Extra Chapter 6: The Couples’ Trip (Part 2)

After three weeks of sailing, Perta dropped her daughter and son-in-law off at the nearby port city of Riba. She could have taken them all the way to Luhra through the North Sea, but Carlie wanted to travel more, and Raham wanted to get off the ship as soon as possible.

Carlie had reasons like wanting to check the progress of the castle construction before going to Luhra, while Raham simply wanted to get away from his mother-in-law’s family as quickly as possible.

For these various reasons, the couple set foot in Riba. As always, people’s gazes fixed on their faces like arrows. Raham suddenly realized that in his rush to board the ship, he had left behind the blanket he used to cover Carlie’s and his own face.

He lamented:

“We left our luggage behind.”

“Ah, that. Mom will send it along.”

Fortunately, since Carlie was someone whose identity could be recognized at a single glance, no one dared approach them casually. With each step the couple took, the crowd parted naturally. There was nothing they could do about the stares boring into their faces, though.

Feeling this, Carlie joked:

“Maybe covering our faces would have been better after all.”

Raham agreed enthusiastically:

“I think so too.”

He missed the blanket they’d left behind as random strangers gawked at his wife’s face. He really needed to find a clothing store first and buy a hood…

“But then again, it would be a shame to hide such a handsome man all to myself.”

“…?”

Raham was surprised twice—first by realizing Carlie was talking about a different subject than he was, and second by her logic. He expressed his dissatisfaction with this strange reasoning he occasionally heard:

“Don’t you ever feel like you want to keep me all to yourself?”

“I already do have you all to myself. It’s the same thing.”

“Even if we’re married, you could still catch someone’s eye.”

“Then they’d die…”

Raham didn’t dare ask who would die. Somehow, it felt like he shouldn’t ask. He cleared his throat and led Carlie along the path cleared by the people. He could hear her giggling.

The Albanas family maintained large mansions in every major city throughout their territory, ready for use at any time. The castle where Perta currently resided was one of them, and there was a similar one in the port city of Riba where the couple had disembarked.

Thanks to a message bird sent ahead while they were still on the ship, all preparations were complete by the time they arrived at the mansion.

The couple soaked in hot water in a spacious bath for the first time in a long while. After relieving their fatigue, they found a sumptuous meal prepared on the table, and letters that had been sent to them were piled as high as the documents in the lord’s office.

“…?”

Raham hesitated as he shuffled through them, wondering what they were.

“Ah, no, this is…”

Seven-tenths of the letters were from Rarien, two-tenths from Calsien, and the remaining one-tenth was a mix of letters from Carlisle and Sierra, along with reports from the butler about the castle construction progress.

Judging by the dates, it seemed Rarien had made it her nightly routine to write letters to her mom and dad. Calsien had written occasionally, whenever he thought of it.

“Ugh…”

Raham wavered between emotional gratitude and distress. It was deeply touching that his beloved daughter hadn’t forgotten her father even from far away, but even he would struggle to reply individually to fifty letters. However, addressing all the received letters with a single reply might work with Carlie, but not with a ten-year-old daughter.

“Ka… Carlie! Carlie!”

He desperately searched for his wife to share the burden. As he looked around the empty mansion after the servants had withdrawn, he heard a voice responding from somewhere:

“Yes~ I’m here.”

Raham opened the door to one of the rooms and poked his head in.

“We have a big prob—”

His eyes widened. Carlie was in the process of turning the room into their private playroom, pulling items one after another from the small backpack she had brought. It seemed like everything from their room had been transferred here.

“What…?”

Carlie turned to look at his bewildered face and gave him an eye-smile.

“Of course I brought them. We couldn’t leave them there.”

That was true. Even after eleven years of marriage, he remained a man with secrets that must never be discovered by his brother-in-law. If discovered, Carlisle would surely hang Raham upside down from the castle wall that very day. Realizing he had nearly died an absurd death, his ankles felt weak.

“But what’s the big problem?”

Raham started, momentarily distracted by the items he’d seen and imagining the time they would spend together as a couple. He explained the emergency:

“So now I have to write replies to fifty letters just from Rari…”

“Mm-hmm, I’ll leave that to you, husband.”

Raham’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly. Seeing his aggrieved expression, Carlie playfully raised her eyebrows.

“Were you planning to make me do it?”

