Side Story 1.2

“How can you smile at that nonsense?”

After the party, once the guests had left, Roderick finally vented his repeatedly stifled anger at Margaret. Like a fool.

“Don’t get so angry. They all mean well…”

“Mean well! I’m not so stupid that I can’t tell what they’re really saying! Even I can tell…”

Margaret’s eyes curved as she looked at angry Roderick. Just the same as when she smiled at the men who teased her.

“Boring man.”

Her smile was as lovely as ever. Her round, powdered forehead was uncreased. Her smooth lips and plump cheeks were the same. The same smile she’d given Roderick in their first two meetings, and the one she gave to the men who joked with her.

“Everyone was smiling.”

“…”

“That’s a good thing.”

Only then did Roderick realize Margaret didn’t love him. Unlike him, who’d fallen in love at first sight, she asked him to be a perfect husband but didn’t love him. Not at all.

“But you…”

“I was smiling too, you know?”

‘No. That wasn’t because you were truly happy.’ Those words caught in Roderick’s throat.

He couldn’t bring himself to say it. No matter how awkward Roderick was with people, he still had sense. Looking at Margaret’s unwavering smile, he wasn’t so foolish as to not guess how many times she must have gone through things like this. He vaguely understood that he couldn’t possibly imagine what it felt like for her to keep smiling through such words, and that he shouldn’t try.

Roderick couldn’t know how his beautiful and lovely fiancée had lived her life so far; he hadn’t lived a life like hers.

Margaret’s smiling face, looking up at Roderick’s stiff expression, was frightening. He feared he would never know what was hidden beneath that steadfast smile for the rest of his life. He feared that even after marrying the woman he loved, he might only ever see her smiling face, and nothing else.

Put another way, he wanted to see her crying face, her angry face. Even the unlovely sides of lovely Margaret Rosetta.

“Still, from now on, if you hear things like that, please get angry.”

“Oh my.”

“If you don’t, I’ll get angry.”

Even if this was all he could say for now, someday…

Margaret burst into a cheerful laugh, like a bell ringing. The sound of her laughter, just like she did in front of others, echoed between them. Roderick thought that laughter scratched at the surface of his heart.

“A possessive husband isn’t attractive.”

“If I’m not attractive, will you throw me away?”

Margaret’s soft fingertips touched Roderick’s cheek as he asked in a gloomy voice. She took a step closer to him. With that single step, the distance between Roderick Erica and Margaret Rosetta grew closer.

“No.”

Roderick’s breath stopped.

“I’ll just deduct points.”

Before he could even relax, Margaret added. The sensation of her round fingernails softly grazing his cheek sent a shiver through him. Somewhere, a sweet scent lingered—like flowers.

“But today, I’ll give you a hundred extra points. My two-hundred-point husband.”

“……”

“If you ever hit zero, I might throw you away, so you’d better keep your score up from now on, okay?”

At that moment, Roderick realized. He would spend his entire life clinging to Margaret, desperately trying not to be abandoned by her. All the time left in his life was now in Margaret Rosetta’s hands.

No one had taken anything from him, yet he had been taken. Roderick Erica’s whole life was stolen by Margaret. But he didn’t mind. His heart had been hers for a long time already, so what difference did it make to lose it forever? If possible, he hoped never to get it back.

With that thought, Roderick kissed Margaret’s lips for the first time.

“…Ugh!”

“You crazy man!”

And immediately, he was kicked in the shin by a shoe studded with jewels. Only minutes after wishing to see her angry face, he saw Margaret’s fury—much stronger than expected. Both her kicks and her words.

But Roderick ignored the pain in his shin and laughed.

“What are you laughing about? You just lost twenty points, you know!”

Her voice, which had melted sweetly, now rose and grew rough—and he liked it. Even angry, lovely Margaret was lovely. Of course she was. Roderick was hopelessly in love with her. He realized that day that you could fall in love again with someone you already loved.

Of course, after marrying, Roderick experienced Margaret’s anger on a whole different level, many times. Kicked in the shin, pinched on the arm, sometimes slapped on the back. When Margaret was truly angry, her lovely smile was nowhere to be found, and she was terrifying. Each time, Roderick was, frankly, scared—afraid his points would drop and he’d be abandoned.

Fortunately, Margaret was a merciful judge, deducting points but generously restoring them. Their marriage, which would surprise anyone who found out, continued smoothly. Roderick gradually got used to every side of Margaret: angry Margaret, crying Margaret, hurting Margaret, surprised Margaret, annoyed Margaret. Maggie. His Maggie.

The day he learned she was pregnant, Margaret cried and yanked out all his hair. As she sobbed about what would happen if she died giving birth, Roderick held her and comforted her, saying a lovely daughter just like her would be born, and that he wanted to see mother and daughter sitting together, smiling, for the rest of his life.

After their child, Delilah, was born, Roderick fell in love again. With his lovely daughter who was just like Margaret, and with Margaret herself, caring for their daughter.

As his work got busier and their child grew up, countless days piled up. Through all those days, the love that held him never faded, only grew stronger and more solid.

At the end of all those days, even seeing Margaret’s angry face after so long, he was no longer afraid of being abandoned.

“Did you sleep well? Are you sure you have time?”

The next morning, after drifting off while reminiscing, Margaret’s face was clear as she turned to Roderick, who was bustling about to go see their daughter. The traces of last night’s anger had been washed away during the night, and her face was once again gentle and lovely.

“I’m fine. I can’t send you off alone on a long trip.”

“How could I not go alone while you’re working every day?”

Even her sharp tone was endearing. Roderick wondered how long his wife would stay so lovely—of course, forever. As he fastened her dress buttons, shooing away the servants, he leaned in to whisper in Margaret’s ear.

“Maggie, how many points do I have?”

Margaret, choosing from the jewelry laid out before her, casually pointed to a few sparkling pieces. While the servants sorted the rest, Roderick fastened the last button on her dress.

“Two hundred points, husband.”

“Isn’t that a bit low?”

“You lost eight hundred points yesterday.”

Their sweet, newlywed-like exchange made the servants quietly leave the room. Margaret turned to face Roderick, feeling for the buttons on her back.

“So I originally had a thousand?”

“No, nine hundred.”

“Then…”

“I just gave you a hundred more, because you’re handsome.”

Margaret’s hand stroked Roderick’s cheek. He smiled at the soft touch of her round fingers.

“You’re generous with points.”

“It’s because your smiling face is handsome. A hundred points extra—congratulations on reaching three hundred.”

Roderick wrapped his arms around Margaret’s waist. As he kissed her lips, Margaret kicked his shin again.

“Ugh!”

“My makeup’s ruined! I finally got it just right today—really, I’ll deduct fifty points!”

Even so, Margaret’s lips held a smooth smile. Not the kind that hid her feelings, but the kind that burst out uncontrollably—the smile Roderick loved most.

Once, he’d wanted to see Margaret’s crying or angry face more than her smile. But truly, seeing the smile of the one you love was best. The bell-like laughter that always touched his heart rang between the long-married couple.

So Roderick ignored the pain in his shin and smiled.

“Honestly, you have no eye for men. I get angry just thinking about it…”

“Maggie, it’s lucky you set your standards high.”

“Are you bragging about your looks now?”

Roderick kissed Margaret again on her small, chirping lips. She kicked his shin a second time. But this time, her toe was gentle, not painful at all. Their faces, after years together, wore matching smiles.