Chapter 3 (Part 2)

The reason for today’s outing was not to enjoy a rare excursion. It was purely Tenus’s insistence.

After silently observing Sellakia’s light dress, which hadn’t changed much for several days, he had unilaterally decided on an outing to the shopping district.

“Or you could have called the tailor to the Duke’s house. Why do I have to go to the boutique?”

“Am I taking you somewhere you can’t go? Why are you so against it?”

Tenus mumbled with a face that said he couldn’t understand.

“Usually, people enjoy choosing dresses at the boutique as a hobby.”

“Who does?”

Sellakia asked without thinking, then let out a soft sigh and nodded slowly.

“You must have spent quite a lot of time with young ladies.”

Tenus Seidon was a man whose dazzling appearance couldn’t be denied, even if one looked at him with disdain. It was obvious that he had met many women, even without asking.

The thought of going out based on his past behavior didn’t make her feel any better.

“Not all noble young ladies enjoy going to boutiques. Don’t generalize.”

She hadn’t intended to be sarcastic, but her voice came out curtly, contrary to her intention.

After all, it was an outing to purchase her things, not Tenus’s. It wasn’t childish to sulk because her day’s plans were disrupted.

Sellakia hesitated, then softened her slightly cold gaze.

“What I mean is, there might be another young lady like me. Keep that in mind for later.”

“Keep it in mind?”

“Yes. Consider it a piece of advice.”

“Is that advice for your husband?”

Tenus, who was leaning his elbow on the carriage window, smirked, letting out a sound like air escaping.

“It’s not like I’m encouraging you to have an affair.”

Tenus leaned forward. In the narrow carriage, his handsome face approached, and Sellakia looked at him unblinkingly.

His face, with a genuine smile rather than a sneer or mockery, was unfamiliar. When his eyes softened, Tenus’s intelligent impression faded, and he looked like a mischievous boy.

“Why don’t you finally come to terms with it? That you and I are married.”

His long, bony finger lightly tapped Sellakia’s forehead. Her expression, which had been blank, furrowed as if waking from a dream.

“What are you talking about? Even if I don’t remember the wedding, I’ve never forgotten it for a moment since I returned here. Look.”

Sellakia grabbed his wrist near her forehead with her right hand. The thick bones and raw muscle felt unfamiliar, but she adjusted the angle to show the wedding ring clearly, without letting go.

“I’ve never taken it off since I received it from you. I’m always aware of it, like it’s part of my body.”

Of course, she could just take it off, but she wisely kept that thought to herself.

“…”

Tenus’s dark blue eyes landed on the ring. It had been his parents’ wedding ring, yet he looked at it as if seeing a foreign object for the first time.

And when his gaze returned to Sellakia’s face, the faint smile that had lingered on his face had completely vanished.

Sellakia, startled by Tenus’s sudden change in expression, flinched. It was only then that Tenus seemed to realize she was holding his wrist, and he shook her hand off.

“We’ll be arriving at the shopping district soon.”

He awkwardly changed the subject, avoiding Sellakia’s gaze as if he wanted to escape the uncomfortable conversation.

Tenus glanced out the window for a moment and then closed his eyes.

Sellakia’s hand gently wrapped around the wrist she had touched with her other hand.

* * *

They arrived at the shopping district. Tenus helped Sellakia alight from the carriage. However, unlike his perfect escort, he withdrew his arm so quickly once she was on the ground that it was almost hurtful.

It felt as if she were some untouchable, filthy creature.

When he smiled like a charming boy, he captured people’s attention, and yet now his attitude had changed suddenly without explanation.

Did I say something wrong? Did he catch me in a lie? 

She replayed their conversation in the carriage but couldn’t pinpoint anything specific.

An incomprehensible man, indeed.

Sellakia turned her head sharply away from Tenus, as if ignoring an unsolvable problem. Her expression changed at that moment.

“…”

She almost gasped in admiration at the sight before her. Though she managed to keep her lips tightly shut, she couldn’t help the flush of surprise on her face.

