When You Don’t Get Along With Your Husband - Chapter 37

Gideon, who grew up in similar circumstances but had rough edges, was haughty, and had trouble trusting people around him, was willing to occasionally do things he wouldn’t normally do for Tatiana’s sake.

He decided to spare some of his time for his wife’s smooth interpersonal relationships. Though he didn’t want to admit it, there were clearly different parts that a husband could fill versus what friends could fill.

‘You might also have a few people you want to kill as you live. But you know what? Some days that person might be me.’

Shouldn’t you have one or two people by your side who can badmouth me with you then?

But just when someone had made up his mind for once, Tatiana seemed to be contemplating rather than brightening up with joy. After thinking deeply, she hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Meeting friends can wait for later……”

“Yes. So what is it?”

He was prepared to grant most requests. Gideon urged her answer impatiently.

However, when she carefully answered his question, Gideon thought that perhaps he wasn’t as ‘prepared to grant anything’ as he’d believed.

“Could I invite my foster parents and brother here?”

“……The Mullers?”

Gideon asked back with furrowed brows. And just that slight narrowing of his brow made Tatiana hesitate.

She had thought people became oddly soft after fooling around, but his reaction wasn’t very good right now.

She stepped back and offered another option.

“Or I could just visit the Duke’s residence alone.”

“Why, did you leave something at that house?”

What could she have left behind? To begin with, there weren’t any possessions of Tatiana’s in that house. Just one sword she’d used as a mosquito swatter and a few volumes of her mother’s writings.

The mosquito swatter had been thrown away, but she’d carefully brought the magic books with her.

“What do you mean why? I couldn’t properly greet them after the wedding.”

“……”

“Even Mother said at the party last time. That it would be an honor if we could have a meal together sometime……”

Though their conversation with the Mullers had been brief, Gideon had heard such words too. He just hadn’t paid much attention. He’d listened so carelessly that he’d completely forgotten about it.

Meanwhile, when no ready answer came from him, Tatiana became somewhat puzzled. In her mind, it wasn’t a difficult matter at all. She didn’t think anyone would take issue with it either.

Yet she began putting on an unnecessary act of being a pitiful woman who needed permission every time she went out.

“That’s the only place I can call my maiden home……” 

 But it seemed he didn’t find her pitiful at all. Gideon frowned even more at Tatiana’s words. The thought ‘Why on earth would that be your maiden home?’ crossed his mind.

“In case you don’t know, I’ll tell you……”

“……”

“The legal relationship with House Muller was completely settled before the marriage.”

“……”

“I retrieved your family register myself.”

“……Are you trying to say I’m an Ainsler now?”

Gideon shook his head.

He intended to give her all the rights she could exercise as an Ainsler. However, he wasn’t trying to say ‘Live as a woman of House Ainsler from now on.’ One couldn’t change someone’s identity in an instant just by attaching a surname.

He didn’t want to say obvious things like ‘You’re a Bloom’ either.

He planned to refrain from such talk for a while. The weight of a family name seemed to affect her more than expected.

“Anyway, not the Mullers.”

“……”

“They’re strangers to you. Always have been.”

“……”

“Did you grow attached to them already?”

Three years is short if you consider it short, and long if you consider it long. But from any perspective, it seems excessive to describe it as ‘already.’

Gideon wasn’t trying to argue that it had been a short period. Having heard some things, he meant that Tatiana couldn’t have grown attached to the Duke’s household.

Indeed, she didn’t have any special bond with House Muller. However…..

“I just want to do my duty. Whatever the reason, they showed me kindness by feeding and housing me.”

“……”

“Surely you’re not trying to say you hate the idea?”

“……”

What, he really hates it? When he didn’t deny it, Tatiana became dumbfounded. So she suddenly brought up an incident from long ago.

“I had a meal with Her Majesty the Empress too!”

Tatiana had to hear unpleasant words she shouldn’t have heard at that gathering.

Gideon felt sorry about that point and had apologized. However, he did feel somewhat wronged. He hadn’t wanted to eat that meal either.

