Adele rubbed her fatigue-filled eyes with her fingertips. She had been unable to sleep until dawn last night because she had to rewrite the ink-stained letter. Even though she had drunk several cups of strong tea to wake herself up, her head still felt fuzzy.

‘I had no idea the Grand Duke would suddenly come to see me in the middle of the night. Especially after we had parted in such a way…’

The reason for his visit was trivial. It was close to a tantrum about why they weren’t sleeping together.

Thanks to that, her fearful heart had calmed down considerably.

‘Because he had been keeping vigil by my bedside for the past few days, it seems he thought we always slept together.’

Valentin was a person who had miraculously come back to life from death, which also meant he was an unstable existence whose health could deteriorate again at any time. Especially ‘sleep’ was the most unstable factor.

That was why she had entered the bedroom like keeping a night watch, but it seemed he had mistakenly thought they always slept in the same bed.

‘I couldn’t even keep a proper night watch. I was too busy fainting from exhaustion.’

She was sure she had dozed off for a moment in the chair by the head of the bed, but when she came to her senses at dawn, she was suddenly on the bed. The problem was that each time, she was tightly hugged in Valentin’s arms.

For Adele, who was not only a light sleeper but also sensitive, it felt like she was possessed by a ghost every time.

‘Even last night, I was eventually dragged to His Highness’ bed.’

Her cheeks flushed hotly as she recalled the memory. It was still embarrassing to think back on it.

‘Because it was an act that went against etiquette, and it went way too far…’

That’s what she had learned.

The more dignified the couple, the more they had to use separate bedrooms, and even if they occasionally spent the night together, it had to be dry, not demanding the night first, and not displaying coquetry. Lying in the same bed until the sun rose was an act of indulgence that deserved criticism.

Even before getting married, Adele had memorized such ‘etiquette’ by heart. She had heard hundreds, no, thousands of times that it was the scripture that a noble lady had to uphold for a lifetime.

However.

‘We’re… married.’

Valentin’s sorrowful face was somehow stuck in her mind. Of course, there were still some uncanny aspects. Until a few hours ago, he had been so inarticulate that he could barely repeat the words she uttered, but now he was suddenly having a conversation.

Anyway, he stubbornly insisted using all the words he had heard at least once, and thanks to that, Adele had to sweat profusely making excuses.

‘Even between a married couple, there are rules to follow.’

‘Ah, nee. That.’

‘This goes against etiquette…’

‘No, even if not, this… do.’

Adele let out a faint sigh. After arguing back and forth like that for a long time, she was the one who gave in first. After all, it was something she had been doing all along, so doing it for one more day wouldn’t ruin her reputation any further.

‘The biggest problem is not being able to sleep properly.’

In fact, the most troublesome thing was that when Valentin was next to her, she would get unnecessarily nervous and find it difficult to fall asleep easily. Was it because she had slept alone all her life? Even her husband’s body heat felt awkward and uncomfortable.

Moreover, strictly speaking, they had never spent a real ‘night’ together even once. It was impossible to share a bed and rest comfortably in such a relationship. Adele yawned, pressing her tired eyes with her hand.

“Your Highness!”

The head maid politely blocked Adele’s path as she walked with a basket full of laundry and ink-stained skirts. Adele looked at the head maid with surprised eyes. She was a woman who had always bent her knees from afar with a chilly gaze, never speaking first.

“What is the matter?”

Adele asked, lifting the laundry basket. Margaret, the head maid, seemed momentarily at a loss for words at her appearance. Even though she had neglected her, she hadn’t known that Adele was doing the laundry herself.

“Please give me the laundry. From now on, I will send maids to take care of it.”

Adele gazed at the head maid, who took the basket from her hands, with a slightly unfamiliar look.

The head maid Margaret that she knew was someone who didn’t pay much attention to whether Adele did laundry, drew well water, or did needlework for hire to earn pocket money. Consistently for the past 3 years.

There was only one reason for such a woman to suddenly act this way overnight.

“Is the Grand Duke urgently looking for me by any chance?”

“No, he is not.”

Adele blinked.

“Then why, all of a sudden…”

“Forgive me for being presumptuous, but from now on, there will be no need for Your Highness to go to the northern tower.”

“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“You must know that the quarters you were to use as the lady of the house have been under repair for a long time. So, while the room was being refurbished, we temporarily provided you with the room in the northern tower.”

The head maid’s cheeks were slightly red. She herself seemed to know well that what she was saying was just an excuse.

“That’s right.”

“Fortunately, we finished all the refurbishments yesterday. If it pleases you, I can guide you there right now.”

Adele gazed at Margaret, who had her hands politely clasped in front of her, with a mixture of bewilderment and bitterness.

The repairs that had been postponed for the past 3 years were completed as soon as Valentin came back to life? No one could take that statement at face value. Whether the room repair was a false pretext from the beginning or an indifferent truth, it meant one thing.

Valentin had given permission for her to be given the ‘Grand Duchess’ room’. And receiving the ‘Grand Duchess’ room’ meant that she had truly become the Grand Duchess recognized by the Grand Duke.

‘After 3 long years.’

There was only one reason why the northerners who revered Ansgar like the sky could be rude to Adele. It was because they firmly believed that their Grand Duke disliked and even abhorred the Grand Duchess.

