Chapter 1.11

Lisael was a woman who diligently practiced what she preached. She was faithfully carrying out her plan to seclude herself in the villa, just as she had announced in advance!

Miguel couldn’t understand how she could remain cooped up in the gloomy villa study when faced with the dazzling white sands and sea of Grand Town. He thought her heart would change if she saw the beautiful scenery of Grand Town firsthand, but it was incomprehensible to him.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to drag her out by force. For the first few days, he implemented a warm sunshine strategy, attempting to entice Lisael with a lavish itinerary that she couldn’t resist joining.

“Cruise? I suffer from severe seasickness, so I’ll pass.”

“An opera when there’s this beautiful beach? I’m not interested.”

“A walk on the beach? I dislike sunlight.”

If she didn’t want this, he suggested that, but she didn’t want that either. It was a persistent attempt, and Miguel prided himself on having done enough. If Lisael hadn’t thrown a trident-like dagger at him just before his patience hit rock bottom, he would have dragged her onto the cruise by force, sunshine strategy be damned.

“To be honest, it’s not the itinerary I dislike; it’s being with you that I dislike.”

‘Lisa’s honesty was her charm.’

Lisael’s unnecessarily candid remark, as if telling him to give up, left an irreparable internal wound on Miguel. His heart, torn to shreds by the trident that came straight at him, staggered out of the study.

Miguel Dante would undoubtedly be the first and last tourist to come to Grand Town for a honeymoon, only to attend the hunting grounds every day with a rifle. At least he wasn’t alone in the hunting grounds. It had been five days since he went hunting with the nearby nobles who rushed over upon hearing that Miguel had come to Grand Town for his honeymoon. Finally, tomorrow, they could return to Cherlin!

He was tired of pretending to go to the hunting grounds every day to catch wild beasts to present to his wife. Ultimately, Miguel concluded the fifth day’s hunt in the morning and returned to the villa early.

“How about giving the Young Countess a gift? She might be pleased if she receives a gift she truly likes.”

Unlike the hunting mates he barely knew, the perceptive staff at the Dante family villa could no longer pretend to ignore the distant relationship between the Young Earl couple after a few days.

The head butler, more experienced in the world of marriage than Miguel, cautiously advised him, who had returned home early. His theory was that he had never heard of a wife who genuinely disliked a gift brought by her husband right after a marital spat.

Miguel was intrigued by the butler’s confident smile and suggestion. If he wanted to create a somewhat softer atmosphere in the carriage back to Cherlin, he had to do something.

“A gift? Yes… what would be good?”

Come to think of it, he hadn’t given her a direct gift since their marriage. The wedding ring and the flood of gold and silver sent were all prepared by the family.

No matter how hectic the marriage was, realizing this only now made Miguel Dante feel like a fool!

Miguel lightly bit the inside of his mouth as a form of self-reproach. Seeing Miguel’s complexion brighten as if he had found the answer to life, the butler cautiously gave him a hint.

“Since it’s the first gift after marriage, how about jewelry that the young madam would like?”

“Jewelry… sounds good.”

Miguel’s house had more than enough wealth lying around; why not use it at a time like this? A bouquet that gives a gentle impression would be nice, but for the first gift after marriage, a jaw-droppingly expensive jewel would be fitting.

“Prepare to go to the largest jewelry store in Grand Town immediately.”

And Miguel, intending to buy the most expensive jewel in Grand Town, arrogantly curled his lips upward.

*   *   *

“Ah, I’m bored now.”

Was this the fifth book? 

Meanwhile, Lisael, who had been holed up in the study all day since waking up, closed the thick book and stretched. She had done enough reading to tire her eyes.

The reason for her seclusion in the villa wasn’t just Miguel. Somehow, whenever she thought about going outside, she had the illusion that she would run into Matilda and Crisen.

Grand Town was vast, and she wasn’t a criminal, but the unfounded belief that even encountering them would be rude weighed on Lisael’s mind.