“Bu-but Rari clearly wrote to Mom and Dad…”

“Yes. That’s why Dad can write as our representative.”

This made no sense. Carlie had always been the one to represent them as a couple, so why was he stuck with this unfair task…

Carlie laughed and patted Raham’s broad chest. While Rarien was certainly a lovable daughter, Carlie didn’t want to write replies to fifty letters either.

“The tough jobs are always for my darling. The lady of the house just gets to enjoy herself.”

The former slave, having rediscovered his identity, yielded.

“…As you wish, Master.”

Come to think of it, cooking and cleaning were his responsibilities too, so of course writing letters should be his job as well!

While Raham sat at the desk, struggling to squeeze out responses to the daily letters, Carlie giggled as she replaced the room’s curtains with red ones and swapped the curtain ties for sturdier ones.

Raham jumped in shock while reading one letter.

“Oh no!”

“What?”

“Calsi says he slipped while ice skating.”

“Oh dear. Was he hurt? Did he take medicine?”

“Hmm… Yes, that’s what he says… WHAT!”

“What now?”

“He-he kissed her? In that time?”

His expression suggested the world was collapsing. Carlie raised her eyebrows and smiled.

“He’s only just now kissed her? What has Rari been doing all this time?”

Barely listening, Raham exploded in anger.

“Argh, this… this boy has no decency! I clearly told him only up to the back of her hand…!”

“You gave permission for the back of her hand? That’s unusual.”

“Carlie! Our daughter kissed a boy!”

Raham blamed Sir Pail’s innocent son with deep resentment.

“Ugh, that boy… I trusted him!”

What trust was he talking about? He’d been so persistent about sneaking into the training grounds to spy on Rarien and Hersa’s practice that Sir Pail had eventually banned him from the indoor training hall altogether. He was making claims that nobody would believe.

Carlie suppressed a smile and called to her husband, who was staring at the letter with a miserable expression.

“Write the letters later and come here. Let’s take a nap before going out.”

“Sigh…”

Raham turned his head with a deep sigh. Carlie was lying at an angle, wearing a semi-transparent red gown. The thin fabric had rolled slightly into her plump cleavage. The sight was breathtaking—her tiny waist, the soft curve of her hips, and the flowing line of her thighs.

A peerless beauty in such attire was inviting him to lie down with her. He narrowed his eyes to savor the view and cleared his throat.

“What kind of sleep are you planning?”

“Hmm?”

Until the message bird arrived with another letter that evening, he devoted his inexhaustible energy to his wife.

⁕⁕⁕

Raham woke up first. Carlie was sleeping peacefully in his arms, still dressed as she had been before falling asleep. Morning light filtered through the gap in the drawn curtains.

He rubbed his eyes and slowly rose. After wrapping Carlie snugly in the white blanket, he habitually pressed his lips to her soft cheek before leaving the bed.

Carlie had said they could be left alone, but it seemed people had come and gone in the meantime. A basin of washing water and a towel basket had been prepared outside the door, and the laundry basket was empty. No doubt Carlisle had sent a message bird ordering someone to take good care of his sister.

After a quick wash, Raham went to the yard and collected Carlie’s clothes, which had dried in the sunshine. He folded them neatly and placed them on the bedside table next to where Carlie slept, along with washing water and a cool bottle of water to moisten her throat when she woke up.

After preparing everything else she might need, he went back to the kitchen and rummaged through the ingredients.

“Hmm.”

Everything was there and already prepared. Raham rolled up his sleeves and began cooking for the first time in a while.

Thunk!

The heavy knife struck the cutting board. He cut large pieces of well-colored meat, seasoned them, and put them in the oven. He also cut chunks of various cheeses. He dumped ham, sausage, and vegetables into a pot and added several spices. He also roasted a few fresh fish in the oven.

Raham occasionally visited the castle kitchen to cook the rustic dishes Carlie sometimes craved from their cottage days, to grab snacks, or to steal horse feed. The kitchen chef had taught him a few techniques, suppressing the urge to smack his broad back, and those skills were now proving useful.

As he filled the table with plates, he regretted that Carlisle couldn’t see this scene, since he doubted Raham’s cooking skills.

‘I should cook for him when we get back.’

He felt pleased looking at the impressive dishes he’d prepared. Now he just needed Carlie to enjoy them.