However, the devotion that the resurrected Valentin poured out to Adele consistently deviated from their expectations and common sense. Even those who suspected that his actions stemmed from sympathy or a sense of duty were now convinced that there was some unknown ‘sticky’ relationship between the Grand Duke and Duchess that they were unaware of.

A single show of interest from the Grand Duke had changed the situation more effectively than any effort Adele had made over the past 3 years.

‘I didn’t intend to deceive, but the situation is turning out a bit strange. Now everyone thinks the Grand Duke and I were lovers.’

It was ridiculous and pitiful that all this goodwill stemmed from a misunderstanding, but even such feelings were a luxury. Her self-esteem had already been sold expensively by Count Raihenau.

In the first place, they had misunderstood among themselves, and it wasn’t as if she had acted differently or lied. Adele nodded, swallowing her uncomfortable feelings.

“Please guide me.”

“Follow me.”

Margaret skillfully tucked the laundry basket under her arm and quickly led the way. The maids who encountered them in the corridor pressed close to the wall so as not to obstruct their path.

It seemed that Adele herself was the last to know that she would be entering the Grand Duchess’ room.

Curious gazes poured down her back sharply as they passed by.

“Here it is.”

Adele was taken aback by the door and corridor where the head maid had stopped.

“This is…”

Right next to the Grand Duke’s bedroom. It was surprising enough to be on the same floor as her husband, but the very next room?

Seeing Adele’s perplexed face, Margaret asked cautiously.

“Is there a problem?”

“I never thought this would be the Grand Duchess’ bedroom. I mean, according to etiquette, it should be far from the Grand Duke’s bedroom…”

“This is correct.”

Unlike the flustered Adele, the head maid replied casually.

“You may not be familiar with it since you came from the south. Unlike the southern etiquette of keeping the couple’s bedrooms as far apart as possible, in the north, we keep them as close as possible. It’s common practice.”

Common practice, she said. It felt like she was making a fuss over nothing, and the back of her neck flushed hot.

“But…”

“Since Ansgar Castle was built, the quarters used by the Grand Duchess have always been here. Of course, in cases where the couple’s relationship was exceptionally good, there were often instances where they shared a bedroom.”

The head maid’s meaningful expression seemed to ask if they should prepare it that way.

Adele shook her head in surprise. Steam rose from the top of her head, making it feel hot.

“Oh, no. This is better for now.”

“Then I will open the door.”

The head maid politely informed and opened the wooden door wide. The room inside was rarely filled with sunlight as all the curtains were drawn back. Adele slowly looked around the room.

“…”

The quarters were neat and appropriately luxurious. Under the large window with transparent glass, a long couch was placed, and firewood was burning brightly in the fireplace. The curtains and carpets were all red, embroidered with the wolf’s head, the symbol of Ansgar, in gold thread.

The table and chairs for reading letters or embroidering, as well as the display cabinet, were all ivory-colored, and in the bedroom beyond the reception room, there was a huge bed draped with a canopy.

Adele looked at the delicate crafted items in the display cabinet with admiring eyes. They were items with the artisan’s seal that she had only seen in Charlotte’s room.

“Do you like it?”

The head maid, who had been closely observing her looking around the room, asked. Adele blushed. Had she shown too much admiration?

However, Margaret calmly explained each item in the room without a mocking look.

“The wardrobe has been brought over as it was used before. The mirror was old and worn, so a new one was brought in, and the white wolf fur carpet was specially ordered by the Grand Duke. He said he only wanted to give you the best.”

“His Highness did?”

Adele’s eyes widened. Until just last night, Valentin had not even made eye contact with anyone other than Adele.

Did he really give such a decent order overnight? Was he a fast learner? Or were his memories returning quickly?

But Margaret didn’t seem to have any intention of resolving Adele’s questions. The head maid continued in a businesslike manner.

“I’m glad you seem to like it. I will select the maids to serve you and send up the list soon.”

“Maids? Wait, Grita has been more than enough so far. Is there really a need to select new ones?”

“Now that the Grand Duke has returned, Your Highness must also fulfill your duties from now on.”

“…Duties, you say.”

“Don’t you need to unite soon and produce an heir?”

At the head maid’s words, Adele’s expression instantly turned blank. Seeing that innocent reaction, the head maid asked suspiciously.

“…You do know what uniting means, right?”

Adele barely managed to nod her head a few times, pale as a sheet.

The day before her wedding, Charlotte had shown her the mating of horses to tease her. Saying that since she was marrying a barbarian no different from a beast, her first night would be the same…

That was a terrible memory every time she recalled it.

The horse’s black eyes flickering with some unknown emotion, the rough trotting, the foamy saliva and heat…

‘That… I have to… do that…’

Adele’s youthful face turned deathly pale in an instant. Whenever she recalled that memory, her whole body would tremble. It froze from the pit of her stomach. It felt like a horrible, very ugly, and dirty act.

Moreover, Valentin had always abhorred her. She had never once imagined that he would desire her ‘in that way’. Not to mention the difference in physique?

If she were crushed under such a huge and sturdy body, she would suffocate to death in an instant.

Adele clasped her trembling hands tightly, terrified.