Chapter 50

At that time, he had wondered whether this insensitive man even knew the meaning of that word, but now it was clear. Just by looking at his hardened expression, it was obvious he was jealous.

“……”

Eched gave no response.

As he mechanically blinked, his eyes followed the backs of the two people.

“Wait.”

Orgon tried to compose himself, hiding his flustered feelings, and attempted to organize the situation.

Those two weren’t in that kind of relationship. That was a fact he could firmly believe without the slightest doubt.

“They’re not like that, so don’t misunderstand.”

Of course, no one here actually misunderstood their relationship.

No one, but…

‘Why are they walking so close together?’

Orgon felt uncomfortable for no reason.

Jealousy wasn’t such a simple emotion, and as part of Shaterian’s family, it was inevitable for him to feel self-conscious around Eched.

Moreover, at that moment, Shaterian, who had been walking just fine, suddenly stumbled and leaned her body. She smiled at Eurell, who caught her.

“See, you’re always so kind. Whoever marries you, Eurell, is lucky, I’m sure.”

To Eched, who was currently burning with jealousy, those words undoubtedly sounded like, “I envy the woman who will marry you, Eurell!”

‘This isn’t some divine prank; why is Terry stumbling on flat ground?’

No matter how much Orgon looked, there was only short grass on the ground. There were no stones, no holes—just a perfectly smooth field.

Orgon blamed an innocent deity and dismissed the knights who had lost their focus. There was nothing more to see anyway.

But still, he had to say something, right?

Orgon followed Eched to the 1st Knight Order’s assistant office.

After seeing Eurell off, who had just returned from escorting Shaterian, Orgon entered the Grievance Counseling Office.

The sudden appearance of a high-ranking individual didn’t surprise anyone in the office.

Pell’s monotonous greeting and Shaterian’s clearly annoyed gaze were standard responses.

“What now?”

“Terry, don’t you think you should be a little more careful?”

Shaterian couldn’t understand the sudden remark.

She scolded him, telling him to speak clearly and make sense.

“I saw you earlier with Deputy Commander Eurell.”

Shaterian nodded, as if to tell him to continue.

“Commander Eched was with me too.”

Orgon’s expression was fairly serious, but Shaterian still seemed clueless.

“…And so?”

“How do you think the Knight Commander feels, seeing someone who’s about to marry him acting so close to another man?”

Orgon let out a deep sigh, as if his own heart ached.

But Shaterian responded in a genuinely puzzled tone.

“Oh, so they’re close?”

“……”

“My future wife is so sociable. I really made a good marriage choice.”

“…Do you really think that?”

“Doesn’t it sound more realistic than saying Eched is ‘jealous’?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“See?”

Shaterian shrugged her shoulders as if to say, “I told you so.” Caught off guard, Orgon thought, “This isn’t right…” and tried to refocus.

“Anyway, the point is, you’re getting married because you like each other, right? So, show some respect. I’m telling you this as your family.”

“That’s not true…”

It wasn’t a marriage based on affection.

But Orgon, who hadn’t heard her muttered words, asked again.

“What?”

“No, I get it. Yes, Your Highness. Oh, no! I suddenly have something to do, so I’ll be going now!”

Shaterian darted out of the office like an arrow.

Watching her retreating figure, Pell muttered on Orgon’s behalf, “It’s so obvious, Chief.”

“What on earth is she thinking?”

“Who knows?”

Pell shrugged indifferently.

Orgon sighed and turned around but suddenly noticed a pile of documents on Shaterian’s desk.

Among the haphazardly stacked papers, a sheet labeled “Marriage” peeked out.

It was improper to look at someone else’s desk. But the word “Marriage” was too tempting to ignore.

Unable to resist his curiosity, Orgon finally unearthed the document, only to be utterly shocked.

Astonishment and dismay.

Orgon, who had genuinely wished for Shaterian’s happiness in marriage, now faced the world’s most misplaced first step.

“P-P-Pell!”

Startled by the urgent call, Pell looked up.

He stared at Orgon, who resembled Shaterian in his habit of calling him first whenever something happened.

He was trembling, holding a document with a pale face.

“Terry doesn’t like the Knight Commander…?”

‘How did he even come to such a conclusion…?’

Pell shifted his eyes, thinking, and finding no reason to lie, he answered bluntly.

“No, she doesn’t.”

Orgon’s expression crumbled.

“We need to hold an emergency meeting immediately!”

He rushed out of the counseling office in a hurry.

What on earth was going on?

Pell stared blankly at the firmly closed door after the loud commotion.

Not long after, the Crown Prince reappeared in the Grievance Counseling Office, this time with a line of people behind him.

“This looks fun!”

Taltos, who rarely took anything seriously, was first…

“Why me…”

Lutz, dragged along as the “brains” of the emergency meeting.

