.”

At Ruan’s words, Cassel sat down heavily and said,

“What exactly is the problem? Why do you keep tormenting me every night? Yesterday you said my teeth grinding was noisy, the day before you said the sound of me kicking off the blanket was bothering you. Should I just go sleep outside this building?”

“Cassel, I don’t know either. I’m so sleep-deprived that I can even hear insects crawling in the building.”

Cassel sighed as he looked at Ruan, who looked like he was about to enter a grave.

“Duke, if the sleeping pills aren’t working, try changing the medication. You’re already on the verge of collapsing from eating only one meal a day, and now you can’t sleep either. You really look like a walking corpse.”

“I need my wife.”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, I need her curling up in my arms every night, her sleep-talking while eating her favorite foods, and the warm, comforting scent from her body. I miss her so much I think I’m going crazy. I think I really have gone mad.”

“What? What are you saying? Who needs to be in whose arms? Is it because your pillow is too hard? Should I change it to a softer one?”

“When can we go back?”

“From the current situation, it seems the restoration will be mostly complete and the victims stabilized in 2-3 days. We won’t be needed then. We can return to the capital, leaving only Prince Harmen behind.”

“2 days? Alright. Let’s try our best to finish up by tomorrow.”

What nonsense is this now?

“Pardon?”

“Then please don’t snore, don’t grind your teeth, and sleep quietly under the blanket. Otherwise, I’ll come back again.”

After Ruan closed the door and left, Cassel ended up staying still in his spot all night, just breathing as if someone might be watching him.

***

“Merc, it’s been a long time.”

As Mercian was spending a leisurely afternoon eating cookies made by the chef in the garden tree as usual, an unexpected visitor arrived.

What’s this situation now?

I was in a good mood until just now.

Mercian frowned as she saw Lucienne, who had suddenly appeared while she was sitting in the tree eating cookies.

“Sister, it’s been a while.”

“Yes. Merc, have you really not fixed that vulgar habit yet? A duchess climbing trees and eating cookies so frivolously. Aren’t you embarrassed in front of the people below? Well, if you knew such shame or embarrassment, you wouldn’t have climbed up there in the first place.”

“What do you want to say? I’m sure I told you last time not to see each other again.”

Mercian asked as she came down from the tree and sat at the table, and Lucienne also sat across from her and replied,

“Mother is ill.”

“Mother? Why suddenly?”

“She’s been so stressed from people around her constantly asking why her daughter who married into a duke’s family isn’t holding tea parties that she fell ill.”

So in the end, you wanted to talk about tea parties.

“About the tea parties…”

“Of course you should have them. Why aren’t you holding tea parties?”

Ah. Why you again.

Mercian looked at Tablo, who was entering the garden with a smile.

“Merc, who is this lady?”

At Lucienne’s question, Tablo sat down next to Mercian with a smile and said,

“Oh my, Merc, that’s too much. Even though I’m Ruan’s former lover and staying at the duke’s residence for a while, I’m still family, so you should have at least introduced me to your sister. Hohoho. It’s nice to meet you. Lady, I’ve heard rumors, but seeing you in person, you’re much more beautiful than the rumors say. I’m Shafran Heineb, Ruan Canoloup’s former lover who’s temporarily staying here.”

“Shafran Heineb? Having a surname means you’re from a noble family, but does it make sense for an unmarried lady, no matter how desperate, to stay at the home of a married man, and her ex-lover at that?”

Lucienne looked at Mercian incredulously at Tablo’s words.

“Oh my, lady, don’t worry. Even though I may not look it, I have enough sense not to covet Ruan and Merc’s bed. I’m truly just a guest staying here, as I said. Right, Merc?”

“Hahaha. Well… That’s right…”

“Oh, by the way, you were talking about tea parties earlier. Merc, Beano’s baroness is right about this. As you know, it’s an old imperial custom for married daughters to hold tea parties to show their parents and siblings how well they’re living. Even though Ruan will die in 5 months, Merc is still formally married to Ruan, so it’s right to hold tea parties, isn’t it? Baroness?”

“Oh my, the lady understands my feelings perfectly. Merc, what if something happens to mother while she’s lying ill like that? Don’t regret it later and hold the tea parties. At least that way, mother will have something to tell people, won’t she?”

Mercian knew that the reason Lucienne was insisting on holding tea parties was not because she was curious, but to find evidence that Ruan was plotting rebellion, so she hesitated to answer and looked at Tablo.

Why are you getting involved in this?

What are you up to?

As if you want me to have the tea party…

“Sister, I…”

“But. Since the baroness is ill, it might be alright to hold the tea party after Ruan returns. I just heard that Ruan will finish his work and return to the duke’s residence tomorrow, so he should be here in 2-3 days. How about having the tea party then?”

“That… that won’t work.”

Lucienne replied with a flustered expression at Tablo’s words.

“Oh? Why not? Both the baroness and the baroness’s daughter would want to see how much Ruan loves Merc, right? Since we’re on the topic, I must say, it’s unbearable to see how much Ruan cherishes Merc. Isn’t that right, Merc?”

“What? Oh. Well. I suppose so.”

“No. It would be too uncomfortable for mother if we invite the duke as well. After all, we’re barons and he’s a duke. It’s more comfortable to just have tea with Merc and look around where she lives before going back. How about tomorrow? Is that okay, Merc?”

Mercian looked at Tablo, who kept trying to guide her into holding the tea party, let out a small sigh, and nodded.

“Alright sister, I’ll prepare for the tea party tomorrow, so please come to the duke’s residence with mother by 11 o’clock.”

“Oh my? Mother will be so happy to hear this. We’ll definitely come by 11 tomorrow. See you tomorrow then. Lady, it was nice meeting you.”

Fearing that Mercian might change her mind, Lucienne quickly got up and left the garden after saying goodbye to Tablo.