“……Killian did?”

Ines had never heard of this.

‘It’s not as though I’m short on clothes……’

Ines had received a certain amount of assets when she left the imperial palace. She was a princess, half or otherwise, so it was only natural.

In any case, those assets included a couple of boxes of jewelry and dozens of newly made dresses from just before her departure.

It was not as though she needed new clothes made urgently right after the wedding, at least not for a while.

Ines’s face showed she did not quite understand, and Cecile gave a small laugh.

“You’re thinking the dresses you brought are enough, aren’t you?”

“Mm, it doesn’t seem urgent.”

“Well, the thing is……”

Cecile hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a tone that was oddly warm.

“I said the same thing, but the master said you felt the cold a little, so he wanted new, warmer clothes made.”

“Ah……”

She thought she understood the reason. It was probably because she had been slightly cold on the way to the main building.

What was the right word for this feeling?

Embarrassment at the thoughtful consideration she had not expected? Or excitement that Killian had been thinking of her?

She had long since taken off the jacket she had worn yesterday, yet it still felt as though its warmth was wrapped around her shoulders.

Whatever it was, Ines did not know how not to blush.

* * *

Ines had just stepped out of her room when she came face to face with Killian standing right outside the open door.

Killian’s eyes went slightly wide, then softened into a smile.

“Did you sleep well, Ines?”

“Ah…… yes, yes.”

“I was just coming to get you. Perfect timing.”

If Cecile had not told her that he had ordered clothes made for her, would it have been a little easier to meet his eyes?

No, that was not it. The real reason she kept wanting to avoid his gaze was that yesterday was still too vivid in her memory.

“Um…… did you sleep well? I heard you were up early……”

Ines looked somewhere around his chin and asked quietly.

Killian seemed to consider something, giving a low hum, and she could see his throat move, so her gaze dropped further.

But it did not stay there long.

‘……He hasn’t buttoned all the way up.’

Despite the cool temperature, he was wearing nothing but a loose shirt, with the top two buttons undone. Naturally, the smooth, firm skin beneath was visible.

It was Killian who stopped her gaze from drifting further down.

“Hmm, whether I slept well is a matter of debate……”

It was a small murmur, ambiguous as to whether it was an answer or not. Ines froze for a moment, then cautiously glanced up.

And from the eyes that met hers immediately, as though waiting, Ines understood that he had been teasing.

“……That was a joke.”

Ines exhaled with a dumbfounded expression, and Killian gave a faint smile.

“You were not looking at my face, so I wondered if perhaps I had become less presentable since yesterday.”

Hardly. The subtle joke dissolved the stiffness that had been holding her neck rigid.

Ines laughed helplessly and looked at him directly. Killian blinked.

It was a curious thing.

That a man who was large and masculine, and gave off a cool edge when not smiling, could look so fresh and playful simply by letting those fine eyes droop at the corners.

And that it suited him remarkably well.

“Killian……”

“Yes, what is it?”

“……You’re more mischievous than I expected.”

Ines said it bluntly, having been watching him steadily.

At that, Killian blinked a couple of times, then burst out laughing as though he had heard a genuinely funny joke.

“Ha ha!”

It was not even particularly funny……

Ines’s face went red despite herself at Killian’s unrestrained laughter.

If they had been somewhere private, she might have watched him laugh without restraint, but right now they were in a wide-open corridor.

The passing servants were staring over with surprised faces, which made it worse.

“Stop laughing……”

Ines stepped closer and asked in a near-whisper.

“Ah, I apologize.”

Only then did Killian give a small ahem and rein in his laughter. But he could not seem to help his shoulders shaking intermittently.

“……”

Ines pressed her lips together and gave him a reproachful look, and Killian laughed again with that easy warmth. Somehow her face went even redder than before at that unhurried smile.

“Am I mischievous?”

At the question he had to go and ask again, Ines quietly looked away and began walking as though she had not heard. She also pretended not to hear the small sound of amusement from behind.

Fortunately, Killian seemed to accept the unspoken answer, and simply strode up to walk beside her.

“Good morning, my lady.”

They descended the stairs in an atmosphere that was not exactly conversational but not awkward either, and Ivan met them at the bottom.

Since yesterday, the people of Rupert Castle had been calling Ines Your Grace or my lady. That was somewhat unexpected. It had taken nearly five years before she was called my lady the first time.

Of course, if asked whether she preferred it or not, the answer was obviously the former.

It felt as though she had truly become a member of this household, and Ines had never been particularly fond of the title Your Highness, which she had heard her whole life.

“……Good morning to you too, Ivan.”

She smiled slightly awkwardly and returned the greeting, and Ivan’s eyes crinkled with a warm laugh.

Breakfast was quiet. Neither of them talked much while eating, so the silence felt natural.

A not-too-sweet pudding came out as a palate cleanser.

“It seems you like pudding.”

After eating about half of the small bowl, Ines looked across the table. Killian had yet to touch his pudding, and an oddly satisfied expression rested on his face.

Ines nodded first.

“If I had to say…… I tend to like most desserts.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“What is?”

When she asked with a puzzled look, Killian glanced toward the back where the kitchen was.

“The dessert chef here is very skilled. Fattening you up a little should not be too difficult.”

The words that came out were mildly startling.

“……Fattening me up?”

Ines reflexively looked down at herself. Only her pale hands and the bones of her wrists were visible, the rest hidden by her dress.

She tried to picture her own appearance, but since she had never paid much attention to her looks, it was difficult to assess objectively.

‘Even so, I don’t think I need to gain weight……’

Her eyes, wandering over her wrists and forearms, landed on her chest.

Could it be that he preferred a more curvaceous figure?

It was a reasonably plausible theory.

The people of the North tended to have larger builds than those of the central and southern regions, and naturally their figures tended to be a little more developed in terms of curves.

‘……If that’s really it, maybe I should put on some weight.’

The memory of Killian calling her beautiful did surface briefly, but since he was a kind person, the possibility that it had been an empty compliment could not be ruled out.

A perplexed expression gradually settled over Ines’s face, tinged with a dejection she was not even aware of herself.

Witnessing that shift in expression, Killian quickly understood that Ines was thinking something strange. He also understood that leaving it alone would not be good for him.

That realization was half in the realm of instinct.

“Ines.”

At the slightly urgent call, Ines, who had been fidgeting with her fingers, looked up.

“What I just said was not about your appearance. What I meant was, you’re so thin that I’m wor……”

Killian stopped mid-sentence.

Ines’s expression was growing increasingly complicated, and Killian showed an uncharacteristic look of awkwardness.

“That is, when I held you earlier, you were so light……”

“……”

“……Ha.”

The pauses kept making the atmosphere stranger.

After a brief silence, Killian seemed to give up, ran a hand over his face, and gave a rueful laugh.

“I simply…… meant that I was worried you were too thin. There was no other meaning whatsoever.”

When Killian said that, Ines, who had been biting her lip, finally could not hold back and burst out laughing.

She had realized from the moment he said it was not about her appearance that she had been wildly overthinking it, but she had stayed quiet because watching his rare flustered expression was too enjoyable.

Ines tried to contain her laughter behind her hand, but a laugh that had broken free so fully for the first time in a long while did not settle as easily as she had hoped.

That was probably why Killian had kept snickering earlier too.

“……It seems my wife has a mischievous streak as well.”

Killian, who had quickly pieced together the whole story, murmured with a helpless laugh.

At that, laughter broke out again and she covered her face completely with both hands and shook, and soon she heard him give up and laugh along with her.