When You Don’t Get Along With Your Husband

After finishing her dawn exercise, she needed to take a bath as usual, and then she had to have breakfast with the man she married three days ago.

And in Tatiana’s opinion, her husband seemed like…… someone who would dislike even being five minutes late for a meal.

Tatiana didn’t want to argue with her husband from the start, so she urged the maid with a silent gaze.

Didn’t they say etiquette and the class system didn’t allow it? Then the same logic applies to following the orders of a superior.

The poor maid approached hesitantly with a look that said ‘Why are you doing this to me?’

“What’s your name?”

“It’s Connie, Your Highness.”

Thinking it was a cute and lovely name, Tatiana nodded.

“Connie, do you have a handkerchief?”

“……Pardon?”

“Sit on it. I’m going to sweat a lot soon.”

“……”

“It’ll get dirty if you just sit.”

At that moment, Connie’s expression became even more pitiful than before.

‘Why are you really doing this? Your Highness must have a reason for this too.’

No matter how much the princess herself suggested it, it was unthinkable for a maid to sit on a royal’s body.

Yet she tells her to even spread a handkerchief. Worrying about the maid’s skirt getting dirty.

Connie, receiving such warm consideration, felt overwhelmed with gratitude at this moment. So overwhelmed that she just wanted to die right there.

As Tatiana thought ‘What are you doing? My arms are starting to hurt’ and made a bored expression, Connie closed her eyes tightly and sat on Tatiana’s back.

But she didn’t spread the handkerchief. It was due to a desperate professional spirit that couldn’t be abandoned until the very end.

“Your Highness, I’m truly sorry. ……Sob.”

“……Are you crying?”

Tatiana swallowed a laugh that was about to escape, and the rest of the maids had already united with a ‘as long as it’s not me’ mentality and were observing this chaotic situation.

Clearly, until just now they thought she might be from a circus troupe, but Her Highness was actually…….

‘A strongwoman?’¹

Tatiana’s face was serious as she unexpectedly took on the weight of another person.

Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead. Soon, that sweat fell onto the carpet, creating dark marks.

Her forearms and shoulders, tensed to the point where bones seemed to protrude, also trembled slightly.

Connie, who was covering her face as if she wanted to bite her tongue, felt that trembling acutely as she became one with Tatiana.

“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

“……”

What Tatiana hated most was being made to talk while exercising. Because it disrupted her breathing.

Inhale and exhale. Do you all know how important that is?

To maximize the effect of exercise, breathing needed to follow the rhythm of muscle contraction and relaxation. But in this case, since Tatiana had initiated it, it was right to respond to the other person’s words.

“Ugh, what.”

“I’m…… too heavy…… I’m sorry.”

Tatiana frowned and then let out a hollow laugh.

Ah, she was saying something that would make an exercising person lose strength.

“This…… isn’t because you’re heavy.”

“……”

“It’s because I’m lacking. Understand?”

“That’s the same thing……”

“No, it’s not.”

How could that be the same thing? Those two are completely different.

But instead of explaining in detail, Tatiana decided to just focus on what she was doing.

How could someone else understand this lonely path? The life of a swordsman was all about constant improvement, nothing else.

Situational excuses don’t change the results. That’s why it’s lonely.

She clenched her molars tightly and bent her arms once more.

Enough time passed to draw everyone’s admiration.

Isabelle and the other maids thought it might be time to bring flowers and applaud in support.

However, limits come to everyone at some point.

People should have also sensed that this situation would soon come to an end. And that’s when willpower emerges.

Tatiana held out much longer than they expected.

Just one more, the last one.

The weather is nice, so one more. But tomorrow might not be good, so one more in advance.

Tatiana, insisting on giving her best in this aspect, finally collapsed flat on the carpet.

“Oh my, oh my. What should we do……”

Not only did she sit on a royal’s back, but did she also injure that royal? It’s not something like a ruptured intestine, is it?

Connie looked distressed and didn’t know what to do, but Tatiana, who had an expression of regret, got up, dusted herself off, and extended her hand to Connie.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m, no…… I……”

“Next time, I’ll let you down safely. I promise.”

“……Pardon?”

……Next time? What’s that?

Connie, feeling unfairly singled out, looked at her colleagues’ faces. But it was already too late to gain sympathy from colleagues who had armed themselves with a ‘as long as it’s not me’ mentality.

Tatiana leisurely finished her cool-down exercises alone and then approached the chief maid with a request.

“I’d like to take a bath.”

“Yes, Your Highness. It’s already been prepared.”

“Really? I usually bathe in cold water, so you don’t need to prepare hot water from now on. If I need it, I’ll tell you first, so don’t worry about that.”

“……Yes, I understand.”

This was welcome news for the servants.

In the history of the Valter royal family, had there never been a servant who lost their head for not getting the temperature of the royal bath water right? But now the princess was stepping forward to reduce work by saying she wouldn’t be picky about this and that, so it should be good.

However, Isabelle was still unsure if this could be taken at face value.

Perhaps it was because this was so different from the types of royals she had experienced until now, making her unfamiliar with the situation.

But the Muller family maids had only one thing to caution about. Don’t disturb the princess when she’s training if possible.

That might have meant to stay out of her way.

And if the castle’s chief maid had come to this conclusion, it was also an achievement of Tatiana’s intended goal.

In fact, she had such intentions.

‘I’m nothing special, right?’

I’m a very ordinary and uninteresting person.

So you don’t need to worry too much about me or focus on my every move. Don’t have high expectations.

Tatiana, feeling refreshed after stretching her body after a long time, cracked her neck left and right once more. Then she lightly made her way through the maids towards the main bath.

Tatiana arrived at the dining place about 5 minutes earlier than the appointed time.

Her face, freshly washed with lukewarm water, was clear and soft, making those who saw her smile.

But the newlywed groom, who should have been grinning more than anyone at that face, had his usual ice-sculpture expression. He even looked a bit prickly.

Tatiana spoke to Gideon, who had arrived before her.

“You don’t seem to have any special schedule in the morning.”

“I’m trying not to make any breakfast or dinner appointments for a while.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re newlyweds. I want to try to get closer to my wife.”

Gideon had said something similar last night in Tatiana’s bedroom.

For royalty, there’s a concept of auspicious days. The consummation on that day was almost an obligation. Conversely, on days that weren’t auspicious, there was no need to share the same bedroom.

But yesterday, Gideon had come to Tatiana’s bedroom and did absolutely nothing before closing his eyes.

Puzzled, Tatiana ended up asking something she shouldn’t have.

‘Why did you come if you’re going to do this?’

‘Didn’t we agree to get closer?’

‘……’

Does he think he can settle everything with that one line? No, and how close does he want to get? Does he want to become soulmates or something?

Tatiana thinks that’s impossible from the start.

Gideon and Tatiana are married and have become family by law. There will be many things they’ll have to share in the future.

But personality-wise, not everything will match, and there are quite a few couples in the world who don’t get along. Even with blood-related family, it’s the same.

Tatiana loved and respected her birth parents very much, but sometimes there were times when she couldn’t understand them. Her parents probably couldn’t fully understand her either.

However, saying ‘That’s impossible’ and drawing a clear line here would only mean picking a fight in their newlywed phase.

So Tatiana just made a joke.

“You must be very comfortable, Your Highness.”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems like you’re deflecting every situation with that ‘let’s get closer’ line.”

Gideon asked, ‘Are you saying I seem insincere?’ and Tatiana shook her head because that wasn’t it either.

He was actually showing quite a lot of sincerity to Tatiana.