Serena narrowed her eyes at Magnus’s appearance.

“I don’t particularly need comfort today.”

“…This isn’t comfort, it’s my desire. And…”

Chu, chu, Magnus kissed her cheeks and lips several times.

“I hope it’s your desire too.”

Serena laughed softly at those straightforward words.

It was quite ticklish as he teased her cheeks, forehead, and shoulders with his lips.

“What if I say I don’t want to…?”

At Serena’s mischievous words, Magnus, who had been nuzzling her with his lips, froze.

“…Then of course I wouldn’t do it. My night would be somewhat painful though. Of course, you always have the right to choose.”

Magnus said.

Somehow, his voice sounded dejected, and the lips that had been nuzzling her cheek slowly pulled away.

“If you’re not in the mood, then for today…”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t in the mood.”

“…Really?”

“But I didn’t say I was in the mood either.”

“…Serena.”

Finally realizing that Serena was teasing him, Magnus called her name in a simmering voice.

Ugh, Magnus groaned and kissed her cheek.

“Won’t you give me what’s left of your day?”

Serena laughed softly at that whisper-like confession.

She kissed Magnus’s cheek and then gently bit his lower lip.

“As long as you don’t keep me too long, since there’s a banquet tomorrow.”

“…I’ll try.”

As soon as the words ended, Magnus switched positions with Serena.

In an instant, Magnus, now on top of Serena, smiled.

“Then, I’ll be in your care. Wife.”

“…Suddenly playing husband and wife?”

“It’s not play, we are husband and wife.”

Magnus replied with dissatisfaction and overlapped his body with Serena’s.

* * *

Don’t we all have days like that?

Days when we feel particularly lucky.

Days when you wake up feeling refreshed, with a man holding you in his arms, and somehow filled with a strange confidence that you’re not alone.

Whether it was because of what she heard yesterday or for some other reason.

Small happinesses like her hair turned out especially pretty today, or Magnus giving her a dress that perfectly suits her taste as a gift first thing in the morning.

Serena felt like she was experiencing such happiness today.

And that made her anxious.

Too many good things were happening, and usually, Serena didn’t often experience only good things.

In her life, if a hundred good things happened, inevitably an equally large misfortune would occur.

So Serena always thought that having only good things happen wasn’t particularly enjoyable.

Because at the end of a long tail of happiness, there was always a tag labeled misfortune.

“Why is your expression so dark?”

Magnus, sitting opposite Serena in the carriage, asked with a slight frown.

“Is your body not feeling well because we overdid it yesterday?”

Magnus asked, his face turning slightly pale.

His expression was full of obvious guilt, so Serena answered with a mischievous look.

“Well, you did continue even when I asked you to stop.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself…”

Magnus immediately lowered his eyes at Serena’s gentle rebuke.

Because his crime was quite evident.

Magnus gently stroked her slightly swollen eyes with his thumb, and was about to run his hand through his hair when he remembered they were on their way to a banquet and rubbed his face instead.

“I’m sorry.”

He apologized again.

“I was just teasing. Don’t apologize so seriously.”

Serena said with a voice tinged with laughter.

She turned her head towards the slightly open door, rested her chin on her hand, and spoke leisurely.

“I just feel like I’ve been too lucky since this morning.”

“Lucky?”

“Yes, the meal was to my liking, you gave me a gift, and I felt good when I woke up. My head felt clear and nothing hurt.”

Magnus’s expression slightly twisted at Serena’s words.

It seemed like everything was truly filled with good things, so he couldn’t understand why her expression was dark.

He remained silent, trying to think of an appropriate response or reason for her dark expression, but eventually unable to find an answer, he had to speak.

“What’s the problem with that? If good things are happening to you… it seems very fortunate to me.”

It was even more so for Magnus, who wanted Serena to be happy.

“You know what? One misfortune follows a hundred small happinesses.”

“…Well, if you’re happy a hundred times, you might be sad once, Serena.”

Serena frowned at Magnus’s words.

She quietly looked at Magnus, who was speaking as if to a naive child, and he flinched, shutting his mouth tightly.

“I know what you’re trying to say, but I’m not just complaining.”

“Hmm.”

“I mean that the misfortune comes exactly in proportion to how happy I was.”

Serena said.

On the day she thought work ended particularly early, a war broke out and she died. On the day she was filled with happiness thinking she could finally escape the original story, the carriage plunged off a cliff.

She acknowledges that if there are happy times, there are also unhappy times.

There are ups and downs in a person’s life, times when you go up and times when you come down, and then times when you go up again.

She’s not trying to make the spoiled claim of wanting to be happy all the time.

It’s just that Serena had started to think about Marquis Lavernia again yesterday. She had begun to harbor small expectations about family and rarely even thought of the word hope.

The night she spent with Magnus was particularly ecstatic, and when she woke up with him, her whole body felt refreshed.

For breakfast, she had what she wanted to eat, and for some reason, the sunlight and wind on her cheeks felt good.

So, experiencing all these things in one day, Serena couldn’t help but think she was particularly happy today.

She just couldn’t help thinking that way. She didn’t feel depressed, and dark thoughts didn’t come to mind.

She just felt good, like someone with flowers in her head.

And the moment she realized that, she became depressed.

“Well, you probably won’t understand.”

“…No, I do understand.”

Magnus hastily added to Serena’s self-deprecating words.

“Your face says you don’t understand at all.”

Magnus quietly closed his mouth at the sight of Serena giggling.

In truth, it was because he didn’t understand.

“I hope today ends safely.”

“It will end safely.”

Serena laughed at Magnus’s resolute words.

The carriage had come to a stop.

Serena slowly rubbed her face and lightly massaged her cheeks.

The sound of the coachman getting down could be heard. Suddenly, Magnus took a step forward, bent down, and quickly pressed his lips to hers.

Chu.

At the same time, there was a knock and the door opened carefully.

Serena’s face turned bright red as she belatedly realized Magnus’s action.

“Huh…?”

“Serena, if you have time to worry about such unnecessary things, think about me instead. Isn’t it a bit too much for me to have to be jealous of even your misfortunes?”

Saying that, Magnus got out of the carriage and extended his arm to offer her his hand.

“As long as I’m here, you won’t have any misfortunes.”

“…Okay.”

With a reddened face, Serena clumsily grasped his hand and got out of the carriage.

‘This also seems like a happy thing in the end.’

Serena thought, trying to suppress the rising anxiety.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Isn’t there a saying that misfortune comes from thoughts?

If she didn’t think about it, maybe today would end just like this.

Thinking that, Serena headed towards the banquet hall in the imperial palace, escorted by Magnus.

“His Grace Duke Magnus von Kelahinum and Duchess Serena Kelahinum are entering!”

With a resounding voice, the banquet hall suddenly fell into silence.

The chatter from all around abruptly stopped.