The Creditor Is My Husband? - Chapter 56

Because what they wanted wasn’t a life she could afford, but a luxurious life parasitic on Lucas.

…Just look at them now.

“Hahaha! Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I went horseback riding. I should take this opportunity to buy a good horse.”

“A diamond exhibition? My, that sounds interesting. If you invite me, I’d be delighted to go.”

Giselle watched her parents putting on airs, swallowed another sigh, and turned away. At that moment, a woman in flashy attire approached from the opposite direction.

“…Lady Dalton.”

The woman approaching Giselle was Giana Dalton. She continued with a bright smile, as if she had completely forgotten about their last encounter.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Mrs. Taylor.”

“Thank you, Lady Dalton.”

There was no need to be sensitive when the other party had let go of their ill feelings and offered greetings.

As Giselle returned the greeting with a calm expression, Giana smiled strangely. Then she leaned slightly towards her and whispered in a low voice.

“Do you feel like you have the whole world?”

“……?”

“I suppose you might. The process of you two getting married is like a fairy tale, isn’t it? A Cinderella story where a girl covered in ashes meets a prince and gets her happy ending.”

Giana straightened up again and continued in a kind tone.

“But unfortunately, reality is different from fairy tales. I hope your married life doesn’t turn into a ‘cruel fairy tale’.”

It was practically a curse delivered in a kind voice. However, because they were at a distance from others, no one else heard what Giana had said.

They would just think she had offered congratulations.

If she suddenly got angry in this situation, she would be the only one who looked strange.

Giselle almost flared up at Giana’s words for a moment, but she calmed herself down and agreed with her words.

“You’re right. A fairy tale is just a fairy tale.”

Giana raised one eyebrow, looking at her as if disappointed that she didn’t get the reaction she expected.

“Because our marriage is reality. It’s not a fairy tale that a child dreams of, but a story of ‘adults’.”

Giselle added with a smile towards Giana. With the shyness of a newlywed bride, her face slightly flushed.

Giana wasn’t naive enough to not understand the meaning. Moreover, having emphasized the part about it being an ‘adult’ story, whatever she imagined made her face turn red.

Giselle looked at her as if she was looking at a child, smirked, and spoke again.

“Of course, it might be a story that Lady Dalton, who isn’t married yet, doesn’t know about.”

“Wh-what? Who says I don’t know…”

Giana, provoked by Giselle’s words, raised her voice without realizing it. At the same time, the attention of those around focused on her.

Giana glared at Giselle as if she wanted to kill her, then abruptly turned away.

* * *

「Of course, it might be a story that Lady Dalton, who isn’t married yet, doesn’t know about.」

“Ughh…”

Recalling what she had said to Giana at the banquet, Giselle plunged her face into the bathtub that was full of water.

“Oh my, Madam!”

“Madam! Are you feeling unwell?”

The maids attending to her bath asked urgently, startled. Giselle finally realized she was in the middle of bathing and quickly raised her head.

“Ah, it’s nothing. Just feeling a bit hot.”

She explained while rubbing her soaked face with her hands. Giselle’s face was flushed red, either from the embarrassing memory or from washing with warm water.

“Hehe, I think the madam might be nervous about her wedding night.”
One of the maids spoke, trying to suppress her laughter. Giselle patted her red-hot cheeks with her palms and quickly shook her head.

“It’s not like that! Just…”

She opened her mouth to find an excuse but then closed it without saying anything.

What could she possibly explain?

She couldn’t reveal her childish behavior towards Giana. There was also the matter of maintaining her dignity as the lady of the house in front of the maids.

The maids, misinterpreting Giselle’s flustered expression, exchanged glances once again, suppressing their laughter.

Thinking that the lovely and innocent madam must be very nervous about spending her ‘first night’.

Of course, even amidst this, the maids’ skilled hands never ceased their work.

“Now, I’ll apply the oil, Madam.”

The maid who had been drying Giselle’s wet body spoke with a smile. As soon as Giselle nodded, she began applying oil to her dried body.

Having been soaked in warm water, her body felt languid. Moreover, the gentle touch applying the oil made her feel like she might fall asleep.

…If only it weren’t for the rose scent that filled her nostrils.

“It seems to have a rose scent.”

“Yes, we prepared Hamir Mountain rose oil. How do you like it?”

“…It’s fine. No, I like it.”

Giselle touched her nape, feeling strange about the rose scent emanating from her body.

