“Ah, I’m sorry. Where was I?”

The lady hurriedly composed her expression.

Then her arm bumped into the cup, spilling the remaining tea onto the table and wetting the front of Magnolia’s dress. Before she could clean it up, the cup was about to roll off the table, but she barely managed to catch it.

Veronica calmly received a cloth from the maid to hand to Magnolia, then looked at Lady Arin who seemed relieved.

“Has something happened to Lord Thomson?”

When she mentioned the most likely source of concern, Lady Arin looked flustered, as if caught off guard.

“…Does it show?”

“Well, if there’s something troubling you, it must be about Lord Thomson.”

Magnolia quietly asked from the side.

“Lord Thomson is your husband, right?”

“That’s right.”

Looking back at the lady, she placed the cup on its saucer with an awkward smile.

“I just have something on my mind. It’s nothing serious.”

It doesn’t seem like nothing. But if it’s a private matter between spouses, it’s best not to pry. With that, the lady let out her fourteenth sigh.

Veronica put extra effort into her appearance for once.

In fact, she usually dressed carefully and even more so on important days, but today was different.

After thoroughly preparing, she went out accompanied by one maid and one guard.

Arriving in the city center by carriage, she saw a man waiting for her.

Though his face didn’t look welcoming, which was disappointing.

“Your Highness Cassian. I’m a bit late, aren’t I?”

“Very late, in fact.”

Cassian immediately voiced his displeasure.

When will he ever greet me with a smile? As always, Veronica pretended not to hear his complaint and slightly lifted her skirt.

“I took extra care with my appearance today, wanting to look pretty. What do you think?”

“You look the same as usual.”

“How could that be? I dressed more carefully than usual.”

“It’s the same.”

It was the expected response. Veronica smiled, unbothered.

“This is the third time we’ve met outside. Let’s have a good time today.”

“Thanks to someone, it’s already not enjoyable.”

“Where should we go? Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

“Anywhere.”

I knew he would answer like that.

“Do you go out often?”

“Sometimes. Only on special occasions or when I feel too cooped up.”

“I’m sure there are no restrictions on your outings.”

“It’s not easy. I have to be careful with my attire to avoid standing out, choose who to bring as escorts, mind my behavior – it’s quite troublesome.”

“Can’t you just bring one guard instead of many? You could dress casually, and as long as you don’t act strangely, you shouldn’t stand out.”

“I have a companion.”

Ah, so he goes out with Asher.

I was about to ask if he ever went out alone, but I refrained, anticipating the expected answer.

I didn’t want to ruin this day when he specially agreed to go out together, despite how bothersome he finds it.

Veronica said she would go where she wanted. He said that was fine.

She led him without any particular destination in mind.

They walked the streets, entered a shop selling accessories to look around, tried to buy him gloves but was refused, enjoyed a light dessert, then walked the streets again.

She also sought out places that Magnolia and Lady Arin had recommended as good spots for couples.

While doing so, she kept an eye on Cassian’s reactions, but his face seemed somehow dazed. She thought he was just momentarily distracted.

But he continued to be unfocused as time passed. Looking closely, his complexion didn’t seem good.

“Are you feeling unwell? You don’t look well.”

“It’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep well.”

“Did you have a nightmare or something?”

“Well, yes…”

His words trailed off. Cassian rubbed his eyes.

There was indeed sleepiness in his dazed eyes. When asked what kind of nightmare, he said he couldn’t remember well.

She reached out to touch between his slightly furrowed brows, but her hand was immediately knocked away.

Cassian had swatted her hand away. It was quite forceful, even backing away to create distance.

“What are you doing?”

“I was just… trying to touch your forehead. Isn’t it too much to recoil and avoid it like that?”

“Don’t touch me carelessly.”

“Come on, it’s not like I touched you much. Have I ever properly touched Your Highness?”

Always recoiling and avoiding. Though today’s reaction was stronger than usual, Veronica had truly never been able to touch him comfortably.

He immediately pushed away even the lightest touch.

“You looked tired, so I was worried. I had no ill intentions.”

“…”

“Shall we sit down and rest for a moment?”

She looked around for a place where he could rest. They couldn’t sit on the street, so it would be good to go somewhere.

“That’s alright. We should make the most of our time since we’ve come out.”

“That’s unusual of you to say.”