He had taken that situation much more unpleasantly than Tatiana, who was directly involved. It was fortunate the Empress had stopped there; if she had crossed the line any further, Gideon would have “accidentally” kicked over the table.

Tatiana knew this well. However, looking at Gideon who remained silent with narrowed eyes, she felt she had gained the upper hand. It seemed no one could withstand attacks about past events.

But wasn’t it too petty to bring up past incidents just to win a momentary argument? That wasn’t chivalrous.

Tatiana didn’t want such a cheap victory, so she resolved never to use this method again.

Yes, just for today.

“If I’ve had a meal with your family, I should naturally have one with my family too. These days, family events alternate. If we visited the in-laws first this year, next year we will visit my maiden family first.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s reasonable.”

Yielding priority to others is fundamentally a consideration. However, the moment it becomes a rule, someone starts taking it for granted and forgets to be grateful, while someone else feels hurt. So this isn’t about treating you calculatingly, but rather about us being careful not to take consideration for granted.

However, Gideon suddenly snickered and asked Tatiana.

“But who says such things?”

“My friends at the tea party.”

“Ah. Let’s put meeting friends on hold.”

“Why?!” 

 In Gideon’s thinking, they would probably end up fighting while trying to remember the order: you once, me once, me once, you once.

As far as he knew, Tatiana wasn’t the type to remember and memorize all that. It would be fortunate if she didn’t forget their wedding anniversary; he wasn’t even sure if she remembered her own birthday.

Moreover, Gideon didn’t care about order at all. He just preferred not to meet either side if possible. By his standards, neither was family.

He simply hated the Empress as a person, and he didn’t feel the need to treat House Muller as in-laws.

However, when she was making a request for the first time, he didn’t want to dismiss it.

It was also true that as a prince, he had matters to discuss with the commander of the royal guard.

Nevertheless, his reluctance didn’t completely disappear, so Gideon smiled and ended up saying something like this.

“So that’s all you want, right?”

“……”

“Alright, let’s try having that meal.”

Tatiana felt uncomfortable with his tone that didn’t match his beautiful smile at all.

“You mean you hate it? ……That sounds like a threat right now. It’s quite scary.”

“A threat? How could it be?”

He smiled even more brightly than before, saying he was very excited about the thought of dining with his wife’s precious people. That was even scarier. 

 * * *

 The sun had reached its zenith, and the time was already noon.

The chamberlain approached Gideon, who was sitting askew in his chair, and reported.

“Your Highness, it seems about time for you to rise.”

“My wife?”

“She has finished her preparations.”

Gideon nodded and rose from his seat. Though his attitude was extremely casual, people had been watching the prince’s mood and thoughts continuously since the other day.

‘Arrange a meeting with the Muller family.’

‘The Mullers?’

‘Yes. My wife seems to miss her family.’

Though Gideon gave the instruction as if it were nothing significant, this was an unexpected schedule for his subordinates too. While royalty could summon anyone to the castle to meet them, they didn’t meet just anyone without reason.

Some might wonder how his wife’s former guardians could be called ‘just anyone.’ However, there existed an invisible distance between Gideon and the royal guard.

Gideon currently kept a man of unknown origin as his closest guard. Not a knight from the royal guard.

It was the same when he had official duties to handle as a prince; he didn’t rely on the royal guard’s power.

Perhaps it was like treating them as invisible people, and this relationship had probably started after Sir Bloom’s death in the line of duty.

Various speculations circulated about this.

‘His Highness must have been deeply hurt too. Weren’t they quite close as master and disciple?’

When someone precious dies, even seeing symbols that remind you of them complicates your feelings. You feel longing, bitterness, and pain.

However, a considerable number of people doubted this speculation. To the nobles’ eyes, the First Prince wasn’t such an emotional person.

Rather than grieving when a close associate died, he was more likely to click his tongue and think, well, this makes things difficult.

‘……I think he’s disappointed in the royal guard. He can no longer trust their abilities. His Highness has always been particular about choosing his own people.’

Amid such rampant rumors, the distance between the prince and the royal guard continued.