Even wearing perfume had been a luxury for her. So, taking a bath and applying oil to her body was something she had never even imagined.

As she awkwardly stroked her smooth skin, a maid approached again, holding out a robe with both hands.

“Please put on the robe.”

“…A robe? Shouldn’t I put on pajamas first?”

Giselle asked in confusion, seeing the maid bring only a robe and not pajamas. Once again, laughter escaped from among the maids.

“You won’t need pajamas tonight…”

One of the more mischievous-looking maids spoke in a teasing voice. Simultaneously, the other maids burst into giggles.

“What insolent behavior is this towards the madam!”

The oldest maid exclaimed in shock, scolding the others. But even her lips were twitching with suppressed laughter.

“Haah…”

Giselle finally understood the maid’s meaning and blushed. The maids poked each other’s sides, giggling, but upon seeing her reaction, they bowed their heads.

“We apologize, Madam.”

“We’re truly sorry, Madam. It’s been so long since we’ve served a mistress, we got carried away without realizing…”

“It’s alright. It’s fine… Ahem, can you hand me that robe?”

She pressed her fingertip to her nose once, hiding her embarrassed expression, then held out her hand.

* * *

Left.

Then right.

The bathroom door opened, and Giselle emerged, tightly clutching her pure white robe. She then looked left and right as if she were a thief sneaking into the bedroom.

…Though her attempt at stealth was utterly clumsy.

Lucas, sitting askew on the sofa, watched Giselle and chuckled. At the same time, the cat that had been rolling around on the bed first meowed long towards her.

“Meowww.”

“Elizabeth? Oh… Eep!”

Giselle, who had been tense, brightened at the cat’s meow, but then spotted him and turned around in shock. Her shoulders visibly trembled, indicating how startled she was.

“……”

Lucas’s gaze unconsciously traveled from her head to her toes.

The woman’s curves were clearly visible through the thin robe. Though she might have thought it was fine since she had her back turned.

He silently swallowed, his throat suddenly dry, then managed to speak casually.

“Are you going to keep standing there? Come here and sit down.”

“…Ah! Y-yes, of course.”

Startled by Lucas’s words, Giselle flinched even more, then turned around again, trying to act nonchalant.

But the way she clutched her robe so tightly her fingers turned white, and her bright red face, clearly showed how nervous she was.

“Meow.”

Just as Giselle sat down on the sofa opposite him, trying to compose her awkward expression, another meow was heard from the bed.

“…Good heavens.”

She looked at the bed where the sound came from and laughed in disbelief.

The cat was happily rolling around on the bedding prepared for them.

“You didn’t bring Elizabeth in… No, of course not.”

Giselle changed what she was about to say to Lucas, seeing the white bedding covered in cat hair.

There was no way the always neat man would allow a cat to roll around on his bed like that.

“It snuck in when Bushin entered. I tried to shoo it out, but it made such a fuss.”

“Ah, I see.”

She tried to suppress a smile as she watched Lucas respond with displeasure.

If he really hated the cat, he would have thrown it out.

If the old butler had trouble handling the cat, he could have called another servant.

But the cat was playing nonchalantly on the bed. She knew this was only possible with Lucas’s permission.

‘He’s surprisingly kind, after all.’

He seems cold and indifferent, but he has a kind side. It was an aspect she hadn’t known when she was just his employee.

Surprisingly kind, and sometimes mischievous too.

‘…I wonder if I’ll discover more sides of him I didn’t know before.’

Now that they’re married, they’ll live together for the rest of their lives, starting from tonight…

“Hic!”

No, why did my thoughts suddenly jump from the cat to ‘tonight’!

Giselle covered her mouth with her hand, trying to rein in her runaway thoughts. But perhaps startled by the thoughts that had suddenly occurred to her, the hiccups that had started wouldn’t stop.

“Hic! Ah, I’m sorry…”

She covered her mouth with one hand while groping the table with the other, looking for a glass of water.

But all that was on the table was a bottle of the finest wine, along with cheese and fruit to accompany it.

To celebrate the newlyweds’ first night after their wedding.

“Hic!”

Flustered, Giselle covered her mouth with both hands and her body jerked. Her attempts to stop the hiccups somehow were both pitiful and amusing to watch.

Lucas watched her quietly, then smirked and poured some wine into the glass in front of her. Just a little, not even a full sip.