The streets of the shopping district were teeming with people. The lively bustle was so intense it made her sway. Among the bustling streets, what caught Sellakia’s eye the most was the canal flowing alongside the road where carriages traveled.

Several boats floated on the wide, deep canal. Looking along the long waterway, she could see wooden drawbridges connecting the streets at intervals.

It was a landscape quite different from the Viscount Lensch’s territory.

“Is this the famous Willem Canal?”

The reputation of the Seidon Dukedom was largely built on its ancient power and wealth from thriving trade, but its unique urban landscape also played a significant role.

The empire’s foremost canal city.

Unlike other regions, this place had countless canals. While some rivers had been developed into canals, most were waterways deliberately constructed by the first Duke Seidon through land reclamation.

There were seven large canals encircling the center of the Dukedom like arteries, and more than 80 smaller ones flowing like capillaries. Books introducing the Seidon Dukedom described hundreds of bridges connecting these canals.

Among them, the Willem Canal was the most central.

Sellakia couldn’t take her eyes off the canal, which was more overwhelming in size than she had imagined from the books.

“I didn’t expect it to be this big. It’s like a miniature ocean.”

There were small boats carrying cargo, leisurely boats with nobles sipping champagne, and two-person canoes with what seemed to be couples. The sight of various boats, big and small, floating leisurely was very peaceful.

Just watching it made her feel at peace. Tenus, who seemed no different, suggested in a suddenly kind tone, as if he hadn’t acted like someone who disliked being touched.

“If you want to enjoy boating here, just let me know. I’ll have a boat with a band accompany you.”

“Hmm. Sure.”

Could I pretend to go boating and steal a boat to escape to the sea?

She imagined the absurd plan, but it seemed unrealistic in many ways. Sellakia turned her gaze to the street, soothing her disappointment.

Like the canal, the street was filled with carriages carrying goods. There were also many mercenaries armed with swords escorting the carriages.

Sellakia recalled the walls she saw when she first came to the Seidon Dukedom. The grand and sturdy walls she glimpsed through the small carriage window were as imposing as those in the imperial capital.

A hub of imperial trade. The Seidon Dukedom, where you could find everything in the world, seemed to put a lot of effort into maintaining security.

Buildings lined up against the wall, people in various exotic costumes.

In the street, full of things to see, Sellakia’s eyes darted around busily.

At that moment, a shadow suddenly fell over her. It wasn’t a sky that promised rain. Puzzled, she looked up to see a parasol shading her from the sun. Tenus, standing at a suitable distance, was tilting the parasol for her.

“You… what, what are you doing?”

“As you can see.”

Tenus gestured at the parasol nonchalantly. Sellakia, startled as if witnessing the sea parting, reached out her hand.

“Give it to me. I’ll hold it.”

“The dress shop is a little farther. This way.”

“I said give it to me.”

“I’m the one who said you shouldn’t do anything with that hand. I can’t go back on my word.”

Anyone listening might think the parasol was some heavy, dangerous weapon.

The hand that Tenus insisted she not use had long since healed cleanly without a scar, thanks to daily applications of ointment. It wasn’t a significant injury to begin with.

“I can hold a knife, so a parasol is…”

Sellakia, who was about to insist, suddenly stopped speaking.

The sight of Tenus Seidon, a man with a robust physique, holding a white lace parasol was unexpectedly pleasing to the eye.

“Your Grace, this is something I should be doing… Oh dear. You shouldn’t be doing this.”

The maid following behind stamped her feet, but Tenus looked completely unconcerned. There was a significant gap between his oblivious demeanor and the perplexed glances exchanged by his subordinate knights behind him.

Eventually, even passersby turned their heads to gawk at Tenus, creating a comical scene. As laughter threatened to spill out, Sellakia realized something.

Tenus wouldn’t offer such consideration without reason. He must have some ulterior motive. Perhaps, for instance, to spread a rumor with everyone in this street as witnesses.

If word got out that the Duke of Seidon personally held a parasol for his wife while walking down the street, no one would doubt their marriage.

Though he might receive a fair amount of ridicule for being a doting husband in social circles, it could actually help solidify their marriage, which had already faced one failed certification.