“Well, watching you wander around with that silly grin isn’t so bad.”

Why is his mouth still the same when he’s tired?

Veronica vowed that someday she would see him cling to her saying, “I enjoy being with you so much, I don’t want to leave,” as she looked around again.

Then a small shop at the entrance of a nearby alley caught her eye.

“Then shall we go there?”

Cassian nodded obediently when she pointed it out.

The two entered the shop. Behind the counter sat a middle-aged male owner.

He glanced at the two once but didn’t say anything particular.

The shop was small but quite deep inside. Most of the items displayed on the shelves were antiques.

They were in fairly good condition despite the passage of time.

Going further in, there was a bookshelf, with as much dust accumulated as there were books.

She picked up a book and coughed from the dust.

[Mysterious and Interesting Dissection Techniques]

What’s this? The odd title made it seem like a magic book, but when she opened it, there were quite detailed anatomical drawings.

From frogs to small and large animals, even humans. Who would have published such a thing as a book?

It was truly mysterious and interesting, so she was reading it when she suddenly looked to the side and saw Cassian examining something as well.

Out of curiosity, she approached and saw it was a faded map.

“It looks like a very old continental map.”

“You know well.”

“I’ve seen something similar.”

His focused profile couldn’t take his eyes off the map for a long time.

Veronica realized he was extremely interested in the old map.

“I knew you would like it.”

“Like what?”

“This shop.”

Veronica looked around the small store. It was clearly quite old even from the outside.

Such places usually sold antiques of unknown use, old books by unknown authors, and old maps like this.

“You like things like history, right? Other countries’ cultures and such.”

“How do you know?”

“I know everything about Your Highness, of course.”

“…”

“Haha, don’t make that face. I’m joking. I just noticed these things whenever I visited.”

This was true. When visiting the Glass Palace to meet Cassian, there were always books on history or other countries’ cultures, maps and such on the table.

Though he quickly cleared the table when she arrived, Veronica realized he enjoyed reading those things.

“Honestly, I never imagined you’d like this kind of thing.”

“Does it not suit me?”

“I can’t say it doesn’t.”

Even after answering, she thought he would get angry. He was the type to take even jokes seriously.

But a brief laugh was heard. Veronica looked up in surprise. Cassian was really smiling.

“I’ve heard that often.”

There was laughter in his voice as well.

“I do like these things. It’s fun to look at them. It’s reassuring to know the world is this wide with so much to experience, and I enjoy reading them because they show me this stifling place isn’t the only world. When I was young, my dream was to leave the imperial city and travel to various countries.”

He spoke words I hadn’t even asked about yet.

This behavior so unlike his usual self shows how happy he is right now.

And Veronica had heard a similar story before.

‘When I was young, my dream was to leave the palace and travel to various countries.’

Asher had whispered it as if revealing a precious secret he had long held in his heart.

Though he was smiling as usual, Veronica could see in his eyes that he was strangely excited.

She had never seen him so happy before, so Veronica gladly listened to the story of his dream.

Veronica’s dream was to become the perfect wife for Asher, but she had also entertained vain fantasies of traveling abroad together after marriage.

Though she had never told Asher about it.

“Let’s go on a trip together later. Even if we can’t go far, somewhere nearby would be fine if you’d like.”

Veronica smiled and made the insincere suggestion. He would refuse anyway.

“Sure, let’s do that.”

But an unexpected answer was heard. Veronica stared blankly at Cassian.

Cassian’s gaze remained focused on the map, as if unaware of what he had just agreed to.

Veronica didn’t bother to ask again. Even if it was just empty words, it was quite a pleasant answer.

He bought a few maps and antiques like a compass. Veronica also purchased the dissection book she had seen at first.

She handed the purchased book to the maid when suddenly her cheek stung. Cassian was glaring at her fiercely out of nowhere.

“What’s wrong?”

“These days… what books are you reading?”

Why hesitate so much to ask about recent reading? Veronica smiled and answered.

“Are you curious? Shall I show you?”

When Cassian nodded, Veronica took out a book she had kept in her bag and held it out.

It was a palm-sized book, convenient to carry around. Cassian received it with slight tension and checked the title.

[18 Ways to Conquer a Complex and Fresh Partner. I Can’t Do It, But You Can! – For Advanced Users]

Cassian immediately threw the book to the ground.