“… Ha, calm down? Do you think you can make me calm down?”

Arasila asked with a cold smile. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy. Still, Demian tried his best to calm her down.

He couldn’t fight with his wife where there were many eyes watching. Moreover, this incident was entirely his fault.

No, that’s not it.

“Why did you approach me without saying anything?”

“There was a flower petal stuck in your hair, so I was trying to remove it!”

He stomped his foot and shouted, causing his stomach to churn and people’s attention to focus on them. Demian, left speechless, muttered inwardly. It’s ruined. Completely messed up.

“Maybe I should have just removed your head altogether. Right?”

“Wife, please calm down…”

“Enough with that ‘calm down’! Stop saying it. It’s making my blood boil.”

Arasila’s clenched fists trembled. The strength of those hands wasn’t frightening, but the magic they could unleash was threatening.

He needed to resolve the situation before people’s attention became more focused. Demian urgently grabbed the oar and said,

“Let’s talk after we return to land. It’s dangerous to cause a disturbance here.”

Whether for safety or for appearances.

Hearing the murmurs around them, Arasila barely suppressed her anger and sat down. She used wind magic to shake off her wet clothes and hair, then lit a fire in her palm. The moisture was gone, but it was to warm her body.

While she focused on raising her body temperature with tightly sealed lips, Demian paddled hard to return to land.

The boat ride ended in the worst possible way.

Walking behind Arasila, who was visibly angry, Demian didn’t know what to do.

It wasn’t the first time someone was angry with him. But he had never tried to appease that anger before.

Other people’s emotions were none of his business.

Feeling strange about himself for being so cautious, Demian was still restless. How could he improve Arasila’s mood?

He should apologize first, right?

“I’m sorry, wife.”

As soon as they got into the carriage and closed the door, Demian apologized. There was no response from Arasila, who had her arms crossed and her head turned away.

“I didn’t do it on purpose. I was just surprised for a moment, you…”

“You thought I was trying to be intimate, so you avoided it. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

Demian affirmed with silence. See, I knew it. Arasila let out a hollow laugh.

“Do you know how unpleasant your attitude is? Am I dirty to you? I don’t like being intimate with other people either!”

Who said I was dying to be intimate with you? Arasila vented the unjust anger that had been building up in her heart.

“It’s not just you who dislikes it, so why don’t you ever consider other people’s feelings or thoughts?”

After huffing and puffing, she soon asked accusingly.

“Be honest. Is it just me you treat this way?”

“That’s not the case.”

“Then why do you reject physical contact so much? What, do you have a phobia?”

Demian carefully chose his answer. While he did prefer cleanliness, it wasn’t a phobia. There was another reason he felt averse to physical contact.

However, he hesitated to mention it easily because it was connected to his weakness.

‘How can I trust this woman and tell her?’

If she were to have a change of heart and be bought off by the Duke’s family like the head maid, everything he had shown in front of her would come back like a dagger.

‘Demian, you must never live like your mother.’

Words he had buried deep in his memories resurfaced. His naive and timid mother was someone who opened her heart too easily to everyone.

She didn’t know how to doubt others, freely showed her weaknesses, and readily accepted kindness that hid dark intentions.

As a result, she was betrayed by a trusted friend, lost her husband, and died.

If Demian wanted to avenge such a mother, he couldn’t live like her. He couldn’t easily trust anyone, and he had to hide anything that could become a weakness.

“Demian, are you not going to answer?”

As the silence lengthened, Arasila spoke, seemingly frustrated.

“We’re in the same boat anyway, and we have to live as a married couple until you succeed the Duke’s position. So you can at least tell me why you dislike physical contact, can’t you?”

“How can I trust you and tell you?”

Demian impulsively blurted out what was on his mind. He immediately regretted it, but it was already too late. Arasila’s expression visibly hardened.

“If that’s the case, why did you marry me?”

“… Didn’t you propose first? And it was a marriage of mutual necessity.”

In truth, it was a relationship where there was no need to exchange trust or faith. Weren’t they just a couple in name only, who would part ways once they achieved their respective goals?

Feeling that his words weren’t wrong, Demian regained his confidence. But as soon as he met those clear blue eyes staring at him, that confidence melted away like snow.

“Do you think that justifies hurting the other person, Demian?”

“What…”

“I really felt offended by your attitude and was hurt too, just a little, a very little bit.”

Arasila said, leaving a tiny gap between her index finger and thumb. If she said she was hurt a lot, it would damage her pride.

“And if it’s a contract marriage, be more faithful to it. You won’t even let me link arms with you, yet you pretend to be a husband only with words. How long do you think that will work?”

If there was no physical contact between a couple who married for love, people would surely become suspicious someday. The Duke’s family could also use this as a point of attack.