‘Still, since today is the last day, maybe I’ll try going out.’

Of course, she intended to avoid the crowded city center. Having grown up around forests, farmland, and pastures since she was young, she preferred the forest to the sea. She planned to visit a place she always went to whenever she came to Grand Town and reminisce.

“Please call a private carriage.”

When the Young Countess, who had been in seclusion for a week, finally said she was going out, the maid was startled and quickly went to call a carriage.

If she used the villa’s carriage, the staff would undoubtedly report her destination to Miguel. Not wanting to feel watched for some reason, Lisael opted for a private carriage. Miguel always went hunting and returned around dinner, so there would be no problem if she returned before then.

“Please take me to the Bescheny Forest Park.”

After Lisael left, the butler, who was later informed by the maid that she had gone out, looked troubled.

“The young madam went out?”

Oh dear, the Young Earl will soon be looking for the Young Countess with a tremendous gift, and now she’s gone out for the first time. 

Hopefully, the Young Earl would return later than the young madam.

The butler, who was blankly staring at the villa’s main gate, suddenly massaged his shoulder, which was starting to ache.

*   *   *

Forests do not change unless touched by human hands. The well-preserved Bescheny Park was the same. As Lisael walked the forest path of Bescheny for the first time in years and deeply inhaled the fresh forest scent, she momentarily felt as if she were in Cherlin.

Bescheny Park was such a wonderful place that it blew away her stifling feelings, yet it was a place rarely visited by tourists who came for a seaside vacation. Thanks to that, she could have the quiet and peaceful forest all to herself.

In the lush forest, there were a few benches for visitors to sit and rest. Sitting cautiously on one of them, Lisael leaned her head back and quietly closed her eyes.

An abruptly arranged marriage entangled with interests, her changing daily life, and the completely different world that would unfold in Cherlin… she decided not to think about the complex things she had been tearing her hair out over in the study.

‘But… the sky seems a bit cloudy.’

Until a moment ago, the sky was clear and bright, but now it was cloudy and gloomy after she took her eyes off it for a while. It looked like it might pour rain at any moment.

Having enjoyed the lush greenery enough, Lisael decided to return to the villa before the rain started. In the sparsely populated park, there was a small hut where the park’s caretaker resided.

She could ask the caretaker to call a private carriage.

Drip-.

Drip-drip-.

‘…Huh?’

Swoosh-!

Before she could reach the hut, raindrops that had started falling one by one on Lisael’s shoulders suddenly turned into a torrential downpour. The heavy rain, penetrating through the dense trees, made Lisael, who had been walking lightly, sprint towards the hut.

Knock, knock, knock-.

Despite her sprint, Lisael, now looking like a drowned rat, knocked on the hut door, and soon the park’s caretaker, a middle-aged man with a bushy beard, opened the door. He was startled to see a guest drenched in the pouring rain and frowned.

“…Who are you?”

Her attire looked noble, but her appearance was far from it… Lisael, shivering from her wet body, asked the caretaker who swallowed his words.

“Excuse me, but could you call a private carriage to take me back to town?”

“Oh dear, what should we do? This is a remote forest, and when it rains, the ground sinks, so private carriages don’t want to come here. It’s rare since the weather is usually nice, but…”

Unable to ignore the sight of Lisael shivering from her body to her teeth, the caretaker clicked his tongue.

“For now, please come inside.”

The caretaker extended unavoidable kindness to her, who seemed like she would freeze to death if he didn’t.

*   *   *

“It is an honor for our store to be visited by the Young Earl! In the hundred-year history of our jewelry store, there has never been a day as glorious as today!”

“Enough with the flattery, show me the most expensive jewel in this store.”

Such grandeur befitting a great noble. The jeweler’s owner, subdued by Miguel in a single phrase upon his entry, grinned from ear to ear and quickly dashed off somewhere, promising to bring back a precious jewel.

Indeed, gifting a rare jewel to Lisael seemed like a pretty good strategy.