“…”

The only married person, Pell.

“What should I do?”

The cheerful helper, Saintess Anella.

“Alright. Terry isn’t here, so let’s get started. Operation: Make Terry Really Fall for the Knight Commander.”

Pell sat stiffly, looking as though he’d bitten into something sour.

Lutz was no different.

They reluctantly took their seats, compelled by orders from above, but… Why did they have to participate in such a pointless endeavor?

After all, those two didn’t need anyone’s help. They’d be fine on their own.

Why was everyone so interested in meddling with their affairs? Surely, they could figure things out for themselves.

Of course, considering their contrasting personalities, it wasn’t entirely worry-free.

But… Pell and Lutz, who had been around when Shaterian was recuperating at the Astrea Ducal Residence, had a vague sense of it.

Their relationship had already changed, and it would only deepen from here on out.

Whether they wanted it or not, the winds of change were already blowing between them.

***

The sigh Shaterian had been holding back since leaving work escaped her lips the moment she stepped into the vast first-floor hall of the Ducal Residence.

“So much space, yet not a single place to sit and rest…”

Shaterian dragged her weary body upstairs to the second-floor reception room, where she sprawled out on the sofa.

“What an utterly ridiculous man.”

The scene in the counseling office before she left work replayed in her mind.

The key figures had gathered there, huddled together with serious expressions, deep in discussion.

She thought they were holding a meeting after returning from an audience with His Majesty the Emperor, but Pell was there. Eched’s absence was also strange.

And, as expected…

Orgon had her marriage contract with Eched in his possession!

‘This guy! No matter how close we are as family, there are boundaries you don’t cross!’

She had smacked him thoroughly on the back before heading home.

Of course, it was her fault for carelessly leaving such an important document on her desk.

‘But really, was that so wrong?’

In noble society, contractual marriages were quite common. The culture of arranged marriages, based on conditions, had long been established.

Thus, drafting a contract itself wasn’t a problem at all.

After all, the love story of Duchess Melis and her husband, which had touched so many hearts, was an extremely rare case.

But for them to conspire over something like this was absurd.

After dismissing everyone, she had cornered Pell, who admitted he was under strict orders to keep his mouth shut.

This left her no choice but to go after Orgon.

She freed Pell, the unfortunate victim of the class system.

“Shaterian.”

When she tilted her head back, she saw Eched entering the reception room.

“I heard you went to the infirmary earlier? They said you skipped lunch.”

“Oh… It was just some indigestion.”

He sat beside her and placed his hand on her forehead. She didn’t have a fever, but he always checked for one first whenever she said she wasn’t feeling well. It was amusing.

She thought about telling him that there were different ways to show concern, but she stopped herself.

Somehow, Eched seemed unusually somber.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah. I took some medicine earlier, so I’m fine.”

“Let’s have dinner. You should eat a little and take your medicine. Wait here.”

With that, Eched stood and left the reception room.

Though his kindness was evident, there was a faint chill in his demeanor.

Eched soon returned with a tray carrying a watery soup with no solids, plain water, and some herbal tea from the infirmary.

She gulped down the soup, which was almost like water, but hesitated when it came to the herbal tea.

When she kept stalling, Eched urged her to drink it, bringing the cup right up to her face.

Ugh.

The dark brown liquid reminded her of the bitter, astringent taste of the medicine she had taken at the infirmary earlier.

“I know a way to feel better without drinking this.”

She pushed the cup away with her hand as she spoke, prompting Eched to look at her curiously.

“Your hand.”

Eched set the cup down and placed his hand over hers as she extended it.

His fingers were long and thick, his hands large. Despite years of wielding a sword, they were soft and unblemished.

She guided his thumb to the space between her thumb and index finger.

“Pressing here works better than drinking that. Like this, gently.”

She showed him where to press, but the next thing she knew, an intense pain shot through her, and she let out a scream.

Startled, Eched quickly pulled his hand away.

Normally, even light pressure would hurt if one had indigestion, but Eched had pressed down mercilessly, causing her discomfort.

Well, she hadn’t expected Eurell’s gentleness from him anyway.

Wiping away the tears that had welled up, she extended her hand again.

“It hurts even with light pressure when you have indigestion. Just press gently, enough to apply slight pressure.”

Eched suggested she drink the herbal tea instead, but the pain from earlier had already somewhat relieved her discomfort.

This time, he cautiously applied less force, glancing at her for confirmation.

As he massaged her hand, shadows fell beneath his thick lashes, making him appear unusually forlorn.

“Eched, earlier Orgon said something. He mentioned how you saw me standing close to Eurell. He asked how you must’ve felt.”

She tossed the remark out lightly, almost jokingly, but the response she received was unexpectedly somber.

“If I said I felt sad… would you keep your distance from the Deputy Commander?”