Demian’s expression became complicated. Probably because he couldn’t deny her words. Arasila opened her mouth again, and as she did, she noticed her hair stuck to Demian’s knee and reached out.

Oh my, why is that stuck there.

“Even if you have to practice slowly, you should try to change…”

Slap. The sound of Demian reflexively swatting away Arasila’s hand erased her last words. This time too, it was by no means intentional.

With his mind preoccupied with various thoughts, he had habitually rejected the hand reaching out to him.

“Stop the carriage.”

Arasila lowered her voice, unaware of this fact. Even if she had known, she would have only been more infuriated.

So you’re going to treat me like this till the end? Fine, I won’t either!

“Wife, please listen to me…”

“No, you listen to me first, Demian. I said stop the carriage.”

In the end, the carriage that had been running through the bustling street came to a stop in the middle of the road. The fluttering red hawk flag drooped lifelessly.

Demian watched with a look of dismay as Arasila gathered her handbag and parasol and got out.

“I’ll get out instead. You take the carriage, wife.”

Completely ignoring his words, Arasila left these final words before closing the carriage door:

“Get lost.”

This date was a complete disaster.

Feeling dejected, Demian headed to the knights’ order instead of going home. He wanted to clear his head by swinging his sword in the training grounds.

Since weekends were for voluntary training, there weren’t many knights in the training grounds. Most people wanted to rest on weekends, so only people like Demian were around.

Of course, there were also people who were the complete opposite of Demian. For example, Isaac Wind.

“Commander, what brings you here?”

Isaac, who had been in the midst of using personal instruction as an excuse to work his subordinates, quickly approached Demian as he entered the training grounds.

Seeing the sweat-soaked hair sticking to his forehead reminded Demian of Arasila from earlier, making him uncomfortable.

“Didn’t you say you were going on a date with your wife? You even asked me for restaurant recommendations…”

“Isaac.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Your face is making me uncomfortable, move it away.”

“…Pardon?”

Isaac made a bewildered expression. Saying someone’s face is uncomfortable? Moreover, the one who really looked uncomfortable was Demian.

He had even gone to the trouble of recommending a restaurant, yet why did he look so displeased?

“Did you perhaps have a fight with your wife?”

“…”

Demian didn’t answer, but Isaac knew. His superior either doesn’t answer or changes the subject when faced with a question he doesn’t want to acknowledge.

“Wow, did you have a marital dispute?”

“Isaac.”

“Yes.”

“30 laps around the training grounds.”

But why… Even though Isaac looked wronged, Demian was firm. That’s how it was when you upset your superior’s mood.

Sensing that the number of laps would only increase if he persisted, Isaac had no choice but to put down his sword and start running around the training grounds.

Meanwhile, Demian began his personal training. By the time beads of sweat formed on his forehead, Isaac had finished his running and returned.

“So, why did you fight?”

“…”

“Tell me. I’m a love expert, aren’t I?”

Isaac proudly puffed out his chest with a wide grin. His sly smile wasn’t very trustworthy, but there was no one else to talk to.

As Demian furrowed his brow and remained silent for a while, Isaac actively promoted himself.

“Come on, Commander. Don’t hesitate, just tell me. I’m really a love expert! You have no idea how many guys in the knights’ order have succeeded in love thanks to my advice.”

“I’m not particularly interested in knowing.”

Demian looked at his subordinate with a somewhat pitiful gaze and added.

“And I’m trying to figure out which of the two I should talk about.”

“Two…?”

“Which one made my wife angrier – avoiding physical contact or saying I don’t trust her.”

Isaac’s jaw dropped in shock. Is that really what you’re pondering now?

“In my opinion, I think your attitude of not knowing which one is worse might have angered her the most.”

“What?”

As his superior’s gaze sharpened, Isaac quickly stepped back and raised both hands. But his mouth didn’t stop speaking the truth.

“Honestly, from your wife’s perspective, wouldn’t both be hurtful? What’s the point of weighing which mistake was worse? If it were me, I would have cried.”

“My wife isn’t a crybaby like you.”

“Hey, I’m not a crybaby either!”

Isaac retorted with a stung expression and grumbled.

“Anyway, wasn’t this your first date after marriage? You’ve been busy all this time, making your wife feel lonely, and then on the date you finally made time for, you made her feel hurt. How disappointed must she be?”

“…”

The words ‘first date’ stuck in Demian’s ear.

Their meetings before marriage were for agreeing on the contract marriage. So this outing was indeed their first date in both their lives.

Realizing this fact, Demian’s mood became uncontrollably strange. A husband who hurt his wife on their first date.

‘Was she really hurt?’

Arasila had said with her own mouth that she was a little hurt, so she probably was.

Until now, he had lived without caring whether anyone was hurt or not, but today, for the first time, he felt uncomfortable, as if a thorn was stuck in a corner of his heart.